Modern Business
Title : Forging Ahead in Business
Author : Alexander Hamilton Institute
Release date
: November 5, 2011 [eBook #37924]
Most recently updated: January 8, 2021
Language : English
Credits
: Produced by Charlene Taylor, Henry Gardiner and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This
file was produced from images generously made available
by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
Modern Business
Modern Business
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| PAGE | ||
| Foreword—The Law of Success | 7 | |
| CHAPTER | ||
| I | The Modern Business Course and Service | 9 |
| II | The Danger of Specializing Too Early | 30 |
| III | Pushing Beyond the Half-way Mark | 35 |
| IV | A Personal Problem | 43 |
| V | The Question Before You | 69 |
| VI | Descriptive Outline of the Course | 72 |
| VII | Advisory Council, Lecturers and Staff | 97 |
| — | Advertisements | 121 |
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During the winter of 1883 a slim, studious young man was working as assistant foreman in a greasy little machine shop at Aurora, Illinois. He was saving money with a view to spending the next year at the State University, and he was devoting every minute of his spare time to thought and reading. He was not making much of a stir in the world, and only a few of his close friends ever gave a second thought to his ambitions or prospects.
One of these friends was a newspaper reporter, a recent Harvard graduate. He, too, was interested in study, especially of financial questions, and he found it a pleasure to guide the reading of the young foreman. Many an evening the two friends spent in the discussion of great economic and financial problems. Though both men had their ambitions and dreams, it did not occur to either one that he would ever play a big part in solving these problems.
A few years later the Harvard graduate became financial editor of the Chicago Tribune and brought in the younger man as his assistant. 8 During their years of newspaper work together they continued to study and think, and their knowledge of business principles and methods gradually broadened. They were fitting themselves almost without knowing it to step forward into positions of leadership.
Today, the former reporter is the head of a great university school of commerce; the assistant foreman became the president of the largest bank in the United States. One of these men is Joseph French Johnson, now Dean of the New York University School of Commerce, Accounts and Finance. The other is Frank A. Vanderlip, the great financier.
The life histories of most men who have succeeded in a large way are equally simple. They have looked ahead, they have planned, they have equipped themselves with all the business knowledge available, and success has followed. Success must follow. The law of success is as definite as the law of gravity. Here it is:
It is not the dramatic moments of life that count. It is the quiet planning and reading of the man who is getting ready now for what is going to happen two, five or ten years from now.
As Dean of New York University School of Commerce, Accounts and Finance, Joseph French Johnson had for many years continually received letters requesting advice on what to read on business.
These demands came not only from young men, but from mature and able executives, and sometimes even from the most successful business leaders. To all such requests Dean Johnson was obliged to reply that the only practical way to study the fundamental principles of business in a systematic manner was to attend the lectures in university schools of commerce.
At that time the literature of business was scanty and for the most part of doubtful value. Working alone, a man could get but little help in his efforts to widen and deepen his knowledge of business principles.
It became evident that there was a great need 10 for an organized, logical statement of the basic principles on which successful business is founded. It was determined to establish an institution which should meet the demand. After years of preparation the Alexander Hamilton Institute was established in 1909.
In selecting the name, it was agreed that none could be so suitable as that of Alexander Hamilton.
Hamilton is perhaps chiefly remembered for his masterly statesmanship; but he was equally conspicuous as soldier, financier, author, organizer and practical economist.
He was without doubt the greatest manager ever employed by the United States Government. When he became the first Secretary of the Treasury, he found a chaotic government, without money, without credit, and without organization. He secured order, provided funds and created prosperity. He investigated the industries and directed the early commercial development of the United States. "He touched the dead corpse of the public credit, and it sprang upon its feet. He smote the rock of the nation's resources and abundant streams of revenue gushed forth." 11
Hamilton was a great executive and systematizer; he himself worked out an accounting system for the United States Government which, with but slight modifications, remained in force for more than a hundred years.
The Modern Business Course and Service is a systematic, time-saving method of bringing to any man's office or home that business knowledge and training which he needs, but which he cannot acquire through his own experience.
It is designed for the benefit of two groups of men:
It is intended, in general, for the men who are looking and moving ahead; for live, keen-witted, energetic men; for men who are not satisfied to remain in the ranks or in subordinate positions. These men may or may not have had a thorough school and college training; that is not an essential. They may or may not have wealth and high position; that is unimportant. But they must 12 have ability and enough serious purpose to spend a portion of their spare time in reading and thinking about business problems.
The Modern Business Course and Service is conducted by an organization made up of business and professional men and of university specialists in business subjects. Inasmuch as such an institution derives its strength almost wholly from the men who are identified with it, a complete list of these men, with brief biographical notes to show who they are and what they have accomplished, is given in Chapter VII, on pages 97 to 118.
The Institute organization consists of four groups:
Business and educational authority of the highest standing is represented in the Advisory Council of the Institute. 13
This Advisory Council consists of Frank A. Vanderlip, the financier; T. Coleman duPont, the business executive; John Hays Hammond, the eminent engineer; Joseph French Johnson, Dean of the New York University School of Commerce; and Jeremiah W. Jenks, the statistician and economist. The Council has general supervision and direction of the policies and activities of the Institute. No important move of any kind is made without the sanction of this body.
The Authors and Collaborators are men prominent in educational and business circles. As authors, co-authors and collaborators they are responsible for the Modern Business volumes. Their writing is done under the guidance and with the cooperation of the Institute's Editorial Board. Each one is chosen because of his particular training and ability in the field he covers.
The Special Lecturers , whose business connections are stated on pages 111 to 118, are men of high commercial standing who have devoted time and thought to preparing written lectures for the Modern Business Course and Service. These lectures present some of the results of their successful business experience. 14
The Institute Staff actively conducts the Modern Business Course and Service. Many of the members of the Staff are also members of the faculties of university schools of commerce. Every member of the Staff is a specialist who in some one business subject is entitled to rank as an authority. Their names, business and university connections and official duties in the Institute are stated on pages 100 to 110.
(a) The Consultant Staff are the experts who do not give their entire time to the Institute, but who are called upon for special information and advice whenever the occasion requires.
(b) The Administrative Staff consists of the Senior and Junior Executives who are active in the administrative work of the organization. These men are heads of the departments responsible for the successful management of the Alexander Hamilton Institute.
The Modern Business Course and Service brings to a subscriber the essential business knowledge that he does not acquire in his own experience. The subject matter of the Course 15 and Service is treated under the following 24 heads:
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The Modern Business Course and Service covers the essential subjects on which every business man should be well informed.
When an enrolment is accepted, the Institute undertakes,
1. To supply the subscriber with the Modern Business Text—the most complete and best organized treatment of business principles and practice that has yet been produced.
2. To guide and illuminate his reading of the Text by a series of Modern Business Talks.
3. To bring him into touch with the ideas and methods of some of the foremost business and professional men in the country through a series of Modern Business Lectures.
4. To give him facilities for applying and testing his knowledge of business principles through a series of Modern Business Problems.
5. To keep him informed on current business events and the trend of future affairs in the commercial world by means of Monthly Letters on Business Conditions.
6. To acquaint him with important 17 events covering the production and prices of general commodities and the current security market.
7. To supply him with four Modern Business Reports on important problems; the reports to be selected by him from an extensive list.
8. To render personal service through answers to all inquiries in connection with his reading of the Course.
An enrolment for the Modern Business Course and Service covers a period of two years. During that time each subscriber is constantly in touch with the members of the Institute Staff. There are no rigid rules—no red tape—to restrict or annoy; instead, there is personal guidance and sincere cooperation.
The more carefully you consider the plan, the more clearly you will see how well it is adapted to the needs of busy men who must make every minute and every ounce of effort produce the greatest possible results.
You will see more clearly the actual scope of the Modern Business Course and Service if you keep in view its eight main features:
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The basis of the Course and Service is a series of twenty-four text-books prepared under the careful supervision of its editors, assisted by well-known authorities. In some cases the latter appear as authors, in others as collaborators in the preparation of the Texts.
Dean Joseph French Johnson is Editor-in-Chief of the Course. The managing editor is Dr. Roland P. Falkner. Associated with them is a large editorial staff which takes an active share in the writing and preparation of the Course. The authors and collaborators are specialists who rank as authorities in their particular field. The series is widely recognized as the most important contribution yet made to business literature.
The volumes in the Modern Business Series are sold apart from the Institute Course only to universities for use as prescribed text-books in classroom work. Among the universities which have used the Institute's volumes as texts are:
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There are about three hundred and fifty pages in each of the twenty-four volumes. Each volume is carefully indexed and contains, in addition to the text, a few review suggestions after each chapter which are of great value in mastering the subject.
Questions of Commercial Law as they affect each subject are discussed in the volume pertaining to that particular unit of the Course.
The Modern Business Talks, which are sent fortnightly, are informal discussions of the principles treated in the Text. As the name indicates, these Talks bring up many specific points and cases, and show more clearly why and 23 how the underlying principles of scientific business should be applied. They are particularly direct, practical and stimulating. Their periodic visits serve to keep every subscriber in touch with the Institute Staff and alive to the importance of following the Course systematically. The Talks are prepared by members of the Institute Staff or other authorities.
In the pamphlet which contains the Talk the reading assignment for the following two weeks is suggested. On receiving the fortnightly instalment of new material, the subscriber will ordinarily read the Talk before taking up the reading assignment, and thus get a bird's-eye view of the ground that is to be covered during the succeeding two weeks.
Some of the subjects discussed are:
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The written Modern Business Lectures, which are sent to subscribers monthly during the two-year Course, have been especially prepared for the Institute by eminent business executives, publicists and accountants, and reflect the experience of these men in successfully handling business problems.
They are intended, first, to show how these men have actually applied the principles discussed in the Modern Business Course; second, to give further information as to large and highly developed business concerns and their methods; and, third, to bring subscribers into closer touch with the wide circle of representative, successful men of affairs.
Some of the subjects of the Lectures are:
One of the strongest features of the Course is the series of twenty-four Problems—such problems as accountants, financiers, bankers and business managers meet in practice—especially 25 prepared for the Course by members of the Institute Staff.
Each Problem is a carefully worded statement of all the essential factors in some business situation; in other words, the situation is presented and described just as it might be in the report of a subordinate official to the head of a business enterprise. The Problems are so arranged as to correspond closely to the assigned reading. For instance, after the subject of cost accounts has been discussed, a Problem is given in which a knowledge of cost accounting principles is called for. Thus, the Problems serve not merely to test the subscriber's understanding and thinking power, but also to fix in his mind and make definite the statements and principles contained in the Text volumes.
When solutions to the Problems are sent in, they are criticised, graded, and returned with suggestions for further study. Solutions to the Problems are not, however, required. Some of the titles are:
A business executive must have a knowledge of the fundamental principles relating to the internal organization and management of a business.
He should also have a basis of judging those external business conditions over which no one group of men has control, but to the trend of which every line of business 26 must be adjusted in order to gain the maximum of profit and suffer the minimum of loss.
The results of these studies are presented to the business man in a clear and concise manner in the Monthly Letter on Business Conditions.
In order to keep subscribers informed regarding the state of business at home and abroad, and as a basis for applying the principles explained in the Text, the Monthly Letters will prove most helpful. The economic experts of our Business Conditions Bureau are constantly bringing together and interpreting facts and figures regarding bank clearings, pig iron production, unfilled steel orders, exports and imports, railroad earnings, and such indices of financial conditions as the reserves, loans and deposits of the Federal Reserve Banks.
The letters discuss political events and developments in the business world which have an influence upon price movements and conditions of activity or depression. The business man will find them particularly interesting, as they show him what to expect in the future by pointing out the present trend of affairs.
The Financial and Trade Reviews are issued monthly by our Bureau of Business Conditions and are designed to cover in a timely and interesting fashion the activities in the security market by analyzing individual and group securities and by presenting statistics on prices and earnings of standard stocks and bonds.
The Reviews cover the production and price trends of basic commodities and matters of interest in foreign fields. Leading articles deal with current events of note and interest to the business community.
The Financial and Trade Review is a valuable supplement to the principles brought out in the regular reading schedule.
The Modern Business Reports are written by professional and trade experts and members of the Institute Staff, 27 and cover both important business problems of general interest and technical subjects relating to Accounting, Sales, Office Methods, Merchandising, Production and other specialized departments.
From time to time a descriptive list of these Reports is sent to each subscriber. From these lists the subscriber may choose four Reports at any time during the two-year period of his enrolment.
These Reports run from ten to fifty pages in length. Each one is prepared in reference to some specific problem and is the result of special investigation. The subjects cover a wide field, and every subscriber will find among them a number which are of particular interest to him.
The list of Reports includes such titles as:
The reading matter of the Modern Business Course is in itself of remarkable value; subscribers have told us over and over again that one volume, or sometimes one pamphlet, or one Report, has brought them ideas worth vastly more than the fee for the Course and Service.
This value is largely enhanced by the fact that back of the reading matter there is an organization of men who are anxious to cooperate in every way possible with each subscriber. This organization is equipped to render service at every stage of the subscriber's progress. 28
First of all, certain members of the Staff are assigned to the pleasant task of carrying on correspondence with subscribers. They make an earnest effort whenever a new enrolment is received to get into touch with the subscriber and learn under what conditions he is working, what experience and education he has had and what objects he has in view. With this information before them they can often make suggestions that are directly helpful and that mean a larger increase in the subscriber's personal benefit from his use of the Course and Service.
Furthermore, every one who thinks as he reads comes across statements and opinions which he does not fully understand or which he questions. The privilege of asking about any such statements or opinions is freely open to all subscribers. There is no limit whatever to the number of questions which may be submitted, based on the Text or other reading matter of the Course.
There are four fundamental activities in every business—Production, Marketing, Financing, and Accounting.
On the following page you will see the whole field of business charted in such a way as to show clearly the relation of various business activities to each other. Economics, the study of business conditions and business policies, is the hub of all business activity. Radiating from it are the four grand divisions of business—Production, Marketing, Financing, Accounting. These in turn are subdivided into the more detailed activities which they include.
The Modern Business Course and Service is a thorough treatment of all the divisions indicated.
ECONOMICS
All business activities may be classified under Production, Marketing, Financing and Accounting. For purposes of systematic study, each of these may be subdivided as shown above.
In addition, there are two important forces which control business—Man and Government. For that reason a discussion of the relation between "Business and the Man" and "Business and the Government" naturally forms a part of the survey of modern business. The first two and the last two assignments in the Modern Business Course and Service cover these important subjects. 29
The arrangement of the subjects has been carefully planned so that the maximum benefit will be derived by following the assignments in their regular order. In the chart you see the logical arrangement of these subjects as related to the business world. Note that the order in which these subjects are treated in the Course is not according to their arrangement in the chart. On the contrary, the more general subjects are first considered; then come the more complex—the specializations and enlargements upon the foundation subjects. This plan permits a progressive arrangement that makes for a broad understanding of the science of business.
Just as any university or college requires a knowledge of certain subjects before others can be taken up, because this more general knowledge is essential to a proper understanding of the more advanced, so we have arranged the subjects treated in the Modern Business Course and Service in a similar manner.
Texts, Talks, Lectures, Problems, Monthly Letters, Financial and Trade Reviews, Reports and Service—these are the important features of the Modern Business Course and Service.
A great many young men think they have found a quick and easy road to success by concentrating their minds wholly on the jobs they happen to hold.
It is perfectly true that a business man must not underestimate the importance of details.
But it is also true that large success is always built upon a clear understanding of basic principles.
The common fallacy that it is best for a man—especially a young man—to confine his thought and studies to his own specialty has in many instances proved ruinous. It is easily possible to specialize so much as to lose all sense of the importance of a broad, well-balanced business training.
We all know the lawyer who is wrapped up in his quibbles; the accountant who sees nothing in business but a maze of figures; the advertising man who is so fascinated by "cleverness" that he 31 forgets to try to sell goods; and the technical man who knows nothing about the commercial phases of his engineering problems.
Such men cannot take their places among the higher executives because they know little or nothing of business outside their own specialty, and they cannot know even that thoroughly while their general outlook remains so narrow.
Some years ago two young men of unusual promise graduated from a prominent School of Mines and went to work for a big copper company as full-fledged mining engineers. They were located at an isolated camp, remote from civilization, and were given every chance to make good the prediction made for them at the time of graduation.
These men soon proved that they knew a great deal about the mining of copper. Their advancement was rapid, and within a comparatively short time one of them was appointed General Manager and the other Chief Engineer. To all intents and purposes they were in complete charge of the company's interests in that locality.
It was not long before the problems put up to these two mining experts ceased to be confined to the technical end of the business. The 32 handling of a large number of men, the disposition of big sums of money, the necessity of using both men and money economically, the accounting and statistics of their operations, and a hundred other problems no less "practical" demanded the exercise of judgment on their part and a knowledge of business principles that neither their technical training nor their previous experience had supplied.
Unfortunately, these two—the General Manager and the Chief Engineer—had their heads turned by their rapid advancement. They did not recognize the fact that a thorough business training would have made them well-nigh failure-proof, and they even expressed contempt for scientific study of such subjects as accounting, banking, organization, cost finding, selling and finance.
In course of time the operations of the company made necessary the extension of its mining facilities, involving the erection of a concentrator and smelter at an expenditure of a little over $2,000,000. These men were in charge of selecting and arranging for the sites and erection of the plants. The work had gone forward to a considerable extent when one of the executive officers of the company from the East came to inspect the properties and the progress of the new work. He was so disappointed at the lack 33 of business judgment displayed in the selection of the sites, the drawing of contracts and other matters, that he dismissed the Chief Engineer on the spot, and curtailed the authority of the General Manager.
He stated that thereafter he would select men who had some business as well as technical training.
These men missed success because they lacked certain essential tools with which to build it. Equipped with an elaborate professional kit gathered through years of painstaking study, they still lacked that knowledge of business principles which was necessary to enable them to turn their technical knowledge into results.
Every one who holds, or expects ever to hold, a position of business responsibility should be familiar with the whole field of modern business. The reasons for this are apparent to any one who has to do with the handling of large problems. It is necessary always to take into account all the important factors in such problems. No matter how ably a marketing or an accounting difficulty may be met, the solution is worse than useless if it affects unfavorably any other phase of the business.
A business executive cannot afford to make many serious mistakes. To guard against mistakes, he must be fortified with an all-round 34 knowledge of business practice—not merely a partial or one-sided knowledge.
The principles of Production, Marketing, Financing and Accounting are fundamental and apply to all lines of business. The man who says they do not apply because his business is "different" is simply exposing his failure to get down to rock bottom in his thinking. Every business has its points of difference, just as every man has an individuality of his own. But we know that human nature, broadly speaking, is much the same in all. In a like sense all business moves along similar lines. It all consists of producing, marketing, financing and accounting.
The broad principles of modern business science, therefore, govern all business. They are related to your problems, no matter how "different" your business may appear to be on the surface.
There is always a danger of half-way success. A man may be at the head of an office, a department, a sales force, or a business, and yet be only a half-way success, if what he has so far accomplished be measured against his actual capacity. Most men, in fact, possess native ability sufficient to carry them forward into bigger positions than those they now occupy. But to accomplish that result it is necessary to keep continually moving ahead.
Chief among the characteristics that carry men past the half-way mark on the road to success is eagerness to keep on learning more about business principles and business methods.
The late Marshall Field said:
"The man who puts ten thousand dollars additional capital into an established business is pretty certain of increased returns; and in the same way the man who puts additional capital into his brains—information, well directed thought and study of 36 possibilities—will as surely—yes, more surely—get increased returns. There is no capital and no increase of capital safer and surer than that."
The ablest men in business are constant students. Many of the foremost business executives of the United States have for this reason welcomed an opportunity to enrol for the Modern Business Course and Service. This Course and Service brings to them in convenient, time-saving form, an explanation of working principles that have proved successful in every line of business.
Presidents of big corporations are often enrolled for the Modern Business Course and Service along with ambitious younger men in their employ. Among the 145,000 subscribers are such men as:
These men, and thousands of other Institute subscribers, know that a study of the principles which have brought unusual success to other men increases their own capacity for further achievement.
Great business organizations
Officers, department heads and juniors of a large number of important companies are enrolled for the Modern Business Course and Service. The prime purpose of the Course and Service is to develop the business knowledge and judgment of each subscriber, and the heads of these companies realize that the increased efficiency on the part of individuals which results from this training carries with it greater efficiency and profits for their companies.
The tendency in large business organizations, unless the chief executives are unusually thoughtful and far-sighted, is to repress initiative and constructive thinking except on the part of the few men who direct the affairs. The Modern 38 Business Course and Service counteracts this tendency. It encourages thought and initiative. It develops men. It stimulates the whole organization and makes possible more rapid expansion and larger earnings.
Among the progressive concerns in which a number of men have been making effective use of the Modern Business Course and Service are:
| Men enrolled | |
| American Radiator Company | 65 |
| American Telephone and Telegraph Company | 139 |
| Anaconda Copper Mining Company | 75 |
| Armour and Company | 184 |
| Bank of Montreal | 84 |
| Barrett Company | 68 |
| Bethlehem Steel Company | 200 |
| Burroughs Adding Machine Company | 199 |
| Canadian Bank of Commerce | 143 |
| Commonwealth Edison Company of Chicago | 106 |
| Cutler-Hammer Manufacturing Company | 75 |
| E. I. duPont de Nemours and Company | 529 |
| Eastman Kodak Company | 61 |
| Empire Gas and Fuel Company | 144 |
| Equitable Life Assurance Society | 114 |
| Fairbanks-Morse and Company | 68 |
| Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas | 61 |
| Firestone Tire and Rubber Company | 164 |
| Fisk Rubber Company | 107 |
| Ford Motor Company | 353 |
| General Electric Company | 669 |
| General Motors Corporation | 802 |
| B. F. Goodrich Company | 256 |
| Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company | 439 |
| International Harvester Company | 122 |
| Johns-Manville, Inc | 123 |
| Jones and Loughlin Steel Company | 55 |
| National Biscuit Company | 64 |
| National Cash Register Company | 207 |
| National City Bank of New York | 210 |
| Newport Mining Company | 114 |
| New York Central Railroad Company | 107 |
| New York Telephone Company | 138 |
| Otis Elevator Company | 92 |
| Pacific Commercial Company | 106 |
| Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company | 105 |
| Packard Motor Car Company | 153 |
| Pennsylvania Railroad Company | 228 |
| Proctor and Gamble Company | 75 |
| Public Service Corporation of New Jersey | 68 |
| Remington Typewriter Company | 96 |
| Sears, Roebuck and Company | 84 |
| Singer Manufacturing Company | 58 |
| Southern Pacific Railway Company | 90 |
| Standard Oil Company | 954 |
| The Steel Company of Canada | 51 |
| Stone and Webster Engineering Corporation | 125 |
| Studebaker Corporation | 97 |
| Swift and Company | 127 |
| Texas Company | 221 |
| Underwood Typewriter Company | 77 |
| United Fruit Company | 78 |
| United Shoe Machinery Company | 95 |
| United States Rubber Company | 265 |
| United States Steel Corporation | 771 |
| Western Electric Company | 254 |
| Western Union Telegraph Company | 291 |
| Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company | 501 |
| Willys-Overland Company | 191 |
| Winchester Repeating Arms Company | 211 |
| F. W. Woolworth Company | 81 |
Many of the men enrolled in these great companies are heads of their organizations; presidents and vice-presidents. Most of them are important officials and department heads; a few are men with smaller responsibilities.
The sound business reason which underlies the favorable action of so many great corporations is well expressed by President George M. Verity, of the American Rolling Mill Company, who says:
"When I learned that some fifty of our men had decided to take up the Modern Business Course 40 and Service, the stock of this company rose several points in my estimation."
The following expressions regarding the value of the Course to men in big corporations are typical of many that we have received:
"We have been familiar with your Course of instruction ever since it was first offered, and regard it as an excellent one for men engaged in the investment security business. A large number of our men are taking the Course, and we have recommended it to many of our associates."
"Realizing my lack of experience, I subscribed to your Course and found it of incalculable value. It gave me quickly the fundamentals of accounting, of which I had known nothing. It gave me a broad elementary insight into modern marketing methods. The volume on credits was also helpful. The Course saved me many expensive blunders.
"Briefly, for one starting in a business of his own I consider the Alexander Hamilton Institute Course practically indispensable. In addition to its indirect value, I have been able to put a definite worth on this Course, to myself and the firm, of many thousands of dollars."
"The good that our people have received from the Alexander Hamilton Institute Course has been phenomenal. It is not only the most instructive and valuable treatise on live subjects for men who are training for business careers, but it is the most concise, instructive and clearly presented form of education, to our minds, that has been presented for the benefit of executives."
"In my long business experience I have never subscribed to anything from which I have received greater value, in which I have taken greater interest, and from which I have received greater inspiration for my work. I do not believe anyone can take up the work without finding it not only effective, but of great value."
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"My appreciation of the Alexander Hamilton Institute Course is based not only upon the broad scope of its appeal and the close co-ordination of the subjects treated, but also from the benefit that I have personally derived from following the Course."
"It seems to me that your Modern Business Course affords an opportunity for the study of practical business methods and the acquisition of business knowledge which will be valuable to any man ambitious to succeed in business."
"We had two building sites in view. When it came to a final decision I applied the principles which were laid down in the Course; it became clear at once that the first site—which had originally seemed so attractive—was actually less desirable for our purposes.
"Knowing the fundamental principles, it was a simple matter to analyze the various requirements of this business step by step; as a result of this analysis we have a site even more suitable than the one originally contemplated; and we were able to buy it not merely on more favorable terms, but at an actual saving of more than $82,000."
"My experience with the Alexander Hamilton Institute leaves me only with the regret that I did not make contact with it at an earlier time."
"I have been looking for something of this kind for some time past and am more than pleased that this should be brought to my attention."
"The exceedingly interesting manner in which the subjects are treated was an agreeable surprise to me. I became so absorbed in the reading that I am reluctant to lay it down when bed-time or meal-time arrives."
The unqualified indorsements of these successful executives, and the fact that a large number 42 of men in almost every nationally known organization are enrolled, prove conclusively that there is a great need for training in business fundamentals. Wherever the wheel of business turns—the need is great. It is a matter to be reckoned with by every man and concern in business.
How is it possible that the Modern Business Course and Service should be helpful alike to the grizzled executive and to the young man who has not yet made his mark in business? Why is it that in a great many organizations our list of subscribers begins with the president, includes practically all the officers and department heads, and ends with a selected group of men who as yet are in subordinate positions?
The answer is simple. The main problem of every business man is the problem of developing himself. It makes no difference how great or how small a man's position may be, the only way to enlarge his influence and his income is first to enlarge himself. The greatest business men in the country are quickest to accept and apply this truth.
It may sometimes appear as though a man becomes a bigger business man by being promoted 44 into a bigger job. The truth is just the reverse. The big job naturally gravitates to the well-trained, capable man. If the job proves too large for the man, it doesn't take long for it to shrivel until it becomes a perfect fit.
On the other hand, a man who really becomes bigger than his job simply grows out of it and into another; or he enlarges the job and its rewards to fit his measure.
You are a member of one or the other of these two groups:
(1) those who have "arrived"
(2) those who are on their way toward success.
There is, to be sure, a third group which unfortunately constitutes an overwhelming majority, the group made up of purposeless drifters who have no special ambitions and usually little native ability. To this group the Institute has nothing to offer.
They might refuse indignantly to sign a contract to work for the next ten years at the same salary they are now receiving. Yet the end of the ten-year period will find most of them in the same position, or only a trifle ahead.
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For there is only one power in the world that can lift a man, and that is the power of added knowledge and training.
For years the Alexander Hamilton Institute has specialized in one thing; it has only one Course; its sole business is to take men who know one department of business, and by adding to their equipment a knowledge of the other fundamentals shown on the chart on the preceding page, to fit them for higher positions.
If you already have reached a business position of large responsibility, that surely does not mean that you have stopped growing. The boundless opportunities that are open to all are beckoning you on. No noteworthy business man attains his full development until he is well past middle age. In fact, the man of real power never appears to have reached his limit. Your real achievements are still ahead of you. As you look over the pages following, you will see that the brainiest executives in the country are using the Modern Business Course and Service as equipment for still bigger undertakings.
If you are still trudging in the ranks, or if you have advanced only part way toward your goal, you will be keenly interested in the comments of those who have found the Modern Business Course and Service an immense help in hastening their progress. These men are rapidly 47 forging ahead. They are setting a faster and faster pace. Unless you are able to keep up with them, you must drift to the rear.
Because the young men of this generation are getting a better training than has been available in previous generations, the standards of business ability have risen and will continue to rise. Yesterday, a man of limited experience and training was often able to force his way into an executive position; today, it is much more difficult to do so; tomorrow, it will be impossible.
The business leaders of a few short years from now will be the men who today are preparing themselves for the duties of leadership.
You may ask: " What can the Institute do for me? "
The answer to your question is outlined in the "Chart of the Modern Business Course and Service" which is printed on page 49 . That Chart shows how the organized knowledge about business principles and business practice which has been collected and classified by the Alexander Hamilton Institute is transmitted to subscribers through the eight features of the Course and Service—Text, Talks, Lectures, Problems, 48 Monthly Letters, Financial and Trade Reviews, Reports, and Service.
In what ways can a business man cash in on this knowledge? A great many direct and practical benefits that naturally follow the use of the Modern Business Course and Service might be cited. Seven of the most important are shown in the Chart on the following page.
The most obvious and direct benefit consists in a Better Understanding of Sound Business Principles .
The other benefits shown on the Chart are:
The inevitable results of these gains in personal power and efficiency are Larger Income and a Greater Success in Business .
Note on the following pages what subscribers 50 for the Modern Business Course and Service have to say in that connection.
A man cannot go far in business unless he thinks . And he must not only think, but think straight. His conclusions must be based on sound principles.
Unless a man is thinking along right lines, he will have little initiative, and his judgment will be poor.
The necessity for every live business man to understand the principles upon which modern business is based cannot be overstated. The Modern Business Course and Service gives that understanding. It illuminates points that were obscure and it answers many puzzling questions. It lights up the road ahead, so that the business man can see more clearly the path that he should take.
Mr. Wm. H. Ingersoll, Marketing Manager for the famous Ingersoll watch, says that the Modern Business Course and Service
"gives the first coherent presentation of the entire subject of business. It gives one a perspective and an appreciation of essentials, as well as much knowledge regarding right and wrong methods of procedure."
As a fair example of the manner in which the Modern Business Course and Service stimulates 51 thought and leads to progressive action, even in companies that already were well organized and highly successful, take the following note from Mr. Norman W. Wilson, Vice-President of the Hammermill Paper Company:
"Every moment's time I have devoted to it has been well rewarded. I want you to know what a high regard I have for the work you are doing and to know that I make it a point to encourage our people here to study your Course."
Mr. J. H. Hansen, President of the J. H. Hansen Cadillac Company of Omaha, emphasizes the practical information that the Modern Business Course and Service has brought to him:
"When I located in Nebraska as a salesman for the Cadillac automobile, a representative of the Institute persuaded me that I might just as well try for the big prizes in business as for one of the mediocre ones. The decision to enrol in the Modern Business Course and Service was a turning-point in my life.
"I knew something about selling already. But now I began to see business as a whole, and the relation of each department to it. Advertising and costs; accounting and office organization; the control of men, and corporation finance—all these elements, which are necessary if a man is to succeed in business for himself, came to me with the Institute's help.
"When the opportunity arrived I was ready for it. We organized our company and the first year did more than a million dollar business.
"In my judgment, the reason why so many men never get into business for themselves or fail after 52 they do get in, is because they are not prepared for their opportunity when it comes."
Mr. H. C. Smith, President, Allith-Prouty Manufacturing Company, Chicago, states why the Modern Business Course and Service is helpful without being revolutionary:
"All men who have been successful must be credited with having good business principles. Your Course does not require changing these principles, but it will broaden one's own ideas and enable him to get greater results."
A great many men accomplish less than their abilities and energy entitle them to accomplish, simply because they do not feel sure of themselves. The boldest man alive becomes uncertain and timid in the face of unfamiliar difficulties. The man who follows the Modern Business Course and Service becomes acquainted at close range with business difficulties as well as with tried methods of overcoming them; he learns how to tackle such difficulties and goes forward without fear or misgivings.
The series of Modern Business Problems which constitute an important feature of the Modern Business Course and Service is especially intended to cultivate familiarity with difficult business situations and thereby to create self-confidence. 53 They are problems of the kind which executives are constantly meeting. The man who can solve them successfully should have no difficulty when he meets similar problems that arise in his own work.
A better and broader grasp of the principles and practices that underlie all business also suggests ways of widening the scope of one's business activity and gives the necessary confidence to go ahead and do it. Mr. John McBride, of McBride's Theatre Ticket Office, New York, wrote us after completing the Modern Business Course:
"The average man can double his faith in himself in a few months if he will master the fundamentals of business through your training."
Mr. W. H. Schmelzel, President of the W. H. Schmelzel Company, of St. Paul, Minnesota, wrote after he had followed the Course:
"It is my personal opinion that every young business man of today depends a great deal on consultation or advice from a successful and experienced adviser or friend on all matters of a business nature.
"In the early days of my business experience I was confronted with the task of making decisions preparing myself for the problems I was to solve in the years to follow. Having been born and raised in a small town in a Western State, I was content with advice and consultation of my acquaintances in matters pertaining to the thoughts I wished to carry out. 54
"I was, therefore, eager to obtain assistance from a corps of experts in their particular line, and after giving your Modern Business Course considerable scrutiny, and being informed on the class of men, that I felt confident of their success, and I realized that such a Course had merit, and one which I could afford to consult, advise with and build my future with ideas and methods you had so ably worked out."
Is the ability to decide things quickly an inborn faculty? No, it is largely a habit of mind which anyone may cultivate in himself. However, we must bear in mind that it is necessary not only to decide quickly; there must be very few mistakes. This requires a mind that is trained to grasp a situation and to think accurately as well as rapidly.
The secret of quick and accurate decision is knowledge of principles. If a man knows what principle applies in handling a given case, he has no difficulty in making up his mind and deciding what to do. If the balance sheet of a given concern were laid before you and you were asked to decide at once (assuming that the figures were correct) whether to ship a $10,000 order of goods to that company, possibly you would not know what to say. But if you were familiar with the definite principles of accounting and finance which would enable you 55 to analyze that balance sheet and make it yield a vivid picture of the financial condition of the concern, you would not hesitate a moment. You would reply instantly.
A young man, whose name we are not at liberty to give, told us of a dramatic incident which illustrates the value that keen business men attach to preparedness and quick decisions. Up to about a year ago this young man was head accountant for his company. The Board of Directors had been in session about an hour one afternoon when a messenger came to his desk and told him that he was wanted in the board room.
As he entered the room the president snapped at him, "Would you advise us to issue a block of collateral trust bonds to finance a new addition to our factory which will cost about $60,000?"
"No," said the accountant, "the company's credit is good enough for an issue of $60,000 one to three-year notes without security. If necessary, the new building could be mortgaged after construction, and, at the present rate, the business could pay off the whole loan in five years."
A rapid-fire series of questions followed, covering 56 the financial, advertising and sales policy of the firm, to each of which the accountant gave concentrated thought, quick decision and convincing reply.
The president's final question was, "How would you like to become treasurer of this company at $6,000 a year?"
In the letter that told of this incident this subscriber said:
"I don't know whether I owe most to you or to my friend in the Carnegie Steel Company who urged me to enrol for your Course and Service. I could have answered few if any of the questions asked me without the knowledge I gained from it. I found out later that the president knew all the time I was following your Course, and wanted to prove to the rest of the directors that I could intelligently consider and discuss business problems."
Mr. Charles C. Chase, in the Advertising Department of Brown Company, of Portland, Maine, brings out another method of securing help in deciding questions that are outside the scope of his previous experience. He says:
"To the fellows who have asked me about the Course and what I believe it will do for them, I have said:
"Through a subscription to the Course of the Alexander Hamilton Institute you not only ally yourself with a "Board of Directors" whose combined business experience probably amounts to at least five hundred successful years—a Board the 57 members of which have had specialized experience in every important phase of business—but who have been assembled for the very definite purpose of helping men."
This method is equally valuable to the executive, according to Mr. Lynn P. Talley, Deputy Governor of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas:
"Whenever I am confronted with a problem relating to fundamental economic conditions of business practice or business policy, I find great comfort and satisfaction in taking down the volume relating to the subject and always find elucidation of the problems that confront me."
Mr. James P. Robertson, of Smith, Robertson and Company, Seattle, says:
"As a general reading Course on business I can truthfully say it is high grade, and can recommend it to anyone interested in the study of business."
Mr. A. E. Winger, President, American Lithographic Company, writes:
"I think your Course is an excellent one and am particularly impressed with the underlying thought that I find throughout the entire Course—application of principles. It has been my experience that sound judgment is the most essential requisite of any executive, and that the judgment required in business today can best be formed by a thorough knowledge of business principles."
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Mr. Samuel Cochrane, President, Cochrane Chemical Company, Jersey City, sums up the argument in this remark:
"If I had enrolled with you a year or two ago, I should be better able to handle the problems put up to me every day."
The secret of leisure is not to do less work, but to organize work so that a greater volume can be handled in less time. No active man wishes to cut down his productive efforts. A great many men, however, are so tied to their business tasks by detail and routine that they have little time or energy left for constructive thought. Frequently they do not get enough recreation and physical exercise to keep them in prime condition. As a result, they are frittering away the best years of their life in handling small details that never bring them anywhere.
To a greater or lesser extent, this is true of all of us. How to escape from the time-wasting energy-absorbing routine and details is a vital question.
Being "swamped with too much detail" is in reality a kind of business disease—and a very dangerous one. It is most likely to attack the officers of rapidly expanding concerns and energetic, 59 ambitious men who are constantly taking on new responsibilities. Unless one can shake off this disease, it will probably go on eating away more and more of his time and energy until he loses his grip on large affairs and to his chagrin, sees other men of smaller ability rising above him. It is as bad for a man to be "too busy" as for him to be not busy enough.
As a matter of fact, it is unnecessary for any man to be so harassed with details—except as a temporary condition—that he cannot give a reasonable amount of time to recreation, reading and thought. The company burdened by the detail-type of executive is not getting what it pays for. His natural abilities are being diverted to things that cheaper men could do equally well. He owes it to his company, as well as to himself, to reorganize his work.
It is necessarily true in all such cases that many of the over-busy man's duties recur day after day. They are of a semi-routine nature and could be made wholly routine by giving the proper instructions to some one else. In other words, this is a problem of organization similar to that of organizing a factory, a store, or a 60 body of men. The principles that are discussed in the Modern Business Course and Service apply to an individual just as well as to a company. A man can organize his desk very much on the same plan that he would organize a factory. When he does so, he invariably finds that his efficiency is increased, his work is more productive, and he himself has more leisure.
Accordingly, any business man who desires to forge ahead should reduce the details of his work to routine which can be carried on without special thought. The Modern Business Course and Service is a direct and invaluable aid to the man who feels himself tied down by details.
Of course, we must consider in this connection the man who thinks that he is much busier than he really is. There are spare moments in every man's day. There is the half-hour before or after the evening meal; the time spent in traveling to and from work; the one or two evenings a week that even the busiest man should spend at home. The measure of a man's chances of success may readily be taken by learning the manner in which he uses—or wastes—his spare time.
No better use can be made of these odd moments than in reading the Modern Business Course. This reading is not tiring; it is recreative 61 and stimulating. It will enable any man to organize his work so as to increase his leisure for reading and study. It will help him to rise to a higher level where his thought and energy will be more productive.
Many of the big business executives are investing their spare moments in just this way. They realize the great results that are bound to follow. It is unquestionably true that the use of one's spare moments count heavily in determining how much will be accomplished a year or two hence.
The following also give their opinion:
"For a good many years as a practising mining engineer, I gradually began to realize that there was something wrong with engineers in regard to their business success. Something that seemed to stand between the most brilliant of men and success in business. After a long study of men and conditions, I subscribed to your Course. From then on I began to take greater responsibilities and larger fees because of my added confidence and business knowledge. I truly feel that your course ferried me across to that phase of professional grasp where I became successful in business as a professional engineer."
Much the same thoughts are admirably expressed by another busy executive, Mr. J. H. 62 Carter, Vice-President, National City Bank of New York:
"You will no doubt be interested to know that the class formed under the auspices of the City Bank Club to follow the Alexander Hamilton Institute Course, which you helped start about two years ago last Spring, is just completing its study.
"The majority of the original enrolment of fifty members have followed the Course regularly. It has held the interest of the men throughout and has proved unusually stimulating and interesting.
"The official staff of the bank has given the class its hearty moral support, and, in addition, has offered to refund a part of the fee to those completing the Course successfully. We feel that this policy has not only encouraged the men, but has benefited the bank as well.
"Personally, I cannot speak too highly of the Course. I feel that the time I have given to it during the past few years could not have been employed to greater advantage."
There are just two factors that determine a man's competence to direct the work of other men:
1. His superior knowledge of the work in hand.
2. His ability to command respect.
As a matter of fact, the second factor is almost wholly included in the first. The man who really knows what he is talking about always commands respect. The man who is largely a 63 "bluff," no matter how "magnetic" or forceful his personality, is soon found out and retired in favor of the man of smaller pretensions, but more knowledge. The history of almost any business success demonstrates the truth of this statement.
Modern business affairs are so complex that it is wholly out of the question to put an untrained man in command. One might as well talk of putting an untrained man in charge of a modern battleship. In both positions broad-gauge knowledge and judgment are absolutely essential. The same principle applies equally to the minor commands. The leading business men of the country are for the most part quiet, self-controlled men, who think before they speak and who are constantly studying business problems. This is the type of man best fitted to control and direct the work of others.
The man who develops himself, develops his ability to handle men. Through the Modern Business Course and Service the training can be secured that makes for self-development and for success.
T. H. Bailey Whipple, of the Publicity Department of the Westinghouse Electric Company, writes:
"Your Course unquestionably does for men what experience and native ability alone can never do."
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Mr. G. E. Lucas, Office Efficiency Engineer, Sayles Finishing Plants, says:
"I am indeed glad that I took the opportunity to enrol for the Modern Business Course and Service. What I have obtained has been of very material benefit to me. My own experience bears on the experience of my other colleagues who have been getting help and information from you in the past two years. All the reports that we have obtained have been thoroughly satisfactory and very complete."
The experience of Mr. S. G. McMeen, President, Columbus Railway Power and Light Company, Columbus, Ohio, is equally to the point:
"My experience began many years ago in technical lines and continued along them to engineering and construction practice. As often happens, this technical work led me into executive matters. It was in them that I missed some of the advantages enjoyed by men who have specialized earlier in commercial and financial work.
"Naturally I formed a habit of appropriating the needed knowledge wherever I might find it, and found much more than I could assimilate. The long-felt need, therefore, was for a source of classified information for reference and study, a source of training by the use of intelligent problems and a source of advice to which I might turn when in doubt. This source I found in the volumes, periodical literature and service of the Alexander Hamilton Institute."
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As the diagram on page 49 indicates, the seven direct aids which subscribers obtain from the Modern Business Course and Service are:
All of these aids to personal efficiency are bound to result in increased income and greater success. Even though a man should gain only slightly in any one of the seven qualities named, he would become a far better business man. He would either advance in position or expand his business—in either case raising himself to a higher level of income and success. The effect is all the more striking when a man increases his efficiency in respect to all seven qualities. To cite examples seems almost unnecessary. Yet a few typical expressions from subscribers may be of interest:
"It is very hard to put into words just how much good I have derived from the Alexander Hamilton Institute Course, but I do realize that as problems present themselves, they are much easier to solve, and I have a better conception of the future outlook of business since having the benefit of your Course, and there is scarcely a day but what some matter comes up for which I use your Course."
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"During the past two years my salary has increased more than 400%. This has been due to the rather remarkable increase the Fuller Brush Company has had in sales. These sales are indirectly the result of the ideas I have received from your Course."
"To the man who has had the advantage of a college education this Course opens up what might be called a vista of the business world in a very unique manner. The information obtained from this course, if acquired by the ordinary college man by actual experience, would require no less than a lifetime and it is presented in such a manner as to be readily assimilated in the short space of two years, devoting only odd hours to study."
A subscriber from a prosperous city in Iowa recently called at the New York offices of the Alexander Hamilton Institute, saying that he wanted to meet some of the men who had given him such valuable assistance. He is the controller of a large manufacturing company and a thoroughly trained and expert accountant. The thing that impressed him most about the plan of the Modern Business Course and Service was the opportunity it offered him of increasing his already extensive knowledge of the principles of finance, management, advertising, selling and organization, as well as accounting.
"Let me tell you what happened to me a few weeks ago," he said. "I found myself up against a problem that never had arisen in my 67 previous experience. I was simply stumped. I sought help from various sources in attempting to find a satisfactory solution. Then it occurred to me—the most obvious things often come to mind last—to look in the Modern Business texts for a ray of light. To my great delight, there I found a clear and definite statement of the very principles that should be applied.
"I am frank to say to you," he concluded, "that this one bit of information was worth to me at least three times the price of your Course." Already this subscriber had realized a 300 per cent dividend on his investment. Of his subsequent gains we have no record. To the great majority of those who subscribe for the Course and Service the returns are simply incalculable. The training, the information and the ideas that they secure are a big—often an essential—factor in making their business careers happier and more successful. Who can calculate the money value of a return of that kind?
The moderate fee which is charged for the Modern Business Course and Service is based directly upon the cost of producing the literature included in the Course and of maintaining the organization that conducts the Course and Service. The fee is small in itself; it shrinks into insignificance when compared with the returns. 68 One of our subscribers was speaking only the literal truth when he said:
"To the man of ability and brains, your Course and Service offers a priceless means of developing these qualities to their highest efficiency."
The Modern Business Course and Service makes the same appeal to the business woman as it does to the business man. Consequently a number of women are enrolled for it. Among these women are:
Mrs. E. M. Simon, President, R. & H. Simon Company, Union Hill, New Jersey
Miss Sara F. Jones, Mgr. Woman's Dept., Equitable Life Assurance Society, Chicago, Illinois
Mrs. M. K. Alexander, Solicitor, Equitable Life Assurance Society, Chicago, Illinois
Miss Mary R. Cass, Manager, F. N. Burt Company, Buffalo, New York
Miss Louise Messner, Accountant, Petermann Stores Company, Kearsarge, Michigan
Miss S. F. Troutman, Secretary and Assistant to Treasurer, First Presbyterian Church, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Mrs. N. M. Favor, Assistant Cashier, The Travelers Insurance Company, Manchester, New Hampshire
Today women are engaged in all branches of business. A great number of women occupy executive and other important positions in some of the large concerns of the country, and the number is steadily increasing. For the ambitious woman a career in business, with its great rewards and the possibilities of rendering worthy service, holds forth attractive opportunities.
A serious business question is now confronting you. It is important that you should consider it fairly and calmly and that you should promptly make up your mind for or against it. The facts are all before you.
The question is whether or not you should enrol for the Modern Business Course and Service. Think over the arguments pro and con.
You know that the Course and Service will bring you a better understanding of sound business principles; that it will give you increased self-confidence; ability to plan more effectively and to decide business questions more quickly and surely. You will find yourself with increased ability to handle men. You will probably enjoy more leisure; you will certainly earn a larger income.
You are well enough acquainted with the standing and reputation of the men behind the Alexander Hamilton Institute to know that the Modern Business Course and Service must 70 be of the highest quality. And for the same reason you know that it naturally is offered to you at a very moderate fee.
The fee for the Modern Business Course and Service is $136 in the United States. This covers, without any additional expense, the Texts, Talks, Lectures, Problems Monthly Letters, Financial and Trade Reviews, Reports and all necessary personal help. The complete set of 24 Text volumes comes at once, and the other literature at convenient intervals.
If the Course is worth anything at all, the fee is slight in comparison with the results that will follow. The fee may be paid in convenient terms.
Certain objections may occur to you:
You have other uses for your money—
No doubt; yet none of them is as necessary to your successful business career as the Modern Business Course and Service.
You are too busy—
Everybody who amounts to anything is busy; yet never "too busy" to acquire knowledge so important as this. 71
You have a debt to pay off, or a trip to take, or you would rather "think it over—"
These arguments are unsound from every point of view. No man, in justice to himself, or to those who may be dependent upon him, should deny himself this opportunity to make an investment that will yield large dividends one, two and three years from today.
In the coming struggle for world markets, there will be a great need for men of broad, executive training. For men who are prepared, there will be more opportunities to succeed in a big way than ever before.
It is false economy, therefore, to postpone for a single day a decision that will enable you to push beyond the half-way mark and forge ahead in business.
You are a business man, trained to make decisions. The simple facts are before you now. Weigh the arguments; then act.
In looking over the following detailed outline of the Modern Business Course, you will see more clearly how closely every section is related to daily business practice.
The italics after each title give the actual chapter headings; the following matter gives a brief discussion of the purpose and scope of each section of the Course. 73
The most important thing in business is the human element—you. Every man must have real ambition, high ideals, and a definite goal in mind before even a correct knowledge of business principles will help him to more than a half-way success.
The purpose of this first section of the Course is to discuss the viewpoint of the successful business man in an inspiring way, so that you may be inspired yourself and so that you may be able to inspire others about you.
"Scientific training for business" is an introduction to the whole Modern Business Course and Service. In it Dean Johnson tells you in what way you should read the Course, how to get the most out of it, and how to use the equipment so as to bring results.
The Course begins with an analysis of business operations. It shows briefly what are the dominant features of business life which no man can afford to neglect. It then takes up the relation of personal qualities to business success; it shows what personal characteristics are helpful and how they may be cultivated; and it also points out the traits of mind, manners and morals which hinder men in their business career. The first point in understanding business problems and business principles is to approach them with the right attitude of mind.
This section of the Course serves to bring the reader into personal touch with the business problems which will engage his attention more in detail in the subsequent sections and thus furnishes a useful introduction to the entire Course. 74
Economics is the foundation stone upon which the science of business is built. It underlies all business just as mathematics underlies all branches of engineering. It is the basic subject of the Course, and its general principles should be thoroughly understood before taking up the subjects treated later.
The book is written for the general reader, who has little or no knowledge of economic theory. It gives a clear idea of the business problems and forces with which business men deal and enables the reader to form intelligent judgments of his own.
This section of the Modern Business Course makes clear the laws governing the prices of goods, the wages of employes, the profits of employers, the processes of exchange, the functions of money and credit, and the rent of buildings and land. It takes up in comprehensive manner the problems raised by trade unions, by trusts, by governmental taxation and by the growing tendency toward governmental regulation of business.
An understanding of all these live, interesting business problems is an essential part of the mental equipment of a broad-gauged business man, working under present-day conditions. 75
If you are in business for yourself, or in some way become interested in a growing business, there is nothing that is of greater interest than your rights and the rights of other men who are in the concern.
The application of the correct principles of production, marketing, financing and accounting are necessary to insure success, as they determine the profits of the business as a whole. Every man goes into business to secure more income for himself, and the amount of his own income will depend, not only on the amount of the profits of the whole business, but on his own proportionate share of these profits. The division of the profits into shares depend almost entirely on the form of organization.
Moreover, when men enter business they hazard not only their time and a definite amount of wealth in the enterprise, but perhaps other wealth that was intended to be kept separate. Indeed, embarking on a business venture may be but the beginning of the loss of the income of future years when all chance of profits has ceased and the business represents nothing but a lot of debts that remain to be liquidated.
Risk is an important element that is varied by the form of organization selected. This section traces briefly the rise of the corporation through the individual enterprise, the partnership and the joint stock company, and states the advantages and disadvantages of each of these forms of conducting business, as well as those of the corporation. This section of the Course constitutes the first step in the study of corporate finance. 76
Modern management of industrial plants is characterized by planning and system. Old processes and old methods no longer command respect because they are old. They have been subjected to searching analysis in the hope of finding better ways of doing things. We look today not for the history, but for the reasons of every phase of plant management.
This is our aspect of the general industrial changes which have transformed modern industry and made it a high-powered productive instrument. It is not an isolated thing, but just as significant a part of modern business methods as are improved transportation, increased credit and present-day banking.
In this part of the Course, the relation of plant management to the characteristic development of modern life is first traced, and then the changes displayed which scientific methods have made in the conduct of manufacturing processes. These affect the structural organization of business, the relations of the directing and managing organs to one another. They also affect the operations of these managing units, the purchase and storage of materials, the routing and sequence of work, the best utilization of machinery and the like.
The keynote of the volume is efficiency in productive effort and the principles which underlie it. 77
There are three different kinds of things that must be considered by everyone who has anything to sell. One group of considerations has to do only with personal salesmanship and sales management. Another has to do only with advertising. Still a third is concerned solely neither with personal salesmanship nor with advertising, but is common to both. Before an effective force of salesmen can be selected and trained and an advertising campaign mapped out, the plan behind the personal selling and advertising campaign must be devised—the marketing methods must be determined.
The considerations here may be grouped under three heads: the goods to be sold, the market for the goods, and the methods of reaching that market.
A number of questions must be asked and answered about the things to be sold. For example: Is there a ready demand or must one be created? Is the commodity a necessity or a luxury? Is it subject to seasonal variations? Is the trade-mark well known? And so on.
The first part of the Text, Marketing, concerns the problems of the manufacturer; the second part, Merchandising, treats of the problems of the dealer, both wholesaler and retailer. Between them they present a complete picture of the processes by which goods reach the consumer, and reveal the tendencies in modern distribution. 78
There is no subject which is more universally interesting to everyone in business than selling.
Salesmanship in its broadest sense is essentially the selling of one's point of view, the ability to start with the other fellow's point of view and lead his mind to accept yours. When an individual endeavors to influence another, he is practising salesmanship. In this broad sense, everyone will profit by a knowledge of the principles of salesmanship and selling methods.
In this portion of the Modern Business Course, the salesman is shown the necessity of learning something of his prospect previous to the interview. Suggestions are also made for getting to see the buyer. The developments in a sale are discussed in such a way as to enable the salesman to build an effective, man-to-man transaction, and the human appeals that sell are outlined.
After discussing the qualifications and duties of the sales manager, methods to be employed in the selecting, training and handling of men are detailed. The training of retail sales people is discussed. The planning of the salesman's equipment, the building of a sales manual, the apportionment of territory are gone into. Methods of keeping sales records and statistics are outlined; directions given for the handling of sales contests and conventions, the editing of a house organ, and the apportioning of quotas. 79
Considering the large number of progressive concerns entering the field of advertising each year, and profiting thereby, the average business man's lack of knowledge concerning advertising principles is lamentable.
Few have any ability either to write or to judge copy, and almost all are at a loss to deal intelligently with the printer.
This section of the Course discusses the various classes of copy divided according to the results each is designed to accomplish. The value of word tone in writing and how to secure it are indicated. Instructions for preparing and laying out the advertisement are given.
The technique of the printing art—type faces, paper, printing processes, half-tones and line-cut illustrations—is discussed.
The advertising slogan, the package design and the various considerations in connection with the trade-mark are treated.
The business man is prepared to correlate the principles of advertising with those of marketing methods, and to bring an understanding of both to his study of advertising problems of wholesale and retail merchandising. 80
It is only in recent years that individual business enterprises outside of the manufacturing field have grown to such importance as to bring a large number of employes under one management. Today the problems of the office are no less urgent than those of the shop.
Office administration is in some respects like, in other respects unlike, plant management. It is alike in that it pursues the same ideals of efficiency. It is unlike in that machines and equipment fall into the background and the human element looms large in the foreground of office work.
Methods of conducting clerical work have, since the advent of the various office machines, of which the typewriter was the pioneer, undergone rapid transformation. Underlying these changes there have been principles, more or less clearly recognized, which it is the aim of the Text to discover and present in an orderly and systematic fashion.
In few departments of office work have standardized processes based upon scientific principles made such headway as in the employment field. Hiring employes for office work, training them for their duties, stimulating them to their best effort, adjusting wages to work performed, and providing for deserved promotions, are no longer casual occupations of some general offices, but the work and special concern of the trained office manager.
Here, as elsewhere, concentration and specialization are beginning to reveal the principles underlying successful effort. Such principles concern not only the operations, but the organization of the office and its various parts. 81
As business becomes more complex we are more and more dependent upon accounting methods to show us the trend of the individual business in which we are interested.
Hence a knowledge of accounting principles is indispensable. Yet, even among experienced bookkeepers, comparatively few have a clear understanding of the principles which underlie all correct methods of keeping financial records.
This section of the Course, therefore, starts with a clear explanation of the fundamental principles of bookkeeping, and progresses step by step until it reaches the most complicated cases of partnership and corporation accounting.
Within recent years the great importance of proper accounting methods in the conduct of business has come to be fully recognized.
This section of the Course should enable any executive or accountant to determine what accounting methods are best adapted to his own line of business. 82
When a bill of goods is sold, the transaction is by no means complete—that is, if the sale is on credit. The purchaser must pay the bill. But some purchasers cannot pay, others will not; therefore caution must be exercised in granting credit, and pressure brought to bear in obtaining payment.
Often seekers after credit are foolishly offended at the questions they must answer. They do not realize how personal is the favor they are asking, nor do they usually understand the combination of factors which the credit man must consider.
These factors range all the way from personal habits of the applicant to a survey of general business conditions.
There is a well-organized machinery for gathering credit information both in this country and abroad. This machinery, however, should be supplemented by the personal observation of the salesmen, many of whom now fail to cooperate in the right spirit with the credit manager.
The credit operation is incomplete till the goods are paid for; collections are the complement of credit granting, and they receive an extended treatment in the Text. As a last resource, the law may be resorted to, as is evident in the treatment of credit protection and bankruptcy.
The possibilities of the credit department as an agency in building up business, which have not always been understood, are set forth in the concluding chapter. 83
Nearly all of us are constantly receiving and sending letters, and we know in our experience the common types—the nasty letter, the sloppy letter, the cold-as-an-iceberg letter, and, on the other hand, the direct yet cordial letter which makes us feel as if we had gripped a friendly hand.
The profit-making influence of good correspondence can hardly be overestimated.
A good sales letter may be the means of getting thousands of dollars' worth of business; a poor adjustment letter may be the cause of losing a worth-while customer.
To a large extent business must be carried on by means of letters, and there are few subjects of more vital importance to the business man than business correspondence.
Business letters always have a direct purpose in view and there are certain underlying principles which should be observed in all business letters, whatever their particular purpose. But these letters serve many different purposes, and some of the prominent types and their characteristics are treated.
Especial attention is given to sales correspondence, which forms a most important branch of business correspondence. 84
Of late years, and as a direct result of growing competition in all branches of industrial enterprise, the subject of cost is receiving increased attention.
Every year sees hundreds of progressive concerns adopting methods designed to ascertain the real cost of producing and selling goods and of managing a business enterprise.
Manufacturers are no longer satisfied with merely making a profit. They want to know what lines are paying and what lines are not—not in a general way, but specifically in actual figures. They want to know which departments are producing economically and which are not.
In this part of the Course, the various methods of keeping track of costs are described and illustrated. Particular attention is given to the mixed question of allotting general factory expense or burden.
The possibilities of predicting costs are fully discussed and the significance of this development of cost finding methods is fully impressed upon the reader.
The problem of costs is one of the widest application in business management and its significance in different lines of business is pointed out. 85
In the Modern Business Course and Service the study of advertising is divided into three parts. First, in Marketing Methods there is a complete presentation of the plan behind the campaign—of the things that have to be considered by anyone who has anything to sell, before he sends out salesmen or prepares advertising.
The section of Advertising Principles shows what advertising can do for business, guides one in choosing the right advertising appeal, and treats of the technique of advertising, writing the copy, preparing the illustrations, and getting the advertisement before the public.
There is much more to advertising, however, than the making of a preliminary study of the writing of advertisements.
The advertiser has to consider problems of organization, methods of identifying his goods, his relation with agencies, the selection of media, distribution, dealer cooperation, and a host of other things, all of which have an important part in the complete campaign.
This section deals with the many essential parts of an advertising campaign which have not been considered in preceding sections of the Modern Business Course. It gathers together all the diverse considerations of the advertiser, shows their relation one to another, and binds them into a unified whole. 86
The advantages of the corporation have made it the most popular form of financial organization, and nearly all business men are now interested in one way or another in the formation or management of corporations, or in the buying and selling of the stock and securities of corporations.
The stability of practically every business concern depends in a very large measure upon the keenness of judgment used in its financial management.
This section of the Course enables one to think along financial lines with accuracy and decision. The methods by which corporations are promoted and financed are fully described, and the principles that underlie successful corporate management are stated.
The different kinds of bonds, such as mortgage bonds, collateral trust bonds, bonds secured by leases, etc., are explained and the methods of selling them discussed.
There are sections on capital and its maintenance and a full discussion of income, dividends and surplus that will be of value to the executive and to the investor.
In the last three chapters the application of the principles of corporation finance to the small company is fully described. 87
Business as it is conducted today would not be possible without the railroad.
The corner grocery store as well as the big manufacturing company is directly affected by traffic, rates and methods. The prosperity of many a business and community is largely dependent upon relations with transportation companies. Yet many business men are unfamiliar with even the elements of rate making and traffic handling.
The war made great changes in railroad organization and when the railroads were returned at the close of the war to their former owners a new set of problems had to be faced. Rail rates had assumed a new importance, labor and other costs had increased and both shipper and carrier were called upon to consider transportation in an entirely different light than before the war. All of these problems receive careful consideration in this Text, and the tendencies of the times, so far as they have been clearly revealed, are pointed out.
Classifications, rates, special services, terminal facilities and charges are some of the specific questions discussed. 88
The events of recent years have turned the attention of business men of America once more to the problems of foreign trade.
This section of the Course describes the development of our trade with foreign countries. It describes various changes which are at work in this field and the methods by which foreign trade is conducted.
Intimately associated with this subject is that of shipping; the transportation problems involved in foreign trade, questions of routes, rates, registry and the like are given particular attention.
The advantages and disadvantages of American and foreign shipping and the problems involved in the up-building of an American merchant marine receive careful consideration. 89
Business concerns deal in bank credit every day. They have on deposit large amounts of their capital. They rely upon their banks' stability. And yet how few can read a bank statement with real insight and judgment.
The fundamental principles underlying all banking operations are presented under this heading. The nature of money and its relation to credit and capital are described, and the conditions which lead to a general rise or fall of prices are set forth.
The important banking and monetary experiences of the United States are reviewed and full descriptions of the banking systems of the United States, Canada, England, France and Germany are given.
In connection with banking, the source of the banker's lending power and its relation to cash on hand are indicated, as well as the distinction between the bank note and the bank deposit, and the factors controlling the rate of discount.
Banking practice is in large part a study of the banking laws and customs prevalent in the United States, including those governing Federal Reserve Banks, State banks and trust companies.
The subject is fully discussed in this part of the Course, as are also the technical aspects of banking in all details. 90
The early part of this section of the Course deals with inland exchange and describes the method by which settlements are made between different parts of the same country. When this is fully understood the problem of foreign exchange becomes very simple. It is the application of the same principles complicated only by the difference in money units between different countries.
The "Foreign Exchange" department of banking is of such great importance and presents so many difficult questions that it deserves and is accorded special treatment. The reader is given a full description of the mechanism of the exchange market and is shown how money is made in foreign exchanges.
He learns how the vast amount of export and import trade is made possible through the interrelations between the foreign exchange markets of New York, London, Paris and other large centers. He also learns concretely how foreign shipments are financed and is given some valuable information concerning the influence of gold and other factors upon foreign exchange rates.
An important feature of this section is a thorough discussion of the best methods of handling export shipments. Many American and Canadian manufacturers are considering the advisability of going after foreign trade with greater vigor. They are usually puzzled when it comes to considering how to finance these shipments, which are often a long time in transit. The growing importance of export trade makes this section of the Course particularly valuable. 91
Insurance constitutes a form of investment in which we are all interested, as purchasers of life insurance, fire insurance, casualty insurance, marine insurance, or of any other of the various forms which have come into existence. To buy insurance properly, one should know the principles that underlie rates and insurance operations, and should be able to judge the policy which covers these various essentials. Partnership and business insurance is much more used now than it has been heretofore and it is becoming an important element in adding to the stability of business.
Personal or life insurance occupies a large space in the Text. The nature of the life risk is discussed as well as the means of protection through the straight life policy. The various motives which have prompted these variations and the effect of these modifications upon the premium or the price of insurance are clearly explained. Various types of business organizations with divergent business methods have been devised for the purpose of conducting life insurance. The strength and weakness of the different organization forms are pointed out.
Another aspect of personal insurance is found in accident and health insurance. Obligations toward others generally for personal injuries is the basis of liability and workmen's compensation insurance, of which the latter has had an almost mushroom development of late years.
Property insurance brings up diverse questions in fire insurance and in marine insurance. 92
Almost every man in business comes into contact with some one of the exchanges.
Therefore, a detailed description of the organization, operation and management of the principal security and raw material markets of the world is of inestimable value. This is the aim of this section of the Modern Business Course and Service.
Speculation in goods and in stocks exists because it performs an economic service. It saves the manufacturer of cotton goods or flour, for example, from gambling by an operation known as hedging. Business men should understand how speculation performs this service.
The volume closes with a discussion of corners and of the influences governing security and produce prices. 93
This section deals with the application of the principles of accounting to the complicated problems that arise in practice. The correct method of treating the proprietary accounts under the different legal types of organization are considered. The management of surplus, the treatment of reserves, the relation between funds and reserves and the method of handling sinking funds are discussed at length.
The differentiation between capital and revenue charges is perhaps the most difficult problem which the accountant has to face. The important principles involved in this problem are treated with numerous examples taken from actual cases. The difficult problems which arise in partnership and corporate accounting are fully explained.
Auditing is taken up from the business man's point of view rather than from the point of view of the practitioner. However, many points of interest to the practitioner and student are considered. The nature of the auditor's work is discussed and the different classes of engagements which auditors undertake are explained.
The auditor renders a report on his work at the conclusion of his engagement and the form and contents of his report are treated at length. The subscriber is shown the difference in certificates which auditors attach to balance sheets and the proper method of interpreting them is discussed. 94
The business man must understand accounting as far as he uses accounting knowledge in interpreting the progress of his business.
He wants not so much the details of accounting technique as the information necessary to enable him to use his accounting records properly. No one can expect to succeed in a big way without the ability to read financial and business statements—both on the lines and between the lines.
In every business the executive deals with a great variety of reports, statements, statistics and charts. This volume is designed to set forth the principles and to describe the methods by which they should be interpreted.
In the discussion of private and public budgets is included data that will be of the utmost value to every business man. You will find a thorough discussion of budget making and a clear outline of what should and what should not be done.
Instructions for the analysis of the reports and financial statements of industrial organizations and railway companies are set forth. 95
Every successful business man at some time in his career has occasion to seek gilt-edge investments—either for his own surplus funds or for those of his company.
The daily losses of investors' capital are evidence of the need for a volume which aims to qualify you to make the critical analysis of securities which is necessary to an intelligent estimate of their value.
Such topics as farm mortgages and urban real estate are thoroughly discussed and the opportunities in this new field for the investor are clearly explained. Domestic bonds, foreign bonds, securities of industrials, railways and public utility corporations are analyzed in a way to help you make an intelligent estimate of their value.
In this volume you will find a thorough study of the subjects of security fluctuation and trade cycles, together with information on the general rules and technique of trading. 96
The Course opens with the personal relations of a man to a business and continues with an analysis of the various activities which constitute modern business. In this section it closes with the manifold relations of business to government.
Business is, as it were, in partnership with the government. In this partnership the government is active, as there are government departments aiming to promote business in manufactures and in trading.
Business, of course, cannot exist without government, and as the war demonstrated, government cannot exist without business. Business is restive, however, under the close supervision wrought of war necessities. How far is such supervision justified in times of peace?
This is a question both of principle and expediency and all its aspects are brought out in the discussion of specific problems, the tariff, trusts and corporations, public utilities, national and local, and the like.
| Joseph French Johnson, D.C.S., LL.D. | Dean, New York University School of Commerce, Accounts and Finance |
| Graduated Harvard University, 1878; studied political science and economics in Europe; began newspaper work on the Springfield Republican , 1881; moved to Chicago, 1883, and became financial editor of the Chicago Tribune ; established the Spokane (Wash.) Spokesman , 1890, sold his interest, 1893, and became Professor of Finance in the University of Pennsylvania; appointed Professor of Political Economy in New York University, 1901; Dean of the School of Commerce, Accounts and Finance since 1903; Secretary of the Special Currency Committee of the New York Chamber of Commerce in 1906; appointed by the National Monetary Commission to investigate and report on the Canadian banking system, 1909; Treasurer of the Economic Club of New York since 1908; Director of the Merchants' Association of New York since 1908; received degree of Doctor of Commercial Science from Union College, 1909; member, New York Chamber of Commerce; member of Mayor Gaynor's Commission on New Sources of Revenue for New York City, 1912; member of Van Tuyl Commission to Revise the Banking Law of State of New York, 1913; received degree of Doctor of Laws from Hobart College, 1915; author of "Money and Currency," and "Syllabus of Money and Banking," and author of the Modern Business Text on "Business and the Man" and "Economics—the Science of Business." | |
| Frank A. Vanderlip, A.M., LL.D. | Financier |
| Educated at the Universities of Illinois and of Chicago; after his graduation reporter on the Chicago Tribune , and later financial editor; also part owner and associate editor of the Chicago Economist ; became private secretary to Secretary of the Treasury Gage, March, 1897; appointed Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, June, 1897; appointed Vice-President of the National City Bank of New York, 1901; delegate to the International Conference of Commerce and Industry held at Ostend, Belgium, 1902; served as President of the National City Bank of New York, 1909-1919; member, New York Chamber of Commerce; trustee, Carnegie Foundation; member of the Council of New York University; Director, Union Pacific Railroad Company, and of various industrial and banking corporations; author of "Chicago Street Railways," "The American Invasion of Europe" and "Business and Education"; Chairman, Board of Directors, American International Corporation. | |
| Jeremiah W. Jenks, Ph.D., LL.D. | Research Professor of Government and Public Administration, New York University |
| Graduated University of Michigan, 1878; admitted to the Michigan Bar; graduate student, receiving degree of Ph.D., University of Halle, 1885; Professor of Political Science, Knox College, 1886-1889; Professor of Political Economy, Indiana University, 1889-1891; Professor of Political Economy and Politics, Cornell University, 1891-1912; Professor of Government and Director of the Division of Public Affairs, New York University, 1912-1918; President of the American Economic Association, 1906-1908; expert agent of United States Industrial Commission engaged in the investigation of trusts and industrial combinations in the United States and Europe, 1889-1901; expert adviser to the United States Department of Labor, 1901-1902; special commissioner of the United States War Department to investigate questions of currency, labor and taxation in the Orient, 1901-1902; special expert on currency reform for the Government of Mexico, 1903; member of the commission on International Exchange to advise government of China on Currency, 1903-1904; Director of the Far Eastern Bureau, since 1913; member of the United States Immigration Commission, 1907-1910; member, High Commission of Nicaragua, since 1918; author of "The Trust Problem," "The Immigration Problem," "Citizenship and the Schools," "Great Fortunes—the Winning, the Using," "The Principles of Politics," "Great American Issues" (written with John Hays Hammond), and of numerous government reports; and author of the Modern Business Text on "Business and the Government." | |
| T. Coleman duPont, D.C.S. | Business Executive |
| Educated at Urbana University, Chauncy Hall School and Massachusetts Institute of Technology; later Surveyor for the Louisville & Southern Exposition and Engineer for the Central Coal & Iron Company; afterward engaged in extensive coal and iron mining, construction and management of public utilities; for thirteen years President of E. I. duPont de Nemours Powder Company; President, Central Coal & Iron Company; President, McHenry Coal Company; President, Johnson Coal Company; President, Main Jellico Mountain Coal Company; President, Johnstown Passenger Railway Company; Vice-President, Greeley Square Hotel Company; Director, Union National Bank of Wilmington; Director, Empire Trust Company; Director, National Surety Company; member, Republican National Committee; Chairman, Republican State Committee of Delaware, 1904. Launched a comprehensive plan for remodeling Central City. Chairman of the Inter-Racial Council. Interested in one of the largest hotel companies in America, controlling Waldorf-Astoria, Claridge, McAlpin, New Willard. New York University, D.C.S., 1919. | |
| John Hays Hammond, D.Sc., LL.D. | Consulting Engineer |
| Educated in public and private schools; graduated from Sheffield Scientific School (Yale), 1876; appointed by the United States Geological Survey in 1880 to examine California and Mexican gold fields; consulting engineer to Union Iron Works, San Francisco, and to Central and Southern Pacific Railroads; has made extensive examinations of properties in all parts of the world; became consulting engineer for Barnato Bros. in 1893 and later for Cecil Rhodes, with whom he was closely associated,; consulting engineer, Consolidated Gold Fields Co. of South Africa and the Randfontein Estates Gold Mining Co.; was one of the four leaders in reform movement in the Transvaal, 1895-1896; after varied experience in London, he returned to the United States and became associated with some of the most important financial groups in this country, purchasing and promoting mining properties in this country and Mexico; lecturer at Columbia, Harvard, Yale and Johns Hopkins Universities; President of the National Republican League; President, American Institute of Mining Engineers; Fellow A.A.A.S.; member National Civic Federation, and other civic and political bodies; contributor to many scientific magazines; appointed by President Taft as special ambassador and representative of the President at the Coronation of King George V; President of the World Court Congress. Honorary degrees: Yale, A.M., 1898; Stevens Institute of Technology, D.E., 1906; St. John's College, LL.D., 1907; University of Pittsburgh, D.Sc., 1915; collaborator on the Modern Business Text "Business and the Government." | |
100
| Bruce Barton | General Publicity |
| Graduated from Amherst College. Managing editor Home Herald , Chicago, 1907-1909; managing editor Housekeeper , 1910-1911; assistant sales manager P. F. Collier and Son, 1912-1914; editor Every Week , 1914-1917; publicity director United War Work Campaign; President of Barton, Durstine and Osborne, Inc., advertising agents. Author of "More Power to You," "It's a Good Old World," "The Making of George Groton," and contributor to leading magazines and business papers. | |
| Dwight E. Beebe, B.L. | Collections |
| Graduate of the University of Wisconsin; for three years assistant to the Sales Manager of the Westinghouse-Nernst Lamp Company of Pittsburgh; for three years connected with the Publicity Department of Allis Chalmers Company, Milwaukee; later associated with Charles Austin Bates, New York City; appointed Bursar of the Alexander Hamilton Institute in 1911. Director of Service since October, 1918. Collaborator on the Modern Business Text on "Credit and Collections." | |
| Geoffrey S. Childs, B.C.S. | Office Methods |
| Educated at Bryn Athyn Academy; graduate of New York University School of Commerce, Accounts and Finance. Formerly with Trackless Trolley Company; and British and American Mortgage Company, New York City. Assistant Chief Clerk, Alexander Hamilton Institute, 1914-1915. Office Manager of Alexander Hamilton Institute since June, 1915. Collaborator on the Modern Business Text on "Office Administration." | |
| Edwin J. Clapp, Ph.D. | Transportation and Terminal Facilities |
| Graduate of Yale University; after graduation spent one year teaching at Hill School, Pottstown, Pa.; two years as factory assistant and traveling salesman with the 101 Robin Hood Ammunition Company; Instructor in Political Economy, Yale University, 1911-1912; Assistant Professor of Trade and Transportation, School of Commerce, New York University, 1912-1914; Special Traffic Commissioner to the Directors of the Port of Boston, 1914; Special Adviser to the Mayor and Harbor Commissioners of Troy; Professor of Economics, New York University and Lecturer on Transportation in the School of Commerce, Accounts and Finance, New York University, 1914; Special Adviser to the Legal Department of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad in its Sound Lines Cases; author of "The Navigable Rhine," "The Port of Hamburg," "Economic Aspects of the War," "The Port of Boston," the Modern Business Text on "Transportation." | |
| Raymond J. Comyns, B.C.S. | Personal Salesmanship |
| Educated at New York University School of Commerce, Accounts and Finance; connected with branch of the Equitable Life Assurance Society, 1900-1901; Accessionist, New York Botanical Gardens, 1902; entered Tenement House Department, New York City, 1903; Acting Chief Inspector of Tenements, Bronx Borough, New York City, 1907; Examiner of Charitable Institutions, New York City, 1909-1910; Lecturer on Salesmanship and Sales Management, New York University School of Commerce, Accounts and Finance; representative in Colorado of the Alexander Hamilton Institute, 1911-1913; appointed Staff Secretary in charge of Enrolments, 1913; Assistant Director of Sales since 1915; Co-author, Modern Business Text on "Salesmanship and Sales Management." | |
| Herbert F. deBower, LL.B. | Advertising and Sales Policies Business Promotion |
| Educated in the University of Wisconsin; practiced law for two years; engaged in selling specialties for a number of years; since 1911 Vice-President, Member of the Board of Directors and Chairman Executive Committee of the Alexander Hamilton Institute; also Director of various business corporations; author of the Modern Business Text on "Advertising Principles." | |
| Roland P. Falkner, Ph.D. | Business Statistics |
| Graduate of the Wharton School of Finance, University of Pennsylvania; graduate student at the University of Paris, Berlin, Leipsic and Halle; 1891-1900, Associate Professor of Statistics, University of Pennsylvania; 1891-1892, Statistician, U. S. Senate Committee on Finance; 1892-1893, Secretary, International Monetary Conference; 1900, 102 Chief, Division of Documents, Library of Congress; 1903, Special Agent, Bureau of Census on Statistics of Crime; 1904, Commissioner of Education for Porto Rico; 1907, Expert Special Agent in charge of School Statistics for the U. S. Industrial Commission; 1908, Chairman of the Commission of the United States to the Republic of Liberia; 1909, Financial Representative of the Republic of Liberia; 1911, Assistant Director of the Census; 1913, Member Joint Land Commission, United States-Panama; since 1914, Lecturer, New York University; member International Institute of Statistics and other learned societies; contributor to various statistical and economic periodicals and has prepared several Government Reports; 1915, Associate Editor, 1918, Managing Editor of the Alexander Hamilton Institute. | |
| Major B. Foster, M.A. | Banking Principles |
| Graduated from Carson and Newman College, 1910; Principal of Watauga Academy, 1910-1911; graduate student in Cornell University, 1911-1913; Fellow in Political Economy at Cornell University, 1912-1913; Assistant Professor of Economics and former Secretary of the New York University School of Commerce, Accounts and Finance; author of several of the Modern Business Reports and the Modern Business Text on "Banking." Former assistant to the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, now assistant to Executive Committee, Alexander Hamilton Institute. | |
| Leo Greendlinger, M.C.S., C.P.A. (N. Y.) | Financial and Business Statements |
| Graduate of the New York University School of Commerce, Accounts and Finance; practising accountant; member of the Accounting Faculty of New York University, 1907-1915; formerly Editor of the C.P.A. Question Department of The Journal of Accountancy ; member of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants; member of the American Institute of Accountants; member of the Executive Committee and Board of Directors as well as Secretary and Treasurer of the Alexander Hamilton Institute; author of "Accountancy Problems," 2 vols.; and the Modern Business Text on "Financial and Business Statements." | |
| J. Anton deHaas | Foreign Trade and Shipping |
| Graduate of High School, The Hague, Holland; 1900, Diplomas in Accounting, and French, German and Dutch commercial correspondence, 1902; Junior Accountant with 103 J. H. Rosenboom, Public Accountant, The Hague, Holland, 1901-1904; A.B. Stanford University, 1910; M.A. Harvard University, 1911; Ph.D. Stanford University, 1915; Special Agent in Europe of the California Immigration Committee, 1914; American representative for Magnesiet Werken, Rotterdam, Holland, 1916; Instructor in Economics, Stanford University, 1913-1915; Lecturer Foreign Trade School, San Francisco, California, 1915; Adjunct Professor of Business Administration, University of Texas, 1915-1917; Professor of Commerce, Ohio State University, 1917-1918; Examiner, Federal Trade Commission, summer 1917; Professor of Commerce, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, 1918; Lecturer on Foreign Trade, Columbia University, New York, summer 1918; Captain U. S. A., 1918; formerly Professor of Foreign Trade at the Commercial University at Rotterdam, Holland, 1919-1920; Professor of Foreign Trade, New York University, 1920. Author of Business Organization and Administration, and of Modern Business Text on "Foreign Trade and Shipping." | |
| Edward R. Hardy, Ph.B. | Insurance |
| Graduate of Boston University; formerly Librarian, Insurance Library Association, Boston; for several years engaged in investigations and administrative work for various insurance organizations; Secretary and Treasurer of the Insurance Society of New York, 1909; Manager of the Underwriters' Association of the District of Columbia, 1914; Lecturer on Insurance in New York University School of Commerce, Accounts and Finance; Assistant Manager of the New York Fire Insurance Exchange; co-editor of the "International Insurance Encyclopedia"; author of "History of Fire Insurance in Massachusetts" and contributor on Fire Insurance in the Modern Business Text on "Insurance." | |
| Warren F. Hickernell, Ph.D. | Business Conditions |
| Studied Political Economy at Yale University. M.A., 1909; Ph.D., 1919. Was economic expert with the Immigration Commission, 1910, and the Bureau of Census, 1910-1911. From 1911 until 1916 was Managing Editor of the Brookmire Economic Service. Author of "Business Cycles" and numerous articles on business and financial conditions. Lecturer on "Panics and Depressions" at New York University School of Commerce, Accounts and Finance. Director, Bureau of Business Conditions of the Alexander Hamilton Institute, since August, 1916. 104 | |
| Solomon S. Huebner, Ph.D. | Marine Insurance |
| Educated at University of Wisconsin. B.S., 1902; M., 1908. Dr. Huebner was a special lecturer on insurance and commerce in the University of Pennsylvania, 1904-1906; Assistant Professor, 1906-1908, and Professor since 1908. Since 1919 Dr. Huebner has been expert in Insurance to the United States Shipping Board and to the Committee on the Merchant Marine and Fisheries of the House of Representatives. He has had charge of the Congressional Marine Insurance investigation. While serving the Committee on the Merchant Marine he had charge of the shipping investigation which led to creation of U. S. Shipping Board and played a prominent part in forming the U. S. Shipping Act. Dr. Huebner is a special lecturer on insurance in the Columbia University School of Business. He was expert for the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries of the House of Representatives. He is author of works on Property Insurance, 1911; Life Insurance, 1915; Steamship Agreements and Affiliations in the American Foreign and Domestic Trade, 1913; Marine Insurance, 1920, and of the sections on Marine Insurance and Life Insurance in the Modern Business Text on "Insurance." | |
| Jeremiah W. Jenks, Ph.D., LL.D. | Relation of Government to Business |
| (See Advisory Council.) | |
| Joseph French Johnson, D.C.S., LL.D. | Economic Problems Business Ethics |
| (See Advisory Council.) | |
| Walter S. Johnson, K.C. | Commercial Law |
| Educated in McGill University (B.A., B.C.L.); member of the Quebec Bar; practising law in Montreal; Lecturer on the Law of Agency, the Law of Partnership and Lease and Constitutional History, McGill University; collaborator in writing the Modern Business Texts on "Credit and the Credit Man" and "Business Organization"; author of the Canadian Modern Business Text on "Commercial Law"; editor, the Quebec Civil Code. | |
| Edward D. Jones, M.A. (Hon.), Ph.D. | Investments |
| Educated in Ohio Wesleyan University; graduated in 1892 with degree of B.S., M.A., 1912; entered University of Wisconsin and received degree of Ph.D. in 1895; Instructor in statistics and Economics, 1895-1898; Assistant Professor of Economics and Commercial Geography, 1900-1901, University of Wisconsin; United States Commissioner to Paris Exposition, 1899-1900; Professor of Business Administration, University of Michigan, 1902-1919; member of International Association of Arts and Sciences, 105 St. Louis, 1903; holder of Diploma and Bronze Medal, Paris Exposition, and Gold Medal, Buffalo Exposition; during the war with the General Staff of the War Department, and with the War Industries Board; member of American Economic Association, of American Society of Industrial Engineers and of Industrial Relations Association of America; now in charge of Harvard University Service in Foreman Training; author of "The Economic Crises," "The Business Administration," "The Administration of Industrial Enterprises" and of the Modern Business Text on "Investments." | |
| John G. Jones | Sales Management |
| Educated in Public School and University College of Wales, Aberystwyth; came to America in 1888 and engaged in newspaper work and mining in Montana and Colorado; engaged in sales work since 1903; Vice-President and Director of Sales and Advertising of the Alexander Hamilton Institute since 1912; also a Director and member of the Executive Committee of Alexander Hamilton Institute; Special Lecturer on Salesmanship and Sales Management in the New York University School of Commerce, Accounts and Finance; chairman of the International Committee on Business Methods and Industrial Relations, Industrial Association of Rotary Clubs, 1920-21; author of the Modern Business Text on "Salesmanship and Sales Management." | |
| Dexter S. Kimball, A.B., M.E. | Cost Finding |
| Practical work with Pope and Talbot, Port Gamble, Washington, 1881-1887; entered shop of Union Iron Works, San Francisco, 1887, continuing this practical work until 1893; graduated Leland Stanford University, 1896; entered the Engineering Department of the Union Iron Works, 1896; Designing Engineer, Anaconda Mining Company, 1898; Assistant Professor Machine Design, Sibley College, 1898-1901; Professor Machine Construction, 1904-1905; Professor Machine Design and Construction, 1905-1915; Professor Machine Design and Industrial Engineering, 1915-1919; Dean of the Engineering Colleges, Cornell University; member of Council on Industrial Education, New York State Department of Education, 1911; member of American Society Mechanical Engineers; member of Society for Promotion of Engineering Education; author "Elements of Machine Design" (with John H. Barr), 1909; "Industrial Education," 1911; "Principles of Industrial Organization," 1913; "Elements of Cost Finding," 1914; contributor to scientific press; author of the Modern Business Text on "Cost Finding" and "Plant Management." 106 | |
| Bernard Lichtenberg, M.C.S. | Advertising Principles |
| Graduate of New York University School of Commerce, Accounts and Finance. Two years post-graduate study in advertising at New York University. Formerly with the Clark-Hutchinson Company, of Boston; and with the Business Book Bureau, New York City; Office Manager of the Alexander Hamilton Institute, 1912-1915; Assistant Director of Advertising since June, 1915. Co-author of the Modern Business Text on "Advertising Principles." | |
| Frank L. McVey, Ph.D., LL.D. | Economics |
| Born in Wilmington, Ohio, November 10, 1869; educated in Ohio Wesleyan University and Yale University, receiving degree of Ph.D. in 1895 from the latter; also studied in England in 1898. He became Professor of Economics in the University of Minnesota in 1896; President of the State University of North Dakota in 1909-1917; now President of the University of Kentucky; Chairman of North Dakota State Educational Commission, 1911; member of North Dakota State Board of Education; member of American Economic Association; member of American Statistical Association, and member of other commercial clubs and societies; Secretary and founder of the Minnesota Academy of Social Sciences; member and Chairman of Minnesota Tax Commission, 1907-1909, and member of other commissions and committees. Author of numerous tracts, books and pamphlets, including "Modern Industrialism," "Railway Transportation," "The Making of a Town," and Editor, National Social Science Series; collaborator on the Modern Business Text on "Economics—the Science of Business." | |
| John Thomas Madden, B.C.S., C.P.A. (N. Y.) | Accounting Practice |
| Born in Worcester, Mass.; graduate of New York University School of Commerce, Accounts and Finance (summa cum laude); employed with Swift & Company's subsidiary interests in various capacities, 1900-1909; with Leslie & Company, Chartered Accountants, New York, 1910-1911; practising public accountant; Instructor in Accounting, New York University, 1911-1913; Assistant Professor of Accounting, 1913; now Professor of Accounting and Head of Department of Accounting, New York University; special lecturer in accounting, Association of Employes, New York Edison Company; Treasurer, Old Colony Club; President, American Association of University Instructors in Accounting, 1920-21; National President, Alpha Kappa Psi fraternity, 1919-1920; and collaborator 107 on the Modern Business Text on "Accounting Practice and Auditing." | |
| Mac Martin | Advertising Campaigns |
| Educated in Minneapolis public schools; graduate of University of Minnesota; President Mac Martin Advertising Agency; Ex-President Minneapolis Advertising Forum; Agency Service Committee, American Association of Advertising Agencies; Professional Lecturer in Advertising at the University of Minnesota; author "Planning an Advertising Campaign for a Manufacturer"; author "Modern Methods of Merchandising"; author "Martin's Merchandising Reporting Service," and of the text on "Advertising Campaigns" in the Modern Business Series. | |
| G. F. Michelbacher, M.S. | Compensation and Liability Insurance |
| Graduate of the University of California, 1912; Teaching fellow in mathematics in the University, 1912-1913; Lecturer in Insurance and Mathematics, 1913-1915; in charge of the preparation of the California Schedule for Rating Permanent Injuries, for the Industrial Accident Board of the State of California, 1913-1914; later superintendent of the permanent disability rating department of the Industrial Accident Commission of the State of California and superintendent of the claims department of the State Compensation Insurance Fund; a year later became Statistician of the National Workmen's Compensation Service Bureau in New York, 1916-1920; Actuary of the Bureau; Secretary of the National Council on Workman's Compensation Insurance; contributor on Liability and Workman's Compensation Insurance to the Modern Business Text on "Insurance," also Secretary of the National Council on Workmen's Compensation Insurance. | |
| T. Vassar Morton, Litt.B. | |
| Graduate Rutgers College; engaged in sales work with the American Hard Rubber Company; office manager of the Voorhees Rubber Manufacturing Company; afterward Subscription Credit and Collection Manager of Doubleday, Page and Company; member of the National Association of Credit Men; appointed Bursar of the Alexander Hamilton Institute October 1, 1918. Collaborator on the Modern Business Text "Credit and Collections." | |
| Bruce D. Mudgett, Ph.D. | Life Insurance |
| Graduate of University of Idaho; one year of graduate work at Columbia University and four years at University 108 of Pennsylvania; seven years instructor in insurance, Wharton School of Finance and Commerce, University of Pennsylvania; Assistant Professor of Insurance, School of Business Administration, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington. On leave 1918-1919 as Statistical Economist, Bureau of Research, War Trade Board, Washington, D. C.; now Associate Professor of Economics, University of Minnesota. Joint author with S. S. Huebner of volume on Life Insurance; author of "The Disability Clause in Life Insurance Contracts;" several articles in economic periodicals; contributor on life insurance to the Modern Business Text on "Insurance." | |
| E. L. Stewart Patterson | Domestic and Foreign Exchange |
| Educated in England; entered Eastern Townships Bank at Sherbrooke in 1888; acted as Accountant for this bank in Granby and Montreal, 1889-1901; became Assistant Manager at Montreal in 1902; served three years (1904-1907) as Assistant Manager at Sherbrooke; later became Manager, and in 1909 Assistant General Manager; since amalgamation of the Eastern Townships Bank with the Canadian Bank of Commerce, in 1912, has served as Inspector at Toronto, and is now Superintendent of the Eastern Townships Branches, with headquarters at Sherbrooke; fellow of Bankers' Institute, London; of Institute of Banking of the United States; and member of the Canadian Bankers' Association. Collaborator on the Modern Business Text on "International Exchange." | |
| Frederic E. Reeve, C.P.A. | Accounting |
| Born January 3, 1886; graduate of New York University School of Commerce, Accounts and Finance, June, 1911. C.P.A. Degree, New York State, August, 1911. Former instructor in Accounting at New York University School of Commerce, Accounts and Finance. Member of the firm of White and Reeve, Certified Public Accountants, 1913-1917. Since that date practising as a certified public accountant in New York City. Collaborator on the Modern Business Text on "Accounting Principles." | |
| Frederick C. Russell, B.C.S. | Auditing |
| Graduate New York University School of Commerce, Accounts and Finance. Formerly accountant for Carter, Howe and Company, manufacturing jewelers; connected with the Auditing Department of the New York Telephone Company; formerly Instructor in Accounting, New York University School of Commerce; Controller, Alexander Hamilton Institute since 1916. Author of the Modern Business Text on "Accounting Principles." 109 | |
| Bernard K. Sandwell, B.A. | International Finance |
| Graduated Toronto University, 1897; began newspaper work in England, but returned to Canada in 1900; editorial writer on Toronto News ; editorial writer and dramatic critic on Montreal Herald ; specialized in economic subjects, and in 1910 was one of the founders of the Montreal Financial Times and became editor of that paper; resigned 1918 to take present post of Assistant Professor of Economics, McGill University, Montreal; editor of the Canadian Bookman , 1918; National Secretary Canadian Authors Association; author of financial section of "Canada and the Great World War." | |
| William W. Swanson, Ph.D. | Money and Banking |
| Studied at Queen's University, Kingston, Canada, and specialized in Economic Science under Dr. Adam Shortt; graduated with honors in 1905; Fellow at the University of Chicago in the Department of Political Economy, 1905-1908; graduated Ph.D., 1908; author of "The Establishment of the National Banking System"; associate editor of the Montreal Journal of Commerce , 1914; since special writer for the Journal of Commerce ; contributor to Monetary Times and other financial journals in Canada; investigated the unemployment problem for the Ontario Government Commission on Unemployment, 1915; Associate Professor in Economic Science in Queen's University, Kingston, 1908-1916; Professor of Economics at the Provincial University of Saskatchewan, since 1916. | |
| John B. Swinney, A.B. | Merchandising |
| Graduated at Syracuse University in 1904; previous to entering college engaged in retail merchandising; 1904-1906, Superintendent of Schools, Springville, N. Y.; 1906-1908, with John Wanamaker in retail merchandising; 1908-1913, with Longmans, Green & Company, in wholesale merchandising; Assistant Secretary in charge of Service, Alexander Hamilton Institute, 1913-1917; Lecturer on Wholesale Merchandising in New York University School of Commerce, Accounts and Finance, 1916-1917; editor Harper's Retail Business Series; Professor of Marketing, College of Commerce and Business Administration, Tulane University, 1917. Lecturer on Merchandising in Columbia University, 1919. Now Superintendent of merchandising, The Winchester Stores (Chain Sporting Goods and Hardware Stores). Collaborator on the Modern Business Text on "Marketing and Merchandising." 110 | |
| William H. Walker, LL.D. | Financial Problems |
| Educated in the Wharton School of Finance of University of Pennsylvania; Assistant Purchasing Agent, Consolidated Lithograph Company; later engaged by the same company in the installation of cost systems and the organization of branch plants; a number of years Superintendent and Assistant Manager, Erie Lithographing and Printing Company; resigned to become President of the Grape Products Company; director and officer of numerous other corporations; engaged for many years in special study of finance, corporations and business efficiency; financial counsel to corporations; lecturer and writer on finance and corporations; in 1913, appointed Dean of the School of Accounts, Finance and Commerce, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh; director, Pittsburgh Commercial Club; member of Pittsburgh Tax Commission and Chairman of its Committee on Administration; author of the Modern Business Text on "Corporation Finance." 111 | |
| Erastus W. Bulkley | Partner, Spencer Trask & Company |
| Graduated from New York University in 1891; five years later receiving a degree from the New York College of Pharmacy. Following a short period of service with the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, he entered the service of Spencer Trask & Company, Investment Bankers, in 1898, as assistant manager of their Albany, New York, office. Six years later he was appointed sales manager of the New York City office; in 1906, he was admitted as a partner in that firm, and is at present an active member. He established the educational courses now in use by Spencer Trask & Company for salesmen and office employes. He is recognized among investment bankers as a close student of finance, especially of the methods of distributing securities to individual investors. Governor and Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Investment Bankers' Association of America, 1912-1915; member of the Advisory Board of New York University School of Commerce; member of the American Economic Association and of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. | |
| Herbert S. Collins | Vice-President and General Manager, United Cigar Stores Company |
| Born in Orleans County, New York; became a clerk in Mr. Whelan's cigar store, becoming the manager of the business; came to New York in 1900, and was one of the first salesmen of the United Cigar Stores Company; as sales manager Mr. Collins is credited with the development of window display in the United Cigar Stores; in the arrangement of goods visible from the sidewalk, he takes special interest, in order that it may dovetail with the other advertising of the store. 112 | |
| Henry M. Edwards | Auditor, New York Edison Company |
| Born in New York City; educated at College of the City of New York; had short experience in wholesale drygoods and fire insurance business; was connected successively with the office, manufacturing and selling organizations of John Anderson and Company, Tobacco Manufacturers; entered the employ of the Manhattan Electric Light Company, 1889, as bookkeeper; subsequently appointed Auditor of the company, and two years later was made Director and Secretary, which office he retained until the company, in 1900, was consolidated with the Edison Electric Illuminating Company; was in charge of the financial operations incident to the consolidation of all the companies forming the present New York Edison Company, of which company he was made Auditor; has been Chairman of the Accounting Committee of the National Electric Light Association, since 1907; author of "Electric Light Accounts and Their Significance;" has contributed to trade journals and other magazines, many papers on accounting and financial subjects and has delivered many addresses on these subjects. | |
| Harrington Emerson | Efficiency Engineer |
| Born in Trenton, N. J.; educated in Paris, Munich, Vienna, Athens; took the mechanical engineering course in Royal Polytechnic, Munich; professor in University of Nebraska, 1876-1882; after 1883 engaged in professional work with C., B. & Q., Union Pacific and Santa Fe Railways; now president of the Emerson Company, Efficiency Engineers; author of various important works which have had a strong influence on business methods, including "Efficiency" and "Twelve Principles of Efficiency." | |
| Charles Ernest Forsdick | Controller, Union Oil Company |
| Born at Greenwich, England; educated in the grammar schools there, later attended Morden College and the Shrewsbury Schools; came to the United States in 1888, and until 1893 was engaged in accounting work in the Southern States; then became affiliated with the accounting department of the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company in Philadelphia, of which company he became general bookkeeper; in 1901 Mr. Forsdick became associated with Haskins and Sells, certified public accountants in New York, with whom he remained for ten years; he became 113 Associate at Large of the American Association of Public Accountants and a member of the Institute of Accounts, and was for four years a member of the faculty of the New York University School of Commerce, Accounts and Finance. | |
| Orlando C. Harn | Advertising Manager, National Lead Company |
| Born in Dayton, Ohio; educated in Ohio Wesleyan University and in Cornell University; entered business as clerk in a retail book store, afterward engaged in newspaper and trade paper work; at one time advertising manager of H. J. Heinz Company; chairman, National Advertising Commission; for two terms president of the Technical Publicity Association; was the second president of the Association of National Advertising Managers; now advertising manager and chairman of the sales committee of the National Lead Company; originator of the "Dutch Boy" trade-mark. | |
| A. Barton Hepburn | Chairman Advisory Board, Chase National Bank, New York |
| Born at Colton, N. Y.; graduated from Middlebury College and received degrees of LL.D. and D.C.L. at St. Lawrence, Columbia and Williams College. Practised law in New York State, was appointed superintendent of the Banking Department for New York and later Comptroller of the Currency. In 1892 he was made President of the Third National Bank of New York, then Vice-President of National City Bank, and later President of the Chase National Bank of New York. He is director of a number of prominent financial, industrial and commercial organizations; trustee of Middlebury College and Rockefeller Foundation; member of New York Chamber of Commerce and various scientific and literary societies. | |
| Lawrence M. Jacobs | Vice-President, International Banking Corporation |
| Born in Sturgis, Michigan; graduated from the University of Chicago in 1899; was sent by the Government in 1900 to the Philippine Islands, China and Japan; in 1903 he entered the National City Bank of New York; in 1909 he was made foreign representative of the National City Bank; when the National City Bank acquired the International Banking Corporation and the International Bank, he was made Vice-President of the former and the President of the latter. 114 | |
| Jackson Johnson | Chairman of the Board, International Shoe Company |
| Born in LaGrange, Alabama; entered the general store business in Holly Springs, Mississippi; for five years engaged in the wholesale shoe business. In 1898 moved to St. Louis, and was one of the leaders in organizing the Roberts, Johnson and Rand Shoe Company; President of this company until 1911, when the International Shoe Company was formed by the consolidation of the Roberts, Johnson and Rand Shoe Company and the Peters Shoe Company. In 1912 the Friedman-Shelby Shoe Company was purchased and became one of the sales branches of the International Shoe Company. Mr. Johnson was elected the first president of the International Shoe Company, a position which he held for five years, and until he was chosen chairman of the board the position which he now fills. Is director in the First National Bank in St. Louis and the St. Louis Union Trust Company; member of the Board of Trustees of Washington University. For two terms, ending November, 1919, was president of the St. Louis Chamber of Commerce and during his incumbency the activities of this organization were greatly extended and intensified. During the war he served the Government as regional adviser to the War Industries Board. | |
| Fowler Manning | Sales Manager, Diamond Match Company |
| Born in Texas; entered business as a traveling salesman; he left the road to join the inside sales organization of the Meyer Brothers' Drug Company, St. Louis, with a view to securing an insight into the methods employed in the sales management of a large successful business; specialized in sales organization and sales reorganization to broaden still further his experience in connection with specialty lines. | |
| Finley H. McAdow | Past President of the National Association of Credit Men |
| Born in Ohio; educated in Ohio; entered Chicago Branch of Chas. Scribner's Sons as bookkeeper; two years later he became Assistant Superintendent and Cost Accountant for Racine (Wis.) Hardware Manufacturing Company; Secretary and Treasurer of Staver Brothers Carriage Company of Chicago; has long been associated with the National Association of Credit Men, having served with honor as Director, and President of the Chicago Local Association, and as Director, Vice-President 115 and for two terms President of the National Association of Credit Men. He is a Lecturer on Credits in Central Y. M. C. A. of Chicago and Credit Manager of Skinner Brothers of Chicago. | |
| General Charles Miller | Former Chairman of the Board, Galena-Signal Oil Company |
| Born in Alsace, France, Educated in France; given degree of A.M., Bucknell University; entered oil business, 1869, and had been President Galena-Signal Oil Company since its organization; director in over forty industrial corporations; entered the Civil War when twenty years of age; formerly Mayor of Franklin, Pa.; commissioned in National Guard of Pennsylvania, 1880, as Major; promoted to Brigadier General and Major General commanding the National Guard, retiring in 1906; decorated by French Government as Chevalier of Legion of Honor for eminent services to industry and commerce. | |
| Melville W. Mix | President, Dodge Manufacturing Co. |
| Born in Atlanta, Ill.; at the age of twenty-one entered employ of Dodge Manufacturing Company of Mishawaka, Ind., and held various positions in the company; in 1894 he was elected Vice-President and General Manager, and in 1896 President of the company; was formerly President, American Supply and Machinery Manufacturers' Association; Vice-President from Indiana of National Association of Manufacturers; served two years as Mayor of Mishawaka, and later as member for Indiana of Louisiana Exposition Commission; was subsequently appointed by the Governor of Indiana as member of commission to investigate laws and conditions of woman labor and to recommend proper legislation in connection therewith. | |
| Emmett Hay Naylor | Secretary-Treasurer, Writing Paper Manufacturers' Association |
| Educated in Dartmouth College, New York Law School, and Graduate School of Harvard University; for four years Secretary of the Springfield (Mass.) Board of Trade; held honorary offices of President of the New England Association of Commercial Executives and Secretary-Treasurer of the American Association of Commercial Executives; later Secretary-Treasurer of the Western New England Chamber of Commerce; now Secretary-Treasurer of the Writing Paper Manufacturers' Association; also Secretary-Treasurer of the Cover Paper and Tissue Paper Manufacturers' Association; special 116 lecturer before the graduate schools of Dartmouth College, Harvard and New York Universities; author of various magazine articles concerning the principles and possibilities of commercial organization work. | |
| Holbrook F. J. Porter | Consulting Engineer |
| Born in New York City; educated, Lehigh University; served successively with several industrial corporations, 1878-1894; western representative, Bethlehem Steel Company, 1894-1901; eastern representative, 1901-1902; Vice-President and General Manager, Westinghouse-Nernst Lamp Company, 1902-1905; consulting industrial engineer in independent practice in New York since 1905. | |
| Welding Ring | Exporter |
| Born in Cornwall, N. Y.; entered business in 1864 as clerk in an importing house; after spending a year in the importing establishment, spent several years in a grain and flour commission business; since that time has been engaged in exporting to Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Europe; has visited all these countries, as well as China, Japan and the East Indies, and has studied their problems at close range; now senior member of the exporting firm of Mailler and Quereau; Director and Vice-President of the United States and Australia Steamship Company; member of the New York Chamber of Commerce and Chairman, Executive Committee of the Produce Exchange and Maritime Exchange; ex-President, Exporters and Importers' Association; Director, Foreign Trade Council; Trustee, Williamsburg Savings Bank. | |
| Arthur Webster Thompson | President, Philadelphia Company of Pittsburgh |
| Born in Erie, Pa.; graduated in 1897 from Allegheny College with the degree of Civil Engineer; was rodman on location work for the Pittsburgh, Buffalo and Lake Erie Railroad; was appointed Assistant Division Engineer of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad at Pittsburgh in 1900 and gradually rose until in July, 1916, he became Vice-President of this railroad in charge of Traffic and Commercial Development; is President of the Board of Trustees of Allegheny College and a member of the following scientific societies: American Railway Association (Vice-President); American Society of Civil Engineers; American Railway Engineering Association; Engineers' Society, Western Pennsylvania; American Academy Political and Social Science; is a director of the 117 National Bank of Commerce and of the Citizens Company of Baltimore, and Chairman of the Board of Managers and Director of the Washington (D. C.) Terminal Company; member of the Special Committee on National Defense, of the American Railway Association; appointed by the Governor a member of the Maryland Preparedness and Survey Commission. | |
| Frederick S. Todman | General Manager, Hirsch, Lillienthal & Company |
| Born in New York City; educated in New York University, which institution later bestowed upon him the degree of Master of Commercial Science; Mr. Todman early specialized in the subject of finance with particular reference to the work of Wall Street and the Stock Exchanges. On these subjects he has written extensively for the magazines and the public press; author of "Brokerage Accounts;" in 1914 identified with the Financial Department of the New York University School of Commerce, Accounts and Finance. | |
| John Conselyea Traphagen | Treasurer, Mercantile Trust and Deposit Company of New York |
| Educated in New York University; became manager of statistical department, Standard Statistics Company, 1910; elected a director, 1914, and Vice-President of this company in 1915; became Assistant Secretary of the Franklin Trust Company of New York, 1916. He is now the treasurer of the Mercantile Trust and Deposit Company of New York; he is a trustee of the American Savings Bank, and secretary to reorganization committees of some of our largest railroad and street railway systems. | |
| John Wanamaker | Merchant |
| At the age of fourteen was errand boy in a book store; later he became salesman in a clothing store; and at twenty-four founded a small clothing establishment in Philadelphia; in 1876 he established his general store in Philadelphia, and in 1896 revived the business of Mr. A. T. Stewart in New York; today the Wanamaker stores in New York and Philadelphia are among the largest of their kind; has been actively interested in politics and was Postmaster-General of the United States in President Harrison's cabinet, where his capacity for organization won him marked distinction; he has always been interested in philanthropic, religious and educational work; he founded the Presbyterian Hospital, and also the Bethany Presbyterian Church Sunday School; in 1912 he was 118 given the decoration of Officer of the Legion of Honor by the French Government. | |
| Walter N. Whitney | Vice-President, Continental Grocery Stores, Inc. |
| Born in Elmira, N. Y.; educated in the Public Schools of Buffalo, N. Y.; began his business career in the Central Railway Clearing House; three years later he entered the service of the Larkin Company. Subsequently Mr. Whitney found his sphere in the advertising and selling departments, working his way through the various branches; in 1916 he originated and conducted an advertising and selling campaign that is said to have been one of the most successful campaigns in the history of Larkin Company. More than $3,000,000 worth of business was credited to that campaign. Later he was associated with the mail-order work of Merrell-Soule & Company, manufacturers of food products at Syracuse, N. Y. He is now Vice-President, Continental Grocery Stores, Inc. 119 | |
Isn't it true that many of the interests in your life are centered on your business progress? So much depends on your success or failure in business. Your daily bread, your social position, your ambition, the welfare of your family, everything you expect to be and have may be decided for or against you by your accomplishments in business.
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Cost Records as Profit Makers
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BUILDING AN ORGANISATION
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SCUDDER'S SYSTEM TO "BEAT THE MARKET"
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Federal Income and Excess Profits Taxes
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Transcriber's Note: Blank pages have been deleted. Some illustrations may have been moved. We have rendered consistent on a per-word-pair basis the hyphenation or spacing of such pairs when repeated in the same grammatical context. The publisher's inadvertent omissions of important punctuation have been corrected.
Other changes are listed below:
Page Change 3 [Advertisements listing added to table of contents.] 4 Frederic[Frederick] S. Todman, General Manager, Hirsch, 17 [Advertisements moved to end of publication; chapter header added.] 86 Sellings[Selling] stocks and bonds 94 Interpretation of liabilties[liabilities] 99 Honary[Honorary] degrees: Yale, A.M., 106 of Minnesota Tex[Tax] Commission, 1907-1909, 107 Service Bureau in New York, 1916-1920[;] 108 former[Former] instructor in Accounting 114 advisor[adviser] to the War Industries Board. 119 Isn't lt[it] true that
