,libraries7       ,,the ,,business      
,,career  ,barbara ,weinstock ,lectures 
on the ,morals of ,trade4  ,this series 
will contain essays by representative   
scholars and men of affairs dealing with
 the various phases of the moral law in 
its bearing on business life under the  
new economic order1 first delivered at  
the ,university of ,california on the   
,weinstock foundation4 ,the first volume
 to appear in this series is3  ,,the    
,,business ,,career4 ,by ,albert ,shaw1 
,ph4,d4  ,paul ,elder and ,company ,san 
,francisco      ,,the ,,business        
,,career ,,in ,,its ,,public ,,relations
    ,,by  ,,albert ,,shaw1 ,,ph4,d4     
,,editor ,,of ,,the ,,american ,,review 
,,of ,,reviews   ,it is the positive and
 aggressive attitude toward life1 the   
ethics of action1 rather than the ethics
 of negation1 that must control the     
modern business world1 and that may make
 our modern business man the most potent
 factor for good in this1 his own1      
industrial period4    ,,paul ,,elder    

,,and ,,company ,,publishers1 ,,san     
,,francisco  ,copyright1 #aijd by ,,paul
 ,,elder ,,and ,,company ,san ,francisco
  ,the ,tomoy ,press     ,the           
cultivation of public spirit1 in the    
broad sense1 and the determination to be
 an all-round good and efficient citizen
 and member of the community1 will often
 help a man amazingly to discern the    
opportunities for usefulness that lie in
 the direct line of his business life4  
,,the ,,founder',s ,,preface   ,despite 
all that can still be said against trade
 practices1 against the business lies   
that are told1 the false weights and    
measures that are used1 the trade frauds
 to which the public is subjected1 we   
are nearer a high commercial standard   
than ever before in the world's history4
  ,man's confidence in man is greater   
than ever before1 the commercial loss   
through fraud and dishonesty is         
constantly diminishing and standards are
 slowly but surely moving upward4 ,the  
honest man's chances for success in     

business are better than ever before1   
and the dishonest man's chances for     
lasting commercial success are less than
 ever before4 ,to grow rich by failing  
in business is no longer regarded as an 
act of cleverness4 ,the professional    
bankrupt finds it more and more         
difficult to get credit4 ,he soon       
discovers that even his cash will not   
win for him the attention that his      
poorer neighbor commands simply by his  
character4  ,education has done splendid
 service in raising commercial          
standards4 ,as a rule1 the high-toned   
business man is enlightened1 and1 as a  
rule1 the dishonest1 unscrupulous man in
 business is ignorant4 ,great aid in the
 direction of raising commercial        
standards may be rendered by the further
 spreading of knowledge and             
enlightenment4 ,there are still many    
misguided men in business who imagine   
that there can be no success without    
false weights and measures1 without lies
 and deceit4 ,it is the duty of every   

man in business1 who loves the work in  
which he is engaged1 to do whatever he  
can to correct this mistaken notion1 and
 to arouse the same sense of honor in   
the circles of commerce that1 as a rule1
 is found in professional life4  ,in the
 decades to come men will take as much  
pride in being engaged in trade as men  
always have taken in being members of a 
liberal profession4  ,it seemed to me   
that a step toward hastening such a day 
might be taken by inviting the best     
thoughts of some of the country's best  
minds on the subject of ,the ,morals of 
,trade4  ,what better platform for the  
expression of such ideas than that      
furnished by the ,college of ,commerce  
of the ,university of ,california8 ,what
 better way to spread such thoughts than
 by means of their distribution in      
printed form8 ,what better way to train 
to higher commercial standards the      
minds1 not only of the youths who are   
seeking a university education and who  
have in view a business career1 but also

 of the many already engaged in business
 who have not had the benefit of a      
college training8  ,it seemed to me that
 such a step might set in motion a      
commercially educational force which    
would prove far-reaching in its         
influence and most helpful in raising   
business character4  ,thoughts such as  
these prompted the recent establishing  
of the lectureship on ,the ,morals of   
,trade in connection with the ,college  
of ,commerce of the ,university of      
,california4  ,let the hope be expressed
 that this is but the beginning of a    
movement which may be taken up by abler 
and wealthier men in business and       
broadened in many ways4 ,a growing      
literature on ,the ,morals of ,trade1   
representing the best thoughts of our   
best minds1 is likely to live and to do 
splendid service in elevating commerce  
and in raising its standards4  ,h4      
,,weinstock4     ,the purpose of this   
discourse is to set forth some of the   
social and public aspects of trade and  

commerce in our modern life4 ,we have   
heard much in these recent times        
concerning the ,state in its relation to
 trade1 industry1 and the economic      
concerns of individuals and groups4     
,rapidly changing conditions1 however1  
make it fitting that more should be said
 from the opposite standpoint2--that is 
to say1 regarding the responsibilities  
of the business community as such toward
 the ,state in particular and toward the
 whole social organism in general4      
,some of the thoughts to which ,i should
 like to give expression might perhaps  
too readily fall into abstract or       
philosophical terms4 ,they might1 on the
 other hand1 only too readily clothe    
themselves in cant phrases and assume   
the hortatory tone4 ,i shall try to     
avoid dialectic or theory on the one    
hand1 and preaching on the other4 ,i    
take it that what ,i am to say is       
addressed chiefly to young men1 and that
 it ought to serve a practical object4  
,in the universities the spirit of      

idealism dominates4 ,the academic point 
of view is not merely an intellectual   
one1 but it is also ethical and         
altruistic4 ,in the business world1 on  
the other hand1 we are told that no     
success is possible except that which is
 based upon the motive of money-getting 
by any means1 however ruthless4 ,we are 
told that the standards of business life
 are in conflict irreconcilable with    
true idealistic aims4 ,it is this       
situation that ,i wish to analyze and   
discuss2 for it concerns the student in 
a very direct way4  ,our moralists point
 out the dangerous prevalence of those  
low standards of personal life and      
conduct summed up in the term           
commercialism4 ,we are warned by some of
 our foremost teachers and ethical      
leaders against commercialism in        
politics and commercialism in society4  
,so bitterly reprobated indeed is the   
influence of commercialism that it might
 be inferred that commerce itself is at 
best a necessary evil and a thing to be 

apologized for4 ,but if we are to accept
 this point of view without careful     
discrimination1 we may well be alarmed2 
for we live in a world given over as    
never before to the whirl of industry   
and the rush and excitement of the      
market-place4  ,this1 of all ages1 is   
the age of the business man4 ,the heroic
 times when warfare was the chief       
concern of nations1 have long since     
passed by4 ,so too the ages of          
faith1--when theology was the mainspring
 of action1 when whole peoples went on  
long crusades1 and when building        
cathedrals and burning heretics were    
typical of men's efforts and            
convictions--have fallen far into the   
historic background4 ,further1 we would 
seem in the main to have left behind us 
that period of which the ,french        
,revolution is the most conspicuous     
landmark1 when the gaining of political 
liberty for the individual seemed the   
one supreme good1 and the object for    
which nations and communities were ready

 to sacrifice all else4  ,through these 
and other periods characterized by their
 own especial aims and ideals1 we have  
come to an age when commercialism is the
 all-absorbing thing2 and we are told by
 pessimists that these dominant         
conditions are hopelessly incompatible  
with academic idealism or with the      
maintenance of high ethical standards1  
whether for the guidance of the         
individual himself or for the acceptance
 and control of the community4 ,it is   
precisely this state of affairs1 then1  
that ,i desire briefly to consider4 ,and
 ,i shall keep in mind those bearings of
 it that might seem to have some        
relation to the views and aims of       
students who are soon to go out from the
 sheltered life of the                  
university1--under the necessity1       
whether they shrink from it or not1 of  
becoming part and parcel of this        
organism of business and trade that has 
invaded almost every sphere of modern   
activity4  ,i have only recently heard a

 great and eloquent teacher of morals1  
himself an exponent of the highest and  
finest culture to which we have         
attained1 speak in terms of the utmost  
doubt and anxiety regarding the drift of
 the times4 ,to his mind1 the evils and 
dangers accompanying the stupendous     
developments of our day are such as to  
set what he called commercialism in     
direct antagonism to all that in his    
mind represented the higher good1 which 
he termed idealism4 ,the impression that
 he left upon his audience was that the 
forces of our present-day business life 
are inherently opposed to the           
achievement of the best results in      
statecraft and in the general life of   
the community4 ,he could propose no     
remedy for the evils he deplored except 
education1 and the saving of the old    
ideals through the remnant of the       
faithful who had not bowed the knee in  
the temple of ,mammon4 ,but he pointed  
out no way by which to protect the      
tender blossoms of academic idealism1   

when they meet their inevitable exposure
 in due time to the blighting and       
withering blasts of the commercialism   
that to him seemed so little            
reconcilable with the good1 the true1   
and the beautiful4  ,to all this the    
practical man can only reply1 that if1  
indeed1 commercialism itself cannot be  
made to furnish a soil and an atmosphere
 in which idealism can grow1 bud1       
blossom1 and bear glorious fruit1--then 
idealism is hopelessly a lost cause4 ,if
 it be not possible to promote things   
ideally good through these very forces  
of commercial and industrial life1 then 
the outlook is a gloomy one for the     
social moralist and the political       
purist4  ,it is not a defensive position
 that ,i propose to take4 ,i should not 
think it needful at this time even so   
much as briefly to reflect any of those 
timorous and painful arguments pro and  
con that one finds at times running     
through the columns of the press1       
particularly of the religious weeklies1 

on such a question as1 for example1     
whether nowadays a man can at the same  
time be a true ,christian and a         
successful business man2 or whether the 
observance of the principles of common  
honesty is at all compatible with a     
winning effort to make a decent living4 
,i am well aware that the thoughtful and
 intellectual founder of this           
lectureship1 under which ,i have been   
invited to speak1 takes no such narrow  
view either of morality on the one hand 
or of the function of business life on  
the other4 ,his definition of morality  
in business would demand something very 
different from the mere avoidance of    
certain obvious transgressions of the   
accepted rules of conduct1 particularly 
of that commandment which says3 ,thou   
shalt not steal4 ,nor1 on the other     
hand1 would his definition of the       
functions of business life be in any    
manner bounded by the notion that       
business is a pursuit having for its    
sole object the getting of the largest  

possible amount of money4  ,those people
 who are content to apply negative moral
 standards to the carrying on of        
business life remind one of the little  
boy's familiar definition of salt3      
,salt1 said he1 is what makes potatoes  
taste bad when you don't put any on4    
,according to that sort of definition1  
morality in business would be defined as
 that quality which makes the grocer    
good and respectable when he resists    
temptation and does not put sand in the 
sugar4 ,the smug maxim that honesty is  
the best policy1 while doubtless true   
enough as a verdict of human experience 
under normal conditions1 is not fitted  
to arouse much enthusiasm as a statement
 of ultimate ethical aims and ideals4   
,if it were admitted that the sole or   
guiding motive in a business career must
 needs be the accumulation of money1 ,i 
should certainly not think it worth     
while1 in the name of trade morals1 to  
urge young men who are to enter business
 life that they play the game according 

to safe and well-recognized rules4 ,i   
would not take the trouble to advise    
them to study the penal code and to     
familiarize themselves with the legal   
definitions of grand and petit larceny1 
of embezzlement1 or fraud1 or arson1 in 
order that they might escape certain    
hazards that beset a too narrow kind of 
devotion to business success4 ,it is    
true1 doubtless1 that a business career 
affords peculiar opportunities1 and is  
therefore subject to its own            
characteristic temptations1 as respects 
the purely private and personal         
standards of conduct4  ,the magnitude of
 our economic movement1 the very        
splendor of the opportunities that the  
swift development of a vast young       
country like ours affords1 must         
inevitably in some cases upset at once  
the sober business judgment of men1 and 
in some cases the standard of personal  
honor and good faith1 in the temptation 
to get rich quickly2 so that wrong is   
done thereby to a man's associates or to

 those whose interests are in his hands1
 while still greater wrong is done to   
his own character4  ,but1 even against  
this dangerous greed for wealth and the 
unscrupulousness and ruthlessness which 
it engenders1 it is no part of my       
present object to warn any young man4 ,i
 take it that the negative standards of 
private conduct are usually not much    
affected by a man's choice of a pursuit 
in life4 ,if any man's honor could be   
filched from him by a merely pecuniary  
reward1 whether greater or less1 ,i     
should not think it likely that he would
 be much safer in the long run if he    
chose the clerical profession1 for      
example1 than if he went into business4 
,sooner or later his character would    
disclose itself4 ,it is not1 then1 of   
the private and negative standards of   
conduct that ,i wish to speak1--except  
by way of such allusions as these4 ,and 
even these allusions are only for the   
sake of making more distinct the        
positive and active phases of business  

ethics that ,i should like to present in
 such a way as to fasten them upon the  
attention4  ,many young men1 to whom    
these views are addressed1 will         
doubtless choose1 or have already       
chosen1 what is commonly known as a     
professional career4 ,the ministry1 law1
 and medicine are the oldest and best   
recognized of the so-called liberal or  
learned professions4 ,now what are the  
distinctive marks of professional life8 
,are the men who practice these         
professions not also business men8 ,and 
if so1 how are they different from those
 business men who are considered laymen1
 or non-professional8 ,obviously the    
distinctions that are to be drawn1 if   
any1 are in the nature of marked        
tendencies4 ,we shall not expect to find
 any hard and fast lines4 ,many lawyers1
 some doctors1 and a few clergymen are  
clearly enough business men1 in the     
sense that they attach more importance  
to the economic bearings of the part    
they play in the social organism than to

 the higher ethical or intellectual     
aspects of their work4  ,i have read and
 heard many definitions of what really  
constitutes a professional man4         
,whatever else1 however1 may            
characterize the nature of his calling1 
it seems to me plain that no man can be 
thought a true or worthy member of a    
profession who does not admit1 both in  
theory and in the rules and practices of
 his life1 that he has a public function
 to serve1 and that he must frequently  
be at some discomfort or disadvantage   
because of the calls of professional    
duty4 ,the laborer is worthy of his     
hire2 and the professional man is       
entitled to obtain1 if he can1 a        
competence for himself and his family   
from the useful and productive service  
he is rendering to his fellow men4 ,he  
may even1 through genius or through the 
great confidence his character and skill
 inspire1 gain considerable wealth in   
the practice of his profession4 ,but if 
he is a true professional man he does   

not derive his incentive to effort      
solely or chiefly from the pecuniary    
gains that his profession brings him4   
,nor is the amount of his income        
regarded among the fellow members of his
 profession as the true test or measure 
of his success4  ,thus the lawyer1 in   
the theory of his profession1 bears an  
important public relation to the        
dispensing of justice and to the        
protection of the innocent and the      
feeble4 ,he is not a private person1 but
 a part of the system for supporting the
 reign of law and of right in the       
community4 ,historically1 in this       
country1 the lawyer has also borne a    
great part in the making and            
administering of our institutions of    
government4 ,if1 as some of us think1   
the ethical code of that profession     
needs to be somewhat revised in view of 
present-day conditions1 and needs also  
to be more sternly applied to some of   
the members of the profession1 it is    
true1 none the less1 that there clearly 

belongs to this great calling a series  
of duties of a public nature1 some of   
them imposed by the laws of the land1   
and others inherent in the very nature  
of the occupation itself4  ,it is true  
in an even more marked and undeniable   
fashion that the profession of medicine1
 by virtue of its public and social     
aspects1 is distinguished in a marked   
way from a calling in life in which a   
man might feel that what he did was     
strictly his own business1 subject to   
nobody's scrutiny1 or inquiry1 or       
interference4 ,the physician's public   
obligation is in part prescribed by the 
laws of the ,state which regulate       
medical practice1 and in very large part
 by the professional codes which have   
been evolved by the profession itself   
for its own guidance4 ,it is not the    
amount of his fee that the overworked   
doctor is thinking about when he risks  
his own health in response to night     
calls1 or when he devotes himself to    
some especially painful or difficult    

case4 ,nor is it a mere consideration of
 his possible earnings that would deter 
him from seeking comfort and safety by  
taking his family to ,europe at a time  
when an epidemic had broken out in his  
own neighborhood4  ,i need not allude to
 the unselfish devotion to the good of  
the community that in so high a degree  
marks the lives of most of the members  
of the clerical profession1 for this is 
evident to all observant persons4  ,on  
the other hand1 it cannot be too clearly
 perceived that there is nothing in the 
disinterestedness1 and in the obligation
 to render public service characterizing
 professional life that amounts to      
unnatural self-denial or painful        
renunciation1--unless in some extreme   
and individual cases4 ,on the contrary1 
professional life at its best offers a  
great advantage in so far as it permits 
a man to think first of the work he is  
doing and the social service he is      
rendering1 rather than of pecuniary     
reward4 ,i have myself on more than one 

occasion pointed out to young men the   
greater prospect for happiness in life  
that comes with the choice of a calling 
in which the work itself primarily      
focuses the attention1 and in which the 
pecuniary reward comes as an incident   
rather than as the conscious and direct 
result of a given effort4  ,the greatest
 pleasure in work is that which comes   
from the trained and regulated exercise 
of the faculty of imagination4 ,in the  
conduct of every law case this faculty  
has abundant opportunity1 as it also has
 in the efforts of the physician to aid 
nature in the restoration of health and 
vigor in the individual1 or in the      
sanitary protection of the community4 ,i
 hope ,i have made clear this point3    
that pecuniary success1 even in large   
measure1 in the work of a professional  
man1 may be entirely compatible with    
disinterested devotion to a kind of work
 that makes for the public weal1 while  
it is also worthy of pursuit for its own
 sake1 and brings content and even      

happiness in the doing4 ,and it is clear
 enough1 in the case of a professional  
man1 that he is false to his profession 
and to his plain obligations if he shows
 himself to be ruled by the anti-social 
spirit2 that is to say1 if he considers 
himself absolved from any duties towards
 the community about him2 thinks that   
the practice of his profession is a     
private affair for his own profit and   
advantage1 and holds that he has done   
his whole duty when he has escaped      
liability for malpractice or disbarment4
  ,but the three oldest and best        
recognized professions no longer stand  
alone1 in the estimation of our higher  
educational authorities and of the      
intelligent public4 ,in a democracy like
 ours1 with a constantly advancing      
conception of what is involved in       
education for citizenship and for       
participation in every individual       
function of the social and economic     
life1 the work of the teacher comes to  
be recognized as professional in the    

highest sense4 ,teaching1 indeed1 seems 
destined in the near future to become   
the very foremost of all the            
professions4 ,this recognition will come
 when the idea takes full possession of 
the public mind that the chief task of  
each generation is to train the next    
one1 and to transmit such stores of     
knowledge and useful experience as it   
has received from its predecessors or   
has evolved for itself4  ,it is obvious 
enough that the work of the teacher     
gives room for the play of the loftiest 
ideals1 and that its functions are      
essentially public and disinterested4   
,but there are other callings1 such as  
those of the architect and engineer1    
which have also come to be spoken of as 
professional in their nature4 ,their    
kinship to the older professions has    
been more readily recognized by the men 
of conservative university traditions1  
because much of the preparation for     
these callings can advantageously be of 
an academic sort4 ,architecture in its  

historical aspects is closely associated
 with the study of classical periods2   
while the profession of the engineer    
relates itself to the immemorial        
university devotion to mathematics4 ,and
 in like manner the man who for         
practical purposes becomes a chemist or 
an electrician would be easily admitted 
by ,president ,eliot1 for example1 to   
the favored fellowship of the           
professional classes for the reason1    
first1 of the disciplinary and          
liberalizing nature of the studies that 
underlie his calling1 and1 in the second
 place1 of the public and social aspects
 of the functions he fulfils in the     
pursuit of his vocation4  ,the          
architect1 the civil or mechanical or   
electrical engineer1 and the chemist1 as
 well as the professional teacher1 the  
trained librarian1 or the journalist who
 carries on his work with due sense of  
its almost unequaled public duties and  
responsibilities1--all these are now    
admitted by dicta of our foremost       

authorities to a place equal with the   
law1 medicine1 and the ministry in the  
list of the professions2 that is to say1
 in the group of callings which1 under  
my definition1 are distinguished        
especially by their public character4   
,and in this group1 of course1 should be
 included politicians1 legislators1 and 
public administrators in so far as they 
serve the public interests reputably and
 in a professional spirit4 ,nor should  
we forget such special classes of public
 servants as the officers of the army   
and navy2 while nobody will deny public 
character and professional rank to men  
of letters1 artists1 musicians and      
actors4  ,in all these callings it is   
demanded not merely that men shall be   
subject to the private rules of         
conduct1--that they must not cheat1 or  
lie1 or steal1 or bear false witness1 or
 be bad neighbors or undesirable        
citizens1--but in addition and in the   
most important sense that they shall be 
subject to positive ethical standards   

that relate to the welfare of the whole 
community1 and that require of them the 
exercise of a true public spirit4  ,the 
man of public spirit is he who is able  
at a given moment1 under certain        
conditions1 to set the public welfare   
before his own4 ,furthermore1 he is a   
man who is trained and habituated to    
that point of view1 so that he is not   
aware of any pangs of martyrdom or even 
of any exercise of self-denial when he  
is concerning himself about the public  
good even to his own momentary          
inconvenience or disadvantage4 ,public  
spirit is that state or habit of mind   
which leads a man to care greatly for   
the general welfare4 ,it is this ethical
 quality that to my mind should be the  
great aim and object of training4  ,on  
its best side1 what we term the         
professional spirit is1 then1 very      
closely related to this commendable     
quality in men of a right intellectual  
and moral development that we call      
public spirit4 ,the chief difference    

lies in this3 that whereas all          
professional men may be public-spirited 
in a general sense1 each professional   
man should1 in addition1 manifest a     
special and technical sort of public    
spirit that pertains to the nature of   
his calling4 ,the lawyer should have a  
particularly keen regard for the        
equitable administration of justice4    
,the doctor should truly care for the   
physical wholesomeness and well-being of
 the community4 ,the clergyman should be
 alive to those things that concern the 
rectitude and purity of life4 ,the      
journalist should be willing to make    
sacrifices for the sake of the          
enlightenment of public opinion2 and so 
on4 ,without either the general or the  
technical manifestations of public      
spirit1 in short1 the so-called         
professional man is a reproach to his   
guild and a failure in his neighborhood4
  ,now1 what has all this to do with the
 moral standards that belong to the     
business career as distinguished from   

the professional life8 ,my answer must  
be very clear and very direct if ,i am  
to justify so long an analysis of the   
ethical characteristics of the          
professions themselves4 ,i have merely  
used the time-honored method of trying  
to lead you by way of familiar1 admitted
 points of view to certain points of    
view that1 if not wholly new1 are at    
least less familiar and less widely     
recognized4 ,the whole thesis that ,i   
wish to develop is simply this3 that    
however it may have been in business    
life in times past and gone1 there has  
been such a tremendous change in the    
organization and methods of the business
 world and also in the relative         
importance of the functions of the      
business man in the community1 that the 
distinctions which have hitherto set    
apart the professional classes have     
become obsolete for all practical       
purposes in many branches and           
departments of the business world4  ,at 
least1 the work of the responsible      

leaders is no longer to be regarded as  
essentially a thing of private concern  
and free from public responsibility4 ,if
 the business world is not              
characterized1 first1 by public spirit  
and a sense of public duty in general1  
and1 second1 by the special and         
technical sense of public obligation    
that pertains to particular kinds or    
departments of business activity1 then  
it is falling short of its best         
opportunities and evading its           
providential tasks4 ,it is for the      
modern business world to recognize the  
conditions that have in the fulness of  
time given it so great a power and so   
dominant a position2 and it must not    
shirk the responsibilities that belong  
to it as fully and truly as they belong 
to any of the professions4  ,i hold1    
then1 that the young man of education   
and opportunity who proposes to go into 
a business career enters it not merely  
with a low and unworthy standard if his 
sole motive and object be to acquire    

wealth1 but he also enters it in        
disregard of the ideas that fill the    
minds of the best modern business       
leaders4 ,he shows a pitiable lack of   
appreciation of the elements that are to
 constitute real business success in the
 period within which his own career must
 fall4  ,let us consider1 briefly1 the  
evolution of our present-day economic or
 business life1 and then take note of   
the necessary place that particular     
classes of business men must hold in the
 structure of our society4 ,i1 for my   
part1 look upon this last century of    
economic progress1--under the sway of   
what is often called capitalism as a    
term of reproach1--as an immeasurable   
boon to mankind4 ,it began with the     
practical utilization of several great  
inventions1 notably that of steam power1
 which broke up the old household and   
village industries1 gave us the modern  
factory system1 and along with the      
development of railroads gave us the    
modern industrial city4 ,this new and   

revolutionizing system of industry and  
business forced its way into a world of 
poverty1 of disease1 of depraved public 
life1 of low morals in the main         
pervading the community1--a world for   
the most part of class distinctions in  
which the lot even of the privileged few
 was not a very noble or enviable one1  
while the state of the vast majority was
 little better than that of serfs4      
,many writers have sought to throw a    
charm and a glamour over that old       
condition of economic life and society  
that followed the break-up of feudalism 
and that preceded the creation of our   
new political and industrial            
institutions4 ,but with some mitigations
 it was for most people a period1 as ,i 
have said1 of squalor1 disease1 and     
degradation4 ,the fundamental trouble   
could be summed up in the one word1     
poverty4 ,the mission of the new        
industrial system1 for the most part    
unconscious and unrecognized1 was to    
transform the world by abolishing the   

reign of poverty4 ,doubtless it would be
 desirable if the improvement of        
conditions1 material and spiritual1     
could make progress with exactly even   
pace on some perfectly symmetrical plan4
 ,but history shows us that the forward 
social movement has proceeded first in  
one aspect1 then in another1 on lines so
 tangential1 often so zigzag1 that it is
 difficult until one gets distance      
enough for perspective1 to see that any 
true progress has been made at all4     
,thus1 the modern industrial system1    
which found the conditions of poverty1  
disease1 and hardship prevalent1 seemed 
for quite a long time1 in its rude      
breaking up of old relations and its    
ruthless adherence to certain newly     
proclaimed principles1 to have brought  
matters from bad to worse4 ,the squalor 
and poverty of the village of hand-loom 
weavers seemed only intensified in the  
new industrial towns to which the       
weavers flocked from their deserted     
hamlets4 ,manufacturers were doing      

business under the fiercest and most    
unregulated competition4 ,economists    
were demonstrating their law of supply  
and demand and their iron law of wages  
as capable in themselves of regulating  
all the conditions and relations of     
business life4 ,epidemics raged and     
depravity prevailed in the new factory  
centers4  ,but things were not1 in      
reality1 going from bad to worse4 ,the  
beginnings of a better order had to be  
based upon two things3 first and        
foremost1 the sheer creation of capital2
 second1 the discipline and training of 
workers4 ,in the first phases1 the new  
modern business period had to be a      
period of production4 ,there had got to 
be developed the instrumentalities for  
the creation of wealth4 ,until the      
industrial system had raised up its     
class of efficient workers and had      
created its great mass of capital for   
productive purposes1 there could be no  
supply of cheap goods2 and without an   
abundant and cheap output there could be

 no possible diffusion of economic      
benefits2 in other words1 no marked     
amelioration of the prevailing poverty4 
,it required some development of wealth 
to lift our modern peoples out of a     
poverty too grinding and too debasing   
for intellectual or moral progress4 ,it 
is true that the factory towns1 created 
as they have all been by modern         
industrial conditions during the past   
century1 brought their distinctive      
evils4 ,there was overcrowding in       
ill-built tenement houses2 and long     
hours for women and children in the     
factories4 ,yet with these and many     
other disadvantages1 the new industrial 
system made for discipline and for      
intelligence1 and above all for a new   
kind of solidarity and for a sense of   
brotherhood among workers4  ,in due time
 the worst evils began to be mitigated1 
largely through the application of those
 very methods of organization which had 
characterized the new kind of industry  
itself4 ,thus for men who had applied   

steam power to manufacturing and had    
begun to build railroads1 it was soon   
perceived to be a matter not only of    
sanitary and social service1 but of     
pecuniary profit1 to provide water      
supplies1 public illumination1 and other
 conveniences to the crowded city       
dwellers4 ,moreover1 with the progress  
of industry and the development of      
railroads and steam navigation1         
production and trade took on an         
ever-increasing volume4  ,then the world
 began to be less poor4 ,there had been 
no rich men in the modern sense1 and of 
course no such thing as capitalized     
corporations for production4 ,the       
richest man in the ,united ,states at   
the time of his death1 a little more    
than a hundred years ago1 was ,george   
,washington1 with his land and his      
slaves2 and so in ,england and ,france  
there were no rich men in the modern    
sense--that is to say1 no men who       
controlled great masses of productive   
capital4 ,the men of wealth were those  

who held landed estates4 ,the chief     
business of all countries was           
agriculture4 ,the capitalistic system in
 industry and trade existed in its      
rudiments and in limited measure2 but   
all its great achievements were yet to  
be wrought4  ,all modern business life1 
then1 is the result of this growth of   
productive capital1 and its application 
and constant reapplication to the       
production of wealth4 ,it made its way  
by virtue of an intense individual      
initiative and a fierce competitive     
struggle4 ,but unlovely as were these   
things1 many of their phases were       
necessary at a certain stage4 ,it was   
this fierce competition that compelled  
capital to pay the lowest possible wages
 in order to market cheap goods4 ,but   
the same situation stimulated the use1  
one after another1 of new labor-saving  
inventions in order to increase the per 
capita productivity4 ,this process was  
attended by the higher efficiency of the
 worker and an increase in his earning  

capacity4 ,as his position began to     
improve1 the worker gained some hope and
 cheer2 and he and his fellows began to 
organize1 with the result that both     
wages and conditions of labor were      
steadily improved1 and the workman began
 to attain approximately his share of   
benefits4  ,all this is a familiar      
story1 although the depth of its        
significance is beyond the compass of   
any living human intelligence4 ,it is   
easy to say in a glib sentence that the 
amount of wealth produced every few     
years nowadays is equal to all the      
accumulated wealth of all the centuries 
down to the early part of the           
nineteenth2 but the social meaning of so
 great a change baffles all attempt at  
full comprehension4  ,the competitive   
system1 which had been essential to the 
launching of this modern period of      
production1 and which had given to it so
 much of its irresistible momentum1 at  
length brought the economic organization
 to a point of development where1 in    

some fields of production1 it was no    
longer a benefit4 ,the accumulation of  
capital had become so large1--and with  
new inventions the possible output had  
become so abundant1 that it was well    
nigh impossible to trust to the blind   
working of demand and supply to regulate
 things in a beneficial way4 ,it began  
to dawn on men's minds that a successful
 period of competitive economic life    
might lead to a period largely dominated
 by non-competitive and coperative      
principles4  ,the superior possibilities
 of this newest rgime1 along with its   
many difficulties and perplexities1     
began to captivate the minds1 not merely
 of theoretical students and onlookers1 
but1 even more1 of great masters of     
industry and productive capital4 ,it    
began to be seen that in place of blind 
and fierce competition as a regulator of
 prices and as an equalizer of supply   
and demand1 there might come to be      
gradually substituted some more         
consciously scientific methods of       

business administration and of the      
adjustment of production to the needs of
 the market4  ,furthermore1 with the    
development of business on the great    
scale1 capital had become relatively    
abundant and cheap1 while1 on the other 
hand1 labor was becoming relatively     
expensive and exacting4 ,it was evident 
that the modern system of industry had  
passed through its earlier period to one
 of comparative maturity2 and that the  
problem of wealth production was no     
longer so exclusively the pressing one1 
but that the problems of distribution   
were demanding more attention4  ,how to 
organize business life on a basis at    
once stable and efficient2 how to see   
that capital was assured of a normal    
even though a declining percentage of   
dividends2 while labor should be        
rewarded according to its capacity and  
desert1--were problems which took on    
public rather than private aspects4 ,and
 when the business world began to face  
these problems with the consciousness   

that they were to be met1 it had        
virtually passed over from the lower    
plane of moral and social responsibility
 to the higher plane where what the     
directing minds do or decide is not     
measured solely by immediate results in 
money-getting1 but also by the test of  
larger social and public utilities4     
,although these conditions are not novel
 ones1 and are therefore not difficult  
to grasp even when stated in general    
terms1 it is still true that the        
concrete often helps to make the point  
appear more pertinent4 ,take then the   
railroad business as it is now shaping  
itself1 in comparison with its          
conditions and methods twenty or thirty 
years ago4 ,the railroads have always   
existed by virtue of charters which gave
 them a quasi-public character1 and have
 always been theoretically subject to   
certain old principles of ,english      
common law under which the public or    
common carrier1 like the innkeeper1     
performs a function not wholly private  

in its nature4 ,nevertheless1 in its    
earlier stages the railroad system of   
this country was in large part          
constructed and operated by its         
projectors with no sense whatever of    
responsibility for their performance of 
public functions1 but with the idea that
 they were carrying on their own private
 business in which interference on the  
part of the public was to be avoided and
 resented4 ,they fought the railroad    
codes of ,state legislatures in the     
federal courts2 they made oppressive    
rates to give value to new issues of    
watered stock2 they discriminated in    
favor of one city and against another2  
by a system of secret rebates they made 
different terms with every shipper1 thus
 enabling one merchant or manufacturer  
to destroy his competitor2 and they     
pursued in general a career at least    
anti-social in its spirit and false and 
short-sighted in its principles4  ,a    
profound change--would that it were     
already complete6--is coming about in   

this great field of transportation      
business4 ,it is perceived that many of 
the evils to which ,i have alluded were 
incident to the speculative periods of  
construction and development in a new   
country4 ,the better leaders in the     
business of railway administration now  
see clearly that it is the duty of the  
railroads to work with and for the      
public and not against it4 ,the         
railroads are gradually passing out of  
the hands of the stockjobbers and       
speculators1 into the control of trained
 administrators4 ,it is to be remembered
 that in a country like ours1 the       
largest single branch of organized      
administration is that of the railroads4
 ,we have reached a point where their   
relations to all the elaborate interests
 of the community are such that their   
public character becomes more and more  
pronounced and evident4 ,it was only the
 other day that a brilliant railway     
administrator1 ,mr4 ,charles ,s4        
,mellen1 recently president of the      

,northern ,pacific1 and now president of
 the ,new ,york1 ,new ,haven  ,hartford 
system1 made some statements in an      
address to the business men of ,hartford
 at a ,board of ,trade meeting4 ,with   
much else of the same import1 he made   
the following significant remarks3  ,if 
corporations are to continue to do their
 work as they are best fitted to1 those 
qualities in their representatives that 
have resulted in the present prejudice  
against them must be relegated to the   
background4  ,they must come out into   
the open and see and be seen4 ,they must
 take the public into their confidence  
and ask for what they want and no more1 
and then be prepared to explain         
satisfactorily what advantage will      
accrue to the public if they are given  
their desires1 for they are permitted to
 exist not that they may make money     
solely1 but that they may effectively   
serve those from whom they derive their 
power4 ,publicity should rule now4      
,publicity1 and not secrecy1 will win   

hereafter1 and laws will be construed by
 their intent and not killed by their   
letter2 otherwise public utilities will 
be owned and operated by the public     
which created them1 even though the     
service be less efficient and the result
 less satisfactory from a financial     
standpoint4  ,mr4 ,mellen's state of    
mind is that which ought to prevail     
among all the managers of corporations  
which enjoy public franchises and       
perform functions fundamental to the    
welfare of the community4 ,there will at
 times be prejudice and passion on the  
part of the public1 and unfair demands  
will be made4 ,we shall not see the     
attainment of ideal conditions in the   
management or the public relations of   
any great business corporations in our  
day4 ,but the time has come when any    
intelligent and capable young man who   
chooses to enter the service of a       
railroad or of some other great         
corporation may rightly feel that he    
becomes part of a system whose operation

 is vital to the public welfare4 ,he may
 further feel that there is room in such
 a calling for all his intelligence and 
for the exercise and growth of all the  
best sentiments of his moral nature4    
,in the vast mechanism of modern        
business the constructive imagination   
may find its full play2 and the desire  
to be of service to one's fellow men in 
a spirit reasonably disinterested may   
find opportunity to satisfy itself every
 day4 ,under these circumstances there  
is no reason why railway administration 
should not take on the same ethical     
standards as belong rightly to          
governmental administration1 to         
educational administration1 or to the   
best professional life4  ,the same thing
 is clearly true when one considers     
nowadays the delicate and important     
functions of the world of banking and   
finance4 ,the old-fashioned             
money-changer and the usurer of earlier 
periods were regarded as the very       
antithesis of men engaged in honorable  

mercantile life1 and especially of those
 who possess a social spirit and the    
desire to be useful members of the      
community4 ,but in these days the banks 
are not merely private money-making     
institutions1 but have public functions 
that admittedly affect the whole social 
organism1 from the government itself    
down to the humblest laborer4 ,they must
 concern themselves about the soundness 
and the sufficiency of the monetary     
circulation2 they must protect the      
credit and foster the welfare of honest 
merchants and manufacturers2 they must  
coperate in critical times to help one  
another1 and thus to sustain the public 
and private credit and avert commercial 
disaster2 they must at all hazards      
protect the savings of the poor4 ,thus  
the banks1 like the railroads and many  
other corporate enterprises1 are        
quasi-public affairs1 in the conduct of 
which the public obligation grows ever  
clearer and stronger4  ,we are not at   
heart--in this splendid country of      

ours--engaged in a mad struggle and race
 for wealth4 ,we are engaged rather in  
the greatest effort ever made in the    
world for the upbuilding of a higher    
civilization4 ,to avow that this        
civilization must rest upon a physical  
and material basis1--that is to say1    
upon a high development of our          
productive capacity and upon a constant 
improvement in our processes of         
distribution and exchange1--is not1 on  
the other hand1 to confess that our     
civilization is materialistic in its    
nature or in its aims4 ,i was very glad1
 the other day1 to read the wholesome   
and understanding words of a            
distinguished ,boston clergyman who is  
just now coming to ,new ,york to take   
charge of an important parish4 ,he      
declared that this nation was founded on
 an ideal1 and that the most powerful   
influences in its life today are working
 toward noble ideals4 ,the moral and    
spiritual tone of the country1 he       
asserted1 is higher than ever1 in spite 

of the accidents of wealth and poverty4 
,he declared that the great host of men 
and women who cherish our ideals will   
continue to stamp idealism upon the     
minds and hearts of our youth1 and that 
they in turn will convert wealth to the 
service of ideals4  ,such views are not 
merely the expressions of a comfortable 
optimist4 ,they are true to the facts of
 our current progress4 ,there are vast  
portions of this country today in which 
the enterprising business man who can   
succeed in selling to the farmers an    
honest and effective commercial         
fertilizer is the best possible         
missionary of idealism1--is1 in fact1 a 
veritable angel for the spread of       
sweetness and light4 ,there are regions 
where the capitalist or the company that
 will build a cotton mill or some other 
kind of factory is rescuing whole       
communities from degradation4 ,it is    
poverty that has kept the ,south so     
backward1 and it is poverty alone that  
explains the illiteracy and the         

lawlessness not merely of the ,kentucky 
mountains1 but of great areas in other  
,states as well4 ,good schools cannot be
 supported in regions like those1 for   
the palpable reason that the taxable    
wealth of an entire school district     
cannot yield enough to pay the salary of
 a teacher4 ,but when modern business   
invades those uplands1 utilizes the     
water-power now wasted1 opens the mines1
 builds cotton factories or foundries1  
the situation changes almost as if by   
magic4  ,there will1 indeed1 ensue a    
brief period of disturbance due to      
changed social conditions1--to women and
 children in factories1 and other things
 of incidental or serious disadvantage4 
,but1 as against a survival of the sort 
of life that was widely prevalent a     
century or two ago1 all the phenomena of
 our modern industrial life make their  
appearance1 in full development4 ,the   
one-room cabin gives place to the little
 house of several rooms4 ,there is rapid
 diffusion of those minor comforts and  

agencies which make for self-respect and
 personal and family advancement4 ,the  
advent of capital1 that is to say1 of   
taxable property1 is speedily followed  
by the good schoolhouse and the good    
teacher4  ,it is instructive to note the
 transformation that is thus taking     
place in one county after another of the
 ,carolinas1 or ,georgia1 or others of  
the ,southern ,states1 because the      
conditions make it possible to witness  
within a single decade the triumph of   
those business forces which1 while they 
have even more truly and completely     
transformed the prosperous parts of     
,america and ,europe1 have operated more
 gradually through longer periods1 and  
therefore in a less easily perceived and
 dramatic fashion4  ,our modern ideals  
have required1 not the refinement and   
the culture of the select few1 but the  
uplifting and progress of the multitude4
 ,this could only be possible through a 
general development of wealth1 so vast  
in comparison with what had previously  

existed as to constitute the most highly
 revolutionary fact in the history of   
human civilization and progress4 ,the   
man1 therefore1 who has a clear         
perception of those laws of mind and of 
society under which modern economic     
forces have been set at work1 cannot for
 a moment think that the end and outcome
 of this modern business system is a new
 kind of human bondage1 the rich growing
 richer and the poor growing poorer2 or 
that it can mean any such thing as the  
elevation of property at the expense of 
manhood4  ,even if it were a part of my 
subject to discuss the growth of vast   
individual fortunes as an incident of   
this modern development of wealth1 which
 it is not1 there would be no time for  
more than a passing allusion4 ,and in   
making such an allusion1 ,i might be    
content to call attention to my earlier 
dictum1 that progress is not upon direct
 lines1 but tangential or zigzag4 ,when 
the factory appears on the ,piedmont    
slopes of the ,appalachian country1 it  

may indeed make a fortune for the       
missionary of civilization who planted  
it there4 ,but meanwhile it has given   
the whole neighborhood its first chance 
to relate itself to the civilized world4
 ,i am content for the present to leave 
that neighborhood in possession of its  
opportunities1 serenely confident that  
it will in due time work out its own    
completer destiny4  ,when the capitalist
 has retired from the scene of his      
exploitation1 will the day arrive when  
the regenerated neighborhood will own   
that factory1 and others1 too1 for      
itself8 ,very likely4 ,in any case1 the 
neighborhood has been emancipated from  
its worst disadvantages4  ,in short1 ,i 
have little doubt but that the further  
progress of our civilization will give  
effect to certain economic laws and     
tendencies1 and to certain social rules 
and principles1 that will make for a    
higher measure of equality in the       
distribution of realized wealth4        
,meanwhile wherever a practical step can

 be taken to remedy an evil1 let us do  
what we can to promote that step4 ,let  
us recognize the already great          
possibilities for useful participation  
in the social and public life that      
belong to an honorable business career4 
,from the standpoint of the intellectual
 interest of the young man going into   
business1 let it be borne in mind that  
there are scientific principles         
underlying every branch of trade or     
commerce or industry1 and that there is 
almost1 if not quite1 as much room for  
the delightful play of the faculty of   
imagination in the successful conduct of
 a soap business as in writing poetry or
 in making statuary groups for world's  
fairs4 ,the cultivation of public spirit
 in the broad sense1 and the            
determination to be an all-round good   
and efficient citizen and member of the 
community1 will often help a man        
amazingly to discern the opportunities  
for usefulness that lie in the direct   
line of his business work4 ,the more    

thoroughly he studies underlying        
principles--whether of a technical sort 
as related to his own trade1 or of a    
general sort having to do with the      
organization and general methods of     
commerce--the less likely he will be to 
take narrow and anti-social views of    
business life4 ,the high development of 
his intelligence in relation to his own 
work will show him the value in his     
business--as in all else in life--of the
 standard thing1 the genuine thing1 the 
thing that will bear the test as        
contrasted with the shoddy1 or the      
inferior1 or the spurious4  ,our        
technological schools1 our colleges of  
mechanic arts1 our institutes of        
agriculture and their related experiment
 stations1--these are all teaching us   
many valuable object-lessons regarding  
the way in which the wealth of the      
individual and that of the community can
 both1 at the same time1 be advanced by 
scientific methods4 ,thus it is coming  
about that business life is ever more   

ready to welcome the most highly trained
 kinds of intelligence1 inasmuch as it  
is perceived that specialized knowledge 
is henceforth to be the most valuable   
commodity that a man can possess4  ,i   
have already said that the delicate     
problems of distribution must be faced  
ever more frankly and liberally by the  
modern business world4 ,thus1 those who 
control capital1 or administer          
capitalized enterprises1 cannot afford  
any longer to be without a knowledge of 
the history and significance of the     
labor movement4 ,we should not have had 
the desperate struggle between          
anthracite coal corporations and the    
miners in ,pennsylvania1 a year or so   
ago1 if there had been a full           
understanding on the part of the        
capitalists of the honorable and        
valuable nature of trade agreements1 and
 particularly of the history of the     
relations of capital and labor in the   
bituminous coal districts of the ,united
 ,states4 ,i am speaking now from the   

standpoint of the business man4 ,there  
is much to be said1 doubtless1 in       
respect to the shortcomings and the     
sometimes fatuous and even suicidal     
methods of the labor organizations4 ,but
 for the modern business man who cares  
to take his place influentially in      
commerce1 in social life1 and as a man  
among men in his city or his            
commonwealth1 it is no longer           
justifiable to be unfamiliar with the   
labor question in its economics and its 
history4  ,herein lies one great service
 that the university can perform 7and   
our best colleges and universities are  
today performing it with marked         
intelligence and ability71 the service1 
namely1 of providing very liberal       
courses for young men who expect to go  
into business1 in the general science of
 economics1 in the history of modern    
economic progress1 in the development of
 the wage system1 in the history and    
methods of organized labor1 and in very 
much else that helps to place the life  

of a practical man of business affairs  
upon a broad and liberal basis4 ,in the 
early days of our history it was the    
especial function of the college to     
train young men for the ministry4 ,in a 
somewhat later period it was notably    
true of institutions like ,yale and     
,princeton that their training seemed to
 fit many men for the law and for       
statecraft4 ,we had1 you see1 passed    
from that theocratic phase of colonial  
,new ,england life to the political     
constructive period of our young        
republic4  ,but we have been passing on 
until we have emerged in a great and    
transcendent period of commercial       
expansion and scientific discovery and  
application4 ,it is a hopeful sign1     
therefore1 that our universities are    
finding out and admitting the demand    
that present-day conditions impose1 and 
are training many men in the pursuit of 
modern science1 while they are training 
many others in the understanding of the 
application of social and economic      

principles to modern life4 ,all this    
they are doing and can well do without  
ignoring the value of the older forms of
 scholarship and culture4  ,but ,i have 
a few remarks to make also upon the     
ethical relations of the business world 
of today toward the political world2    
that is to say1 toward organized        
government1 whether in its sovereign or 
in its subordinate forms4 ,we cannot    
take too high a ground in proclaiming   
the value1 for the present1 at least1 of
 the political organization of society4 
,i should like to dwell upon this point1
 but ,i must merely state it4 ,if the   
,state3 i4e41 the political form of     
social organization1 is valuable1--it   
stands to reason that it must be        
respected and maintained at its best4   
,it is also obvious that it will have a 
higher or a lower character and         
efficiency1 according to the attitude   
toward it taken by one or another of the
 dominant factors that make up the      
complex body politic4  ,thus1 for       

example1 it is the feeling of men in    
control of the political organization in
 ,france today that the ,church1 as a   
great factor in the social structure of 
the nation1 is essentially hostile to   
the spirit and purposes of a liberal    
republic4 ,hence a great disturbance of 
various relationships4 ,i do not cite   
that instance to express even the shade 
of an opinion4 ,my point is that if the 
political organization of society is    
desirable and to be maintained1 it is a 
fortunate thing when one finds the      
dominant forces of society rendering    
loyal and faithful support to the laws  
and institutions of government and      
recognizing without reserve the         
sovereignty of the ,state4 ,yet in our  
own country there is a widespread       
feeling that many of the most potent    
forces and agencies in our business life
 are not wholly patriotic1 in that they 
are not willing in practice to recognize
 the necessity of the domination of     
government and of law4 ,i do not believe

 that this is permanently and generally 
true4 ,it would constitute a great      
danger if it were a fixed or a growing  
tendency4  ,as matters stand1 however1  
every one must admit that there is an   
element of danger that lies in the very 
fact that as a nation we are in a       
condition of peace1 content1 and        
prosperity1 and do not find our         
political institutions irksome4 ,the    
danger consists in this3 that under such
 circumstances the rewards of business  
and professional life are for the most  
part so much more certain and           
satisfactory than those which come from 
the precarious pursuit of politics1 that
 public interests have a tendency to    
suffer from being in weak hands1 while  
private interests have a tendency to    
assert themselves unduly1 from being in 
the hands of men of superior force4     
,thus it happens that it is often       
difficult for the ,state to maintain    
that dignity1 that mastery1 that high   
position1 as the impartial arbiter and  

dispenser of justice1 which it is now   
even more necessary than ever that it   
should maintain1 in order that the whole
 social organization should keep a true 
harmony and a safe balance4  ,at        
present1 the ,state is largely concerned
 with the maintenance of conditions     
under which the economic and business   
life may operate equally and            
prosperously4 ,the ,state in one sense  
is the master of the people4 ,in another
 sense it is merely their creature and  
their agent for such purposes as they   
choose to assign it4 ,is the ,state1    
then1 to absorb the industrial          
functions1 and are we to develop into a 
socialistic commonwealth8 ,or1 shall the
 political democracy and the coperative 
organization of business life go on side
 by side1 related at many points but in 
the main distinct from each other8      
,whatever the relation of the ,state to 
industry may be destined to become in   
the distant future1 we may be sure that 
there will be no rash upheavals1 no     

harmful socialistic experiments1 if the 
potent business world clearly sees how  
necessary to its own salvation it is    
that the ,state shall be maintained upon
 a high plane of dignity and honor1 and 
that the official dispensation of       
justice1 as well as the official        
administration of the laws1 shall be    
prompt1 just and impartial4  ,there is  
no higher duty1 therefore1 incumbent    
upon the business man of today than to  
bear his part in promoting and          
maintaining the purity of political     
life4 ,the modern business man should   
regard good government as one of the    
vital conditions of the best economic   
progress4 ,yet scores of instances are  
at hand that show to what a painful     
extent certain business interests again 
and again1 for purposes of immediate    
advantage1--to secure a franchise1 to   
escape a tax1 or to procure some        
improper favor or advantage at the hands
 of those in political authority1--have 
employed corrupt methods and thus       

stained the fair escutcheon of ,american
 business honor1 while breaking down the
 one most indispensable condition of    
general business progress1--namely1     
honest and efficient free government4   
,i will not dwell upon these things4 ,it
 is enough to say that they are things  
the modern business man must have upon  
his conscience4 ,for1 if such offenses  
come by way of the business world1 their
 remedies must also come1 and indeed can
 only come1 by that same path4 ,in our  
municipal life1 for example1 it is the  
aroused interest and zeal of the best   
business community for better government
 and better conditions that can alone   
produce important results4 ,happily1 all
 over the country we find chambers of   
commerce1 boards of trade1 merchants'   
associations1 and other bodies of men of
 practical business affairs1 taking     
their stand for the transaction of      
public business upon high standards of  
character and efficiency4 ,i have no    
doubt or fears as to what the result    

will be4 ,all of our large cities are   
themselves purely the creations of      
modern industrial1 commercial1 and      
transportation conditions4 ,and ,i hold 
that these very forces of industrial and
 commercial life that have created the  
problems by bringing together great     
masses of people in crowded communities1
 must and can in turn solve the problems
 by the application to municipal        
government of the scientific and        
intelligent principles which belong to  
the best phases of business life4  ,all 
of this relates to my subject2 but ,i   
must pass it by with a mere statement or
 two4 ,it belongs to the developed      
constructive imagination and to the     
trained ethical sense of the modern     
business man to perfect the transit     
systems1 to improve the housing         
conditions1 to assure cheap sanitary    
water supplies1 cheap illumination1 and1
 above all1 due provision for universal 
education1 parks1 museums1 and          
opportunities for recreation1--in short1

 all possible improvements of           
environment that can make life in our   
cities not merely endurable but         
beneficial for the people4 ,here1 then1 
is furnished a great field for the      
definite and conscious aspirations of   
the successful man of business4 ,here   
lies a great many-sided work for social 
and moral as well as physical and       
material progress which the business    
man1 in the quality of good citizen and 
man of public spirit1 is fitted better  
than any one else to accomplish4  ,the  
intelligent young man who holds before  
himself ideals of usefulness that extend
 to such projects as these1 may be sure 
that the modern conditions of life will 
bring him great opportunities1 and he   
may feel that he is thus lifting his    
business career up to the plane of      
idealism that has1 in the past1 been    
reserved for a few exclusive            
professions4 ,partly through his own    
endeavors1--largely through association 
in commercial or other organizations    

with his neighbors1--he may help to     
accomplish for the benefit of all his   
fellow men of a great community one step
 after another in the direction of      
public works that will meet the needs of
 a high civilization4  ,some of the most
 useful men1 as well as the most        
unselfish and devoted1 with whom ,i come
 in contact are successful business men 
of large affairs4 ,they are modest and  
unassuming2 simple and direct in their  
methods2 wide as the world in their     
sympathies2 lofty as the stars in their 
aspirations for human progress2         
sagacious beyond other classes of men1  
and respected to the point of veneration
 by those who know them well1 because   
they are men of deeds rather than of    
words1 who make good their professions  
from day to day4 ,business has not so   
narrowed them1 nor has devotion to      
philanthropic ends or public reforms so 
distorted their mental visions1 that    
they are not able to enjoy what is good 
in life1 whether books1 music1 pictures1

 the companionship of friends1 or the   
restful contact with nature in field or 
forest4  ,the lives of such men are     
dominated by certain fixed ethical      
standards4 ,given such moral landmarks1 
the remarkable conditions and unequaled 
opportunities of modern business life   
will promote the frequent development of
 men of this kind1 with their breadth of
 view and strength of mind and          
character4 ,it is the positive and      
aggressive attitude toward life1 the    
ethics of action1 rather than the ethics
 of negation1 that must control the     
modern business world1 and that may make
 our modern business man the most potent
 factor for good in this1 his own1      
industrial period4