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FORGING AHEAD IN BUSINESS Modern Business Alexander Hamilton Institute... such requests Dean Johnson was obligedto reply that the only practical way tostudy the fundamental principles of

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Modern Business

FORGING AHEAD IN BUSINESS

Modern Business

Alexander Hamilton

Institute

ASTOR PLACE NEW YORK

V The Question Before You 69

Descriptive Outline of the

VI Course 72

VIIAdvisory Council, Lecturers

Organization of the Alexander Hamilton

Consulting Engineer

Jeremiah W Jenks, Ph.D., LL.D

Research Professor of Governmentand Public Administration, NewYork University

Orlando C Harn, Chairman of Sales,National Lead Company

A Barton Hepburn, Chairman, AdvisoryBoard, Chase National Bank, NewYork

Frederic H Hurdman, Certified PublicAccountant

Lawrence M Jacobs, Vice-President,International Banking CorporationJackson Johnson, Chairman, International

Shoe Company, St Louis

Fowler Manning, Director of Sales,

Diamond Match Company

Finley H McAdow, Past President,

National Association of Credit MenGeneral Charles Miller, Former Chairman

of the Board, Galena-Signal OilCompany

Melville W Mix, President, Dodge

Welding Ring, Exporter

Arthur W Thompson, President, ThePhiladelphia Company of PittsburghFrederick S Todman, General Manager,

Hirsch, Lillienthal & CompanyJohn C Traphagen, Treasurer, Mercantile

Trust and Deposit Company of NewYork

John Wanamaker, Merchant

Walter N Whitney, Vice-President,

Continental Grocery Stores, Inc

Authors, Collaborators and

Staff Members

Albert W Atwood, A.B., The Stock andProduce Exchange

Bruce Barton, General Publicity

Dwight E Beebe, B.L., Collections

Ralph Starr Butler, A.B., Marketing andMerchandising

Geoffrey S Childs, B.C.S., Office

Roland P Falkner, Ph.D., Business

Statistics

Major B Foster, M.A., Banking

Principles

Charles W Gerstenberg, Ph.B., LL.B.,Finance

Leo Greendlinger, M.C.S., C.P.A (N Y.),Financial and Business Statements

J Anton deHaas, Ph.D., Foreign Tradeand Shipping

John Hays Hammond, Consulting EngineerEdward R Hardy, Ph.B., Fire InsuranceWarren F Hickernell, Ph.D., Business

of Government to Business

Joseph French Johnson, D.C.S., LL.D.,Economic Problems; Business EthicsWalter S Johnson, B.A., B.C.L.,

Commercial Law

Edward D Jones, Ph.D., InvestmentsJohn G Jones, Sales Management

Dexter S Kimball, A.B., M.E., Cost

Finding; Factory Management

Bernard Lichtenberg, M.C.S., AdvertisingPrinciples

Frank L McVey, Ph.D., LL.D., EconomicsJohn T Madden, B.C.S., C.P.A (N Y.),

Accounting Practice

Mac Martin, Advertising Campaigns

G F Michelbacher, M.S., Compensationand Liability Insurance

T Vassar Morton, Litt.B., Credit PracticeBruce D Mudgett, Ph.D., Life Insurance

E L Stewart Patterson, Domestic andForeign Exchange

Frederic E Reeve, C.P.A., AccountingPrinciples

Jesse H Riddle, M.A., Banking

Frederick C Russell, B.C.S., AuditingBernard K Sandwell, B.A., International

THE LAW OF

SUCCESS

During the winter of 1883 a slim,studious young man was working asassistant foreman in a greasy littlemachine shop at Aurora, Illinois He wassaving money with a view to spending thenext year at the State University, and hewas devoting every minute of his sparetime to thought and reading He was notmaking much of a stir in the world, andonly a few of his close friends ever gave asecond thought to his ambitions orprospects

One of these friends was a newspaperreporter, a recent Harvard graduate He,too, was interested in study, especially offinancial questions, and he found it apleasure to guide the reading of the youngforeman Many an evening the two friendsspent in the discussion of great economicand financial problems Though both menhad their ambitions and dreams, it did notoccur to either one that he would everplay 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 During their years ofnewspaper work together they continued

to study and think, and their knowledge ofbusiness principles and methods gradually

broadened They were fitting themselvesalmost without knowing it to step forwardinto 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 FrenchJohnson, now Dean of the New YorkUniversity School of Commerce, Accountsand Finance The other is Frank A.Vanderlip, the great financier

The life histories of most men who havesucceeded in a large way are equallysimple They have looked ahead, theyhave planned, they have equippedthemselves with all the businessknowledge available, and success has

followed Success must follow The law

of success is as definite as the law ofgravity Here it is:

Prepare in advance for opportunities.

It is not the dramatic moments of lifethat count It is the quiet planning andreading of the man who is getting readynow for what is going to happen two, five

or ten years from now

These demands came not only fromyoung men, but from mature and ableexecutives, and sometimes even from themost successful business leaders To all

such requests Dean Johnson was obliged

to reply that the only practical way tostudy the fundamental principles ofbusiness in a systematic manner was toattend the lectures in university schools ofcommerce

At that time the literature of businesswas scanty and for the most part ofdoubtful value Working alone, a mancould get but little help in his efforts towiden and deepen his knowledge ofbusiness principles

It became evident that there was a greatneed for an organized, logical statement ofthe basic principles on which successfulbusiness is founded It was determined toestablish an institution which should meetthe demand After years of preparation the

Alexander Hamilton Institute wasestablished in 1909.

The name

In selecting the name, it was agreed thatnone could be so suitable as that ofAlexander Hamilton

Hamilton is perhaps chieflyremembered for his masterlystatesmanship; but he was equallyconspicuous as soldier, financier, author,organizer and practical economist

He was without doubt the greatestmanager ever employed by the UnitedStates Government When he became the

first Secretary of the Treasury, he found achaotic government, without money,without credit, and without organization.

He secured order, provided funds andcreated prosperity He investigated theindustries and directed the earlycommercial development of the UnitedStates "He touched the dead corpse of thepublic credit, and it sprang upon its feet

He smote the rock of the nation'sresources and abundant streams ofrevenue gushed forth."

Hamilton was a great executive andsystematizer; he himself worked out anaccounting system for the United StatesGovernment which, with but slightmodifications, remained in force for morethan a hundred years

The plan

The Modern Business Course andService is a systematic, time-savingmethod of bringing to any man's office orhome that business knowledge and trainingwhich he needs, but which he cannotacquire through his own experience

It is designed for the benefit of twogroups of men:

(1) those who already are in executive

or semi-executive positions;

(2) young men who have brains andthe ambition to become businessexecutives

It is intended, in general, for the menwho are looking and moving ahead; forlive, keen-witted, energetic men; for menwho are not satisfied to remain in theranks or in subordinate positions Thesemen may or may not have had a thoroughschool and college training; that is not anessential They may or may not havewealth and high position; that is

unimportant But they must have ability

and enough serious purpose to spend aportion of their spare time in reading andthinking about business problems

The organization

The Modern Business Course and

Service is conducted by an organizationmade up of business and professional menand of university specialists in businesssubjects Inasmuch as such an institutionderives its strength almost wholly from themen who are identified with it, a completelist of these men, with brief biographicalnotes to show who they are and what theyhave accomplished, is given in ChapterVII, on pages 97 to 118.

The Institute organization consists offour groups:

b Administrative Staff

Business and educational authority ofthe highest standing is represented in theAdvisory Council of the Institute

This Advisory Council consists of

Frank A Vanderlip, the financier; T.Coleman duPont, the business executive;John Hays Hammond, the eminentengineer; Joseph French Johnson, Dean ofthe New York University School ofCommerce; and Jeremiah W Jenks, thestatistician and economist The Councilhas general supervision and direction ofthe policies and activities of the Institute

No important move of any kind is madewithout the sanction of this body

The Authors and Collaborators are

men prominent in educational andbusiness circles As authors, co-authorsand collaborators they are responsible forthe Modern Business volumes Theirwriting is done under the guidance andwith the cooperation of the Institute'sEditorial Board Each one is chosenbecause of his particular training andability in the field he covers.

The Special Lecturers, whose business

connections are stated on pages 111 to

118, are men of high commercial standingwho have devoted time and thought topreparing written lectures for the ModernBusiness Course and Service Theselectures present some of the results oftheir successful business experience

The Institute Staff actively conducts the

Modern Business Course and Service.Many of the members of the Staff are alsomembers of the faculties of universityschools of commerce Every member ofthe Staff is a specialist who in some onebusiness subject is entitled to rank as anauthority Their names, business anduniversity connections and official duties

in the Institute are stated on pages 100 to110

(a) The Consultant Staff are the experts

who do not give their entire time to theInstitute, but who are called upon forspecial information and advice wheneverthe occasion requires

(b) The Administrative Staff consists of

the Senior and Junior Executives who areactive in the administrative work of the

organization These men are heads of thedepartments responsible for the successfulmanagement of the Alexander HamiltonInstitute.

Subjects covered

The Modern Business Course andService brings to a subscriber theessential business knowledge that he doesnot acquire in his own experience Thesubject matter of the Course and Service

is treated under the following 24 heads:

1 Business and the Man

2 Economics—the Science ofBusiness

3 Business Organization

4 Plant Management

5 Marketing and Merchandising

6 Salesmanship and SalesManagement

21 Accounting Practice and Auditing

22 Financial and BusinessStatements

23 Investments

24 Business and the Government

Simple, elastic, workable

The Modern Business Course andService covers the essential subjects onwhich every business man should be wellinformed

When an enrolment is accepted, theInstitute undertakes,

1 To supply the subscriber with

the Modern Business Text—the mostcomplete and best organized treatment

of business principles and practicethat has yet been produced

2 To guide and illuminate his

reading of the Text by a series ofModern Business Talks

3 To bring him into touch with the

ideas and methods of some of theforemost business and professionalmen in the country through a series ofModern Business Lectures

4 To give him facilities for

applying and testing his knowledge ofbusiness principles through a series ofModern Business Problems

5 To keep him informed on current

business events and the trend of futureaffairs in the commercial world bymeans of Monthly Letters on BusinessConditions

6 To acquaint him with important

events covering the production andprices of general commodities and thecurrent security market

7 To supply him with four Modern

Business Reports on importantproblems; the reports to be selected

by him from an extensive list

8 To render personal service

through answers to all inquiries inconnection with his reading of theCourse

An enrolment for the Modern BusinessCourse and Service covers a period oftwo years During that time eachsubscriber is constantly in touch with themembers of the Institute Staff There are

no rigid rules—no red tape—to restrict orannoy; instead, there is personal guidanceand sincere cooperation

The more carefully you consider theplan, the more clearly you will see howwell it is adapted to the needs of busy menwho must make every minute and everyounce of effort produce the greatestpossible results

You will see more clearly the actualscope of the Modern Business Course andService if you keep in view its eight mainfeatures:

The basis of the Course and Service is

a series of twenty-four text-booksprepared under the careful supervision ofits editors, assisted by well-knownauthorities In some cases the latter appear

as authors, in others as collaborators in

the preparation of the Texts.

Dean Joseph French Johnson is in-Chief of the Course The managingeditor is Dr Roland P Falkner.Associated with them is a large editorialstaff which takes an active share in thewriting and preparation of the Course Theauthors and collaborators are specialistswho rank as authorities in their particularfield The series is widely recognized asthe most important contribution yet made

Editor-to business literature

The volumes in the Modern BusinessSeries are sold apart from the InstituteCourse only to universities for use asprescribed text-books in classroom work.Among the universities which have usedthe Institute's volumes as texts are:

Ohio University

Oregon Agricultural CollegePennsylvania State CollegePurdue University

Queens University

Rose Polytechnic InstituteSouth Dakota State CollegeState College of WashingtonSyracuse University

Toledo University

Trinity College

Tulane University