Fundamentals of Prosperity

 What They Are and Whence They Come

 By

 ROGER W. BABSON

 _President Babson Statistical Organization_

 NEW YORK CHICAGO

 Fleming H. Revell Company

 LONDON AND EDINBURGH

 Copyright, 1920, by FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY

 New York: 158 Fifth Avenue Chicago: 17 North Wabash Ave. London: 21 Paternoster Square Edinburgh: 75 Princes Street

Contents

 FOREWORD I. HONESTY OR STEEL DOORS? II. FAITH THE SEARCHLIGHT OF BUSINESS III. INDUSTRY VS. OPPORTUNITY IV. COÖPERATION--SUCCESS BY HELPING THE OTHER FELLOW V. OUR REAL RESOURCES VI. STUDY THE HUMAN SOUL VII. BOOST THE OTHER FELLOW VIII. WHAT TRULY COUNTS IX. WHAT FIGURES SHOW X. WHERE THE CHURCH FALLS DOWN XI. THE FUTURE CHURCH

Foreword

Some two thousand years ago the greatest teacher who ever walked theearth advised the people of Judea not to build their houses on the sand. What he had in mind was that they were looking too much to the structureabove ground, and too little to the spiritual forces which must be thefoundation of any structure which is to stand. Following the war weenjoyed the greatest prosperity this country has ever witnessed;--thegreatest activity, the greatest bank clearings, the greatest foreigntrade, the greatest railroad gross earnings, the highest commodityprices. 

We then constructed a ten-story building on a foundation meant for onlya two or three story building. Hence the problem confronting us businessmen is to strengthen the foundation or else see the structure fall. I amespecially glad of the opportunity to write for business men. There aretwo reasons:--first, because I feel that the business men are largelyresponsible for having this ten-story structure on a foundation made forone of only two or three stories; secondly, because I believe such menalone have the vision, the imagination and the ability to strengthen thefoundation and prevent the structure from falling. 

The fact is, we have become crazy over material things. We are lookingonly at the structure above ground. We are trying to get more smoke fromthe chimney. We are looking at space instead of service, at profitsinstead of volume. With our eyes focused on the structure above ground, we have lost sight of those human resources, thrift, imagination, integrity, vision and faith which make the structure possible. I feelthat only by the business men can this foundation be strengthened beforethe inevitable fall comes. 

When steel rails were selling at $55 a ton, compared with only $25 a tona few years previous, our steel plants increased their capacitytwenty-five per cent. Increased demand, you say? No, the figures don'tshow it. Only thirty-one million tons were produced in 1919, comparedwith thirty-nine million tons in 1916. People have forgotten the gospelof service. The producing power per man has fallen off from fifteen totwenty per cent. We have all been keen on developing consumption. Wehave devoted nine-tenths of our thought, energy and effort to developingconsumption. This message is to beg of every reader to give more thoughtto developing production, to the reviving of a desire to produce and therealization of joy in production. 

We are spending millions and millions in every city to develop thegood-will of customers, to develop in customers a desire to buy. This isall well and good, but we can't continue to go in one directionindefinitely. We cannot always get steam out of the boiler withoutfeeding the furnace. The time has come when in our own interests, in theinterests of our communities, our industry, and of the nation itself, for a while we must stop adding more stories to this structure. Instead, we must strengthen the foundations upon which the entire structurerests. 

 R. W. B. 

I

HONESTY OR STEEL DOORS?

 While fifty-one per cent of the people have their eyes on the goal of integrity, our investments are secure; but with fifty-one per cent of them headed in the wrong direction, our investments are valueless. The first fundamental of prosperity is Integrity. 

While on a recent visit to Chicago, I was taken by the president of oneof the largest banks to see his new safety deposit vaults. He describedthese--as bank presidents will--as the largest and most marvellousvaults in the city. He expatiated on the heavy steel doors and thevarious electrical and mechanical contrivances which protect the stocksand bonds deposited in the institution. 

While at the bank a person came in to rent a box. He made thearrangements for the box, and a box was handed to him. In it hedeposited some stocks and bonds which he took from his pocket. Then theclerk who had charge of the vaults went to a rack on the wall and tookout a key and gave it to the man who had rented the box. The man thenput the box into one of the little steel compartments, shut the door andturned the key. He then went away feeling perfectly secure on account ofthose steel doors and various mechanical and electrical contrivancesexisting to protect his wealth. 

I did not wish to give him a sleepless night so I said nothing; but Icouldn't help thinking how easy it would have been for that poorly-paid, humpbacked clerk to make a duplicate of that key before he delivered itto the renter of that box. With such a duplicate, the clerk could havemade that man penniless within a few minutes after he had left thebuilding. The great steel door and the electrical and mechanicalcontrivances would have been absolutely valueless. 

Of course the point I am making is that the real security which thatgreat bank in Chicago had to offer its clientele lay not in the massivestone columns in front of its structure; nor in the heavy steel doors;nor the electrical and mechanical contrivances. The real strength ofthat institution rested in the honesty, --the absolute integrity--of itsclerks. 

 * * * * *

That afternoon I was talking about the matter with a business man. Wewere discussing securities, earnings and capitalization. He seemedgreatly troubled by the mass of figures before him. I said to him:"Instead of pawing over these earnings and striving to select yourselfthe safest bond, you will do better to go to a reliable banker orbond-house and leave the decision with him. "

"Why, " he said, "I couldn't do that. "

"Mr. Jones, " I went on, "tell me the truth! After you buy a bond or astock certificate, do you ever take the trouble to see if it is signedand countersigned properly? Moreover, if you find it signed, is thereany way by which you may know whether the signature is genuine orforged?"

"No, " he said, "there isn't. I am absolutely dependent on the integrityof the bankers from whom I buy the securities. "

And when you think of it, there is really no value at all in the piecesof paper which one so carefully locks up in these safety deposit boxes. There is no value at all in the bank-book which we so carefully cherish. There is no value at all in those deeds and mortgages upon which wedepend so completely. The value rests _first_, in the integrity of thelawyers, clerks and stenographers who draw up the papers; _secondly_, inthe integrity of the officers who sign the documents; _thirdly_, in theintegrity of the courts and judges which would enable us to enforce ourclaims; and _finally_, in the integrity of the community which woulddetermine whether or not the orders of the court will be executed. 

These things which we look upon as of great value:--the stocks, bonds, bank-books, deeds, mortgages, insurance policies, etc. , are merelynothing. While fifty-one per cent. Of the people have their eyes on thegoal of Integrity, our investments are secure; but with fifty-one percent. Of them headed in the wrong direction, our investments arevalueless. So the first fundamental of prosperity is integrity. Withoutit there is no civilization, there is no peace, there is no security, there is no safety. Mind you also that this applies just as much to theman who is working for wages as to the capitalist and every owner ofproperty. 

Integrity, however, is very much broader than the above illustrationwould indicate. Integrity applies to many more things than to money. Integrity requires the seeking after, as well as the dispensing of, truth. It was this desire for truth which founded our educationalinstitutions, our sciences and our arts. All the great professions, frommedicine to engineering, rest upon this spirit of integrity. Only asthey so rest, can they prosper or even survive. 

Integrity is the mother of knowledge. The desire for truth is the basisof all learning, the value of all experience and the reason for allstudy and investigation. Without integrity as a basis, our entireeducational system would fall to the ground; all newspapers andmagazines would become sources of great danger and the publication ofbooks would have to be suppressed. Our whole civilization rests upon theassumption that people are honest. With this confidence shaken, thestructure falls. And it should fall, for, unless the truth be taught, the nation would be much better off without its schools, newspapers, books and professions. Better have no gun at all, than one aimed atyourself. The corner-stone of prosperity is the stone of Integrity. 

II

FAITH THE SEARCHLIGHT OF BUSINESS

 This religion which we talk about for an hour a week, on Sunday, is not only the vital force which protects our community, but it is the vital force which makes our communities. The power of our spiritual forces has not yet been tapped. 

About three years ago I was travelling in South America. When going fromSao Paulo up across the tablelands to Rio Janeiro, I passed through alittle poverty-stricken Indian village. It was some 3, 000 feet above sealevel; but it was located at the foot of a great water-power. Thiswater-power, I was told, could easily develop from 10, 000 to 15, 000horse-power for twelve months of the year. At the base of this waterfalllived these poverty-stricken Indians, plowing their ground with brokensticks, bringing their corn two hundred miles on their backs from theseacoast, and grinding it by hand between two stones. Yet, --with alittle faith and vision, they could have developed that water-power, even though in a most primitive manner, and with irrigation, could havemade that poverty-stricken valley a veritable Garden of Eden. Theysimply lacked _faith_. They lacked vision. They were unwilling, orunable, to look ahead to do something for the next generation and trustto the Lord for the results. 

I met the head man of the village and said to him: "Why is it that youdon't do something to develop this power?"

"Why, if we started to develop this thing, " he answered, "by the time wegot it done, we would be dead. "

Indians had lived there for the last two hundred years lacking thevision. No one in that community had the foresight or vision to think orsee beyond the end of his day. It was lack of faith which stood betweenthem and prosperity. Hence, the second great fundamental of prosperityis that intangible "something, "--known as faith, vision, hope, whateveryou may call it. 

The writer of the Book of Proverbs says: "Where there is no vision, thepeople perish. " Statistics teach that where there is no vision, civilization never gets started! The tangible things which we prize sohighly, --buildings, railroads, steamships, factories, power plants, telephones, aeroplanes, etc. , are but the result of faith and vision. These things are only symptoms of conditions, mere barometers whichregister the faith and vision of mankind. 

This religion which we talk about for an hour a week, on Sunday, is notonly the vital force which protects our community, but it is the vitalforce which _makes_ our communities. _The power of our spiritual forceshas not yet been tapped!_ Our grandchildren will look back upon us andwonder why we neglected our trust and our opportunity, just as we lookback on those poor Indians in Brazil who plowed with crooked sticks, grinding their corn between stones and hauling it on their backs twohundred miles from the seaboard. 

 * * * * *

These statements are not the result of any special interest as achurchman. I am not a preacher. I am simply a business man, and my workis almost wholly for bankers, brokers, manufacturers, merchants andinvestors. The concern with which I am associated has one hundred andeighty people in a suburb of Boston who are collecting, compiling anddistributing statistics on business conditions. We have only one sourceof income, and that is from the clients who pay us for an analysis ofthe situation. Therefore you may rest assured that it is impossible forus to do any propaganda work in the interests of any one nation, sect, religion or church. The only thing we can give clients is a conclusionbased on a diagnosis of a given situation. As probably few of youreaders are clients of ours, may I quote from a Bulletin which werecently sent to these bankers and manufacturers?

"The need of the hour is not more legislation. The need of the hour ismore religion. More religion is needed everywhere, from the halls ofCongress at Washington, to the factories, the mines, the fields and theforests. It is one thing to talk about plans or policies, but a plan orpolicy without a religious motive is like a watch without a spring or abody without the breath of life. The trouble, to-day, is that we aretrying to hatch chickens from sterile eggs. We may have the finestincubator in the world and operate it according to the most improvedregulations--moreover, the eggs may appear perfect specimens--but unlessthey have the germ of life in them all our efforts are of no avail. "

I have referred to the fact that the security of our investments isabsolutely dependent upon the faith, the righteousness and the religionof other people. I have stated that the real strength of our investmentsis due, not to the distinguished bankers of America, but rather to thepoor preachers. I now go farther than that and say that the developmentof the country as a whole is due to this _something_, this indescribable_something_, this combination of faith, thrift, industry, initiative, integrity and vision, which these preachers have developed in theircommunities. 

Faith and vision do not come from the wealth of a nation. It's the faithand vision which produce the wealth. The wealth of a country does notdepend on its raw materials. Raw materials are to a certain extentessential and to a great extent valuable; but the nations which to-dayare richest in raw materials are the poorest in wealth. Even whenconsidering one country--the United States--the principle holds true. The coal and iron and copper have been here in this country forthousands of years, but only within the last fifty years have they beenused. Water-powers exist even to-day absolutely unharnessed. Look thewhole world over and there has been no increase in raw materials. Thereexisted one thousand years ago more raw materials than we have to-day, but we then lacked men with a vision and the faith to take that coal outof the ground, to harness the water-powers, to build the railroads andto do other things worth while. So I say, the second great fundamentalof prosperity is Faith. 

III

INDUSTRY VS. OPPORTUNITY

 Industry is the mother of invention. Struggle, sacrifice and burning midnight oil have produced the cotton gin, the sewing machine, the printing press, the steam engine, the electric motor, the telephone, the incandescent lamp and the other great inventions of civilization. Some religious enthusiasts think only of the "lilies of the fields" and forget the parable of the talents. 

A few years ago I was employed by one of the largest publishing housesin the country to make a study of America's captains of industry. Thereal purpose of the study was to discover some industry or some man thatcould be helped greatly through national advertising. In connection withthat study of those captains of industry, I tabulated their ancestry. These were the seventy greatest manufacturers, merchants and railroadbuilders, the leading men who have made America by developing thefields, the forests, the mines and the industries. What did I find? Ifound that only five per cent. Of these captains of industry are thesons of bankers; only ten per cent. Of them are the sons ofmanufacturers; fifteen per cent. Of them are the sons of merchants, while over thirty per cent. Of them are the sons of poor preachers andfarmers. 

Why is it that ministers' sons hold a much more important place in theindustrial development of America than the sons of bankers? Theministers' sons inherit no wealth, they have no more than their share ofcollege education; they are not especially religious as the worldmeasures religion. In fact, there is an old saying about "ministers'sons and deacons' daughters. " I would be false to my reputation as astatistician to hold up these captains of industry as saintly examplesfor young men to follow. But the fact remains nevertheless that thesemen are creating America to-day. Now, what's the reason?

The reason is that these men have a combination of the two traitsalready mentioned and a third added thereto;--namely, the habit of work. They have inherited a certain rugged integrity from their mothers and agift of vision from their fathers which, when combined with the habit ofwork--forced upon them by their family's meager income--means _power_. Integrity is a dry seed until put in the ground of faith and allowed togrow. But faith with works is prosperity. 

A man may be honest and wonder why he does not get ahead; a man may havevision and still remain only a dreamer; but when integrity and visionare combined with hard work, the man prospers. It is the same withclasses and nations. 

It has been said that genius is the author of invention. Statistics donot support this statement. The facts show that industry is the motherof invention. Struggle, sacrifice and burning midnight oil have producedthe cotton gin, the sewing machine, the printing press, the steamengine, the electric motor, the telephone, the incandescent lamp and theother great inventions of civilization. 

Why is it that most of the able men in our great industries came fromthe country districts? The reason is that the country boy is trained towork. Statistics indicate that very seldom does a child, brought up in acity apartment house, amount to much; while the children of well-to-docity people are seriously handicapped. The great educator of theprevious generation was not the public school, but rather the _woodbox_. Those of us parents who have not a wood box for our children tokeep filled, or chores for them to do, are unfortunate. 

Run through the list of the greatest captains of industry, as they cometo your mind. How many of the men who are really directing the country'sbusiness gained their position through inherited wealth? You will findthem astonishingly few. There is no "divine right of kings" in business. In fact, statistics show us that the very things which most people thinkof as advantages, namely, wealth and "not having to work" are reallyobstacles which are rarely surmounted. 

Industry and thrift are closely allied. Economic studies show clearlythat ninety-five per cent. Of the employers are employers because theysystematically saved money. Any man who systematically saves money fromearly youth automatically becomes an employer. He may employ thousandsor he may have only two or three clerks in a country store, but henevertheless is an employer. These same studies show that ninety-fiveper cent. Of the wage workers are wage workers because they havesystematically spent their money as fast as they have earned it. They ofnecessity remain wage workers. These are facts which no labour leadercan disprove and which are exceedingly significant. This is especiallystriking when one considers that the employer often started out at thesame wages and in the same community as his wage workers. The employerwas naturally industrious and thrifty; while those who remained wageworkers were not. 

The development of this nation through the construction of thetranscontinental railways, the financing of the western farms, and thebuilding of our cities is largely due to the old New England doctrinethat laziness and extravagance are sins. In some western communities itis popular to laugh at these New England traits; but had it not been forthem, these western communities would never have existed. The industryand thrift developed by the old New England religion were the basis ofour national growth. 

I especially desire to emphasize this point because of the position ofcertain religious enthusiasts who think only of "the lilies of thefield" and forget the parable of the talents. It is a fact that thethird fundamental of prosperity is Industry. 

IV

COÖPERATION--SUCCESS BY HELPING THE OTHER FELLOW

 Our industrial system has resulted in making many men economic eunuchs. The salvation of our cities, the salvation of our industries and the salvation of our nation depend on discovering something which will revive in man that desire to produce and joy in production which he had instinctively when he was a small boy. 

A few days ago I was present at a dinner of business men in Boston whowere called together in order to secure some preferential freight ratesfor Massachusetts. The principal theme of that gathering was to boomMassachusetts at the expense of the rest of the country. At the close ofthe dinner I was asked to give my opinion and said: "Let us see how manythings there are in this room that we could have were we dependentsolely on Massachusetts. The chairs and furniture are from Michigan; thecotton is from Georgia; the linen from Ireland; the silver from Mexico;the glassware from Pennsylvania; the paper from Maine; the paint fromMissouri; the clock from Connecticut--and so on. " Finally I got thecourage to ask if there was a single thing in the room that did notoriginate from some state other than Massachusetts. Those men wereabsolutely helpless in finding a single thing. 

The same fact applies in a general way to every state and every home. Look about, where you are sitting now. How many things are there in theroom just where you are, --there is a table, a chair, a shoe, a coat, anecktie, a cigar, a lampshade, a piano, a basket--for all of these youare dependent upon others. 

The same fact is true when we analyze one staple like shoes which, primarily, are made of leather. Where does the leather come from? Justfollow that leather from the back of the steer until you buy it in theform of shoes. Think where that steer was raised, and where the leatherwas tanned. Think of all the men engaged in the industry from thecow-punchers to the salesmen in the stores. But there is more thanleather involved in shoes. There is cotton in the shoe lacing andlining. There is metal in the nails and eyelets. Not only must differentlocalities coöperate to produce a shoe; but various industries must giveand take likewise. 

Civilization is ultimately dependent on the ability of men to coöperate. The best barometer of civilization is the desire and ability of men tocoöperate. The willingness to share with others, --the desire to workwith others is the great contribution which Christianity has given tothe world. The effect of this new spirit is most thrilling when oneconsiders the clothes which he has on his back, the food which he has onthe table, the things which he has in the house, and thinks of thethousands of people whose labour has directly contributed toward thesethings. Now this clearly shows that the fourth great fundamental ofprosperity is coöperation, the willingness and ability of men tocoöperate, to serve one another, to help one another, to give and totake. 

But the teachings of Jesus along these lines have a very much broaderapplication than when applied merely to raw materials, or evenmanufactured products. As we can begin to prosper only when we developinto finished products the raw materials of the fields, mines andforests, so we can become truly prosperous only as we develop thegreatest of all resources, --the human resources. Not only doesChristianity demand that we seek to help and build up others; but ourown prosperity depends thereon as well. 

 * * * * *

When in Washington, during the war, I had a wonderful opportunity ofmeeting the representatives of both labour and capital. I had somepreconceived ideas on the labour question when I went to Washington; butnow they are all gone. I am perfectly willing, now, to agree with thewage worker, to agree with the employer, to agree with both or to agreewith neither. But this one thing I am sure of, and that is that thepresent system doesn't work. The present system is failing in gettingmen to produce. 

By nature man likes to produce. Our boy, as soon as he can toddleout-of-doors, starts instinctively to make a mud pie. When he gets alittle older he gets some boards, shingles and nails and builds a hut. Just as soon as he gets a knife, do you have to show him how to use it?He instinctively begins to make a boat or an arrow or perhaps somethinghe has never seen. Why? Because in his soul is a natural desire toproduce and an inborn joy in production. But what happens to most ofthese boys after they grow up?

Our industrial system has resulted in almost stultifying meneconomically and making most of them economically non-productive. Why? Idon't know. I simply say it happens and the salvation of our industriesdepends on discovering something which will revive in man that desire toproduce and that joy in production which he had instinctively when hewas a small boy. 

Increased wages will not do it. Shorter hours will not do it. The wageworker must feel right and the employer must feel right. It is all aquestion of feeling. Feelings rule this world, --not things. The reasonthat some people are not successful with collective bargaining andprofit sharing and all these other plans is because they think that menact according to what they say, or according to what they learn, oraccording to that in which they agree. Men act according to their_feelings_, and "good feeling" is synonymous with the spirit ofcoöperation. One cannot exist without the other and prosperity cannotcontinue without both. Hence the fourth fundamental of prosperity isCoöperation. 

V

OUR REAL RESOURCES

 We have gone daffy over things like steam, electricity, water power, buildings, railroads, and ships and we have forgotten the human soul upon which all of these things depend and from which all of these things originate. 

Two captains of industry were standing, one day, on the bridge atNiagara looking at the great falls. One man turned to the other andsaid: "Behold the greatest source of undeveloped power in America. "

"No. The greatest source of undeveloped power in America is the soul ofman, " the other replied. 

I was talking with a large manufacturer the other day, and he told methat he was supporting scholarships in four universities to enable youngmen to study the raw materials which he is using in his plant. I askedhim if he was supporting any scholarships to study the human element inhis plant, and he said "No. " Yet when asked for definite figures, itappeared that eighty per cent. Of every dollar which he spends, goes forlabour, and only twenty per cent. Goes for materials. He is endowingfour scholarships to study the twenty per cent. And is not doing a thingto study the eighty per cent. ! Statistics show that the greatestundeveloped resources in America are not our mines or our forests or ourstreams, but rather the human souls of the men and women who work forus. 

This is most significant when one resorts to statistics and learns thateverything that we have, --every improvement, every railroad, every ship, every building costing in excess of $5, 000, every manufacturing concernemploying over twenty men, yes, every newspaper and book worth while, has originated and been developed in the minds of less than two percent. Of the people. The solution of our industrial problems and thereduction of the cost of living depend not on fighting over what isalready produced, but upon producing more. This means that this two percent. Must be increased to four per cent. , and then to six per cent. Ifall the good things which we now have, come from the enterprise of onlytwo per cent. , it is evident that we would all have three times as muchif the two per cent were increased to six per cent. 

Jesus was absolutely right in His contention that if we would seek firstthe Kingdom of God and His righteousness all these other things wouldnaturally come to us. This is what Jesus had in mind when He urgedpeople to give and serve, promising that such giving and serving shouldbe returned to them a hundred fold or more. Jesus never preachedunselfishness or talked sacrifice as such, but only urged His hearers tolook through to the end, see what the final result would be and do whatwould be best for them in the long run. Jesus urged His followers toconsider the spiritual things rather than the material, and the eternalthings rather than the temporal; but not in the spirit of sacrifice. Theonly sacrifice which Jesus asked of His people was the same sacrificewhich the farmer makes when he throws his seed into the soil. 

The story of the loaves and fishes is still taught as a miracle, but theday will come when it will not be considered such. The same is trueregarding the incident when Jesus found that His disciples had beenfishing all night without results and He suggested that they cast thenet on the other side. They followed His advice and the net immediatelyfilled with so many fishes that they could hardly pull it up. If weto-day would give more thought to the spiritual and less to thematerial, we would have more in health, happiness, and prosperity. Thebusiness men to-day would be far better off if--like the fishermen ofGalilee--we would take Jesus' advice and cast our net on "the otherside. "

We are told that with sufficient faith we could remove mountains. Havemountains ever been removed or tunnelled without faith? The bridging ofrivers, the building of railroads, the launching of steamships, and thecreation of all industries are dependent on the faith of somebody. Toomuch credit is given both to capital and labour in the currentdiscussions of to-day. The real credit for most of the things which wehave is due to some human soul which supplied the faith that was themainspring of every enterprise. Furthermore in most instances this humansoul owes this germ of faith to some little country church with a whitesteeple and old-fashioned furnishings. 

The reason I say "old-fashioned" church is because our fathers were morewilling to rely upon the power of faith than many of us to-day. Whatthey lacked in many other ways was more than compensated by their faithin God. They got, through faith, "that something" which men to-day aretrying to get through every other means. All the educators, all thepsychologists, all the inspirational writers cannot put into a man thevision and the will to do things which are gained by a clear faith. Mostof us to-day are frantically trying to invent a machine which will solveour problems, when all the while we have the machine within us, if wewill only set it going. That machine is the human soul. 

The great problem to-day is to develop the human soul, to develop thiswonderful machine which each one of us has between his ears. Only asthis is developed can we solve our other problems. When we give as muchthought to the solution of the human problem as we give to the solutionof the steam problem or the electrical problem, we will have no labourproblem. We have gone daffy over things like steam, electricity, water-power, buildings, railroads and ships, and we have forgotten thehuman soul upon which all of these things depend and from which all ofthese things originate. 

VI

STUDY THE HUMAN SOUL

 The first step is to give more thought and attention to people, to establish more points of contact. Let us do humanly, individually, man to man, what we are trying to do in a great big way. 

I was visiting the home of a famous manufacturer recently and he took meout to his farm. He showed me his cattle. Above the head of each heiferand each cow was the pedigree. The most careful record was kept of everyanimal. He had a blue-print in his library at home of every one of thoseanimals. Yet when we began later to talk about the labour problem in hisown plant and I asked him how many of his people he knew personally, hetold me, --I quote his words:

"Why, they are all alike to me, Mr. Babson. I don't know one from theother. "

Later in the evening--it was during the Christmas vacation--a youngfellow drove up to the house in a fancy automobile, came in and askedfor this manufacturer's only daughter in order to take her to a party. Ididn't like the looks of the fellow very well. After they had gone out, I said to the father:

"Who is that chap?"

The father replied: "I don't know; some friend of Mary's. "

The father had every one of his cows blue-printed, but he didn't knowthe name of the man who came to get his daughter and who didn't deliverher until two o'clock the next morning! That man was neglecting thehuman soul, both in his factory and in his home. 

 * * * * *

I repeat that we have gone crazy over structures above ground. We areabsolutely forgetting the greatest of our resources, --the greatspiritual resource, upon which everything depends. How shall we developthese resources?

Certainly we are not developing this great spiritual resource in thepublic schools. The educational system was originally founded by theChurch to train the children in the fundamentals of righteousness. Gradually, but constantly, we have drifted away from this goal andto-day the purpose for which our schools were started has been almostentirely lost. In some states it is now a criminal offence for a schoolsuperintendent to ask a prospective school teacher what she believes orwhether she has any religion whatever! Under these conditions, is itsurprising that the spiritual resources of our children are lyingdormant?

Much of the prosperity of this nation is due to the family prayers whichwere once daily held in the homes of our fathers. To a very large extentthis custom has gone by. Whatever the arguments pro and con may be, thefact nevertheless remains that such family prayers nurtured anddeveloped these spiritual resources to which the prosperity of thenation is due. The custom of family prayers should be revived along withmany other good New England customs which some modern radicals mayridicule, but to which they owe all that they possess. 

The masses to-day are getting their real education from the dailynewspapers. Many of these newspapers have much good material, but thegreat effort of the daily press is not to make _producers_, but ratherto make _consumers_. The policy of the daily press is not to get peopleto serve, but rather to get them to buy. Not only is the larger portionof the newspapers given up to advertising, but most of this advertisingis of non-essentials, if not of luxuries. With this advertisingconstantly before the people of the country, it is but natural that thematerial things should seem of greatest importance. To remedy thissituation is a great problem to-day facing the Christian business men ofthis country. What shall we do about it?

The first step is to give more thought and attention to people, and toestablish more points of contact. Let us do humanly, individually, manto man, what we are trying to do in a great big way. Another method todevelop this human resource is to give people responsibility. Moreover, we must do so if the nation is to be truly prosperous. 

VII

BOOST THE OTHER FELLOW

 Just as our property is safe only as the other fellow's property is safe, just as our daughter is safe only as the other fellow's daughter is safe, so it also is true that in order to develop the human soul in other men, we have to give those men something. 

My little girl has a black cat; about once in four months this cat haskittens. Opposite our place is a man who has an Airedale dog. When thatdog comes across the street and that cat has no kittens, the catimmediately "beats it" as fast as she can, with the dog after her. Butwhen that dog comes across the street and that cat has theresponsibility of some kittens, she immediately turns on the dog and the_dog_ "beats it" with the cat after him. It is the same dog, the samecat, and the same backyard; but in one instance the cat has noresponsibilities and in the other case she has. Responsibilities developfaith, vision, courage, initiative, and other things that make the worldgo round. 

Just as our property is safe, only as the other fellow's property issafe; just as our daughter is safe, only as the other fellow's daughteris safe; so is it also true that, in order to develop the human soul inother men, we have to give those men something. We must give them achance. We must give them opportunity. We must give them a boost. All ofus are simply storage batteries. We get out of life what we put intolife. We care for others, not in accordance with what they do for us, but rather in accordance with what we have done for them. 

I am quite often asked about investments. Well, there are times, aboutonce in three or four years--during panics, when every one is scared todeath--that I invest in stocks. There are other times when I advise thepurchase of bonds. The fact is, however, that I have not made my moneyinvesting either in stocks or bonds. What money I have made has comefrom investing in boys and girls, young men and young women. 

There is a common belief current to-day that only people with experienceare worth while. But I say: Quit looking for the experienced salesmenand trying to make a man out of him; get a _man_, and then make asalesman of him. I have a young man in my business who was deliveringtrunks for an express company twelve years ago. To-day he is my salesmanager and has built our gross from $100, 000 to $1, 000, 000. One of mybest experts, a man who is sought for by the leading Chambers ofCommerce all over the land, was a carpenter on my garage nine years ago. Another one of my experts, a man the demand for whose services I cannotsupply, never acquired recognition until he was over forty-five years ofage. I found him keeping hens at Wellesley Farms! A young lady in myoffice to whom I pay $200 a week and who is worth, to me, $1, 000 a week, I picked up at $4 a week twelve years ago. 

Such cases exist everywhere. You men yourselves know them. You look overyour own organizations. Who are the men who are really doing things? Arethey the men you acquired ready-made from other concerns? No! They arethe men that have been taken up and developed. These are the men thathave made money for you and have created the business enterprise ofwhich you are the head. Yet when we have reached a point of prestige, and have a big business, we are tempted to say: "I haven't time todevelop any more people, I have got to get them already made. " This is abig mistake. 

 * * * * *

I beg my readers--those who have them--to get your foremen together. Sayto the partners or the officials of your concern: "Haven't we given toomuch thought to developing the structure? Aren't we piling too manystories one upon another with too little thought to the foundation?"Then go out and look over your plant and select a few people in eachdepartment to whom you will give a real opportunity. Start in to developthem and thereby strengthen the foundation of the business and theprosperity of the nation. 

VIII

WHAT TRULY COUNTS

 The greatest resources in the world to-day are human resources, not resources of iron, copper and lumber. The great need of the hour is to strengthen this human foundation and you business men are the one group that can do it. 

When it comes to the sale of goods, the same principle applies. Eightyper cent. Of our sales organizations are devoted to selling to ten percent. Of the population. We have forgotten to consider whether or notgoods are needed. We only consider whether or not they are being bought. We are forgetting to establish new markets, but rather are scramblingover the markets already secured. Tremendous opportunities exist indeveloping new industries, in creating new communities, in relocatingthe center of production from one community to another community tomatch up with the center of consumption. 

We have forgotten the latent power in the human soul, in the individual, in the community, in the different parts of the country. We haveforgotten those human possibilities upon which all prosperity ultimatelydepends. I cannot perhaps emphasize this any more than by saying thatthe foundation of progress is spiritual, not material. 

The greatest resources of the world to-day are human resources, --notresources of iron, copper and lumber. The great need of the hour is tostrengthen this human foundation and revive in men a desire to produceand a joy in service. Business men are the one group that can do it. They understand the emotions, understand the importance of theintangible things. They understand how to awaken in people new motives. So my appeal is not to wait too long to revive man and awaken the soulwhich is slumbering to-day. 

The nation is only a mass of individuals. The true prosperity of acountry depends upon the same qualities as the true prosperity of itspeople. As religion is necessary for the man, it is also necessary forthe nation. As the soul of man needs to be developed, so also does thesoul of the nation. 

 * * * * *

Let me tell one more personal incident. Not long ago I was at myWashington office spending the week. While there a little Western Unionmessenger girl came in to apply for a position. It was in theafternoon--about half-past five. I was struck with the intelligence ofthe girl's face and asked her two or three questions. She was tired. Iasked her to sit down. I was astonished to hear her story. 

She had been born and brought up in the mountains of WestVirginia, --many miles from civilization. Her father and mother died whenshe was four years old. She had been living with an old grandfather andbrother. When I began to talk with her I found her to have a mostremarkable acquaintance with Emerson, with Thoreau, with Bernard Shawand with the old Eastern writers. 

I said to her: "How is it that you are delivering telegrams in a khakisuit and a soldier cap?"

She replied: "Because I could get nothing else to do. I lived down therein the mountains just as long as I could. I had to get to the city whereI could express myself and develop my finer qualities. When I got toWashington there was nothing that I could do. They asked me if I couldtypewrite, but I had never seen a typewriter. Finally, after walking thestreets for a while, I got a job as a Western Union messenger. "

I wrote Mrs. Babson and made arrangements to have the girl come toWellesley and work for a few months with the Babson Organization. I sawin her certain qualities which, if developed, should make her veryuseful to someone somewhere. She came to Wellesley. About a month afterher arrival I was obliged to leave on a two months' trip and Mrs. Babsoninvited her up to dine the night before I left. I told her that I wasgoing to speak while away on "America's Undeveloped Resources. " Afterdinner she went to my desk and took her pen and scribbled these linesand said:

"Perhaps during your talk on America's Greatest Undeveloped Resourcesyou will give those men a message from a Western Union girl. " These arethe lines she wrote. They are by Ella Wheeler Wilcox. 

 I gave a beggar from my little store of wealth some gold; He spent the shining ore, and came again and yet again, Still cold and hungry, as before. I gave a thought--and through that thought of mine, He found himself, the man supreme, divine, Fed, clothed and crowned with blessing manifold; And now he begs no more. 

The mind of man is a wonderful thing, but unless the soul of man isawakened he must lack faith, power, originality, ambition, --those vitalelements which make a man a real producer. I do not say that you canawaken this force in every soul. If you are an employer, perhaps only afew of all your employees can be made to understand. But this much iscertain, --in every man or woman in whom you can loose the power of thisinvisible something, you will mobilize a force, not only for his or hergood, but for the good and perhaps the very salvation of your ownbusiness. 

IX

WHAT FIGURES SHOW

 Panics are caused by spiritual causes rather than financial. Prosperity is the result of righteousness rather than of material things. 

The large black areas on the adjoining chart are formed by combining andplotting current figures on New Building, Crops, Clearings, Immigration, Total Foreign Trade, Money, Failures, Commodity Prices, RailroadEarnings, Stock Prices and Politics in order to give a composite view ofbusiness in the United States. (When Interstate Commerce reports ofearnings of all United States railroads became available, January, 1909, this record was substituted in place of the earnings of tenrepresentative roads which had been used previous to that time. Revisedscales for monetary figures were also introduced, in August, 1912. )

[Illustration]

The line X-Y represents the country's net gain or growth. Based on theeconomic theory that "action and reaction are equal when the two factorsof time and intensity are multiplied to form an area, " the sums of theareas above and below said line X-Y must, over sufficiently long periodsof time, be equal, provided enough subjects are included, properlyweighed and combined. An area of prosperity is always followed by anarea of depression; an area of depression in turn is always followed byan area of prosperity. The areas, however, need not have the sameshapes. 

It will be seen that each area is divided into halves by a narrow whiteline. This is to emphasize the fact that the first halves of areas belowthe X-Y line are really reactions from the extravagance, inefficiencyand corruption which existed during the latter half of the preceding"prosperity" area. Contrariwise, the first halves of areas above the X-Yline are really reactions from the economy, industry and righteousnessdeveloped during the hard times just preceding. The high points of thestock market have come in the early part of the prosperity areas and thelow points have come about the beginning of the depression areas. In1914 the war held down prices of all securities. The highest prices ofbonds have usually come about the end of the depression areas and highmoney rates, and lowest bond prices at about the end of the prosperityareas. 

But what causes these fluctuations in business and prices? Statisticsshow that panics are caused by spiritual causes, rather than financial, and that prosperity is the result of righteousness rather than ofmaterial things. Hence, the importance to industry and commerce of theforces already mentioned. These spiritual forces are the truefundamentals of prosperity. This in turn leads us to consider from wherethey come and upon what we are to depend for their further development. The following pages will give the answer. 

 * * * * *

What are the sources of these fundamentals of prosperity? Where do weget this faith, integrity, industry, coöperation and interest in thesoul of man upon which civilization is based?

As already explained, we do not get it from the raw materials. We havealways had the raw materials. We do not get it from education. From astatistical point of view Germany is the best educated country in theworld. It has the least illiteracy. It has the largest percentage ofscientific culture. No, these three fundamentals do not come fromeducation. They do not come from the inheritance of property. Imentioned in the preceding pages the investigation we made of leadingcaptains of industry in America, the men who head the various greatestindustries in this country. Out of this group of men, only ten per cent. Inherited their business, while only fifteen per cent. Received specialeducation. This shows that the source of these qualities is fromsomething more than wealth or education. 

We are striving and even slaving to lay up property for our children, when statistics clearly show that the more we lay up for them the worseoff they are going to be. If statistics demonstrate any one thing, theydemonstrate that the less money we leave our children the better offthey will be; not only spiritually and physically, but also financially. When it comes to the question of education, we work and economize togive our children an education and to send our children to college. Yetstatistics show that only a small percentage of these leading businessmen are college graduates. 

The success of individuals, the success of communities, the success ofnations, depends on these fundamentals, --integrity, faith, industry, brotherly kindness and an interest in the soul of man. To what do we owethese great fundamental qualities? _Statistics show clearly that we owethem to religion. _ Yes, and to the old-fashioned religion of ourforefathers. Moreover, I say this not as a churchman. I would give thesame message if I were speaking to a group of bankers or a group ofengineers. I was first brought into the Church through the ChristianEndeavour Society, but I was really converted to the Bible teachingsthrough a study of statistics. 

To religion we owe our civilization and to the Church we owe ourreligion. All there is in the world to-day that is worth while comesfrom men filled with, and from groups actuated by, these fundamentals ofintegrity, faith, industry, brotherly love and those other factors whichcome only through God. The Church to-day deserves the credit for keepingthese factors before the world. Hence, it is evident that the people ofAmerica have not the bankers to thank for their security and prosperity, but rather the preachers and the churches. To these men we are obligatedfor our growth and development. 

X

WHERE THE CHURCH FALLS DOWN

 Become saturated with Christ's principles, be clean and upright, coöperate with one another, have faith, serve, trust the Almighty for the results, and you will never have to worry about property. "If you will do these things, all of the others will be given to you. "

There are two groups of people who criticize the Church. First, thereare those who claim great love for their fellow-men, but do not go tochurch because it is allied with the property interests of thecommunity. I believe that to be the fundamental reason why the wageworkers, labour leaders, socialists and radicals are not interested inthe Church. They believe that the Church is too closely allied withproperty. I have been severely criticized myself for presenting theChurch as a defender of property and as a means of making your home, your business and your securities safer. Such critics are perfectlyconscientious and the Church suffers much because those people, in theirlove for humanity, are antagonistic to the Church. 

The second group are those defenders of property who look upon theChurch as impractical; who consider the Golden Rule as something allright for the minister to talk about on Sundays, but something uselessto try to follow during the week. Those men criticize the Church forpreaching love, for talking the Sermon on the Mount, and for being whatthey say is "impractical. " So the Church suffers to-day by having bothof these groups stand off alone. Neither of them is interested in theChurch, the most important organization in America. It is the Churchwhich has created America, which has developed our schools, which hascreated our homes, which has built our cities, which has developed ourindustries, which has made our hospitals, charities, and which has doneeverything that is worth while in America. 

Yet to-day, the Church is the most discarded industry of all, because ithas not the coöperation of either of the above groups, --the radicalgroup which claims to be interested only in humanity and not inproperty, and the propertied group which frankly says that it isprimarily interested in property and not humanity. It seems that weshould stop side-stepping this question. Instead we should face itsquarely and answer both of these criticisms. My answer is as follows:

Jesus was not interested in property, _per se_. There is no question butthat Jesus had no interest in property. These things which look soimportant to us, --houses, roads, taxation, buildings, fields, crops, foreign trade, ships, --it is very evident were insignificant to Jesus. When any of Jesus' disciples came to Him to settle some propertyquestion, He pushed them aside and said He was too busy to consider it. I am sure that if Jesus were here to-day, He would tell us all that weare idiots for striving so to accumulate things--building ourselvesbigger houses, getting bigger bank accounts and more automobiles. Hence, when the socialist or the radical or the labour leader complains to me, I frankly admit this fact. Without doubt the Church should emphasizethat property _of itself_ is of no value, and the only things worthwhile in life are happiness and the health and the freedom which comefrom living an upright, simple life. 

On the other hand, and this point I wish to emphasize just as strongly, Jesus took the position throughout His teachings, that if His discipleswould simply get saturated with His fundamentals, if they would be cleanand upright, if they would coöperate with one another, if they wouldhave faith to serve and trust the Almighty for the results, they wouldnever have to worry about property. Property would take care of itself. Jesus emphasized, first, that they should not think of property; but Healways closed His discourses by some such statement as this: "If youwill do these things, all of the others will be given to you. "

It is absolutely impossible for any individual to develop the abovefundamentals of prosperity, --faith, integrity, industry and brotherlykindness--without being successful. I care not whether he is a doctor, teacher, banker, lawyer, business man or manufacturer. That same thingis true of groups and of nations. It is fundamental law, "Whatsoever aman soweth that shall he also reap. " Those who serve will be served;those who knock will be knocked; those who boost will be boosted. We arepaid in the coin that we give. We are forgiven as we forgive. If we arefriendly, we will make friends. 

Statistics show that the Church is the greatest factor in the worldlysuccess of men, groups and nations. Some readers may have seen a bookwritten by Professor Carver of Harvard entitled, "The Religion WorthHaving. " In that book the author discusses the various denominations ofChristianity. Then he says most conclusively that the religion worthhaving, the religion that will survive, is the religion which producesthe most. Yet this production will not come by seeking production _perse_, but rather by the development of these fundamental characteristicswhich have been described. 

Try as you will you cannot separate the factor of religion from economicdevelopment. In the work conducted by my Organization at Wellesley Hillswe study the trend of religious interest as closely as we do thecondition of the banks or the supply of and demand for commodities. Statistics of church membership form one of the best barometers ofbusiness conditions. We have these figures charted back for the pastfifty years. Whenever this line of religious interest turns downward andreaches a low level, history shows that it is time to prepare for areaction and depression in business conditions. Every great panic wehave ever had has been foreshadowed by a general decline in observanceof religious principles. On the other hand, when the line of religiousinterest begins to climb and the nation turns again to the simple modeof living laid by in the Bible, then it is time to make ready for aperiod of business prosperity. 

XI

THE FUTURE CHURCH

 The time is coming when the Church will awake to its great opportunities. The greatest industry in America but the most backward and inefficiently operated, is still in the stage-coach class. 

Of course the Church is very far from developed. The Church is in thesame position to-day as were the water-powers fifty years ago. TheChurch has great resources; but these resources are sadly undeveloped. From an efficiency point of view, from an organization point of view, from a production point of view, the Church to-day is in the stage-coachclass. It holds within itself the keys of prosperity. It holds withinitself the salvation and solution of our industrial, commercial andinternational problems. Yet it is working, or at least the Protestantbranch is open, only three or four hours a week. The Church has thegreatest opportunity to-day of any industry. It is the least developedindustry, the most inefficiently operated, and the most backward in itsmethods. 

Let us shut our eyes and look ahead at what it will be twenty-five yearsfrom now. Let us imagine five churches within a radius of five miles. All of them now operating independently. Each one open only a few hoursa week. Twenty-five years from now these five churches will be linked uptogether under a general manager who will not be a parson, but who willbe a business man. 

To-day the preacher of our churches is a combination of preacher, business manager, and salesman. He is the service department, thefinance department and everything but the janitor. The Church is beingoperated to-day as a college would be operated with one professor, whowould be president, treasurer, general manager, and everything else. TheChurch is being operated to-day as a factory with simply a productionman and no one to tend the finances or the sales. Manufacturers readingthis book know how long a factory could be run with only asuperintendent and no one to sell or finance the proposition. 

Twenty-five years from to-day, instead of the pastor being at the headof the church and a few good people doing voluntary work, there will befour or five churches of the same denomination united under one generalmanager. I do not mean by this that four of them will be closed. Theywill all be open much more than they are now; but they will all be underone general manager and will be taking orders from that general manager. Twenty-five years from to-day the churches will be self-supporting. Thedays of begging will be over. Religion has been cheapened by singingabout "salvation's free for you and me. " When we have our legaldifficulties, we go to a lawyer and pay him; when we have a pain we goto a doctor and pay him; if we want our children taught we pay theprice; but if we want our children instructed in the fundamentals ofprosperity upon which their future depends, we send them to a SundaySchool for a half-hour a week with the possibility of having them taughtby a silly girl who doesn't know her work. In any event the parentseldom takes the trouble to ascertain the quality of the teaching. 

The time is coming when the Church will awake to its great principlesand opportunities. The greatest industry in America is still the mostbackward and most inefficiently operated. When these four or fivechurches are combined, the preacher will not have to spend half the weekin preparing a different sermon every Sunday. He will have two weeks ora month to prepare that sermon. He will have time and have the "pep" andenergy to deliver it to you so you won't go to sleep while sitting inthe pews. The audience will then hear the same preacher only once eachmonth, and the preacher will then have more than one congregation toappeal to. 

The same man is not going to be expected to preach on Love, Hate, theLeague of Nations, How to Settle Labour Disputes and the Health of theCommunity and every other subject. All of these men will preach thesalvation of Jesus, but each one will specialize in one particular phaseof the Christian life, such as Faith, Integrity, Industry, Coöperation. Then we will take more stock in our preachers because they won't pretendto know every subject. Then the preacher will not be of lesserintelligence than the average audience. 

Fifty years ago the ablest men in every community were the preachers, the doctors, and the lawyers. They were the only college graduates ofthe town and were looked up to. To-day, while we pay our salesmanagersfrom $15, 000 to $20, 000 a year, and lawyers and doctors large fees, wepay our preachers only miserable salaries. It's a damnable disgrace toall of us. I often think that if Jesus were to come back to us, that Hewould take for His text that thought from the Sermon on the Mount, "Ifyou have aught against your neighbour, before you enter into yourworship go and square up. " I think that when He came in to speak to uson Sunday morning, He would say:

"Gentlemen, I suggest that before we have this service, we raise fundsto pay the preacher a decent salary. "

 * * * * *

Just before I went to Brazil I was the guest of the President of theArgentine Republic. After lunching one day we sat in his sun parlourlooking out over the river. He was very thoughtful. He said, "Mr. Babson, I have been wondering why it is that South America with all itsgreat natural advantages is so far behind North America notwithstandingthat South America was settled before North America. " Then he went on totell how the forests of South America had two hundred and eighty-sixtrees that can be found in no book of botany. He told me about manyranches that had thousands of acres under alfalfa in one block. Hementioned the mines of iron, coal, copper, silver, gold; all those greatrivers and water-powers which rival Niagara. "Why is it, with all thesenatural resources, South America is so far behind North America?" heasked. Well, those of you who have been there know the reason. But, being a guest, I said:

"Mr. President, what do you think is the reason?"

He replied: "I have come to this conclusion. South America was settledby the Spanish who came to South America in search of _gold_, but NorthAmerica was settled by the Pilgrim Fathers who went there in search of_God_. "

Friends, let us as American citizens never kick down the ladder by whichwe climbed up. Let us never forget the foundation upon which allpermanent prosperity is based. 

_Printed in the United States of America_