fundamentals of prosperity roger babson

8/13/2019 Fundamentals of Prosperity Roger Babson

1/94


2/94

Fundamentals of Prosperity , ^What They Are andWhence They Come

ByROGER W. BABSONPrexiasnt Babson Statistical Organizattar^

New York Chicagoeming H. Revell CompanyLondon and Edinburgh


3/94

ContentsW? Foreword

I. Honesty or Steel Doors ? .II. Faith the Searchlight of Busi-ness 19III. Industry vs. Opportunity . . 27IV. CooperationSuccess by Help-ing the Other Fellow . . 35V. Our Eeal Eesources ... 43YI. Study the Human Soul . . 51YIL Boost the Other Fellow . . 57VIII. What Truly Counts . . 63IX. What Figures Show ... 71X. Where the Church Falls Down 79XL The Future Church ... 87

7H


4/94

ForewordSOME two thousand years ago the

greatest teacher who ever walkedthe earth advised the people ofJudea not to build their houses on thesand. What he had in mind was that theywere looking too much to the structureabove ground, and too little to the spir-itual forces which must be the founda-tion of any structure which is to stand.Following the war we enjoyed the great-est prosperity this country has ever wit-nessed ;the greatest activity, the greatestbank clearings, the greatest foreign trade,the greatest railroad gross earnings, thehighest commodity prices.We then constructed a ten-story build-ing on a foundation meant for only a twoor three story building. Hence the prob-lem confronting us business men is tostrengthen the foundation or else see the


5/94

S FOEEWORDstructure fall. I am especially glad of theopportunity to write for business men.There are two reasons:^first, because Ifeel that the business men are largely re-sponsible for having this ten-story struc-ture on a foundation made for one of onlytwo or three stories; secondly, because Ibelieve such men alone have the vision, theimagination and the ability to strengthenthe foundation and prevent the structurefrom falling.The fact is, we have become crazy over

material things. We are looking only atthe structure above ground. We are try-ing to get more smoke from the chimney.We are looking at space instead of service,at profits instead of volume. With oureyes focused on the structure aboveground, we have lost sight of those humanresources, thrift, imagination, integrity,vision and faith which make the structurepossible. I feel that only by the businessmen can this foundation be strengthenedbefore the inevitable fall comes.When steel rails were selling at ^55

a ton, compared with only $25 a ton


6/94

FOEEWOED 9a few years previous, our steel plantsincreased their capacity twenty-five percent. Increased demand, you say? No,the figures don't show it. Only thirty-onemillion tons were produced in 1919, com-pared with thirty-nine million tons in1916. People have forgotten the gospelof service. The producing power perman has fallen off from fifteen to twentyper cent. We have all been keen on de-veloping consumption. We have devotednine - tenths of our thought, energyand effort to developing consumption.This message is to beg of every reader togive more thought to developing produc-tion, to the reviving of a desire to produceand the realization of joy in production.We are spending millions and millionsin every city to develop the good-will ofcustomers, to develop in customers a desireto buy. This is all well and good, but wecan't continue to go in one direction indefi-nitely. We cannot always get steam outof the boiler without feeding the furnace.The time has come when in our o^vn inter-ests, in the interests of our communities.


7/94

10 FOEEWORDour industry, and of the nation itself, fora while we must stop adding more storiesto this structure. Instead, we muststrengthen the foundations upon which theentire structure rests.

R. W. B.


8/94

Honesty or Steel Doors?


9/94

While fifty-one per cent of the people havetheir eyes on the goal of integrity, onr invest-ments are secure ; but with fifty-one per cent ofthem headed in the wrong direction, onr invest-ments are valueless. The first fundamental ofprosperity is Integrity.


10/94

IHONESTY OR STEEL DOORS?

WHILE on a recent visit to Chi-cago, I was taken by the presi-dent of one of the largest banksto see his new safety deposit vaults. Hedescribed theseas bank presidents willas the largest and most marvellous vaultsin the city. He expatiated on the heavysteel doors and the various electrical andmechanical contrivances which protect thestocks and bonds deposited in the institu-tion.While at the bank a person came in to

rent a box. He made the arrangementsfor the box, and a box was handed to him.In it he deposited some stocks and bondswhich he took from his pocket. Then theclerk who had charge of the vaults wentto a rack on the wall and took out a keyand gave it to the man who had rented the

13


11/94

14 FUNDAMENTALS OF PROSPEEITYbox. The man then put the box into oneof the little steel compartments, shut thedoor and turned the key. He then wentaway feeling perfectly secure on accountof those steel doors and various mechanicaland electrical contrivances existing to pro-tect his wealth.I did not wish to give him a sleeplessnight so I said nothing; but I couldn'thelp thinking how easy it would have beenfor that j)oorly-paid, humpbacked clerkto make a duplicate of that key before hedelivered it to the renter of that box.With such a duj)licate, the clerk couldhave made that man penniless within a fewminutes after he had left the building.The great steel door and the electrical andmechanical contrivances would have beenabsolutely valueless.Of course the point I am making is that

the real security which that great bank inChicago had to offer its clientele lay not inthe massive stone columns in front of itsstructure; nor in the heavy steel doors;nor the electrical and mechanical contriv-ances. The real strength of that institu-


12/94

HONESTY OR STEEL DOORS? 16lion rested in the honesty,the absoluteintegrityof its clerks.******That afternoon I was talking about thematter with a business man. We werediscussing securities, earnings and capital-ization. He seemed greatly troubled bythe mass of figures before him. I said tohim: Instead of pawing over these earn-ings and striving to select yourself thesafest bond, you will do better to go to areliable banker or bond-house and leavethe 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 a stockcertificate, do vou ever take the trouble tosee if it is signed and countersigned prop-erly? Moreover, if you find it signed, isthere any way by which you may knowwhether the signature is genuine orforged?

No, he said, there isn't. I am ab-solutely dependent on the integrity of thebankers from whom I buy the securities.

And when you think of it, there is really


13/94

16 FUNDAMENTALS OF PEOSPEEITY no value at all in the pieces of paper whicHone so carefully locks up in these safetydeposit boxes. There is no value at all inthe bank-book which we so carefully cher-ish. There is no value at all in those deedsand mortgages upon which we depend socompletely. The value rests iiui, in theintegrity of the lawyers, clerks and stenog-raphers who draw up the papers ; secondly,in the integrity of the officers who sign thedocuments ; thirdly, in the integrity of thecourts and judges which would enable usto enforce our claims; and finally, in theintegrity of the community which woulddetermine whether or not the orders of thecourt will be executed.

These things which we look upon as ofgreat value:the stocks, bonds, bank-books, deeds, mortgages, insurance poli-cies, etc., are merely nothing. Whilefifty-one per cent, of the people have theireyes on the goal of Integrity, our invest-ments are secure; but with fifty-one percent, of them headed in the wrong direc-tion, our investments are valueless. Sothe first fundamental of prosperity is in-


14/94

HONESTY OR STEEL DOOES ? 17tegi'ity. Without it there is no civiliza-tion, there is no peace, there is nosecurity, there is no safety. Mind youalso that this applies just as much to theman who is working for wages as to thecapitalist and every owner of property.

Integrity, however, is very much broaderthan the above illustration would indicate.Integrity applies to many more thingsthan to money. Integrity requires theseeking after, as well as the dispensing of,truth. It was this desire for truth whichfounded our educational institutions, oursciences and our arts. All the great pro-fessions, from medicine to engineering,rest upon this spirit of integrity. Only asthey so rest, can they prosper or even sur-vive.Integrity is the mother of knowledge.The desire for truth is the basis of alllearning, the value of all experience andthe reason for all study and investigation.Without integrity as a basis, our entireeducational system would fall to theground; all newspapers and magazineswould become sources of great danger and


15/94

18 FUNDAMENTALS OF PEOSPERITYthe publication of books would have to besuppressed. Our whole civilization restsupon the assumption that peo]3le are hon-est. With this confidence shaken, thestructure falls. And it should fall, for,unless the truth be taught, the nationwould be much better off without itsschools, newspapers, books and profes-sions. Better have no gun at all, than oneaimed at yourself. The corner-stone ofprosperity is the stone of Integrity.


16/94

Faith the Searchlight of Business


17/94

This religion which we talk about for an houra week, on Sunday, is not only the vital forcewhich protects our community, but it is the vitalforce which makes our communities. The powerof our spiritual forces has not yet been tapped.


18/94

IIFAITH THE SEARCHLIGHTOF BUSINESS

ABOUT three years ago I was trav-elling in South America. Whengoing from Sao Paulo up across

the tablelands to Rio Janeiro, I passedthrough a little poverty-stricken Indianvillage. It was some 3,000 feet above sealevel; but it was located at the foot of agreat water-power. This water-power, Iwas told, could easily develop from 10,000to 15,000 horse-power for twelve monthsof the vear. At the base of this waterfalllived these poverty-stricken Indians, ploAV-ing their gTOund with broken sticks, bring-ing their corn two hundred miles on theirbacks from the seacoast, and grinding itby hand between two stones. Yet,witha little faith and vision, they could havedeveloped that water-power, even thoughin a most primitive manner, and with irri-

21


19/94

22 FUNDAMENTALS OF PEOSPEEITYgation, could have made that poverty-stricken valley a veritable Garden ofEden. Thej^ simply lacked faith. Theylacked vision. They were unwilling, orunable, to look ahead to do something forthe next generation and trust to the Lordfor the results.

I met the head man of the village and^aid to him: Why is it that you don't dosomething to develop this power? *'Why, if we started to develop this

thing, he answered, by the time we gotit done, we would be dead.

Indians had lived there for the last twohundred years lacking the vision. No onein that community had the foresight orvision to think or see beyond the end of hisday. It was lack of faith which stood be-tween them and prosperity. Hence, thesecond great fundamental of prosperity isthat intangible something, known asfaith, vision, hope, whatever you maycall it.The writer of the Book of Proverbssays: Where there is no vision, the peo-ple perish. Statistics teach that where


20/94

THE SEAECHLIGHT OF BUSINESS 23there is no vision, civilization never getsstarted The tangible things which weprize so highly,buildings, railroads,steamships, factories, power plants, tele-phones, aeroplanes, etc., are but the resultof faith and vision. These things are only-symptoms of conditions, mere barometerswhich register the faith and vision of man-kind.

This religion which we talk about for anhour a week, on Sunday, is not only thevital force which protects our community,but it is the vital force which makes ourcommunities. The power of our spiritualforces has not yet been tapped Ourgrandchildren will look back upon us andwonder why we neglected our trust andour ox3portunity, just as we look back onthose poor Indians in Brazil who plowedwith crooked sticks, grinding their cornbetween stones and hauling it on theirbacks two hundred miles from the sea-board.

^ * ^ ^ ^ These statements are not the result of

any special interest as a churchman. I


21/94

24 FUNDAMENTALS OF PEOSPEEITYam not a preacher. I am simply a busi-ness man, and my work is almost whollyfor bankers, brokers, manufacturers, mer-chants and investors. The concern withwhich I am associated has one hundredand eighty peoj)le in a suburb of Bostonwho are collecting, compiling and distrib-viting statistics on business conditions.We have only one source of income, andthat is from the clients who pay us for ananalysis of the situation. Therefore youmay rest assured that it is impossible forus to do any propaganda work in the in-terests of any one nation, sect, religion orcliurch. The only thing we can giveclients is a conclusion based on a diagnosisof a given situation. As probably few ofyou readers are clients of ours, may I quotefrom a Bulletin which we recently sent tothese bankers and manufacturers?

The need of the hour is not more legis-lation. The need of the hour is more re-ligion. More religion is needed every-where, from the halls of Congress atWashington, to the factories, the mines,the fields and the forests. It is one thing


22/94

THE SEAECHLIGHT OF BUSINESS 25to talk about plans or policies, but a planor policy without a religious motive is likea watch without a spring or a body with-out the breath of life. The trouble, to-day, is that we are trying to hatch chickensfrom sterile eggs. We may have the fin-est incubator in the world and operate itaccording to the most improved regula-tionsmoreover, the eggs may appearperfect specimensbut unless they havethe germ of life in them all our efforts areof no avail.

I have referred to the fact that the se-curity of our investments is absolutely de-pendent upon the faith, the righteousnessand the religion of other people. I havestated that the real strength of our invest-ments is due, not to the distinguishedbankers of America, but rather to the poorpreachers. I now go farther than thatand say that the development of the coun-try as a whole is due to this something, thisindescribable something, this combinationof faith, thrift, industry, initiative, integ-rity and vision, which these preachers havedeveloped in their communities.


23/94

26 FUl^DAMENTALS OF PEOSPERITYFaith and vision do not come from the

wealth of a nation. It's the faith andvision which produce the wealth. Thewealth of a country does not depend on itsrav/ materials. Raw materials are to acertain extent essential and to a great ex-tent valuable ; but the nations which to-day-are richest in raw materials are the poorestin wealth. Even when considering onecountrythe United Statesthe prin-ciple holds true. The coal and iron andcopper have been here in this country forthousands of years, but only within thelast fifty years have they been used.Water-powers exist even to-day absolutelyunharnessed. Look the whole world overand there has been no increase in raw ma-terials. There existed one thousand yearsago more raw materials than we have to-day, but we then lacked men with a visionand the faith to take that coal out of theground, to harness the water-powers, tobuild the railroads and to do other thingsworth while. So I saj^ the second great.fundamental of prosperity is Faith.


24/94

Ill

findustiy vs. Opportunity


25/94

Industry is the mother of invention. Struggle,sacrifice and burning midnight oil have producedthe cotton gin, the sewing machine, the printingpress, the steam engine, the electric motor, thetelephone, the incandescent lamp and the othergreat inventions of civilization. Some religiousenthusiasts think only of the *' lilies of the fields'*and forget the parable of the talents.


26/94

IllINDUSTRY VS. OPPORTUNITYA FEW years ago I was employedby one of the largest publishinghouses in the country to make astudy of America's captains of industry.

The real purpose of the study was to dis-cover some industry or some man thatcould be helped greatly through nationaladvertising. In connection with thatstudy of those captains of industry, I tab-ulated their ancestry. These were theseventy greatest manufacturers, mer-chants and railroad builders, the leadingmen who have made America by develop-ing the fields, the forests, the mines andthe industries. What did I find? I foundthat only five per cent, of these captainsof industry are the sons of bankers; onlyten per cent, of them are the sons ofmanufacturers; fifteen per cent, of them

29


27/94

30 FUNDAMEITTALS OF PEOSPERITYare the sons of merchants,while over thirtyper cent, of them are the sons of poorpreachers and farmers.Why is it that ministers' sons hold amuch more important place in the indus-trial development of America than thesons of bankers? The ministers' sons in-herit no wealth, they have no more thantheir share of college education; they arenot especially religious as the world meas-ures religion. In fact, there is an old say-ing about ministers' sons and deacons'daughters. I would be false to my repu-tation as a statistician to hold up thesecaptains of industry as saintly examplesfor young men to follow. But the factremains nevertheless that these men arecreating America to-day. Now, what'sthe reason?The reason is that these men have a

combination of the two traits already men-tioned and a third added thereto ;namely,the habit of work. They have inherited acertain rugged integrity from theirmothers and a gift of vision from theirfathers which, when combined with the


28/94

INDUSTEY VS. OPPOETUNITY 31habit of workforced upon them by theirfamily's meager income^means power.Integrity is a dry seed until put in theground of faith and allowed to grow. Butfaith with works is prosperity.A man may be honest and wonder whyhe does not get ahead; a man may havevision and still remain only a dreamer; butwhen integrity and vision are combinedwith hard work, the man prospers. It isthe same with classes and nations.

It has been said that genius is theauthor of invention. Statistics do notsupport this statement. The facts showthat industry is the mother of invention.Struggle, sacrifice and burning midnightoil have produced the cotton gin, the sew-ing machine, the printing press, the steamengine, the electric motor, the telephone,the incandescent lamp and the other greatinventions of civilization.Why is it that most of the able men inour great industries came from the coun-try districts? The reason is that thecountry boy is trained to work. Statisticsindicate that very seldom does a child,


29/94

32 FUNDAMENTALS OF PROSPEEITYbrought up in a city apartment house,amount to much; while the children ofwell-to-do city people are seriously handi-capped. The great educator of the pre-vious generation was not the public school,but rather the wood bocv. Those of usparents who have not a wood box for ourchildren to keep filled, or chores for themto do, are unfortunate.Run through the list of the greatestcaptains of industry, as they come to yourmind. How many of the men who arereally directing the country's businessgained their position through inheritedwealth? You will find them astonish-ingly few. There is no divine right ofkings in business. In fact, statisticsshow us that the very things which mostpeople think of as advantages, namely,wealth and not having to work arereally obstacles which are rarely sur-mounted.

Industry and thri^ are closely allied.Economic studies show clearly that ninety-five per cent, of the employers are em-ployers because they systematically saved


30/94

INDUSTEY VS. OPPORTUNITY 33money. Any man who systematicallysaves money from early youth automatic-ally becomes an employer. He may em-ploy thousands or he may have only twoor three clerks in a country store, but henevertheless is an employer. These samestudies show that ninety-five per cent, ofthe wage workers are wage workers be-cause they have systematically spent theirmoney as fast as they have earned it.They of necessity remain wage workers.These are facts which no labour leader candisprove and which are exceedingly sig-nificant. This is especially striking whenone considers that the employer oftenstarted out at the same wages and in thesame community as his wage workers.The employer was naturally industriousarid thrifty; while those who remainedwage workers were not.The development of this nation through

the construction of the transcontinentalrailways, the financing of the westernfarms, and the building of our cities islargely due to the old New England doc-trine that laziness and extravagance are


31/94

34 FUNDAMENTALS OF PEOSPEEITYsins. In some western communities it ispopular to laugh at these New Englandtraits ; but had it not been for them, thesewestern communities would never haveexisted. The industry and thrift devel-oped by the old New England religionwere the basis of our national growth.

I especially desire to emphasize thispoint because of the position of certain re-ligious enthusiasts who think only of thelilies of the field and forget the parableof the talents. It is a fact that the thirdfundamental of prosperity is Industry.


32/94

IVCo6perationSuccess by Helping the

Other Fellow


33/94


34/94

IVCOOPERATIONSUCCESS BY HELPINGTHE OTHER FELLOWA FEW days ago I Avas present at adinner of business men in Bostonwho were called together in orderto secure some preferential freight ratesfor Massachusetts. The principal themeof that gathering was to boom Massachu-setts at the expense of the rest of the coun-try. At the close of the dimier I wasasked to give my opinion and said: Letus see how many things there are in thisroom that we could have were we de-pendent solely on Massachusetts. Thechairs and furniture are from Michigan;the cotton is from Georgia ; the linen fromIreland ; the silver from Mexico ; the glass-ware from Pennsylvania; the paper fromMaine ; the paint from Missouri ; the clockfrom Connecticutand so on. Finally

37


35/94

38 FUNDAMENTALS OF PROSPERITYI got the courage to ask if there was a sin-gle thing in the room that did not origi-nate from some state other than Massa-chusetts. Those men were absolutelyhelpless in finding a single thing.The same fact applies in a general way

to every state and every home. Lookabout, where you are sitting now. Howmany things are there in the room justwhere you are,there is a table, a chair, ashoe, a coat, a necktie, a cigar, a lamp-shade, a piano, a basketfor all of theseyou are dependent upon others.The same fact is true when we analyze

one staple like shoes which, primarily, aremade of leather. Where does the leathercome from? Just follow that leatherfrom the back of the steer until you buy itin the form of shoes. Think where thatsteer was raised, and where the leather wastanned. Think of all the men engaged inthe industry from the cow-punchers to thesalesmen in the stores. But there is morethan leather involved in shoes. There iscotton in the shoe lacing and lining.There is metal in the nails and eyelets.


36/94

HELPING THE OTHEE FELLOW 39Not only must different localities cooper-ate to produce a shoe; but various indus-tries must give and take likewise.

Civilization is ultimately dependent onthe ability of men to cooperate. The bestbarometer of civilization is the desire andability of men to cooperate. The willing-ness to share with others,the desire towork with others is the great contributionwhich Christianity has given to the world.The effect of this new spirit is most thrill-ing when one considers the clothes whichhe has on his back, the food which he hason the table, the things which he has in thehouse, and thinks of the thousands of peo-ple whose labour has directly contributedtoward these things. Now this clearlyshows that the fourth great fundamentalof prosperity is copperation, the willing-ness and ability of men to cooperate, toserve one another, to help one another, togive and to take.But the teachings of Jesus along these

lines have a very much broader ap]3licationthan when applied merely to raw mate-rials, or even manufactured products. As


37/94


38/94

HELPING THE OTHEE FELLOW 41When he gets a little older he gets someboards, shingles and nails and builds a hut.Just as soon as he gets a knife, do you haveto show him how to use it? He instinc-tively begins to make a boat or an arrow orperhaps something he has never seen.Why? Because in his soul is a natural de-sire to produce and an inborn joy in pro-duction. But what happens to most ofthese boys after they grow up?Our industrial system has resulted in

almost stultifying men economically andmaking most of them economically non-productive. Why? I don't know. Isimply say it happens and the salvation ofour industries depends on discoveringsomething which will revive in man thatdesire to produce and that joy in produc-tion which he had instinctively when hewas a small boy.

Increased wages will not do it. Shorterhours will not do it. The wage workermust feel right and the employer must feelright. It is all a question of feeling.Feelings rule this world,not things.The reason that some people are not sue-


39/94

42 FUNDAMENTALS OF PEOSPEEITYcessful with collective bargaining andprofit sharing and all these other plans isbecause they think that men act accordingto what they say, or according to what theylearn, or according to that in which theyagree. Men act according to their feel-ings, and good feeling is synonymouswith the spirit of cooperation. One can-not exist without the other and j)rosperitycannot continue without both. Hence thefourth fundamental of jprosperity is Co-operation . ^


40/94

Our Real R csource^


41/94

We have gone daffy over things like steam,electricity, water power, buildings, railroads, andships and we have forgotten the human soulupon which all of these things depend and fromwhich all of these things originate.

\


42/94

VOUR REAL RESOURCES

TWO captains of industry werestanding, one day, on the bridge atNiagara looking at the gTeat falls.

One man turned to the other and said: Behold the greatest source of undevel-oped power in America.No. The greatest source of undevel-oped power in America is the soul ofman, the other replied.

I was talking with a large manufacturerthe other day, and he told me that he wassupporting scholarships in four universi-ties to enable young men to study the rawmaterials which he is using in his plant. Iasked him if he was supporting any schol-arships to study the human element in hisplant, and he said No. Yet whenasked for definite figures, it appeared thateighty per cent, of every dollar which he

46


43/94

46 FUNDAMENTALS OF PROSPEEITYspends, goes for labour, and only twentyj)GT cent, goes for materials. He is endow-ing four scholarships to study the twentyper cent, and is not doing a thing to studythe eighty per cent. Statistics show thatthe greatest undeveloped resources inAmerica are not our mines or our forestsor our streams, but rather the human soulsof the men and women who work for us.

This is most significant w^hen one resortsto statistics and learns that everythingthat we have,every improvement, everyrailroad, every ship, every building costingin excess of $5,000, every manufacturingconcern employing over twenty men, yes,every newspaper and book worth while,has originated and been developed in theminds of less than two per cent, of the peo-ple. The solution of our industrial prob-lems and the reduction of the cost of livingdepend not on fighting over what is al-ready produced, but upon producing more.This means that this two per cent, must beincreased to four per cent., and then to sixper cent. If all the good things which wenow have, come from the enterprise of only


44/94

OUB EEAL EESOUECES 47two per cent., it is evident that we wouldall have three times as much if the two percent, were increased to six per cent.

Jesus was absolutely right in His con-tention that if we would seek first theKingdom of God and His righteousnessall these other things would naturallycome to us. This is what Jesus had inmind when He urged people to give andserve, promising that such giving andserving should be returned to them a him-dred fold or more. Jesus never preachedunselfishness or talked sacrifice as such,but only urged His hearers to lookthrough to the end, see what the final re-sult would be and do what would be bestfor them in the long run. Jesus urgedHis followers to consider the spiritualthings rather than the material, and theeternal things rather than the temporal;but not in the spirit of sacrifice. The onlysacrifice which Jesus asked of His peoplewas the same sacrifice which the farmermakes Avhen he throws his seed into thesoil.The story of the loaves and fishes is still


45/94

48 FUNDAMENTALS OF PEOSPEEITYtaught as a miracle, but the day will comewhen it will not be considered such. Thesame is true regarding the incident whenJesus found that His disciples had beenfishing all night without results and Hesuggested that they cast the net on theother side. They followed His adviceand the net immediately filled with somany fishes that they could hardly pull itup. If we to-day would give morethought to the spiritual and less to the ma-terial, we would have more in health, haj)-piness, and prosperity. The business mento-day would be far better off iflike thefishermen of Galileewe would takeJesus' advice and cast our net on theother side.We are told that with sufficient faith wecould remove mountains. Have moun-

tains ever been removed or tunnelled with-out faith? The bridging of rivers, thebuilding of railroads, the launching ofsteamships, and the creation of all indus-tries are dependent on the faith of some-body. Too much credit is given both tocapital and labour in the current discus-


46/94

OUR REAL RESOURCES 4'&sions of to-day. The real credit for mostof the things which we have is due to somehuman soul which supplied the faith thatwas the mainspring of every enterprise.Furthermore in most instances this humansoul owes this germ of faith to some littlecountry church with a white steeple andold-fashioned furnishings.The reason I say old-fashioned

church is because our fathers Avere morewilling to rely upon the power of faiththan many of us to-day. What theylacked in many other ways was more thancompensated by their faith in God. Theygot, through faith, that somethingwhich men to-day are trying to getthrough every other means. All the edu-cators, all the psychologists, all the in-spirational writers cannot put into a manthe vision and the will to do things whichare gained by a clear faith. JNIost of usto-day are frantically trying to invent amachine which will solve our problems,when all the while we have the machinewithin us, if we will only set it going.That machine is the human soul.


47/94

60 FUNDAMENTALS OF PBOSPEEITYThe great problem to-day is to develop

the human soul, to develop this wonderfulmachine which each one of us has betweenhis ears. Only as this is developed canwe solve our other problems. When wegive as much thought to the solution of thehuman problem as we give to the solutionof the steam problem or the electricalproblem, we will have no labour problem.We have gone daffy over things likesteam, electricity, water-power, buildings,railroads and ships, and we have forgottenthe human soul upon which all of thesethings depend and from which all of thesethings originate.


48/94

Study the Human Soul


49/94

The first step is to give more thought andattention to people, to establish more points ofcontact. Let us do humanly, individually, manto man, what we are trying to do in a great bigway.


50/94

VISTUDY THE HUMAN SOUL

I WAS visiting the home of a famousmanufacturer recently and he tookme out to his farm. He showed mehis cattle. Above the head of each heiferand each cow was the pedigree. The mostcareful record was kept of every animal.He had a blue-print in his library at homeof every one of those animals. Yet whenwe began later to talk about the labourproblem in his own plant and I asked himhow many of his people he knew per-sonally, he told me,I quote his words:

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

Later in the eveningit was during theChristmas vacationa young fellow droveup to the house in a fancy automobile,came in and asked for this manufacturer'sonly daughter in order to take her to a

53


51/94

54 FUNDAMENTALS OF PEOSPERITYparty. I didn't like the looks of the fei^-low very well. After they had gone out, Isaid to the fatherWho is that chap?The father replied: I don't know;

some friend of Mary's.The father had every one of his cowsblue-printed, but he didn't know the name

cf the man who came to get his daughterand who didn't deliver her until twoo'clock the next morning That man wasneglecting the human soul, both in his fac-tory and in his home.

* * * eif * *I repeat that we have gone crazy over

structures above ground. We are abso-lutely forgetting the greatest of our re-sources,the great spiritual resource,upon which everything depends. Howshall we develox^ these resources?

Certainly we are not developing thisgreat s^Diritual resource in the publicschools. The educational system wasoriginally founded by the Church to trainthe children in the fundamentals of right-eousness. Gradually, but constantly, we


52/94

STUDY THE HUMAN SOUL 55have drifted away from this goal and to-day the purpose for which our schoolswere started has been ahnost entirely lost.In some states it is now a criminal offencefor a school superintendent to ask a pro-sj)ective school teacher what she believes orwhether she has any religion whateverUnder these conditions, is it surprisingthat the spiritual resources of our childrenare lying dormant?Much of the prosperity of this nation is

due to the family prayers which were oncedaily held in the homes of our fathers. Toa very large extent this custom has goneby. Whatever the arguments pro andcon may be, the fact nevertheless remainsthat such family prayers nurtured and de-veloped these spiritual resources to whichthe prosperity of the nation is due. Thecustom of family prayers should be re-vived along with many other good NewEngland customs which some modernradicals may ridicule, but to which theyowe all that they possess.The masses to-day are getting their realeducation from the daily newspapers.


53/94

56 FUNDAMENTALS OF PEOSPEEITYMany of these newspapers have muchgood material, but the great effort of thedaily press is not to make producers, butrather to make consumers. The policy ofthe daily press is not to get peox)le toserve, but rather to get them to buy. Notonly is the larger portion of the news-papers given up to advertising, but mostof this advertising is of non-essentials, ifnot of luxuries. With this advertisingconstantly before the people of the coun-try, it is but natural that the materialthings should seem of greatest impor-tance. To remedy this situation is a greatproblem to-da}^ fre.ing the Christian busi-ness men of this country. What shall wedo about it?The first step is to give more thoughtand attention to people, and to establish

more points of contact. Let us do hu-manly, individually, man to man, what weare trying to do in a great big way. An-other method to develop this human re-source is to give people responsibility.Moreover, we must do so if the nation isto be truly prosperous.


54/94

VIIBoost the Other Fellow


55/94

Just as our property is safe only as the otherfellow's property is safe, just as our daughteris safe only as the other fellow's daughter issafe, so it also is true that in order to developthe human soul in other men, we have to givethose men something.


56/94

BOOST THE OTHER FELLOW

MY little girl has a black cat ; aboutonce in four months this cat haskittens. Opposite our place isa man who has an Airedale dog. Whenthat dog comes across the street and thatcat has no kittens, the cat immediately** beats it as fast as she can, with the dogafter her. But when that dog comesacross the street and that cat has the re-sponsibility of some kittens, she immedi-ately turns on the dog and the dog beatsit with the cat after him. It is the samedog, the same cat, and the same backyardbut in one instance the cat has no responsi-bilities and in the other case she has. Re-sponsibilities develop faith, vision, cour-age, initiative, and other things that makethe world go round.

Just as our property is safe, only as the59.


57/94

60 FUNDAMENTALS OF PEOSPEEITYother fellow's property is safe; just as ourdaughter is safe, only as the other fellow'sdaughter is safe; so is it also true that, inorder to develop the human soul in othermen, we have to give those men something.We must give them a chance. We mustgive them opportunity. We must givethem a boost. All of us are simply stor-age batteries. We get out of life what weput into life. We care for others, not inaccordance with what they do for us, butrather in accordance with what we havedone for them.

I am quite often asked about invest*ments. Well, there are times, about oncein three or four yearsduring panics,when every one is scared to deaththat Iinvest in stocks. There are other timeswhen I advise the j)urchase of bonds. Thefact is, however, that I have not made mymoney investing either in stocks or bonds.What money I have made has come frominvesting in boys and girls, young menand young women.There is a common belief current to-day

that only people with experience are worth


58/94

BOOST THE OTHEE FELLOW 61while. But I say: Quit looking for theexperienced salesmen and trying to makea man out of him; get a man, and thenmake a salesman of him. I have a youngman in my business who was deliveringtrunks for an express company twelveyears ago. To-day he is my sales man-ager and has built our gross from $100,000to $1,000,000. One of my best experts, aman who is sought for by the leadingChambers of Commerce all over the land,was a carpenter on my garage nine yearsago. Another one of my experts, a manthe demand for whose services I cannotsupply,never acquired recognition until hewas over forty-five years of age. I foundhim keeping hens at Wellesley Farms Ayoung lady in my office to whom I pay$200 a week and who is worth, to me,$1,000 a week, I picked up at $4 a weektwelve years ago.

Such cases exist everywhere. You menyourselves know them. You look overyour own organizations. Who are themen who are really doing things? Arethey the men you acquired ready-made


59/94

62 FUNDAMENTALS OF PROSPEEITYfrom other concerns? No They are themen that have been taken up and devel-oped. These are the men that have mademoney for you and have created the busi-ness enterprise of which you are the head.Yet when we have reached a point of pres-tige, and have a big business, we aretempted to say: I haven't time to de-velop any more people, I have got to getthem already made. This is a big mis-take.

^ ^ ^ Ak aU. 4f.^V ^T VjV VjV VjV VJVI beg my readersthose who have themto get your foremen together. Say to

the partners or the officials of your con-cern: Haven't we given too muchthought to developing the structure?Aren't we piling too many stories oneupon another with too little thought to thefoundation? Then go out and look overyour plant and select a few people in eachdepartment to whom you will give a realopportunity. Start in to develop themand thereby strengthen the foundation ofthe business and the prosperity of the na-tion.


60/94

What Truly Counti


61/94

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


62/94

VIIIWHAT TRULY COUNTSWHEN it comes to the sale ofgoods, the same jDrinciple ap-plies. Eighty per cent, of our

sales organizations are devoted to selling toten per cent, of the population. We haveforgotten to consider whether or not goodsare needed. We only consider whetheror not they are being bought. We areforgetting to establish new markets, butrather are scrambling over the markets al-ready secured. Tremendous opportu-nities exist in developing new industries,in creating new communities, in relocatingthe center of production from one commu-nity to another community to match upwith the center of consumption.We have forgotten the latent power inthe human soul, in the individual, in the

65


63/94

66 FUNDAMENTALS OF PEOSPEEITYcommunity, in the different parts of thecountry. We have forgotten those hu-man possibilities upon which all prosperityultimately depends. I cannot perhapsemphasize this any more than by sayingthat the foundation of progress is spir-itual, not material.The greatest resources of the world to-day are human resources,not resourcesof iron, copper and lumber. The greatneed of the hour is to strengthen this hu-man foundation and revive in men a desireto produce and a joy in service. Businessmen are the one group that can do it.They understand the emotions, under-stand the importance of the intangiblethings. They understand how to awakenin people new motives. So mj appeal isnot to wait too long to revive man andawaken the soul which is slumbering to-day.The nation is only a mass of individuals.

The true prosperity of a country dependsupon the same qualities as the true pros-perity of its people. As religion is neces-sary for the man, it is also necessary for


64/94

WHAT TEULY COUNTS 67the nation. As the soul of man needs tobe developed, so also does the soul of thenation.

^Let me tell one more personal incident.

Not long ago I was at my Washingtonoffice spending the week. While there alittle Western Union messenger girl camein to apply for a position. It was in theafternoonabout half-past five. I wasstruck with the intelligence of the girl'sface and asked her two or three ques-tions. She was tired. I asked her tosit down. I was astonished to hear herstory.

She had been born and brought up inthe mountains of West Virginia,manymiles from civilization. Her father andmother di^d when she was four years old.She had been living with an old grand-father and brother. When I began totalk with her I found her to have a mostremarkable acquaintance with Emerson,with Thoreau, with Bernard Shaw andwith the old Eastern writers.

I said to her: How ia it that you are


65/94

68 FUNDAMENTALS OF PEOSPEEITYdelivering telegrams in a khaki suit and asoldier cap?

She replied: Because I could get noth-ing else to do. I lived down there in themountains just as long as I could. I hadto get to the city where I could expressmyself and develo]3 my finer qualities.When I got to Washington there wasnothing that I could do. They asked meif I could typewrite, but I had never seena typewriter. Finally, after walking thestreets for a while, I got a job as a West-ern Union messenger.

I wrote Mrs* Babson and made arrange-ments to have the girl come to Wellesleyand work for a few months with the Bab-son Organization. I saw in her certainqualities which, if developed, should makeher very useful to someone somewhere.She came to Wellesley. About a monthafter her arrival I was obliged to leaveon a two months' trip and Mrs. Bab-son invited her up to dine the night beforeI left. I told her that I was going tospeak while away on America's Unde-veloped Resources. After dinner she


66/94


67/94


68/94

IXWhat Figures Show


69/94

Panics are caused by spiritual causes ratherthan financial. Prosperity is the result of right-eousness rather than of material things.


70/94

'TT^

IXWHAT FIGUEES SHOWHE large black areas on the ad-

I joining chart are formed by com-bining and plotting current fig-

ures on New Building, Crops, Clearings,Immigration, Total Foreign Trade,Money, Failures, Commodity Prices,Railroad Earnings, Stock Prices andPolitics in order to give a composite viewof business in the United States. (WhenInterstate Commerce reports of earningsof all United States railtoads becameavailable, January, 1909, this record wassubstituted in place of the earnings of tenrepresentative roads which had been usedprevious to that time. Revised scales formonetary figures were also introduced inAugust, 1912.)The line X-Y represents the country's

net gain or growth. Based on the eco-nomic theory that action and reactionare equal when the two factors of time andintensity are multiplied to form an area,

73


71/94


72/94

74 FUNDAMENTALS OF PEOSPEEITYthe sums of the areas above and below saidline X-Y must, over sufficiently long pe-riods of time, be equal, provided enoughsubjects are included, properly weighedand combined. An area of x^rosperity isalways followed by an area of depressionan area of depression in turn is always fol-lowed by an area of prosperity. Theareas, however, need not have the sameshapes.

It will be seen that each area is dividedinto halves by a narrow white line. Thisis to emphasize the fact that the first halvesof areas below the X-Y line are reallyreactions from the extravagance, ineffi-ciency and corruption which existed dur-ing the latter half of the preceding prosperity area. Contrariwise, thefirst halves of areas above the X-Y lineare really reactions from the economy, in-dustry and righteousness developed dur-ing the hard times just ]3receding. Thehigh points of the stock market have comein the early part of the prosperity areasand the low points have come about thebeginning of the depression areas. In


73/94

', WHAT FIGUEES SHOW 761914 the war held down prices of all se-curities. The highest prices of bonds haveusually come about the end of the depres-sion areas and high money rates, and low-est bond prices at about the end of theprosperity areas.But what causes these fluctuations in

business and prices? Statistics show thatpanics are caused by spiritual causes,rather than financial, and that prosperityis the result of righteousness rather thanof material things. Hence, the impor-tance to industry and commerce of theforces already mentioned. These spir-itual forces are the true fundamentals ofprosperity. This in turn leads us to con-sider from where they come and uponwhat we are to depend for their furtherdevelopment. The following pages willgive the answer.

ttt yff ^ 7p ^What are the sources of these funda-

mentals of prosperity? Where do we getthis faith, integrity, industry, cooper&cionand interest in the soul of man upon whichcivilization is based?


74/94

76 FUNDAMENTALS OF PEOSPEEITYAs already explained, we do not get it

from the raw materials. We have alwayshad the raw materials. We do not get itfrom education. From a statistical pointof view Germany is the best educatedcountry in the world. It has the leastilliteracy. It has the largest percentageof scientific culture. No, these three fun-damentals do not come from education.They do not come from the inheritance ofproperty. I mentioned in the preceding-pages the investigation we made of leading-captains of industry in America, the menv/ho head the various greatest industriesin this country. Out of this group ofmen, only ten per cent, inherited theirbusiness, while only fifteen per cent, re-ceived special education. This shows thatthe source of these qualities is from some-thing more than wealth or education.We are striving and even slaving to layup property for our children, when statis-tics clearly show that the more we lay upfor them the worse off they are going tobe. If statistics demonstrate any onething, they demonstrate that the less


75/94

WHAT FIGUEES SHOW 77money we leave our children the better offthey will be ; not only spiritually and phys-ically, but also financially. When itcomes to the question of education, wework and economize to give our childrenan education and to send our children tocollege. Yet statistics show that only asmall percentage of these leading businessmen are college graduates.The success of individuals, the success

of communities, the success of nations, de-pends on these fundamentals,integrity,faith, industry, brotherly kindness and aninterest in the soul of man. To what dowe owe these great fundamental qualities?Statistics show clearly that we owe themto religion. Yes, and to the old-fashionedreligion of our forefathers. Moreover, Isay this not as a churchman. I wouldgive the same message if I were speakingto a group of bankers or a group of engi-neers. I was first brought into the Churchthrough the Christian Endeavour Society,but I was really converted to the Bibleteachings through a study of statistics.To religion we owe our civilization and


76/94

7b FUNDAMENTALS OF PEOSPEEITYto the Church we owe our religion. Allthere is in the world to-day that is worthwhile comes from men filled with, andfrom groups actuated by, these funda-mentals of integrity, faith, industry,brotherly love and those other factorswhich come only through God. ThieChurch to-day deserves the credit forkeeping these factors before the world.Hence, it is evident that the people ofAmerica have not the bankers to thankfor their security and j)rosperity, butrather the preachers and the churches.To these men we are obligated for ourgrowth and development.


77/94

1^

Where the Church Falls Down


78/94

Become saturated with Christ's principles, beclean and upright, cooperate with one another,have faith, serve, trust the Almighty for theresults, and you will never have to worry aboutproperty. ''If you will do these things, all ofthe others will be given to you. )y


79/94


80/94


81/94

WHERE THE CHURCH FALLS DOWN 83property, and the propertied group whichfrankly says that it is primarily interestedin property and not humanity. It seemsthat we should stop side-stepping thisquestion. Instead we should face itsquarely and answer both of these criti-cisms. INIy answer is as follows:Jesus was not interested in property, perse. There is no question but that Jesus hadno interest in property. These things whichlook so important to us,houses, roads,taxation, buildings, fields, crops, foreigntrade, ships,it is very evident were insig-nificant to Jesus. When any of Jesus'disciples came to Him to settle some prop-erty question. He pushed them aside andsaid He was too busy to consider it. I amsure that if Jesus were here to-dav, Hewould tell us all that we are idiots forstriving so to accumulate thingsbuild-ing ourselves bigger houses, getting biggerbank accounts and more automobiles.Hence, when the socialist or the radical orthe labour leader complains to me, Ifrankly admit this fact. Without doubt theChurch should emphasize that property of


82/94

84 FUNDAMENTALS OF PEOSPEEITYitself is of no value, and the only thingsworth while in life are happiness and thehealth and the freedom which come fromliving an upright, simple life.On the other hand, and this point I wishto emphasize just as strongly, Jesus tookthe position throughout His teachings,that if His disciples would simply getsaturated with His fundamentals, if thevwould be clean and upright, if they wouldcooperate with one another, if they wouldhave faith to serve and trust the Almightyfor the results, they would never have toworry about property. Property wouldtake care of itself. Jesus emphasized,first, that they should not think of prop-erty ; but He always closed His discoursesby some such statement as this: If youwill do these things, all of the others willbe given to you.

It is absolutely impossible for any indi-vidual to develop the above fundamentalsof prosperity,faith, integrity^ industry^nd brotherly kindiiesswithout beingsuccessful in the highest sense of the word.I do not refer to the mere accumulation


83/94

WHEEE THE CHUECH FALLS DOWN 85of money, but include all that a common-sense use of money can provide, namely,a necessary competence, goodly reputeamong one's fellows, service in the com-munit}^ and, above all, that inner satisfac-tion which no possession of pelf can pur-chase. It is fundamental law, Whatso-ever a man soweth that shall he also reap.Yet even in the matter of secular wealth

statistics show that the Church is thegreatest factor in the worldly success ofmen, groups and nations. Some readersmay have seen a book written by ProfessorCarver of Harvard entitled, The Re-ligion Worth Having. In that book theauthor discusses the various denomina-tions of Christianity. Then he says mostconclusively that the religion worth hav-ing, the religion that will survive, is thereligion which produces the most. Yetthis production will not come by seekingproduction per se, but rather by the devel-opment of these fundamental character-istics which have been described.Try as you will you cannot separate tHe

factor of religion from economic develop-


84/94

86 FUNDAMENTALS OF PEOSPEEITYment. In the work conducted by my Or-ganization at Wellesley Hills we studythe trend of religious interest as closely aswe do the condition of the banks or thesupply of and demand for commodities.Statistics of church membership form oneof the best barometers of business condi-tions. We have these figures chartedback for the past fifty years. Wheneverthis line of religious interest turns down-ward and reaches a low level, historyshows that it is time to prepare for a reac-tion and depression in business conditions.Every great panic we have ever had hasbeen foreshadowed by a general decline inobservance of religious principles. Onthe other hand, when the line of religiousinterest begins to climb and the nationturns again to the simple mode of livinglaid by in the Bible, then it is time to makeready for a period of business prosx)erity.


85/94

XIThe Future Church


86/94

The time is coming when the Church willawake to its great opportunities. The greatestindustry in America but the most backward andinefficiently operated, is still in the stage-coachclass.


87/94

XITHE FUTURE CHURCH

OF course the Church is very farfrom developed. The Church isin the same position to-day aswere the water-powers fifty years ago.The Church has great resources ; but theseresources are sadly undeveloped. Froman efficiency point of view, from an or-ganization point of view, from a produc-tion point of view, the Church to-day is inthe stage-coach class. It holds within it-self the keys of prosperity. It holdswithin itself the salvation and solution ofour industrial, commercial and interna-tional problems. Yet it is working, or atleast the Protestant branch is open, onlythree or four hours a week. The Churchhas the greatest opportunity to-day of anyindustry. It is the least developed indus-try, the most inefficiently operated, andthe most backward in its methods.

89


88/94

90 FUNDAMENTALS OF PEOSPEEITYLet us shut our eyes and look ahead aii

what it will be twenty-five years from now.Let us imagine five churches within a ra-dius of five miles. All of them now oper-ating independently. Each one open onlya few hours a week. Twenty-five yearsfrom now these five churches will be linkedup together under a general manager whowill not be a parson, but who will be abusiness man.To-day the preacher of our churches is

a combination of preacher, business man-ager, and salesman. He is the service de-partment, the finance department andeverything but the janitor. The Churchis being operated to-day as a college wouldbe operated with one professor, who wouldbe president, treasurer, general man-ager, and everything else. The Church isbeing operated to-day as a factory withsimply a production man and no one totend the finances or the sales. Manu-facturers reading this book know how longa factory could be run with only a superin-tendent and no one to sell or finance theproposition.


89/94

THE FUTUEE CHUECH 91Twenty-five years from to-day, instead

of the pastor being at the head of thechurch and a few good people doing vol-untary work, there will be four or ^vechurches of the same denomination unitedunder one general manager. I do notmean by this that four of them will beclosed. They will all be open much morethan they are now; but they will all beunder one general manager and will betaking orders from that general manager.Twenty-five years from to-day thechurches will be self-supporting. Thedays of begging will be over. Religionhas been cheapened by singing about sal-vation's free for you and me. When wehave our legal difficulties, we go to a law-yer and pay him ; when we have a pain wego to a doctor and pay him ; if we want ourchildren taught we pay the price; but ifwe want our children instructed in thefundamentals of prosperity upon whichtheir future depends, we send them to aSunday School for a half-hour a weekwith the possibility of having them taughtb}^ a silly girl who doesn^t laiow her work.


90/94

92 FUNDAMENTALS OF PEOSFEEITl^In any event the parent seldom takes thetrouble to ascertain the quality of theteaching.The time is coming when the Church

will awake to its great princij)les and op-portunities. The greatest industry inAmerica is still the most backward andmost inefficiently operated. When thesefour or five churches are combined, thepreacher will not have to spend half theweek in preparing a different sermonevery Sunday. He will have two weeksor a month to prepare that sermon. Hewill have time and have the pep andenergy to deliver it to you so you won't goto sleep while sitting in the pews. Theaudience will then hear the same preacheronly once each month, and the preacherwill then have more than one congregationto appeal to.The same man is not going to be ex-

pected to preach on Love, Hate, theLeague of Nations, How to SettleLabourDisputes and the Health of the Commu-nity and every other subject. All of thesemen will preach the salvation of Jesus, but


91/94

THE PUTUEE CHUECH 93each one will specialize in one particularphase of the Christian life, such as Faith,Integrity, Industry, Cooperation. Thenwe will take more stock in our preachersbecause they won't pretend to know everysubject. Then the preacher will not be oflesser intelligence than the average audi-ence.

Fifty years ago the ablest men m everycommunity were the preachers, the doc-tors, and the lawyers. They were theonly college graduates of the town andwere looked up to. To-day, while we payour salesmanagers from $15',000 to$20,000 a year, and lawyers and doc-tors large fees, we pay our preachersonly miserable salaries. It's a damn-able disgrace to all of us. I oftenthink that if Jesus were to come backto us, that He would take for His textthat thought from the Sermon on theIMount, If you have aught against yourneighbour, before you enter into yourworship go and square up. I think thatwhen He came in to speak to us on Sun-day morning, He would say


92/94

94 FUNDAMENTALS OF PROSPEEITY Gentlemen, I suggest that before we

have this service, we raise funds to pay thepreacher a decent salary.'*******

Just before I went to Brazil I was theguest of the President of the ArgentineRepublic. After lunching one day wesat in his sun parlour looking out over theriver. He was very thoughtful. Hesaid, Mr. Babson, I have been wonder-ing why it is that South America with allits great natural advantages is so far be-hind North America notwithstanding thatSouth America was settled before NorthAmerica. Then he went on to tell howthe forests of South America had twohundred and eighty-six trees that can befound in no book of botany. He told meabout many ranches that had thousands ofacres under alfalfa in one block. He men-tioned the mines of iron, coal, copper, sil-ver, gold ; all those great rivers and water-powers which rival Niagara. Why is it,with all these natural resources, SouthAmerica is so far behind North Amer-ica? he asked. Well, those of you who


93/94

THE FUTUEE CHUECH 95have been there know the reason. But,being a guest, I said:

Mr. President, what do you think isthe reason?He re^Dlied: I have come to this con-clusion. South America was settled bythe Spanish who came to South Americain search of gold, but North America wassettled by the Pilgrim Fathers who wentthere in search of God/'

Friends, let us as American citizensnever kick down the ladder by which weclimbed up. Let us never forget thefoundation upon which all permanentprosperity is based.

Printed in the United States ofAmerica


94/94

BUSINESS BOOKSBy ROGER W. BABSONPresident Bahson's Statistical Organization

THIRD EDITIONMaking Good in BusinessPAUL P. HARRIS, Pres. Enter. International

Association of Rotary Clubs, says:Every paragraph and every sentence has

its meaning and its purpose. It is direct,practical, concrete. It revives our faith inthe good old-fashioned precepts, and stimu-lates our courage to go forth and fight thebattle of every-day life with new hope andclearer vision. --------$1.25.

NINTH EDITIONFundamentals of ProsperityWestern Christian Advocate says:

Have you heard of Roger Babson, the greatstatistician and business expert? Then listen;

fundamentals of prosperity roger babson

Documents