SEMI-MONTHLY MAGAZINE LANDING THE BIG HELP WANTED THE $30.0 m a BY CROMWELL CHILDE ILLUSTRATION ?y B CORY'KI LVERT JOB bbbbbLHL it I N HIS MAIL one morning Joshua T. Jones found a brief letter from n very big banker of Wall Street. It mentioned Simeon Cortwright, t h o well known corpo ration lawyer, having spoken of him, and asked if ho could make it convenient to call upon the writer within tho next day or two. rr t rn t.. Tho great joko wm Sammy in lociety i 'n '. n ' aged thirty-five, who had been struggling ngainst every sort of busi ness difficulty for live years, setting on its feet a concern that was practically lifeless and supposed to bo beyond hope, tho letter scorned a hoax. He quickly found that it was not. Ho wolked into the banker's office tho next day. An hour later ho camo out, tho head of an important corporation at a sal ary of $40,000 a year, with tho privilego of carry ing on his private interests as he pleased. Three days before, tho big banker had not known that Joshua T. Jones existed, and Jones had only known tho banker as a wonderful name, a master in tho realm of money. What tho banker did know was that thcro wcro Joshua Joneses in tho world, many of them, if ho could only put his hands on one. Hun dreds of thousands nay, millions of dollars hung on his finding a man of this typo and skill. Sooner or later he would dis cover him. It was in the "club car" of a "millionaire special" run ning out of New York ono afternoon that tho banker landed his fish. Ho had win nowed Wall Street and every other commercial field ho knew -vainly. On tho train, chauco threw him next to tho lawyer, Cortwright. Tho banker oyed his old friend. Ho directly invoked his aid. "I am up against a problem, Simeon," ho said. "Perhaps you can help me." Then ho told tho story. A year or so beforo tho big banking firm had advanced funds to a certain largo in dustrial corporation. It was u good business risk then, a profitable one. The manufac turing company was strong at tho bottom, but at tho mo rn o n t wns sailing close- hauled to tho wind. Cash was needed to buy in com peting patents. It was forthcoming, and tho deals wcro closed. Hut no sooner was the company given its fresh start than its chief, a man in the prime of life, died suddenly. At first this did not seem a body blow. But after six months had passed the banking firm saw that thcro was no successor on tho pay-roll of tho concern, who could measure up to the job. More and more this became evident. A new directing foreo must bo found, from the outside, and at onco. There it was in a nutshell. The banker was terso and vigorous. Cortwright meditated. "I think I know the man for you," he said at last. "Ho is ripo from tho tree. You big men havo n't discovered him yet. Somebody will get him soon, and why not you, Pemberton?" ne stopped dramatically, "Do you know the X. YZr-Companyt" Aa great financier go, he la not especially prominent Yes, tho Wall Street man remembered; X. Y. Z. was a concern in some sort of grocery specialties that had been a very "lame duck" and gradually had made itself into a business worth while. . "The X. Y. Z. Company, as it now is," went on Cortwright, "is ono man Joshua Jones. You have never heard of him, and no need to search your mem ory. He was originally an undersnlaricd salesman. When things went from bad to worse with the X. Y. Z., he stuck like a leech. . That 's a trait of his to stick; you can't shako him off. When tho rats scuttled away from tho sinking ship, ho somehow got himself in command. Command! It was a sorry enough command I So everybody said but Joshua Jones. Pluck? No; mastery business sense of a high order I For threo years Jones was never sure any morning that ho would bo able to pull through tho day. Ho drew a salary that an entry clerk would havo been ashamed of, and did private accounting in tho evening to pay his board bill. Ho and his wife had fifty-cent theater seats weekly. That was their solo amusement. I know. Clients of mine held claims against tho company. I talked ten minutes with Jones, and I said to my clients: 'Wait, you '11 get your money. Give him time.' Well they got every cent. Pretty substantial concern now, John 1" NOT always so dramatically, but in ways more or less similar does tho "big job" today find tho man who can fill it. Joshua Jones and men of his stamp aro tho most earnestly and eagerly looked-for men in American business life. They are cheerfully given from $10,000 to $50,000 n year, generally much nearer tho larger sum. Capital has discovered that they are tho cheapest executives it can get. Less ex pensive men are vastly more costly in tho long run. The demand is steadily grow ing, and the really able man does not have to wait long to bo discovered. In tho very shadow of tho New York Stock Exchange, in a big suite of offices, sits a man who has organized many enterprises and has the confi dence of investors. As great financiers go, he is not espe cially prominent. The gen eral public would not recog nize his name if it were given here. In a casual way this man said the other day, whilo chatting in ono of the New York clubs: "I can place half a dozen men, if they aro of the right sort, within a week, at sala ries of from $10,000 to $30, 000. I can't get them too soon, and tho salary does n't matter. Tho troublo is that men who measure up to posi tions of this sort aro difficult to find, only those of us who must have them know how dilllcult, They aro to be had by capable search ing, and in n J other way." THIS man is ono of dozens of magnates in the financial centers of tho country bent quietly on this ono quest, the high salaried men that they need. Quiet hunting is an essential, otherwise the seekers would bo overrun by tho small fry, highly respectable, commonplace men worth $4,000 to $5,000 a year and not a cent more, easily replaceable. The financier, therefore, is chary about advertising his need, never lets it lo known that he wants a man of this stripe. Ho quietly scours the country over, letting no possi bility escape. Hundreds of youths would be aston ished if they knew that they were being secretly weighed and measured by men they have never heard of, in iuner offices of the Street. ' 1 'ff9a9Hpia2s''''Bi2 3L "I'm going to have other fellowa do the work" Expanding business and industry havo made the "top of the lad der" far less crowded than it used to be. The lower rungs are still thronged, even more than ever. But up at tho top men are always lack ing. There is an increasing and ncvor- ending demand for them. It is not that there are not enough such men, but that they are difficult to discover. Thousands of dollars are spent in hunt ing for them, and the search takes time. An error in choice might mean the wrecking of a great con cern. Tho chieftains who choose have to bo sure. It is the most difficult task to which they set them selves. It is not chance that brings the big job aud the very high salaried employe together, though it often appeal's to be. Not long ago a big corporation ex ecutive determined to start a new department as soon as ho could put his hands on the right man. Months went by and ho made no move. Less able men would havo wondered if they had known, for tho new venture was in a field where there were many experts and people of high reputation. One day this corporation president saw a letter. It was written by a man he had never met, never heard of; some one not in the new lino nt all. A word or two in its phrasing, a clever meeting of a situation, the brains behind it, caught him. Ho made. guarded in quiries. The man had a first-rnto record so far as it went, but his opportunities had been limited. Tho "candidate" never knew it, but he was already all but decided upon. Tho chief wanted but one more Did private accounting in the evening to pay hit board bill