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
