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Who and Whose Ideas Advanced Early Twentieth-Century Capitalism

Who and Whose Ideas Advanced Early American Capitalism

Date Published: February 20, 2022
Date Modified: October 18, 2023
Image of three early-twentieth-century business men looking at a chart with the question:
In 1916, Ida M. Tarbell in "New Ideals in Business" wrote the following that supports A. W. Shaw's premise in this wonderful article of his from  "System: The Magazine of Business." In this article Mr. Shaw and his peers looked back on a quarter of a century of change in American Capitalism.

Here is Miss Tarbell's perspective on one change she saw:
“We know fairly well what [the old-school] employer preaches and practices. His concern is with the machinery of business, not with the human beings who operate that machinery. They must look out for themselves. If they contract occupational diseases, it is their lookout. If they are hurt, it is also their lookout. If the hours are long and the wages low, they are free to leave. If they put in suggestions which help the business but not them that is their bad luck. Briefly his creed is ‘Humanity has nothing to do with business.’
​
“The employer of the new school disputes every point of the old creed. Wherever you find this new executive you find him enormously interested in the human material. … We have in the country a new type of management, taking upon its shoulders the burden of industrial unrest, injustice and inefficiency; this school believes that it sees the road out, and that it is willing to give the best of itself in opening the road.”
What and Who Advanced Capitalism in the Early 20th Century?
  • A History Lesson in Early American Business Leadership
  • An Inquiry of Early 20th Century American Industrialists by A. W. Shaw
    • What Contributions Most Affected American Capitalism from 1900 to 1925?
    • Who Made the Greatest Contributions to American Business Development?
A History Lesson in Early American Business Leadership
​When I asked an individual close to me what he thought were the greatest positive contributors to business in our country’s early twentieth century, he thought for a moment and then shrugged his shoulders.

​So, I read the following insights of the top industrialists of the day to him.

​He then commented: “You’re kidding, right?”
Image of American Constitution asking the question:
Have we lost touch with our country’s corporate history? Are we failing to understand and assimilate capitalism’s positive aspects as its early founders guided our fledgling economy through its early growing pains? Are we carrying around within us underlying, pervasive and internalized biases—many of which are negative.

Finally, why do we find it easy to articulate who and what built our political system, but difficult to identify the who and the what that forged democracy’s economic foundation?
The following is a sample of what industrialists believed were the greatest evolutionary changes they experienced in the first quarter of the twentieth century: Popular business ideals which improved their companies and solidified our economy:
“We have learned that a single dollar earned with goodwill is more valuable than many dollars earned which bring with them hatred, jealousy and ill feelings, and that any transaction which does not benefit both buyer and seller benefits neither. We have learned to apply the Golden Rule in everyday business relationships, to hold ourselves to a higher standard of business ethics, to recognize the buyer’s rights and the spirit of service—a responsibility to the customer, and to substitute for buyer beware, honest and ethical standards.
​
“Businesses of today [1926] are built on consumer confidence, have more of a spiritual feel—a great spirit of cooperation that has radically changed business methods, and have realized that the greatest service that can be rendered to stockholders is to render maximum service to customers." [See Footnote #1]
​In January 1926, A. W. Shaw published in System: The Magazine of Business the following survey. More must be done to develop a deeper, well-rounded understanding of—and admiration for—our country’s early business founders. We need to write of their trials, tribulations and successes. Writing figuratively: We need to etch their images in stone just as we have our early political founders.

If we do this, maybe our twenty-first century chief executives will once again—like their twentieth-century counterparts, learn to measure success by ideals and not by dollars and cents.
Image of Mount Rushmore with the tagline:
A. W. Shaw wrote that this was “the great message” he discovered in this survey from 1926.
​
It is a great message—yesterday and today.
An Inquiry of Early 20th Century American Industrialists by A. W. Shaw
  • What Contributions Most Affected American Capitalism from 1900 to 1925?​
The actual wording of the question was as follows:
“What are the greatest things that have happened to business in the last 25 years?”
At first the vagueness of the question—“things,” was bothersome; but what if Mr. Shaw had more-narrowly focused his fellow businessmen’s thoughts by asking greatest “inventions?” Surely the Great War, the Federal Reserve System, or a Higher Standard of Living would have been lost … along with the top response.

​As it was, inventions still came in at 2nd, 4th and 10th places out of twelve “things”—without prompting.
An Image of Newton's Cradle with a question mark on one end and the question,
It was a specific, yet vague question. It was like asking a person to throw a dart at a dartboard with no central bullseye—there was no single appropriate answer. Instead, A. W. Shaw evaluated how the chief executives’ darts “clustered” around certain topics as they thought more openly, more creatively, more intuitively … and with less direction than if the publisher had given them a well-defined target. Conceptually, this was an open-book, essay test rather than a multiple-choice quiz.
​
Here is the ordered list followed by the editor’s clarifications as he explained his “clustering” of his reader’s responses:
Numbers 1 through 7
  • The Establishment of a Scientific or Professional Spirit as the Measure of Business: Recognition of the spirit of service, of ethical standards, of the buyer’s rights, of cooperation, of responsibility to the customer, of the human element, and of the trade association movement.
  • The Internal Combustion Engine: The automobile, the motor truck, the tractor, good roads, and better transportation.
  • The Federal Reserve System
  • The Reduction of Guessing in Managing a Business: Research; the “know thy costs” movement; improved marketing, production, and management methods; intelligent forecasting of business conditions.
  • The Electrical and Allied Developments: Improvements in communication—the radio, the telephone; electrical household devices; utilization of water power to generate electricity.
  • Advertising: Large-scale publishing, making possible impersonal selling [“impersonal” here is recognition of the movement away from one-on-one selling to one-on-many selling—advertising].​
  • ​The Great War: Its effect in stimulating mass production, awakening “world consciousness” in this country, and turning attention to standardization and simplification—eliminating unnecessary product variations to keep costs down by saving time and conserving labor.
Numbers 8 through 12
  • ​The Integration and Consolidation of Business: The development of a favorable attitude toward “big business;” the spread of stock ownership in corporations among workers.
  • Education for Business, Business Literature: The growth of business and trade magazines; the establishment of a man-power reserve through business educational facilities of high standing; the interchange of “ledger experience” through the printed page.
  • Simplification and the Department of Commerce: The establishment of a real headquarters for business men at Washington and the official sponsoring of the peace-time possibilities in simplification.
  • Inventions and Improvements of Inventions: Labor-saving devices and methods for offices; the airplane; better presses and typesetting methods; moving pictures; the phonograph; the pulp process; artificial silk; elevators; the sewing machine; improved farm machinery; vulcanization of rubber.
  • The Higher Standard of Living: Resulting in the increased purchasing power necessary for mass production.
  • ​Who Made the Greatest Contributions to American Business Development from 1900 to 1925?
A. W. Shaw printed the answers of his fellow business men to the following question:
​“Who, among businessmen, have made the greatest contributions to the development of business since 1900?”
This is that list. Underneath each individual is a link to any review(s) by this author of their books, biographies or autobiographies. At the end of this list are other individuals mentioned by Mr. Shaw’s readers but who did not make the top eleven—honorable mentions so to speak. If available, links are also provided to reviews on this website of their manuscripts, biographies or autobiographies.

​These are the eleven top individuals:
An Image of Newton's Cradle with a question mark on one end and the question,
Numbers 1 through 5
  • Henry Ford​, Ford Motor Co. (twice as many votes as any other industrialist)
    • Reviews of Henry Ford’s books
    • A review of “The Last Billionaire: Henry Ford”
  • Herbert Hoover, Secretary of Commerce
    •  A review of “The Ordeal of Woodrow Wilson” 
    • A review of “The Problems of a Lasting Peace”
  • Elbert H. Gary, United States Steel Corporation
    • A review of “The Life of Elbert H. Gary”
  • Thomas A. Edison, Thomas A. Edison, Inc.
    • “Edison, His Life and Inventions”
  • A. W. Shaw, A. W. Shaw Company
    • A. W. Shaw Publishing Home Page​
Numbers 6 through 11
  • Henry S. Dennison, Dennison Manufacturing Co.
  • John H. Patterson, National Cash Register Co.
    • A review of “Pioneer in Industrial Welfare”
  • Frederic W. Taylor, Taylor System of Scientific Management
  • Owen D. Young, General Electric Co.
    • A review of “Owen D. Young: A New Type of Industrial Leader”
    • A review of “Addresses of Young and Swope”
  • Julius Rosenwald, Sears, Roebuck and Co.
    • A review of “The Life of a Practical Humanitarian”
  • Samuel Insull, Commonwealth Edison Co.
These are the honorable mentions:
Nelson W. Aldrich; Roger W. Babson; Bernard M. Baruch; President Coolidge; Lee De Forest; Marshall Field; A. Lincoln Filene; Edward A. Filene; Dr. Edwin F. Gay; Carter Glass; Edward H. Harriman; Secretary Mellon; Samuel Rae; Charles P. Steinmetz; Theodore N. Vail; John Wanamaker​; Woodrow Wilson; F. W. Woolworth.
Read the Article for Yourself: Download A. W. Shaw's "American Business" Article

Footnote #1: This last insight has been the ever-present theme in “THINK Again” which is in its second release: The Rometty Edition. These “quotes” have been modified for effect and adapted for today’s audience. Though they are different in wording they are effectively the same.

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