Wisely he records that he resolved to keep out of Wall Street
thereafter, in spite of his initial success in speculation. When he
gave up an association that probably would have led to his becoming a
stock-broker, and somewhat later, when he declined an offer to be the
business manager for a popular American actress, Edward Bok was called
upon to make fateful decisions. In this story he lays ample stress
upon the need for careful and deliberate consideration at such crucial
moments.

The account of his long and successful editorship of _The Ladies' Home
Journal_ reveals the extent of his influence on American social and
domestic conditions. He broadened the scope of _The Journal_ until it
touched the life of the nation at many points. The earlier women's
magazines had devoted most attention to fashions, needle-work, and
cookery, printing a few sentimental stories and poems to give the
necessary literary atmosphere. _The Ladies' Home Journal_ took up a
great variety of problems concerning the American home and those who
dwelled therein. A corps of editors was assembled to conduct
departments and to answer questions either by mail or in the pages of
_The Journal_. Free scholarships in colleges and in musical
conservatories were given in place of the usual magazine premiums.
Series of articles were published to foster our national appreciation
for better architecture, better furniture, better pictures--in brief,
for better homes in every respect.

Mr. Bok discouraged the taking of patent medicines, the wearing of
aigrettes, the use of the public drinking-cup, the disfiguring of
American scenery with glaring signs and bill-posting, the use of
fireworks on the Fourth of July, and many similar matters that were not
to our credit or advantage. He printed convincing photographs taken in