facts about his own affairs. Many of the brightest kept their books in
such a way that they did not actually know when they were making money
on a certain operation and when they were losing. This unintelligent
competition was a hard matter to contend with. Good old-fashioned
common sense has always been a mighty rare commodity. When a man's
affairs are not going well, he hates to study the books and face the
truth. From the first, the men who managed the Standard Oil Company
kept their books intelligently as well as correctly. We knew how much
we made and where we gained or lost. At least, we tried not to deceive
ourselves.

My ideas of business are no doubt old-fashioned, but the fundamental
principles do not change from generation to generation, and sometimes
I think that our quick-witted American business men, whose spirit and
energy are so splendid, do not always sufficiently study the real
underlying foundations of business management. I have spoken of the
necessity of being frank and honest with oneself about one's own
affairs: many people assume that they can get away from the truth by
avoiding thinking about it, but the natural law is inevitable, and the
sooner it is recognized, the better.

One hears a great deal about wages and why they must be maintained at
a high level, by the railroads, for example. A labourer is worthy of
his hire, no less, but no more, and in the long run he must contribute
an equivalent for what he is paid. If he does not do this, he is
probably pauperized, and you at once throw out the balance of things.
You can't hold up conditions artificially, and you can't change the
underlying laws of trade. If you try, you must inevitably fail. All
this may be trite and obvious, but it is remarkable how many men
overlook what should be the obvious. These are facts we can't get away