June 15, 1918 



H own C U LTU RE 



SYSTEM AND EFFICIENCY 

 Life at Camp Devens 



1 cHine to tliis camp on i[ay 29tli iuul from the fir^t 

 was imprcssfd witli the magnitude and splendid ef- 

 lieienoy of tlie Army -yi^teni and officer personnel which 

 makes things move along so speedily and with such 

 attention to inilividuals and t<i details. 



The old theoiy that when a man enters army life he 

 becomes a "low-life" and <o forth, has long since been 

 exploded, and my days here already have convinced me 

 definitely that this life cannot help but introduce im- 

 provements into the lives of every man who comes into 

 it in the right s])irit. Like civil life and a business 

 career, a man gets from his stay in the army camps all 

 that he is willing to get, or can be made to receive. 



Kising at o.l5 in the morning, living outdoors most 

 of the <lav, training the body and mind to strength, 

 keenness, and etKciency. then to lied at 10 o'clock, a 

 man feels that he is at last on the way to live the right 

 kinrl (]!' noimal life. Absence of liquor, evil influences, 

 introduction of high ideals of health, mental, physical 

 and moral, and the inculcation of unselfishness, is bound 

 to have its effect felt on future generations as well as 

 the present. 



Before 1 came here, and while I was working on 

 (ianlen Magazine, and meeting most of the members 

 of the allied horticultural trades, it was my feeling 

 often, that in organization of effort, individual and col- 

 lective, greater and more rapid progress could be made 

 in building business, building a greater appreciation 

 of horticulture into the hearts of our peoples, and in- 

 creasing individual [)rofit proportionately. It is 

 ])roven that this is possible of accomplishment in many 

 businesses which come (piickly to our minds, like Henry 

 Ford's automobile liusiness. the Xational Cash Register 

 Co., etc., but right here in this camp, where I am sit- 

 uated in the Depot Brigade, I can see how organiza- 

 tion is accom]ilishing tremendous results rapidly with 

 a bunch of men whose intellect, if I may be permitted 

 to make the remark, does not average as high as that 

 of the members of the various horticultural organiza- 

 tions 



My first thoufibt is that y.ni are all striving for the 

 same thing in your business — ultimate success — and 

 profit, if that is what you measure success by. I be- 

 lieve it was Emerson who said that ''Success means to 

 every man that thing for which he has the greatest 

 desire." The trouble is that a good many in the trade 



will not have confidence enough in their ideals to give 

 the other fellow credit for [ilaying the game on the 

 square and so he injures the organizatum or mass ideal 

 by neglecting his individual share in the work. 



Here it is dilfereut. Tlie individual is first made to 

 realize that he as a unit is interdependent of every 

 other man in the organization. He is quickly aware 

 of the fact from daily observation and from having 

 the thought visualized to him by his officers. He real- 

 izes that this war must be won, not for his personal 

 benefit, but because the ideal for which we are striving 

 is worthy of the greatest sacrifices possible of concep- 

 tion and realizing this, he sets about to make himself 

 so efficient and strong (for it is in strength, mental, 

 pJiysical and moral, that any man or army is efl:'ective), 

 so that he for his jiart can do all that is humanely [los- 

 sible; so that, totaled, the effectiveness of the .American 

 armies may be such as to fewing the tide of complete 

 and final victory of the Allied cause over the German 

 atit(K-racv, that ■"the world may be made safe for 

 Democracx." 



We are all undergojng a great aiul magnificent change 

 these days. We are coming to a finer realization of 

 \alues. Surely the men who are going forward and 

 are already in the front lines fighting your battles for 

 you will expect you to keep the home fires burning 

 and take from these days all the lessons to which our 

 intelligence directs our attention, that when they come 

 back they may feel that you have done your share while 

 they have been doing theirs. 



We are all fighting for the same cause, soldier and 

 civilian alike. We are all striving to accomplish a 

 grand and noble ideal. Let us not allow^ our minds 

 to be fuddled with selfish thoughts, negative actions, 

 or worry, for all of these things can accomplish 

 naught but defeat to us in our common cause. 



Let you and every man who reads this, take unto 

 himself these thoughts. There is no hurly-burly here. 

 -Ml is oiganization. That is what you and I are de- 

 pending on f(H- the lives of our jieoplcs and the safety 

 of our ideals. Then realize every one of you that oidy 

 so far as you "carry on" your share of tlie job can the 

 total effect be all that it should be. 



if you are asked, or see an opportunity to co-operate 

 in a cam]iaign for ideals, be it bigger business or what 

 not. allv voursclf with it, and do vour share. 



Friralf. Jnil Co.. /-/ Hnltalum Pr/iot Biiga^ie. 



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