THE CAPTAIN OF INDUSTRY AND HIS 

 LIEUTENANTS. 



BY W. R. LAWSON. 



[W. R. Lawson, a London journalist, came to the United States several years ago and 

 in behalf of the London Daily News made an investigation of the industrial situation 

 in this country ; he had previously made similar investigations of Spain and Germany; 

 Mr. Lawson's shrewd observations were quoted so widely that a demand arose for 

 their publication in book form and the resulting volume "American Industrial Prob- 

 lems" is regarded in England as a standard book on its subject.] 



The unquestionably strong point in American industry is 

 its organization. It admits of discussion whether the Ameri- 

 can workman under equal conditions is more efficient than the 

 British workman, but there can be little doubt that the United 

 States is exceptionally well provided with organizers of every 

 kind. They abound in all the staple industries as well as in 

 every important branch of commerce. How they come to 

 be so plentiful is a question which so far has received com- 

 paratively little study. It is in the stage which admits only 

 of tentative suggestions and not of a definitive solution. 



There are three special schools for teaching organization — 

 war, mining, and railroading. In each and all of these schools 

 the present generation of Americans have had a severe train- 

 ing. A very large remnant of both the northern and southern 

 armies of the civil war still survives. The generals and 

 colonels, whom it trained by hundreds, as soon as the war was 

 over hastened back to civil life. They became distinguished 

 railroaders, financiers, manufacturers, and merchants. The 

 rough virtues they acquired in camp served them well in busi- 

 ness, and this element, though on the decline, is still strong 

 enough to give a decided tone to commercial life. Military 

 spirit continues to show itself in very odd ways. 



Immediately after the Civil war a new school of discipline 

 and of organizing power was thrown open to Americans in 

 the mining camps of the far west. There was much more got 

 out of the Comstock lode than mere gold or silver. The old 

 timers who went through that experience, whether they 



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