COMMENCING OPERATIONS* 69 



regards it as a temporary makeshift, to enable him to look 

 round, and he does not put any heart into the work. The 

 cost of living differs in various localities, and a respectable 

 man expects to pay his way and to be a little to the good. 

 Philanthropists anxious to benefit mankind, men of means 

 to whom salary is a secondary consideration, or men who 

 can live on sixpence a day and get fat and save money, do 

 not figure in the lists of applicants. A good master goes a 

 long way towards making a good man, and the converse also 

 holds good. If a man is not at least fairly remunerated, 

 he cannot be expected to put forth his best abilities in the 

 interest of his employers, or to be over anxious to give 

 satisfaction. The best rule is, having found a capable appli- 

 cant, to pay him a salary that will make it worth his while to 

 do his best, and to feel that the position is worth having and 

 worth retaining. Wages to a man are something like oil to 

 machinery. If the supply is meagre, both are apt to go 

 rusty, and give a poor working duty. To get the full 

 working capacity out of a machine, it must be carefully 

 tended as well as properly oiled. 



The question has lately acquired considerable prominence, 

 whether a fixed wage, even if liberal, is the last word, 

 regarded as a means of getting the fullest possible value 

 from an employee. In this connection, it is only fair to 

 the numerous body probably by far the larger proportion 

 of the population who receive a fixed wage, to say that, as 

 a rule, they conscientiously give their best. But some- 

 thing is wanted beyond a mere slavish performance of 

 routine. There is room for initiative, improvement, 

 economy in every direction, and, obviously, the best means 

 of developing energy along these lines is to give 

 the man a more direct interest in the profits than is 

 afforded by the fixed wage. As much has been recognized 



