CYRUS HALL McCORMICK 



A daring proposition from a competent man 

 always caught his attention. Once, when he 

 was sitting in his office, he heard E. K. Butler, 

 who was at that time the head of his sales de- 

 partment, protest that the factory was not mak- 

 ing as many machines as it should. " It is sheer 

 nonsense," said Butler, "to say that the factory 

 is producing as much as it can. If I were at 

 the head of it, I could double the output with 

 very little extra expense." Most employers 

 would have regarded this sort of talk as mere 

 boastfulness, but not so McCormick. He knew 

 that Butler was a most adaptable and competent 

 man, so he called him into the office and straight- 

 way appointed him to be the superintendent of 

 the factory. Butler was thus put upon his 

 mettle. He went out to the factory resolved 

 that McCormick's confidence in him should not 

 be overthrown. He routed the wastes and in- 

 efficiencies, and keyed the whole plant up to 

 such a pitch that, in a remarkably short period, 

 he had made good his boast and doubled the 

 output without hiring an extra man. 



But the preeminent quality in the character 



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