232 HISTORY OF THE WHEEL AND ALLIANCE. 



( ' penny wise and pound foolish ' ' nonsense that is standing 

 in the way of legitim ; i and necessary reform. It has its 

 origin in selfishness and a lack of proper appreciation of 

 the real merits of things. 



The sooner people see that it is better to pay a prac- 

 tical business man a salary of one thousand or twelve 

 hundred dollars a year to make an enterprise successful 

 and save them thousands of dollars, than to pay an ineffi- 

 cient one three or four hundred dollars to make it a failure, 

 the better it will be for them. If a farmer has a horse to 

 sell that is worth one hundred dollars in the market, he 

 may hardly be expected to sell him for fifty dollars. It is 

 possible to make a mistake and pay a three hundred dollar 

 man a thousand dollar salary, but you will hardly be able 

 to obtain the services of a man worth one thousand dollars, 

 and who can command that salary in other stores or make 

 it by establishing one of his own, for three hundred 

 dollars. We do not wish to be understood that all enter- 

 prises of this nature will have a sufficient volume of 

 business to justify the payment of a thousand dollar 

 salary. In many instances the business will be limited, 

 and the expenses must necessarily be so. But in cases 

 where enterprises are centrally located and sharp competi- 

 tion is to be expected where it is possible to do a large 

 trade a good practical business manager is indispensable. 

 Men may say that they do not make that amount of money 

 on their farms. We answer, they never will until success- 

 ful co-operation is established, and monopoly and high 

 prices are abolished. Another very common mistake is 

 to employ a manager and then to proceed with him as 

 though he were a thief or a fool, by tying him up and 

 restricting him to such an extent that he is almost power- 

 less to accomplish any good. This method has been 

 practiced to such an extent that the manager could hardly 

 make an order for a dozen spools of thread without 



