252 THE FARMER AS A COOPERATOR. 



of the accurate knowledge required for the proper discharge 

 of its duties; the number of facts necessary to be known by 

 the traffic manager of a great railway system is beyond calcula- 

 tion; very few men possess the acuteness, tireless industry, and 

 physical endurance, combined with the opportunity, to acquire 

 them; in like manner, the men who have charge of the invest- 

 ments of the enormous accumulations and business of the 

 great banking and insurance companies must know all the 

 facts affecting the prosperity of almost every business, and 

 keep constantly advised of changing conditions; consequently, 

 positions like these command the largest salaries paid in the 

 world. 



But it must be remembered that it is information bearing 

 specially on the subject to be dealt with, which has commer- 

 cial value. The foren)an of a creamery may be an accom- 

 plished astronomer, and yet be able to make no better butter. 

 I suppose no man ever lived who knew accurately more facts 

 than Charles Darwin, or had greater power of classifying them, 

 and reasoning from them, but I do not imagine that the infor- 

 mation of the author of the ''Origin of Species" had any great 

 commercial value, and it is with commercial affairs that busi- 

 ness organizations have to deal. 



Of course, many considerations besides possession of knowl- 

 edge affect the value of personal service, such as vigor, tact, 

 integrity, and so on; but I think knowledge the great factor, 

 because knowledge is the exponent of labor expended in 

 preparation, and of industry; other qualifications are the gift 

 of nature, and nature is bountiful. One can find natural 

 qualifications anywhere; a navvy on the embankment may be 

 more vigorous than the president who directs his labor from 

 his luxurious office. 



Reflections of this kind will materially aid in forming fair 

 estimates of the value of personal service in any ca})acity, 

 whenever the (■nii)]oyer himself knows what quahfications he 

 requires. AVitli the average wage of the unskilled laborer as 

 the starting-point, and some inquiry as to tlie usual compen- 

 sation of the quality of service desired in competitive business, 

 and of the expenses necessary to sustain the employee with 



