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August 24, 1005. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



57 



profession, so that you do not have to 

 rely on foremen entirely, but that you 

 yourself can be at the steering wheel of 

 your place, you will find that there is 

 plenty of good help that, if properly 

 treated, will do its duty. In employing 

 liorists be particular to get men that will 

 work and harmonize together. If toughs 

 or loafers slip in get rid of them the next 

 pay day, for the good of all concerned. 

 Good employees are generally eager to 

 learn and if they see and notice your su- 

 periority and your ability, they will do 

 anything for you and vote you the ideal 

 employer. 



THE IDEAL EMPLOYER. 



By J. Austin Shaw, New Yokk. 



[Awarded third prize In the convention con- 

 test for the Beatty prizes for best essays on 

 this subject.] 



It is a grand privilege and responsi- 

 bility to be an employer. A privilege 

 because of the possibilities involved in 

 opportunity to benefit one's fellow men. 

 A responsibility because of the great obli- 

 gation which rests upon one, to whom 

 by birth or capital or mental strength has 

 been given the power to lead men, and to 

 maintain the homes and fortunes of those 

 who give their best years, their skill, their 

 faithful service in his behalf. The infi- 

 nite source of strength, and consciousness 

 of the account that must be rendered, for 

 the trust given must never be forgotten 

 if one is or is to be an ideal employer. 



The thought of the highest, the purest 

 and the best is alw^ays associated with the 

 word ideal. It indicates the acme of 

 things, the plan where there is always 

 room— the top. To aspire to win the 

 honor of that title is no unworthy ambi- 

 tion. To merit the confidence, respect, 

 loyalty and devotion of those who toil in 

 one's behalf, this seems to me to demon- 

 strate the right to claim fellowship with 

 the noble brotherhood of ideal employers. 



One cannot be ideal in the true sense of 

 the word, therefore, who does not come 

 to the standard, first, as to character. 

 A bad man morally, if he be perfect in 

 all the other requirements of the honor, 

 is unfit to be an employer at all. With 



good character as a basis, all else that 

 is good and helpful may be built up into 

 a perfect structure; and such a man shall 

 stand before kings, and is a king, 

 crowned with the love of those he serves, 

 and building daily a monument that will 

 endure through all the ages. 



The ideal employer, then, with unsul- 

 lied reputation, must next have a thor- 

 ough knowledge of his business, in all its 

 details, thereby commanding the confi- 

 dence of those he leads, and ensuring 

 their respect. Not only must he merit 

 confidence, but he should invite it, for by 

 so doing, he gathers new ideas, and 

 strengthens not only himself but the 

 man he draws upon, increasing at the 

 same time his loyalty and encouraging 

 him to further inspirations. 



The ideal employer never forgets the 

 golden rule. It should be the foundation 

 of all his plans, his decisions, his enter- 



S rises. "With this as the basis of his 

 ally life he cannot make mistakes. The 

 great unwritten law of whatsoever a man 

 sows, that shall he also reap should be 

 stamped in letters of fire upon his brain 

 and heart. 



There can be no escape from the reck- 

 oning that must be made when the sceptre 

 is laid down, and the crown of responsi- 

 bility is taken away. There is no escape 

 from the balancing of the books, and 

 there will be no excuse taken if the rec- 

 ords are not clean. 



The ideal employer must have within 

 him an abundance of the milk of human 

 kindness. He must be patient, consid- 

 erate, gentle, slow to anger, solicitous as 

 to the personal habits, health and family 

 happiness of his employees. He must 

 avoid undue familiarity, must encourage 

 the proper use of spare time, inspire by 

 example a love for study, healthful recre- 

 ation, and good companionship and teach 

 by precept and accomplishment the les- 

 sons of right living. He should be quick 

 to detect and punish crime, and to dis- 

 courage disloyalty by prompt dismissal 

 of the offender. He should never stand 

 in the way of an employee who finds op- 

 portunity for the betterment of his posi- 

 tion, and should never make necessary a 



request for better wages where talent 

 and achievement indicate the wisdom of 

 the encouragement. 



It is not having, but being, that makes 

 the perfect man. Not the surroundings, 

 the broad acres, the palaces; but the 

 inner life, one's self that counts. The 

 highest ideal is to shape one 's life so 

 that it may harmonize with the law of 

 love. First knowledge, intelligence, then 

 the consciousness of duty to those whose 

 welfare is entrusted to our guidance. 



The ideal employer does not live simply 

 to acquire wealth. There is a higher goal 

 never lost sight of, the happiness that 

 comes from promoting the happiness and 

 success of others. The law of love, which 

 the ideal employer makes the guiding in- 

 fluence of his life, involves unselfishness, 

 sympathy, brotherhood, generosity and 

 justice. 



The ideal employer invariably possesses 

 the respect of those in his service. Con- 

 scientious, prompt, active, alert, he in- 

 spires others to emulate him. 



Demanding loyalty, he wins it by his 

 own loyalty to the interests of those who 

 serve him. Honest himself, he asks no 

 adherence to any policy that will not 

 bear the white light of investigation into 

 ail its detail. He gladly invites sincere 

 criticism. He is never unreasonable in 

 his demands. He trusts implicitly and 

 safely those who are worthy of confi- 

 dence. If he is truly ideal no competitor 

 can ever win the loyalty of an employee 

 whom it is to his advantage to retain. 

 He is always judiciously liberal; he does 

 not forget the little mementos of holiday 

 season, the solicitous and practical re- 

 membrance of those who by accident or 

 illness appeals to his generous nature, the 

 thoughtful inquiry, the little delicacies 

 for the sick room, the tender sympathy, 

 when the heart strings are wrung by loss 

 of loved ones. No ideal employer ever 

 withheld these tokens of good fellowship, 

 or because of wealth or station, felt him- 

 self above the men who labor. If he be 

 possessed of abundant wealth, he should 

 see to the building of ideal homes, to the 

 establishment of schools and libraries 

 and gymnasiums, and to recreative parks 



A Part of the Display of Lion & Wertheimer, New York, at the Washington Convention, August 15 to 18, 1905. 



