Increased ability to handle men

"For a good many years as a practising mining engineer, I gradually began to realize that there was something wrong with engineers in regard to their business success. Something that seemed to stand between the most brilliant of men and success in business. After a long study of men and conditions, I subscribed to your Course. From then on I began to take greater responsibilities and larger fees because of my added confidence and business knowledge. I truly feel that your course ferried me across to that phase of professional grasp where I became successful in business as a professional engineer."

GLENVILLE A. COLLINS,Consulting Engineer of Seattle.

Much the same thoughts are admirably expressed by another busy executive, Mr. J. H.Carter, Vice-President, National City Bank of New York:

"You will no doubt be interested to know that the class formed under the auspices of the City Bank Club to follow the Alexander Hamilton Institute Course, which you helped start about two years ago last Spring, is just completing its study."The majority of the original enrolment of fifty members have followed the Course regularly. It has held the interest of the men throughout and has proved unusually stimulating and interesting."The official staff of the bank has given the class its hearty moral support, and, in addition, has offered to refund a part of the fee to those completing the Course successfully. We feel that this policy has not only encouraged the men, but has benefited the bank as well."Personally, I cannot speak too highly of the Course. I feel that the time I have given to it during the past few years could not have been employed to greater advantage."

"The majority of the original enrolment of fifty members have followed the Course regularly. It has held the interest of the men throughout and has proved unusually stimulating and interesting.

"The official staff of the bank has given the class its hearty moral support, and, in addition, has offered to refund a part of the fee to those completing the Course successfully. We feel that this policy has not only encouraged the men, but has benefited the bank as well.

"Personally, I cannot speak too highly of the Course. I feel that the time I have given to it during the past few years could not have been employed to greater advantage."

There are just two factors that determine a man's competence to direct the work of other men:

1. His superior knowledge of the work in hand.2. His ability to command respect.

1. His superior knowledge of the work in hand.

2. His ability to command respect.

As a matter of fact, the second factor is almost wholly included in the first. The man who really knows what he is talking about always commands respect. The man who is largely a"bluff," no matter how "magnetic" or forceful his personality, is soon found out and retired in favor of the man of smaller pretensions, but more knowledge. The history of almost any business success demonstrates the truth of this statement.

Modern business affairs are so complex that it is wholly out of the question to put an untrained man in command. One might as well talk of putting an untrained man in charge of a modern battleship. In both positions broad-gauge knowledge and judgment are absolutely essential. The same principle applies equally to the minor commands. The leading business men of the country are for the most part quiet, self-controlled men, who think before they speak and who are constantly studying business problems. This is the type of man best fitted to control and direct the work of others.

The man who develops himself, develops his ability to handle men. Through the Modern Business Course and Service the training can be secured that makes for self-development and for success.

T. H. Bailey Whipple, of the Publicity Department of the Westinghouse Electric Company, writes:

"Your Course unquestionably does for men what experience and native ability alone can never do."

Mr. G. E. Lucas, Office Efficiency Engineer, Sayles Finishing Plants, says:

"I am indeed glad that I took the opportunity to enrol for the Modern Business Course and Service. What I have obtained has been of very material benefit to me. My own experience bears on the experience of my other colleagues who have been getting help and information from you in the past two years. All the reports that we have obtained have been thoroughly satisfactory and very complete."

The experience of Mr. S. G. McMeen, President, Columbus Railway Power and Light Company, Columbus, Ohio, is equally to the point:

"My experience began many years ago in technical lines and continued along them to engineering and construction practice. As often happens, this technical work led me into executive matters. It was in them that I missed some of the advantages enjoyed by men who have specialized earlier in commercial and financial work."Naturally I formed a habit of appropriating the needed knowledge wherever I might find it, and found much more than I could assimilate. The long-felt need, therefore, was for a source of classified information for reference and study, a source of training by the use of intelligent problems and a source of advice to which I might turn when in doubt. This source I found in the volumes, periodical literature and service of the Alexander Hamilton Institute."

"Naturally I formed a habit of appropriating the needed knowledge wherever I might find it, and found much more than I could assimilate. The long-felt need, therefore, was for a source of classified information for reference and study, a source of training by the use of intelligent problems and a source of advice to which I might turn when in doubt. This source I found in the volumes, periodical literature and service of the Alexander Hamilton Institute."

As the diagram on page 49 indicates, the seven direct aids which subscribers obtain from the Modern Business Course and Service are:

All of these aids to personal efficiency are bound to result in increased income and greater success. Even though a man should gain only slightly in any one of the seven qualities named, he would become a far better business man. He would either advance in position or expand his business—in either case raising himself to a higher level of income and success. The effect is all the more striking when a man increases his efficiency in respect to all seven qualities. To cite examples seems almost unnecessary. Yet a few typical expressions from subscribers may be of interest:

"It is very hard to put into words just how much good I have derived from the Alexander Hamilton Institute Course, but I do realize that as problems present themselves, they are much easier to solve, and I have a better conception of the future outlook of business since having the benefit of your Course, and there is scarcely a day but what some matter comes up for which I use your Course."

Mr. W. C. ROOSE,Sec'y and Gen. Mgr.Beacon Shoe Company,Manchester, New Hampshire

"During the past two years my salary has increased more than 400%. This has been due to the rather remarkable increase the Fuller Brush Company has had in sales. These sales are indirectly the result of the ideas I have received from your Course."

S. L. METCALF,Former Vice-President and Director of Sales,Fuller Brushes, Inc. Now President, Better Brushes, Inc., Palmer, Mass.

"To the man who has had the advantage of a college education this Course opens up what might be called a vista of the business world in a very unique manner. The information obtained from this course, if acquired by the ordinary college man by actual experience, would require no less than a lifetime and it is presented in such a manner as to be readily assimilated in the short space of two years, devoting only odd hours to study."

Mr. E. J. BARTELLS,ManagerWood Pipe Export Company, Seattle, Washington

A subscriber from a prosperous city in Iowa recently called at the New York offices of the Alexander Hamilton Institute, saying that he wanted to meet some of the men who had given him such valuable assistance. He is the controller of a large manufacturing company and a thoroughly trained and expert accountant. The thing that impressed him most about the plan of the Modern Business Course and Service was the opportunity it offered him of increasing his already extensive knowledge of the principles of finance, management, advertising, selling and organization, as well as accounting.

"Let me tell you what happened to me a few weeks ago," he said. "I found myself up against a problem that never had arisen in myprevious experience. I was simply stumped. I sought help from various sources in attempting to find a satisfactory solution. Then it occurred to me—the most obvious things often come to mind last—to look in the Modern Business texts for a ray of light. To my great delight, there I found a clear and definite statement of the very principles that should be applied.

"I am frank to say to you," he concluded, "that this one bit of information was worth to me at least three times the price of your Course." Already this subscriber had realized a 300 per cent dividend on his investment. Of his subsequent gains we have no record. To the great majority of those who subscribe for the Course and Service the returns are simply incalculable. The training, the information and the ideas that they secure are a big—often an essential—factor in making their business careers happier and more successful. Who can calculate the money value of a return of that kind?

The moderate fee which is charged for the Modern Business Course and Service is based directly upon the cost of producing the literature included in the Course and of maintaining the organization that conducts the Course and Service. The fee is small in itself; it shrinks into insignificance when compared with the returns.One of our subscribers was speaking only the literal truth when he said:

"To the man of ability and brains, your Course and Service offers apricelessmeans of developing these qualities to their highest efficiency."

The Modern Business Course and Service makes the same appeal to the business woman as it does to the business man. Consequently a number of women are enrolled for it. Among these women are:

Mrs. E. M. Simon, President, R. & H. Simon Company, Union Hill, New JerseyMiss Sara F. Jones, Mgr. Woman's Dept., Equitable Life Assurance Society, Chicago, IllinoisMrs. M. K. Alexander, Solicitor, Equitable Life Assurance Society, Chicago, IllinoisMiss Mary R. Cass, Manager, F. N. Burt Company, Buffalo, New YorkMiss Louise Messner, Accountant, Petermann Stores Company, Kearsarge, MichiganMiss S. F. Troutman, Secretary and Assistant to Treasurer, First Presbyterian Church, Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaMrs. N. M. Favor, Assistant Cashier, The Travelers Insurance Company, Manchester, New Hampshire

Mrs. E. M. Simon, President, R. & H. Simon Company, Union Hill, New Jersey

Miss Sara F. Jones, Mgr. Woman's Dept., Equitable Life Assurance Society, Chicago, Illinois

Mrs. M. K. Alexander, Solicitor, Equitable Life Assurance Society, Chicago, Illinois

Miss Mary R. Cass, Manager, F. N. Burt Company, Buffalo, New York

Miss Louise Messner, Accountant, Petermann Stores Company, Kearsarge, Michigan

Miss S. F. Troutman, Secretary and Assistant to Treasurer, First Presbyterian Church, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Mrs. N. M. Favor, Assistant Cashier, The Travelers Insurance Company, Manchester, New Hampshire

Today women are engaged in all branches of business. A great number of women occupy executive and other important positions in some of the large concerns of the country, and the number is steadily increasing. For the ambitious woman a career in business, with its great rewards and the possibilities of rendering worthy service, holds forth attractive opportunities.

THE QUESTION BEFORE YOU

A serious business question is now confronting you. It is important that you should consider it fairly and calmly and that you should promptly make up your mind for or against it. The facts are all before you.

The question is whether or not you should enrol for the Modern Business Course and Service. Think over the arguments pro and con.

You know that the Course and Service will bring you a better understanding of sound business principles; that it will give you increased self-confidence; ability to plan more effectively and to decide business questions more quickly and surely. You will find yourself with increased ability to handle men. You will probably enjoy more leisure; you will certainly earn a larger income.

You are well enough acquainted with the standing and reputation of the men behind the Alexander Hamilton Institute to know that the Modern Business Course and Service mustbe of the highest quality. And for the same reason you know that it naturally is offered to you at a very moderate fee.

The fee for the Modern Business Course and Service is $136 in the United States. This covers, without any additional expense, the Texts, Talks, Lectures, Problems Monthly Letters, Financial and Trade Reviews, Reports and all necessary personal help. The complete set of 24 Text volumes comes at once, and the other literature at convenient intervals.

If the Course is worth anything at all, the fee is slight in comparison with the results that will follow. The fee may be paid in convenient terms.

Certain objections may occur to you:

You have other uses for your money—

No doubt; yet none of them is as necessary to your successful business career as the Modern Business Course and Service.

You are too busy—

Everybody who amounts to anything is busy; yet never "too busy" to acquire knowledge so important as this.

You have a debt to pay off, or a trip to take, or you would rather "think it over—"

These arguments are unsound from every point of view. No man, in justice to himself, or to those who may be dependent upon him, should deny himself this opportunity to make an investment that will yield large dividends one, two and three years from today.

In the coming struggle for world markets, there will be a great need for men of broad, executive training. For men who are prepared, there will be more opportunities to succeed in a big way than ever before.

It is false economy, therefore, to postpone for a single day a decision that will enable you to push beyond the half-way mark and forge ahead in business.

You are a business man, trained to make decisions. The simple facts are before you now. Weigh the arguments; then act.

DESCRIPTIVE OUTLINE OF THE COURSE

In looking over the following detailed outline of the Modern Business Course, you will see more clearly how closely every section is related to daily business practice.

The italics after each title give the actual chapter headings; the following matter gives a brief discussion of the purpose and scope of each section of the Course.

The most important thing in business is the human element—you. Every man must have real ambition, high ideals, and a definite goal in mind before even a correct knowledge of business principles will help him to more than a half-way success.

The purpose of this first section of the Course is to discuss the viewpoint of the successful business man in an inspiring way, so that you may be inspired yourself and so that you may be able to inspire others about you.

"Scientific training for business" is an introduction to the whole Modern Business Course and Service. In it Dean Johnson tells you in what way you should read the Course, how to get the most out of it, and how to use the equipment so as to bring results.

The Course begins with an analysis of business operations. It shows briefly what are the dominant features of business life which no man can afford to neglect. It then takes up the relation of personal qualities to business success; it shows what personal characteristics are helpful and how they may be cultivated; and it also points out the traits of mind, manners and morals which hinder men in their business career. The first point in understanding business problems and business principles is to approach them with the right attitude of mind.

This section of the Course serves to bring the reader into personal touch with the business problems which will engage his attention more in detail in the subsequent sections and thus furnishes a useful introduction to the entire Course.

Economics is the foundation stone upon which the science of business is built. It underlies all business just as mathematics underlies all branches of engineering. It is the basic subject of the Course, and its general principles should be thoroughly understood before taking up the subjects treated later.

The book is written for the general reader, who has little or no knowledge of economic theory. It gives a clear idea of the business problems and forces with which business men deal and enables the reader to form intelligent judgments of his own.

This section of the Modern Business Course makes clear the laws governing the prices of goods, the wages of employes, the profits of employers, the processes of exchange, the functions of money and credit, and the rent of buildings and land. It takes up in comprehensive manner the problems raised by trade unions, by trusts, by governmental taxation and by the growing tendency toward governmental regulation of business.

An understanding of all these live, interesting business problems is an essential part of the mental equipment of a broad-gauged business man, working under present-day conditions.

If you are in business for yourself, or in some way become interested in a growing business, there is nothing that is of greater interest than your rights and the rights of other men who are in the concern.

The application of the correct principles of production, marketing, financing and accounting are necessary to insure success, as they determine the profits of the business as a whole. Every man goes into business to secure more income for himself, and the amount of his own income will depend, not only on the amount of the profits of the whole business, but on his own proportionate share of these profits. The division of the profits into shares depend almost entirely on the form of organization.

Moreover, when men enter business they hazard not only their time and a definite amount of wealth in the enterprise, but perhaps other wealth that was intended to be kept separate. Indeed, embarking on a business venture may be but the beginning of the loss of the income of future years when all chance of profits has ceased and the business represents nothing but a lot of debts that remain to be liquidated.

Risk is an important element that is varied by the form of organization selected. This section traces briefly the rise of the corporation through the individual enterprise, the partnership and the joint stock company, and states the advantages and disadvantages of each of these forms of conducting business, as well as those of the corporation. This section of the Course constitutes the first step in the study of corporate finance.

Modern management of industrial plants is characterized by planning and system. Old processes and old methods no longer command respect because they are old. They have been subjected to searching analysis in the hope of finding better ways of doing things. We look today not for the history, but for the reasons of every phase of plant management.

This is our aspect of the general industrial changes which have transformed modern industry and made it a high-powered productive instrument. It is not an isolated thing, but just as significant a part of modern business methods as are improved transportation, increased credit and present-day banking.

In this part of the Course, the relation of plant management to the characteristic development of modern life is first traced, and then the changes displayed which scientific methods have made in the conduct of manufacturing processes. These affect the structural organization of business, the relations of the directing and managing organs to one another. They also affect the operations of these managing units, the purchase and storage of materials, the routing and sequence of work, the best utilization of machinery and the like.

The keynote of the volume is efficiency in productive effort and the principles which underlie it.

There are three different kinds of things that must be considered by everyone who has anything to sell. One group of considerations has to do only with personal salesmanship and sales management. Another has to do only with advertising. Still a third is concerned solely neither with personal salesmanship nor with advertising, but is common to both. Before an effective force of salesmen can be selected and trained and an advertising campaign mapped out, the plan behind the personal selling and advertising campaign must be devised—the marketing methods must be determined.

The considerations here may be grouped under three heads: the goods to be sold, the market for the goods, and the methods of reaching that market.

A number of questions must be asked and answered about the things to be sold. For example: Is there a ready demand or must one be created? Is the commodity a necessity or a luxury? Is it subject to seasonal variations? Is the trade-mark well known? And so on.

The first part of the Text, Marketing, concerns the problems of the manufacturer; the second part, Merchandising, treats of the problems of the dealer, both wholesaler and retailer. Between them they present a complete picture of the processes by which goods reach the consumer, and reveal the tendencies in modern distribution.

There is no subject which is more universally interesting to everyone in business than selling.

Salesmanship in its broadest sense is essentially the selling of one's point of view, the ability to start with the other fellow's point of view and lead his mind to accept yours. When an individual endeavors to influence another, he is practising salesmanship. In this broad sense, everyone will profit by a knowledge of the principles of salesmanship and selling methods.

In this portion of the Modern Business Course, the salesman is shown the necessity of learning something of his prospect previous to the interview. Suggestions are also made for getting to see the buyer. The developments in a sale are discussed in such a way as to enable the salesman to build an effective, man-to-man transaction, and the human appeals that sell are outlined.

After discussing the qualifications and duties of the sales manager, methods to be employed in the selecting, training and handling of men are detailed. The training of retail sales people is discussed. The planning of the salesman's equipment, the building of a sales manual, the apportionment of territory are gone into. Methods of keeping sales records and statistics are outlined; directions given for the handling of sales contests and conventions, the editing of a house organ, and the apportioning of quotas.

Considering the large number of progressive concerns entering the field of advertising each year, and profiting thereby, the average business man's lack of knowledge concerning advertising principles is lamentable.

Few have any ability either to write or to judge copy, and almost all are at a loss to deal intelligently with the printer.

This section of the Course discusses the various classes of copy divided according to the results each is designed to accomplish. The value of word tone in writing and how to secure it are indicated. Instructions for preparing and laying out the advertisement are given.

The technique of the printing art—type faces, paper, printing processes, half-tones and line-cut illustrations—is discussed.

The advertising slogan, the package design and the various considerations in connection with the trade-mark are treated.

The business man is prepared to correlate the principles of advertising with those of marketing methods, and to bring an understanding of both to his study of advertising problems of wholesale and retail merchandising.

It is only in recent years that individual business enterprises outside of the manufacturing field have grown to such importance as to bring a large number of employes under one management. Today the problems of the office are no less urgent than those of the shop.

Office administration is in some respects like, in other respects unlike, plant management. It is alike in that it pursues the same ideals of efficiency. It is unlike in that machines and equipment fall into the background and the human element looms large in the foreground of office work.

Methods of conducting clerical work have, since the advent of the various office machines, of which the typewriter was the pioneer, undergone rapid transformation. Underlying these changes there have been principles, more or less clearly recognized, which it is the aim of the Text to discover and present in an orderly and systematic fashion.

In few departments of office work have standardized processes based upon scientific principles made such headway as in the employment field. Hiring employes for office work, training them for their duties, stimulating them to their best effort, adjusting wages to work performed, and providing for deserved promotions, are no longer casual occupations of some general offices, but the work and special concern of the trained office manager.

Here, as elsewhere, concentration and specialization are beginning to reveal the principles underlying successful effort. Such principles concern not only the operations, but the organization of the office and its various parts.

As business becomes more complex we are more and more dependent upon accounting methods to show us the trend of the individual business in which we are interested.

Hence a knowledge of accounting principles is indispensable. Yet, even among experienced bookkeepers, comparatively few have a clear understanding of the principles which underlie all correct methods of keeping financial records.

This section of the Course, therefore, starts with a clear explanation of the fundamental principles of bookkeeping, and progresses step by step until it reaches the most complicated cases of partnership and corporation accounting.

Within recent years the great importance of proper accounting methods in the conduct of business has come to be fully recognized.

This section of the Course should enable any executive or accountant to determine what accounting methods are best adapted to his own line of business.

When a bill of goods is sold, the transaction is by no means complete—that is, if the sale is on credit. The purchaser must pay the bill. But some purchasers cannot pay, others will not; therefore caution must be exercised in granting credit, and pressure brought to bear in obtaining payment.

Often seekers after credit are foolishly offended at the questions they must answer. They do not realize how personal is the favor they are asking, nor do they usually understand the combination of factors which the credit man must consider.

These factors range all the way from personal habits of the applicant to a survey of general business conditions.

There is a well-organized machinery for gathering credit information both in this country and abroad. This machinery, however, should be supplemented by the personal observation of the salesmen, many of whom now fail to cooperate in the right spirit with the credit manager.

The credit operation is incomplete till the goods are paid for; collections are the complement of credit granting, and they receive an extended treatment in the Text. As a last resource, the law may be resorted to, as is evident in the treatment of credit protection and bankruptcy.

The possibilities of the credit department as an agency in building up business, which have not always been understood, are set forth in the concluding chapter.

Nearly all of us are constantly receiving and sending letters, and we know in our experience the common types—the nasty letter, the sloppy letter, the cold-as-an-iceberg letter, and, on the other hand, the direct yet cordial letter which makes us feel as if we had gripped a friendly hand.

The profit-making influence of good correspondence can hardly be overestimated.

A good sales letter may be the means of getting thousands of dollars' worth of business; a poor adjustment letter may be the cause of losing a worth-while customer.

To a large extent business must be carried on by means of letters, and there are few subjects of more vital importance to the business man than business correspondence.

Business letters always have a direct purpose in view and there are certain underlying principles which should be observed in all business letters, whatever their particular purpose. But these letters serve many different purposes, and some of the prominent types and their characteristics are treated.

Especial attention is given to sales correspondence, which forms a most important branch of business correspondence.

Of late years, and as a direct result of growing competition in all branches of industrial enterprise, the subject of cost is receiving increased attention.

Every year sees hundreds of progressive concerns adopting methods designed to ascertain the real cost of producing and selling goods and of managing a business enterprise.

Manufacturers are no longer satisfied with merely making a profit. They want to know what lines are paying and what lines are not—not in a general way, but specifically in actual figures. They want to know which departments are producing economically and which are not.

In this part of the Course, the various methods of keeping track of costs are described and illustrated. Particular attention is given to the mixed question of allotting general factory expense or burden.

The possibilities of predicting costs are fully discussed and the significance of this development of cost finding methods is fully impressed upon the reader.

The problem of costs is one of the widest application in business management and its significance in different lines of business is pointed out.

In the Modern Business Course and Service the study of advertising is divided into three parts. First, in Marketing Methods there is a complete presentation of the plan behind the campaign—of the things that have to be considered by anyone who has anything to sell, before he sends out salesmen or prepares advertising.

The section of Advertising Principles shows what advertising can do for business, guides one in choosing the right advertising appeal, and treats of the technique of advertising, writing the copy, preparing the illustrations, and getting the advertisement before the public.

There is much more to advertising, however, than the making of a preliminary study of the writing of advertisements.

The advertiser has to consider problems of organization, methods of identifying his goods, his relation with agencies, the selection of media, distribution, dealer cooperation, and a host of other things, all of which have an important part in the complete campaign.

This section deals with the many essential parts of an advertising campaign which have not been considered in preceding sections of the Modern Business Course. It gathers together all the diverse considerations of the advertiser, shows their relation one to another, and binds them into a unified whole.

The advantages of the corporation have made it the most popular form of financial organization, and nearly all business men are now interested in one way or another in the formation or management of corporations, or in the buying and selling of the stock and securities of corporations.

The stability of practically every business concern depends in a very large measure upon the keenness of judgment used in its financial management.

This section of the Course enables one to think along financial lines with accuracy and decision. The methods by which corporations are promoted and financed are fully described, and the principles that underlie successful corporate management are stated.

The different kinds of bonds, such as mortgage bonds, collateral trust bonds, bonds secured by leases, etc., are explained and the methods of selling them discussed.

There are sections on capital and its maintenance and a full discussion of income, dividends and surplus that will be of value to the executive and to the investor.

In the last three chapters the application of the principles of corporation finance to the small company is fully described.

Business as it is conducted today would not be possible without the railroad.

The corner grocery store as well as the big manufacturing company is directly affected by traffic, rates and methods. The prosperity of many a business and community is largely dependent upon relations with transportation companies. Yet many business men are unfamiliar with even the elements of rate making and traffic handling.

The war made great changes in railroad organization and when the railroads were returned at the close of the war to their former owners a new set of problems had to be faced. Rail rates had assumed a new importance, labor and other costs had increased and both shipper and carrier were called upon to consider transportation in an entirely different light than before the war. All of these problems receive careful consideration in this Text, and the tendencies of the times, so far as they have been clearly revealed, are pointed out.

Classifications, rates, special services, terminal facilities and charges are some of the specific questions discussed.

The events of recent years have turned the attention of business men of America once more to the problems of foreign trade.

This section of the Course describes the development of our trade with foreign countries. It describes various changes which are at work in this field and the methods by which foreign trade is conducted.

Intimately associated with this subject is that of shipping; the transportation problems involved in foreign trade, questions of routes, rates, registry and the like are given particular attention.

The advantages and disadvantages of American and foreign shipping and the problems involved in the up-building of an American merchant marine receive careful consideration.

Business concerns deal in bank credit every day. They have on deposit large amounts of their capital. They rely upon their banks' stability. And yet how few can read a bank statement with real insight and judgment.

The fundamental principles underlying all banking operations are presented under this heading. The nature of money and its relation to credit and capital are described, and the conditions which lead to a general rise or fall of prices are set forth.

The important banking and monetary experiences of the United States are reviewed and full descriptions of the banking systems of the United States, Canada, England, France and Germany are given.

In connection with banking, the source of the banker's lending power and its relation to cash on hand are indicated, as well as the distinction between the bank note and the bank deposit, and the factors controlling the rate of discount.

Banking practice is in large part a study of the banking laws and customs prevalent in the United States, including those governing Federal Reserve Banks, State banks and trust companies.

The subject is fully discussed in this part of the Course, as are also the technical aspects of banking in all details.

The early part of this section of the Course deals with inland exchange and describes the method by which settlements are made between different parts of the same country. When this is fully understood the problem of foreign exchange becomes very simple. It is the application of the same principles complicated only by the difference in money units between different countries.

The "Foreign Exchange" department of banking is of such great importance and presents so many difficult questions that it deserves and is accorded special treatment. The reader is given a full description of the mechanism of the exchange market and is shown how money is made in foreign exchanges.

He learns how the vast amount of export and import trade is made possible through the interrelations between the foreign exchange markets of New York, London, Paris and other large centers. He also learns concretely how foreign shipments are financed and is given some valuable information concerning the influence of gold and other factors upon foreign exchange rates.

An important feature of this section is a thorough discussion of the best methods of handling export shipments. Many American and Canadian manufacturers are considering the advisability of going after foreign trade with greater vigor. They are usually puzzled when it comes to considering how to finance these shipments, which are often a long time in transit. The growing importance of export trade makes this section of the Course particularly valuable.

Insurance constitutes a form of investment in which we are all interested, as purchasers of life insurance, fire insurance, casualty insurance, marine insurance, or of any other of the various forms which have come into existence. To buy insurance properly, one should know the principles that underlie rates and insurance operations, and should be able to judge the policy which covers these various essentials. Partnership and business insurance is much more used now than it has been heretofore and it is becoming an important element in adding to the stability of business.

Personal or life insurance occupies a large space in the Text. The nature of the life risk is discussed as well as the means of protection through the straight life policy. The various motives which have prompted these variations and the effect of these modifications upon the premium or the price of insurance are clearly explained. Various types of business organizations with divergent business methods have been devised for the purpose of conducting life insurance. The strength and weakness of the different organization forms are pointed out.

Another aspect of personal insurance is found in accident and health insurance. Obligations toward others generally for personal injuries is the basis of liability and workmen's compensation insurance, of which the latter has had an almost mushroom development of late years.

Property insurance brings up diverse questions in fire insurance and in marine insurance.

Almost every man in business comes into contact with some one of the exchanges.

Therefore, a detailed description of the organization, operation and management of the principal security and raw material markets of the world is of inestimable value. This is the aim of this section of the Modern Business Course and Service.

Speculation in goods and in stocks exists because it performs an economic service. It saves the manufacturer of cotton goods or flour, for example, from gambling by an operation known as hedging. Business men should understand how speculation performs this service.

The volume closes with a discussion of corners and of the influences governing security and produce prices.

This section deals with the application of the principles of accounting to the complicated problems that arise in practice. The correct method of treating the proprietary accounts under the different legal types of organization are considered. The management of surplus, the treatment of reserves, the relation between funds and reserves and the method of handling sinking funds are discussed at length.

The differentiation between capital and revenue charges is perhaps the most difficult problem which the accountant has to face. The important principles involved in this problem are treated with numerous examples taken from actual cases. The difficult problems which arise in partnership and corporate accounting are fully explained.

Auditing is taken up from the business man's point of view rather than from the point of view of the practitioner. However, many points of interest to the practitioner and student are considered. The nature of the auditor's work is discussed and the different classes of engagements which auditors undertake are explained.

The auditor renders a report on his work at the conclusion of his engagement and the form and contents of his report are treated at length. The subscriber is shown the difference in certificates which auditors attach to balance sheets and the proper method of interpreting them is discussed.

The business man must understand accounting as far as he uses accounting knowledge in interpreting the progress of his business.

He wants not so much the details of accounting technique as the information necessary to enable him to use his accounting records properly. No one can expect to succeed in a big way without the ability to read financial and business statements—both on the lines and between the lines.

In every business the executive deals with a great variety of reports, statements, statistics and charts. This volume is designed to set forth the principles and to describe the methods by which they should be interpreted.

In the discussion of private and public budgets is included data that will be of the utmost value to every business man. You will find a thorough discussion of budget making and a clear outline of what should and what should not be done.

Instructions for the analysis of the reports and financial statements of industrial organizations and railway companies are set forth.

Every successful business man at some time in his career has occasion to seek gilt-edge investments—either for his own surplus funds or for those of his company.

The daily losses of investors' capital are evidence of the need for a volume which aims to qualify you to make the critical analysis of securities which is necessary to an intelligent estimate of their value.

Such topics as farm mortgages and urban real estate are thoroughly discussed and the opportunities in this new field for the investor are clearly explained. Domestic bonds, foreign bonds, securities of industrials, railways and public utility corporations are analyzed in a way to help you make an intelligent estimate of their value.

In this volume you will find a thorough study of the subjects of security fluctuation and trade cycles, together with information on the general rules and technique of trading.

The Course opens with the personal relations of a man to a business and continues with an analysis of the various activities which constitute modern business. In this section it closes with the manifold relations of business to government.

Business is, as it were, in partnership with the government. In this partnership the government is active, as there are government departments aiming to promote business in manufactures and in trading.

Business, of course, cannot exist without government, and as the war demonstrated, government cannot exist without business. Business is restive, however, under the close supervision wrought of war necessities. How far is such supervision justified in times of peace?

This is a question both of principle and expediency and all its aspects are brought out in the discussion of specific problems, the tariff, trusts and corporations, public utilities, national and local, and the like.

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