The Dominion SATURDAY, JANUARY 18, 1919. THE BUSINESS MAN

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 97, 18 January 1919, Page 6

The Dominion SATURDAY, JANUARY 18, 1919. THE BUSINESS MAN

President Wilson in his vcccnt spccch- at, Tui'in gave.a picturesque touch to what is usually regarded as an unpicturesqiie subject when lie referred to the part played by business men in shaping the world's destinies, There is a very general tendency to regard business as ' a sordid and scltish occupation. Wc are, often told that ."all's, fair" in business,, as in love and war; that provided he docs not actually break the law,-a man-is quite justified in resorting to any and every wile and trick for the purpose :of making a profitable bargain. "Every man for himself and the Devil take the hindmost" is, in the opinion of the average man, an' appropriate motto for the trader. But President Wilson takes a larger and more' generous view of commerce. He believes that the pulses of the modern world beat-in the business' houses, 1 and' that trust—faith in the integrity of our i'ellow-mpn—is the life-breath of our commercial relations. This higher estimate- of business is much nearer the truth than the .'cynic's .grossly materialistic'conception. Men live by faith in trade as in religion, and unless this faith had been justified by the; general.'experience of mankind since the dawn of civilisation comnierce could never have flourished in the world. A distinguished American writer- declares that "business is built on faith. Let mutual confidence be destroyed or impaired and a panic sweeps, across the financial world with the levelling force of a tornado,. We carry on all the activities of life by faith, we walk by it. -It is the common ground, under our feet,, the mutual bond that holds society together." Commerce has always been a. most efficient ..pioneer of, civilisation. In its early stages it took the form of barter-r-the direct exchange of goods between the actual producers; but as civilisation and industry grew and spread and became more complex it became' the special occupation of certain people to conduct exchanges. In this way the merchant class camo into existence.- These merchants found it convenient to have special meeting places, and so in the course of time markets and market towns sprang up. But with the progress of navigation commerce gradually became world-wide, and the old market towns lost much of their prestige. The expansion of trade spread faith throughout ' the world.. It tended to unify mankind. Men gradually learned that good faith existed beyond the confines of their own country, and the; activities of the merchants helped to make all the gifts of civilisation common property. It must be admitted that there have always been dishonest and unscrupulous merchants who have brought disgrace upon their high calling; but. taken as a whole the history of trade and commerce justifies President Wilson's belief in the general trustworthiness of the men who do the business of the world. Business is neither immoral nor unmoral. Like all other human relationships, it conies within the scope of the moral law. Dr. A. B. D. Alexander, in his Handbook of Christian Ethics, points out that though the. Founder of Christianity iHtprs warnings against covctousness, and lays down the principle that "a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the . things which he possesseth," yet these sayings do not imply disapproval of earthly possessions, but indicate that property and trading are the indispensable basis upon which the outward fabric of the social order is built. Commerce is a good thing so long as it is carried on in accordance with the dictates of the moral law, and the upright business men are living witnesses to the fact . that business is not incompatible with the highest morality. President Wilson's picture of commerce as one of the great world powers helps to explain the fascination which it has exercised upon some-of the finest minds of all ages. In,its beginnings it was covered with the glamour of romance and adventure. Commerce and exploration went hand in hand. The early master mariners carried their lives in their hands as they travelled across unknown seas to unknown tanas. In his attractive, story ,of the doings of Phoenician' mariners as agents of civilisation, Mr.. J. R. Speap.s tells us that they earricd their weights and-measures, their coins, their system of accounts, and their-standard of honour from the borders of China to Ultima Tliule; they gave an alphabet to enlightened Greeks, and taught the most stupid of barbarians the use. of weights and mea-i sures. By the display of their own 1 manufactures they incited each customer to bestir himself iii the production of such things as he had to offer in exchange, and while they stood beside their ships making bargains they told their customers the news of the world. They laid the foundations of progress, and "when they had reached tho limit of their powers the Greeks began to forward, the work, and prepare for a higher civilisation yet to come." The merchants of the Middle Ages continued ,this great civilising business. Commerce had not lost its romance. "Thou know'st that all my are at sea," says Antonio to Bassanio in Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice: Shakespeare's idea of a merchant aa depicted in the character of Antonio is an attractive one. He is a generous, open-hearted manualways ready to assist his friends and to help the poor and the oppressed. Trading to-day may not be so romantic" as in those days. Tho world has been explored from end to end, and one can travel as safely by sea as. by land. But there is still, plenty of room for adventure, and the scope,and influence of commerce are incomparably greater than they were in the Middle Aftes. It still has its fascination, and it is still based upon good faith and good will. It still makes its daily ventures' -of faith, and in the vast majority of cases its faith is justified by experience. "