THE CIVIC SPIRIT.

Taranaki Daily News, 21 September 1922, Page 10

THE CIVIC SPIRIT.

PROMOTING A COMMUNITY’S INTERESTS. Value of efficiency and CHARACTER. At Eltham on Wednesday of last week the President of the Taranaki Chamber of Commerce (Mr. T. C. List) addressed the members of the Eltham Progress League on the subject. “The Civic Spirit.” At the conclusion the meeting asked that the address should be printed in full in the Daily News. Mr. List said: I believe Eltham evidences the civic spirit to a greater degree than most places. It is shown by the efforts made to popularise and beautify the town. Really to beautify and improve a town is to popularise it. There are tne railway grounds, and the well tended gardens, which create a favourable impression among strangers and visitors, and is heightened by the clean, asphalted streets. The Taumata Park is another manifestation of civic interest, and then there is the well kept, tidy grounds about the residences. They all go to give the visitor a favourable impression of the town. Then there is the effort of the traders and shopkeepers to attract business, to make Eltham the shopping centre of the district: to keep up the end of the town against the strong opposition offering on all sides. That shows enterprise and a measure of pride. Without it the town would suffer. BUILDING UP A TOWN. But are you doing enough? Are you as efficient as you ought to be? Cannot you do more to help the town, to attract more business, to build up the town? I think you will agree that there remains much to be done, and that there is great scope for the exercise of your business talents. First of all examine yourselves. Have you got the right civic spirit? In America they divide the business community into two classes, “givers” and “takers.” The former give of their services to the community gladly. They serve the people; their influence is for the good of humanity. The “takers” are those who are out to get all they can, to take no part in the affairs or the governhent of their own community. They are. in short, out for themselves all the time, and are generally• the ones to find fault with those who are trying, in their own way, to serve their fellows and help along the town and district. . The question you have to ask yourself is, do you get to give, or are you merely a getter? INEFFICENCY IN BUSINESS. Now it is a worthy ambition to “get to give.” It is because so many have not that ambition that there is such a big percentage of failures in the business life of nearly every community. 1 Mr. Wylie, of the Sheldon Tnstitmte, said in a recent address in New Plymouth that the average man was only 10 per cent efficient., The percentage among business men must be greater than 10 per cent., for the reason that they have to use their mental powers or go under. Still, few who come in contact with them will say that they are 50 per cent efficient. The fact is that many men, having reached a certain stage, rest on their oars; they slacken, they leave whatever they can to others. They do not fully turn to account their talents and knowledge. Their chief desire is to be left alone and to go along in their humdrum fashion. As with business so with civic affairs. They do nothing but criticise those who are working for the good of the town and district. They forget that they have no right whatever to criticise when they themselves will not render help. THE COMMUNITY ASPECT. It may be asked, w]jat right have you to blame a citizen for doing what his inclinations lead him to do? I would point out, in reply, that there is a community aspect of the question. The greater interest and the higher the intellect the citizen exhibits in his business and in the town, the better for the country as well as for himself. It is not therefore an individual matter at all. It is a community matter. No town can progress without team work, each pulling with the other. To bring the matter right home. Eltham would to-day be a much better business centre if all its business men were 100 per cent efficient. The same applies to any town in New Zealand. Business men would be able to render greater service were they more efficient and thereby obtain a greater measure of trade, so making their towns still more important centres. VALUE OF DIRECTION. The success or failure of a business depends upon the man at the head. If he is slack and inefficient so will be the employees. If. on the other hand, he is up to his work, always seeking to improve his methods and give greater and more efficient service, so will his employees. An ounce of practice is worth a ton of precept. A business man should never be satisfied with his business, its methods, or ! its turnover. Should he. be, then it is time for him to get out and let someone else take his place, for just as it is a law of nature that nothing stands still, so it is with business—you must either go forward or go backward, and in going backward you are inicting a serious injury upon your fellow traders and the community generally. It is obvious that the town giving the best value and service will get the business of the surrounding district, so 100 per cent efficiency should be the slogan of the business community. Business men can improve themselves and their business methods in a variety of ways. They can keep themselves abreast of the times by studying the methods adopted by successful business men in other centres; they can keep in touch with what is going on in their own lines in the outside world by subscribing to and reading trade and other journals: they can organise and enthuse their staffs to put forth greater efforts to serve customers; they can improve their turnover by making a more effective appeal in their advertising. PUBLICITY AS A HELP TO SALESMANSHIP. To-day it is becoming more and more recognised that properly prepared and directed publicity is inseparably bound up with business expansion and success. It must be admitted, however, that

much of the publicity one sees nowadays, especially in the country press, i 6 quite ineffective, and merely proclaims the backwardness and inefficiency of the advertisers. There is really no excuse for this iu those days when competent publicity service is available in many directions at a reasonable cost. Publicity is an art, a profession, in itself, and there are few men in business who have the knowledge and the ability to write their own advertisements. They, however, can supply the ideas, and keep the expert who is employed up to the mark. Newspapers, too, should do more than hitherto to co-operate with the advertisers to obtain results. The dav has gone past when th® newspaper simply accepts and inserts advertisements and lets the advertiser go hang; it must, too, render every service within its power to the advertiser. But advertising, no matter how capably carried out, will not, in itself achieve results. Behind it must be efficient organisation and service. Above all, advertising must be truthful, for unless the advertiser “delivers the golds’’ his announcements will never again be believed. The public in the main are good “pickers,” and soon size up the character of a business as they do of a man. CHARACTER IN BUSINESS. This brings me to character in business. This is essential to success. It takes a long time perhaps to establish, but when it is established it proves an inestimable asset. Honesty pays, and nowhere more than in business. When there is a doubt always give the customer the benefit. If there is a decision perplexing you, choose the course that is hardest for you and against your interests—it will generally be right. Inculcate these firmly in the minds of your staff, and you will never lose by it. There is a common idea that the trader is out to take advantage of the public whenever opportunity offers. It is entirely erroneous, so far as my business experience goes, covering as it does a period of 25 years, always in fairly close touch with business men. The average trader is as honest and straightforward as the average man in other walks of life. There are esveptions, of course, but in the main the trader is not without a conscience. AN OFFICIAL, LOYAL STAFF. The staffing question is not always an easy one, but the success of a business is largely bound up with an efficient, loyal staff. In the army there is a chain of official responsibility from ; the commanding officer to the non-coms. ; The former will at once admit the value of the latter. When properly trained the combination works smoothly and I efficiently. So in business. The business is only as strong as its weakest link. No one man can himself attend to all the details of a business: he must leave them to trusted lieutenants. The thing to aim at is combination and harmonious forking, and it is the special duty of the head to see that the various parts are well oiled and working in co-ordination. Mr. John Sands, speaking in Sydney recently, related an incident in his business life. He was speaking to a bank manager, and the conversation turned to assets. The manager took the usual restricted view, and Mr. ’Sands said: “But what about my trained and fully qualified staff?” The bank manager did not grasp the idea, but unquestionably a t fully trained and qualified staff is a considerable asset to any business. THE EMPLOYEE’S DUTY. It is not easy to obtain the services of first-class men. especially in small towns, and you therefore have to train • your own. Until recently there was no incentive for an employee to bother much about his job. There were more jobs than men. Now the reverse position obtains. And it is the man who has qualified and improved himself that . is being kept on. There are more opportunities for the conscientious, capj able, efficient man to-day than ever ; there were. Employers are ever looki ing out for such men, and the question of salary is not the employer’s chief jeonsideration. Generally speaking., the j good man can name his own salary, and : the employer who is looking for results | will generally pay it. i It is deplorable that so many of our young men are taking no trouble to ' equip themselves for the race in life. { They do their work perfunctorily, showing little interest, but regarding it as something that has to be put up with between time of sport and pleasure. Their thoughts are chiefly occupied with the latter. Sport is alright in its way, and is necessary to balance a young man’s life, but not at the expense of things that really matter. Men cannot expect to win a race or play well in a football match without proper training, and they cannot succeed in the more important sphere without showing keen interest, earnest application, and undergoing proper training. I think it was President Garfield who said: “There is one great mistake made by so many young men, and it is that one day something will turn up by which they will achieve fame and fortune. No, young men. things do not turn up themselves in this world; you have to turn them up.” That is as true of to-day as when the words were spoken. VALUE OF TRAINING. The average man well trained will beat a natural phenomenon who has not trained. There are facilities for training on every hand. All that is required are determination and perseverance. The doors of opportunity are wide open, and the finger of success beckons from many quarters. Lord Pirie, the shipping magnate, who started life as a boy in a shipping office, stated the other day that he had worked on an average for fifty years, 9S hours a week, something like 1G hours a day. Occupation, he truly said, is the cheapest form of amusement you can get; idleness is the most expensive. It is not the work that kills, it's worry, and if you have lots of work you haven’t time to worry. Most successful men in this country have been great workers, and it is because of their industry and frugality that they have attained the positions they have. It is these busy men who always find time to do anything for their own community. It is generally the indolent man who cannot find time to take part in a town’s activities. AN EMPLOYER’S RESPONSIBILITY. Now employers are not altogether free from blame for the indifference and inefficiency of their staffs. They do not set them an example, and take them in hand and manifest a personal interest j in their welfare. Most, young men are 1 responsive to any such attention, and are 1 duly grateful. An employer has a responsibility towards the younger men

I under him, and it is because that this is |so frequently neglected that we have ! such a large percentage of young men growing up with wrong ideas regarding their mission and purpose in life, providing such a fertile field for the demagogues who want to turn the world upside down in order to give effect to their insane ideas. By interesting employees in their work, and making them more efficients you at the same time lay the foundation for making them, as well as yourself, better and more useful citizens “Man does not live by bread alone,” and it is his duty to render service to his fellows according as his talents and opportunities permit. The great need of to-day is unselfish service. With that given, most of the ills from which the world is suffering would disappear as if by magic. The success or failure of a business depends on the efficiency of all on the pay roll. Each man ehortld feel, and be made to feel., that he has a responsibility to carry. Unless he is he will always lean on the. boss. He wants to be taught initiative and self-reliance as well as team work. PUBLIC WORK THRUST ON THE FEW. What do you find in most of the towns in Taranaki to-day? A few men only in each town carrying the burden of civic responsibility that should be distributed among the many. The willing men are expected to carry too much. A wider appreciation of public duty would make for the improvement and progress of every community. I will put the matter on the utilitarian level, and say that it pays a business or any other man to take part in the public activities of his town or district. It provides him with a different interest, and spells his mind from the commercial and other mundane things in which he may be interested. It is a diversion, a relaxation, and he must benefit by it. THE LACK OF INTERESTS. How many men are wrapped up in one thing and from it cannot take their minds? They know nothing of wtart is going on around them, and they care less. By and bye, perhaps, they attain their object—they are successful in business, they gain a competence, and retire. They have visions of enjoying the remaining years of their lives lotus eating, but they become very miserable. Why? For the lack of interests or a hobby. They have been so immersed in their own affairs and money-making that their other God-given attributes have become atrophied. For such a man I have nothing but pity. And it icould all have been so different had he taken a wider view of his responsibilities in life, and sought to help others, as well as his town and district, when he had the opportunity. Selfishness is at the root of inefficiency, unhappiness, worry, and fear. Spend a day or two in introspection, in studying yourself, your weakness, your deficiencies. Then give attention to the other fellow. The results will prove valuable and helpful. THE IDEAL TO BE AIMED AT. The ideal to he aimed at is a wellbalanced life, devoting due attention to its various aspects, not allowing any one aspect, be it sport, business, or social, to gain a monopoly and dominate the others. In such a life, interest mustbe taken in the welfare of others, personally, corporately and in the town and district. And “whatsoever thine hand findeth to do, do it with all thine might.” Be thorough, be enthusiastic, and not only will you derive more satisfaction from doing the work yourself, but you will also set an example that may prove far-reaching in its effect. For there is nothing more contagious than doing good and being unselfish. Certainly it is true that “he profits most who serves best.” * I remember living in a suburb where there was' for a long time little social intercourse or display of neighborliness. Then there came to live in the neighborhood a'kindly old gentleman who got his pleasure in life by serving others. In a few months’ time the whole spirit of that little community was changed. All were endeavoring to help one another. They found plenty of opportunity, and life was thence onward both interesting and happy. But it took the old man’s presence to set the spark to the latent goodness, socialibility and unselfishness which are to be found in smaller or greater degree in most people. YOUR. OWN RESPONSIBILITY. A little leaven will accomplish much. Do your part, and do it thoroughly and enthusiastically. Because the other man is not sharing in the work for the promotion of the interests of the town, that is no reason why you should hold back. So often you hear the remark: “Look and So-and-So. what does he do [for the town? It’s up to him to help. Until he does. I’m not going to do anything!” That is an entirely wrong attitude to take up. You have a personal duty to discharge. First of all you owe it to yourself to do so; secondly, you owe it to your fellows. “Honor and shame from no condition rise; act your part, there all the honor lies,” as the poet so accurately sums it up. TARANAKI ONLY IN THE MAKING. If you are true to yourself and your community, then you must also be true to your province and country. New Zealand is in the making; it is only partly developed; it has a great future before it. And no part has a greater future than Taranaki. Considerable as is its production, it will be as nothing compared with what it must be in the next twenty years. Nearly a third of its total area is undeveloped or only I partly developed; the two-thirds now in cultivation can be made by the application of more scientific husbandry and sub-division of areas, to carry twice the number of stock it is at present carrying. No country is more favored hy nature in regard to climate, and no country is more suited to dairying than it. Truly we have immense advantages which we have to go away in order to properly appreciate and value, and it is for us to take advantage of these opportunities in every way. The province is not well served by roads or bridges. Nearly a third of its area is cut off from the other for from six to eight months in the year because of the lack of adequate communications. There is no excuse for this state of affaire in a country which prides itself upon its progressiveness and , enterprise. You can help in remedying this by standing behind or alongside those who are working to effect an improvement in this condition of affairs. The railway service with the Empire City remains the same as jt was when the line was first put through. This is not very creditable to the Government or the people. A movement has been initiated to speed up the service. You can also hr’n her®

DUTY TO THE COMMUNITY. If you throw yourself heartily into the affaire of your town and district, you are at the same time helping both your province and country. For Eltham cannot develop and advance without Taranaki benefiting. At the same time, you don’t want to become too parochial; to allow the trees to obscure your view ot the forest. Show the right community spirit and you need have no fear of the future of your town, province and country. You will also find that service unto others, the basis of the true community spirit, is also the true way of life and that trade is but a means to

At the conclusion of the address, Mr. C. A. Wilkinson proposed a hearty vote of thanks to the speaker for his hddress, which, he said, was an inspiring and excellent one. The Rev. H. L. Goldthorpe said he had followed the address with the deepest interest, and was particularly impressed by its high moral tone. The Rev. E. J. Orange followed, and referred to the stress laid by the speaker upon service and character in business. It was the right note and he was personally indebted to the speaker for so forcibly and ably striking it. The chairman (Mr. Ira J. Bridger) felt sure they were all greatly obliged to Mr, List far earning at great inaanve.ui*

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