arranged either alphabetically, geographically or topically as desired by the user.

ADVANTAGES OF THE VERTICAL SYSTEM.

Quick Reference.-Any folder, and therefore all the correspondence, can be secured at once. Only an instant's consultation of the card index is needed and not even this will be necessary after the system has been in use for a short time, for the clerk soon memorizes the numbers. The latest letters are always on top.

Mistakes Avoided.-Numbers cannot be confused. Blurred copies are easily identified. Only transient correspondence-one or two letters from the same source -are arranged alphabetically. In some offices where only a very few letters are ever received from any one firm the entire arrangement is alphabetical.

Greater Capacity. In the same amount of space double the number of letters can be filed. Old and useless matter is removed and new takes its place. There is no waste space on account of drawers filling irregularly, as one has but to shift excess folders and guides from an over-filled drawer to one with empty space.

Correspondence Not Scattered.-All correspondence from beginning to end is in one folder. Letters signed by different members or employes of a concern are all filed in the folder with the same number. Cards are made out for each so that the correspondence can be located with any of the names as a guide. Postal cards and small pieces are safe in the folders.

Copy Books Unnecessary.-Carbon copies are made, the stenographer noting the number on the letter, putting it on the letter written so it is duplicated on the copy and the incoming and outgoing correspondence are together.

Easy Reference.-By means of cards in the index, letters and papers may be indexed in so many ways that nothing can be lost. Letters of quotation, for instance, may be indexed both by article and by name. In taking up a subject, as an example, "Repairs on Engine-house," one folder can be devoted to this subject, and all the letters, plans, contracts, etc., pertain

ing to this work can be filed in one folder, but be indexed by name, subject or in a dozen different ways in the card index.

Less Cost.-Capacity for capacity, not only the first cost but the subsequent expense for transfer cases is much less. The index cards may also be used for customers, sales or credit records, and as an index to orders.

BUSINESS ADVICE BY CAPTAINS

OF INDUSTRY

The business man of to-day who deals with the larger problems of finance, law, trade, and the many other divisions comprehended under the generic term "business," makes no secret of the methods by which success was won. The successful man in a certain line -in common with the man who has not attained business greatness-is always interested in the sayings and advice of the Captains of Industry of our nation.

Following are given a number of synopses of the rules which were primarily instrumental in bringing those from whom quotation is made to the haven of success in business.

Elbridge G. Keith, President, The Chicago Title and Trust Company, says:

"I take up one thing at a time. When I lay a thing aside it is completed-completed as well as I know how. Doing one thing at a time, keeping at it until finished, and doing well, must bring success. To do things well means that a certain amount of time and thought must be upon them. What will allow the modern business man to put the most time and the best thought on the greatest number of acts each day? A system-a system which will bring them to his attention methodically-a system which will put such facilities at his command that they can be disposed of quickly and intelligently-a system which will put only a fraction of the work upon him (but that fraction the vital point) and carry out the rest accurately and efficiently. Some people perform the tasks that are

assigned them well, but they do not succeed. Why? Simply because they are doing just what they are asked to do-no more. It is the man who does a little more than is assigned to him who gets the position above when it becomes vacant. It is the man who does every

thing that he can find to do and does all these things well whose climb is constant; and he can only do those few things more than are assigned to him by using systematic methods in his own work."

Edward S. Lacey, President, The Bankers' National Bank, Chicago, says:

"The business world is like an immense plant of machinery where all parts must work in unison. In a plant this result is brought about by the application of mechanical principles and the perfection of mechanical devices. In business, smooth gradation of one operation into another, the turning out of a volume of work with no hitches or errors, must be accomplished through the application of system and systematic devices. There is another vital point of comparison between the mechanical and the business world. The great multitude of inventions did not come until there was a certain concentration of industry, which first established a closer relation between the different processes and then introduced new methods and devices adequately to handle them. In the same way, while the business world was a mass of smaller units, the necessity for system was not so apparent, but as business units increased in size, necessity soon brought about the adoption of systematic principles and methods. A big thing is merely a combination of many little things, but the little things are just as important as they ever were. And to keep watch over and carry out the little details requires the organization of a perfect system."

Thomas P. Phillips, President, The Federal Trust and Savings Bank, Chicago, says:

"There is no business success without system. From my own experience I should say there is no prospering business to-day whose success is not in some degree based upon systematic methods. Now, modern busi

ness is so arranging itself that the business man occupies as distinctive and unified a field—a field requiring as much training and technical knowledge-as the lawyer or the engineer. A technical knowledge of and training in systematic methods and organization is the prime requisite in the education of the modern business man and these two phrases mean a great deal. They stand for low costs and decreased expenses, for accuracy and promptness, for time and labor saving, for efficiency and understanding. In the modern game of business two of the most important factors are initiative and will-which means the power to inaugurate and build an organization, and executive abilitywhich means the capacity for conducting a system. It is the man who uses system in his business, and therefore does business with least cost and with least effort, who shows the profit at the end of the year. And it is the man who uses system in his business, and therefore knows the details, who is able to develop his business to its greatest possibilities."

Edwin A. Potter, President, The American Trust and Savings Bank, Chicago, says:

"A thorough knowledge of the smallest details of one's business, well-directed effort in work, and the power to organize a business-these are the three foundation stones of success. In this day of great industries a thorough knowledge of the smallest details of a business could not be secured in the old way of knowing simply through the process of doing. There are too many details. The business man to-day must have facilities by which knowledge of them will come to him automatically. Well-directed effort means more than merely industry and hard work. It means that the worker must know how and where to apply his labor to the attainment of the best and biggest results. And the power of organizing and conducting a big business -executive ability-means the power to make all the small processes of the business dovetail into each other and work smoothly and efficiently. Through all these three essential factors of business success runs the thread of system. Knowledge of the details of a busi

ness can come only from a system which will bring them to the attention of the business man regularly. The hardest work can bring the best results only if efforts are intelligently and systematically applied. The organization of a business can only come through the systematization of the smaller processes."

Henry Siegel, the founder of Siegel Cooper & Co. of New York, president of Siegel Cooper & Co. of Chicago, of the Simpson-Crawford Co. and the Fourteenth Street Store of New York, and the new Siegel, Cooper & Co. of Boston, says:

"System and organization are the controlling elements of any large commercial or industrial enterprise -the two reins by which the business bodies are guided. In nearly every sphere of activity are found the elements of skill, enthusiasm and enterprise-qualities that make for success only when they are applied in the right direction. Skill must be directed along proper channels; enthusiasm must be directed to specific ends; enterprise must be organized to meet certain conditions and to attain designated results. And in this co-operation-this working together for the benefit of all concerned-system reaches its highest function."

Henry C. Lytton, President of "The Hub," the largest furnishing store in Chicago, says:

"To what extent any business or other enterprise is successful is dependent primarily upon personality, the central figure in any line of activity. To what extent a personality is successful is dependent upon that personality's application of those policies and methods that serve its ends. A personality is responsible for the success or failure of a business firm largely to the extent by which he is enabled to organize and to control its forces-to install and apply the personal influence in his systems.

"I have never known of a great business success without a personality. I have never known of a great personality in business without a system."