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قراءة كتاب The New York Stock Exchange and Public Opinion Remarks at Annual Dinner, Association of Stock Exchange Brokers, Held at the Astor Hotel, New York, January 24, 1917

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‏اللغة: English
The New York Stock Exchange and Public Opinion
Remarks at Annual Dinner, Association of Stock Exchange Brokers, Held at the Astor Hotel, New York, January 24, 1917

The New York Stock Exchange and Public Opinion Remarks at Annual Dinner, Association of Stock Exchange Brokers, Held at the Astor Hotel, New York, January 24, 1917

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دار النشر: Project Gutenberg
الصفحة رقم: 7

one of fifteen men around a table"and has neither horns nor claws nor hoofs, much animosity, many preconceived notions are apt to vanish and you are not so cocksure any longer that the other fellow is a destructive devil of radicalism or a bloated devil of capitalism, as the case may be.

I recall in this connection an incident which concerns my great friend, the late E. H. Harriman. He talked to me about his wish to be elected to a certain railroad board. I said, "I don't really see what use that would be to you. You would be one of fifteen men, of whom presumably fourteen would be against you." He answered: "I know that, but all the opportunity I ever want is to be one of fifteen men around a table."

And the result has shown that that was all the opportunity he needed.

We cannot all have the conquering genius and force of a Harriman, but every one of us, in a greater or lesser degree, every one in some degree has the power of co-operating in the vastly important task of personal propaganda for a better understanding, a juster appreciation of each other, between East and West and South, between what is termed Wall Street and the men who make our laws, between business and the people.

This is the age of publicity This is the age of publicity, whether we like it or not. Democracy is inquisitive and won't take things for granted. It will not be satisfied with dignified silence, still less with resentful silence.

Business and business men must come out of their old time seclusion, they must vindicate their usefulness, they must prove their title, they must claim and defend their rights and stand up for their convictions. Nor will business or the dignity of business men be harmed in the process.

No healthy organism is hurt by exposure to the open air. No dignity is worth having or merited or capable of being long preserved which cannot hold its own in the market place.

Democracy wants "to be shown." It is no longer sufficient for the successful man to claim that he has won his place by hard work, energy, foresight and integrity.

Democracy insists rightly that a part of every man's ability belongs to the community. Democracy watches more and more carefully from year to The use of the power that goes with successyear what use is being made of the rewards which are bestowed upon material success, and particularly whether the power which goes with success is used wisely and well, with due sense of responsibility and self-restraint, with due regard for the interests of the community.

And if the consensus of enlightened public opinion should come to conclude that on the whole it is not so used, the people will find means to limit those rewards and to curtail that power.

And what is true of the public attitude towards individuals holds good equally of its attitude towards organizations such as the Stock Exchange.

There can be little doubt that a great deal of misconception prevails as to its methods, spirit and practices, as to its functions, purposes and its place in the country's economic structure.

It is of great and urgent importance that the Stock Exchange should leave nothing undone to get itself better and more correctly understood. It should not only not avoid the fullest publicity and scrutiny, but it should welcome and seek them.

It has nothing to hide and it should be glad to show that it hasThe Stock Exchange a National Institution nothing to hide. It should miss no opportunity to explain patiently and in good temper what it is and stands for, to correct misunderstandings and erroneous conception.

If it is attacked from any quarter deserving of attention, it should go to the trouble of defending itself. If it is made the object of calumny, it should contradict and confound the slanderer.

Its members should ever remember that while in theory the Stock Exchange is merely a market for the buying and selling of

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