1 Return this book on or before the 
 Latest Date stamped below. 
 
 University of Illinois Library 
 
 DC; PO i 
 
 
 
 DEC 30 i; 
 
 !5T 
 
 
 i V 
 
 # /J;;/ 
 
 
 
 -3 ,'ybd 
 FEB 1 7 2 
 
 nit 
 
 u lU 
 
 

 
 U 
 
 M 
 
 
 ’m 
 
 ■ ■' u‘. >/U> 
 
 
 •^'m 
 
 - ^ Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2016 with funding from « 
 
 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Alternates / 
 
 https://archive.org/details/employersmanualiOOblac 
 
V 
 
 
 EMPLOYERS’ 
 
 MANUAL 
 
 INSTRUCTIONS TO 
 
 EMPLOYMENT SUPERVISORS and OTHER EXECUTIVES 
 
 in the use of 
 
 THE BLACKFORD EMPLOYMENT PLAN 
 
 LIBRARY 
 OF TH£.. 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF lUINOIS 
 
 By 
 
 KATHERINE M. H. BLACKFORD M. D. 
 
 
 THE EMERSON COMPANY 
 36 CHURCH STREET 
 NEW YORK 
 1912 
 
 )■ 
 
Copyright, 1912 
 
 By KATHERINE M. H. BLACKFORD M. D. 
 
 {All rights reserved) 
 
iToretDorij 
 
 Manual is published primarily as 
 work of reference and suggestion 
 r employment supervisors and 
 her executives who have received 
 e personal instruction and direc- 
 tion of the author in the installa- 
 tion of the Blackford Employment Plan in 
 ^ their institutions. It is therefore not intended 
 ^to give complete instruction for the use of 
 the Plan. There are many problems arising 
 ^ in the operation of an Employment Department 
 . that are not, and could not be, covered in a 
 t work of this nature. Some of these are common 
 ^to all concerns; some are peculiar to the indi- 
 vidual concern. Each has to be met and solved 
 by some qualified and experienced person trained 
 especially for the work. It would therefore be 
 hazardous for anyone to attempt the installation 
 of such a department with nothing more than 
 what appears in this Employers’ Manual as a 
 7-basis of operations. With personal Instruction 
 ^and direction, however, it is hoped that this 
 ^Manual will prove an effective, useful, and help- 
 ful inspiration to those who bear the great 
 ^ responsibility of selecting, placing, and handling 
 employes. 
 
 K. M. H. B. 
 
In the highest sense, an industrial 
 or commercial institution should he a 
 school where men and women learn 
 to LIVE through useful and happy 
 effort. 
 
3ntr0t)uctton 
 
 NEED OF SCIENTIFIC SELECTION OF 
 EMPLOYES 
 
 I once knew a rich man who wanted to build a big, costly 
 printing plant. No sooner had he decided that he would 
 build, than he was impatiently eager to see the finished 
 structure, with all the maehinery installed and turning 
 out books and magazines. He told his desires and aspira- 
 tions to an architect. But, before even the dimensions of 
 the building were decided upon, he had engaged a con- 
 tractor and set him to work, making the excavations. 
 While these were under way, he rushed out of the archi- 
 tect’s protesting hands a rough ground plan of the edifice. 
 From this, as soon as the trenches were dug, he built in 
 immense concrete footings for the walls and pillars. Then 
 he compelled the half-frantic architect to furnish him the 
 dimensions of the walls and began to lay up the brick. 
 And so every stage of the work was “pushed.” The man 
 thought he was making a record for speed in building. 
 He boasted about it to his friends. The structure was 
 completed and occupied long before the finished plans 
 and specifications were out of the architect’s office. 
 
 But one result of all this haste was that high-priced men 
 burrowed for weeks, under the new building, cutting doz- 
 ens of openings, large and small, through those massive 
 concrete footings. No provision had been made for water 
 and gas pipes, sewers, electric conduits, and the flues of 
 the heating and ventilating apparatus. Another result was 
 that an expensive tile roof, laid before the plans of the 
 building were complete, was found to be unsafe and had to 
 be removed and relaid. There were many less serious 
 blunders. Worst of all, the structure was full of incon- 
 veniences and discomforts, and was an unsightly patch- 
 work. 
 
 In refreshing and hopeful contrast are the methods of a 
 firm of building contractors, whose main office, in New 
 York, I recently visited. 
 
 These gentlemen undertake the entire responsibility of 
 designing, planning, constructing, equipping, decorating, 
 and furnishing residences, banks, club-houses, libraries, of- 
 fice buildings, and other fine edifices for their clients. 
 
 They showed me their file room. Here, among other 
 equipment, were some scores of wide, shallow drawers. 
 Each drawer contained all the data on some one building 
 
 5 
 
either about to be put up or in course of construction. 
 My guide opened one of these drawers and showed me 
 what was in it. There were detailed drawings of every- 
 thing about a big bank — from the exterior of the building 
 as a whole down to chairs, hassocks and cuspidors. Type- 
 written specifications described every item. And a huge 
 collection of numbered and labeled samples represented 
 every material used, from brick and building stone to wall- 
 paper, rugs and picture-cord. All these drawings and 
 specifications were approved, and all these samples gath- 
 ered, submitted, and accepted, before a spadeful of earth 
 was turned or a load of gravel purchased. 
 
 Need I point out the success of this firm? Did you 
 note the fact that they had some scores of buildings under 
 contract ? 
 
 In the building of an organization, there are many em- 
 ployers and executives who attack their problem in much 
 the same way as the rich man did his printing plant. 
 There are a few whose methods are like those of the New 
 York contractors. 
 
 The many are forever burrowing in their foundations, 
 and tearing off their roofs, making costly changes. Their 
 organizations are inconvenient, uncomfortable, and waste- 
 ful — unsightly patchwork. 
 
 The few build for all time. They get the best results, 
 for the least expenditure of time, money, materials and 
 effort. 
 
 The many begin to select men before they have any 
 clear, definite ideal for their organization; the few know 
 precisely what they intend to do with their organization 
 before they begin to build it. 
 
 To be more specific: The successful employer of men 
 begins his work of selection by determining, definitely and 
 in detail, just what he wants his men to accomplish. He 
 perfects his plans until he knows how many men he will 
 need, what part each man in the organization is to play, 
 and the kind of man needed for each particular job. In 
 other words, he has in mind an ideal man for each position. 
 Then he is ready to begin the work of finding and placing 
 the human material to fit the plans and specifications for 
 his organization. 
 
 There are certain definite qualities required for each 
 unit of any organization. 
 
 One of the most successful executives in the country once 
 told me that he demanded of every employe four funda- 
 mental qualifications. These were health, intelligence, 
 honesty, and industry. 
 
 “These four are indispensable,” he said. “No man is 
 permanently worth even floor-space, light and heat, to say 
 nothing of wages, unless he is healthy. 
 
 “Unless a man is intelligent, he cannot be taught — he 
 will not develop. Even in the lowest kind of unskilled 
 labor, the unintelligent man costs too much for supervision 
 to be a profitable investment, no matter how low his wage. 
 
“By honesty I mean reliability — general trustworthiness. 
 A dishonest man may do splendid work, but he is bad com- 
 pany for the rest of your force. And one crooked act 
 on his part may wipe out all the profits possible on a dozen 
 years of his best services. 
 
 “It goes without saying, of course, that even the most 
 brilliant and reliable of men is worthless unless he does 
 things. He must be industrious or he is useless in any or- 
 ganization.’* 
 
 Taking these four qualifications as a basis, the efficient 
 executive adds others to his ideals for employes, accord- 
 ing to the work he wants them to do. 
 
 For example, suppose you were hiring a man to nail on 
 lath. In addition to the four fundamental qualifications, 
 you would look for speed — for speed first, accuracy and 
 carefulness second. And, if you knew how to judge your 
 man, you could quickly tell by looking at him whether or 
 not he had just the combination of qualities you desired. 
 
 Take another case. Suppose you were a manufacturing 
 chemist and wanted girls to fill orders. You could not af- 
 ford to risk the possibility of even one error like sending 
 strychnine instead of quinine. After satisfying yourself 
 that the applicants were healthy, intelligent, honest and 
 industrious, you would look for indications of painstaking 
 accuracy and carefulness. Speed would be a minor con- 
 sideration. 
 
 In choosing an inspector of parts of fine machinery, you 
 would demand both speed and accuracy, but not too great 
 carefulness. It is much more important that she should be 
 quick and unerring in separating the perfect parts from 
 the culls, than that she should be careful to place them in 
 exact and symmetrical rows when she has inspected them. 
 In assembling the parts, and testing the completed ma- 
 chine, however, carefulness ranks higher than either accu- 
 racy or speed. 
 
 Some kinds of work, such as adjusting hair springs on 
 watches by ear, require intense concentration. In other 
 kinds, such as selling notions, the employe must be able 
 to turn rapidly from one thing to another — in fact, often- 
 times, to attend to two or three different customers at once, 
 so that concentration is a non-essential. 
 
 Speed, ' accuracy, carefulness, concentration — these are 
 all mental qualities. But the wise executive either learns 
 to discover them — and many others — singly and in com- 
 bination, by external manifestations, or he has someone on 
 his staff who can do it for him. Such foresight saves 
 money, material, time and effort that would otherwise be 
 lost in wasteful experimentation. 
 
 Every man should be in the place in the world for which 
 he is best suited. 
 
 A scientific dairyman selects animals for his herd by 
 points. 
 
 These points are external signs in the color and form of 
 the cattle. They indicate the dairy type. When a cow has 
 
 7 
 
been thus selected, an exact record of her performance is 
 kept. If she falls below a certain standard^ she is weeded 
 out of the herd — put to some other use. 
 
 A good cow may earn for her owner two hundred dol- 
 lars a year. One that falls below standard earns less — 
 may even net a loss. 
 
 The average employer selects his men by chance, or at 
 best by guess. As a rule, he keeps no record of their 
 qualities; very often no record of their performances. He 
 discharges only for glaring inefficiency or for insubordina- 
 tion, or for a whim, or for economy. In the higher de- 
 partments high-priced men are often laid off, which may 
 or may not prove to be economy. In other departments 
 the lower paid laborers are laid off in too great numbers 
 and the higher paid workers are expected to perform their 
 tasks in addition to their own. This leads to discontent 
 and dissatisfaction. Many of the best men leave because 
 they have been badly selected, badly handled, or both. 
 
 A good man may earn for his employer thousands of 
 dollars a year. An inefficient man, or a misfit, may cause 
 a great loss; may even wreck the business. The result is 
 that some of our greatest industrial and commercial insti- 
 tutions are exceedingly uneven, the bad effects of the best 
 men diluted — neutralized by the harm done by the misfits. 
 Even in the best plants the efficiency could be greatly 
 increased if every position were filled by the best men. 
 Hence the need for a scientific method of selecting, placing 
 and testing men. 
 
 The Blackford Employment Plan meets this need. 
 
 This Plan is founded on the very great results of mod- 
 ern research, experiments and demonstration, or scien- 
 tific principles, which have been tested and verified by more 
 than 12,000 actual analyses of individuals. 
 
 OBJECT OF THE PLAN 
 
 The purpose of the Employment Plan is to give the 
 employer or his employment supervisor a simple but com- 
 prehensive and conclusive method of determining from 
 easily observed external signs and from a brief verbal ex- 
 amination of any applicant, what he can do and how well 
 he can do it. 
 
 HOW THE PLAN WORKS. 
 
 The Employment Plan depends for its success upon the 
 intelligent use of nine blanks. These are reproduced here, 
 and the purpose of each is described. 
 
 Blank Number One. — Requisition — This is a requisition 
 for a worker. It is signed by a foreman and approved by 
 his superintendent, supervisor or department manager. 
 The title can be varied in this, and all other blanks, to suit 
 the nomenclature and organization of the plant. It is made 
 out in duplicate. The original goes to the employment 
 department; the duplicate is kept on file by the foreman. 
 
 8 
 
Blank No. 1. 
 
 Form 702 
 
 Orifirinai 
 
 REQUISITION 
 
 Office 
 
 Factory 
 
 No.. 
 
 EMPLOYMENT DEPARTMENT 
 
 Please employ for the Department. 
 
 One_ for Position No.. 
 
 Rate 
 
 To Begin work. Date 191 _ 
 
 With these qualities: 
 
 To replace____ 
 
 Transferred to Dept. 
 
 No longer employed. 
 
 Promoted in this Department. 
 
 Returned to you. 
 
 To increase the forces to secure larger output. 
 
 Permanent 
 
 Foreman 
 
 Temporary 
 
 Superintendent 
 
 Date 191 
 
 NOTE — This blank it used in duplicate. 
 
 This blank, as made out here, would read: Employment 
 Department: Please employ for the Erecting Floor, De- 
 partment Number 00, one assembler, for Position Number 
 00, rate 27^ cents an hour, to begin work July 23, 1912. 
 With these qualities: Must be strong, active, experienced 
 man, with practical knowledge of machinery and minor 
 repairs; to replace Richard Roe, returned to you. Wanted 
 permanently. John Doe, foreman; Henry Robinson, su- 
 perintendent. Date, July 20, 1912.” 
 
 If the foreman or superintendent has in mind a man 
 suited for the place, he will include in his requisition a 
 filled out copy of Blank No. 2, which is the Recommenda- 
 tion Blank. 
 
 When the employment supervisor receives this he may do 
 one of several things. He may send for the man recom- 
 
 9 
 
mended, examine him and, having found him fitted for the 
 place, send him to Foreman John Doe to begin work. Or 
 he may send for him and find him not to be the man for 
 the place. Or he may already have a record of this man on 
 file that will guide him in his action. 
 
 In case he is not the man for the place, the employment 
 supervisor will next consult his waiting list to see whether 
 there is anyone on that can do the work required. In case 
 there is, he sends the best man available. If not, he files 
 the requisition until the right man is found or applies for 
 work. 
 
 Blank No. 2. 
 
 Form 703 
 
 RECOMMENDATION 
 
 Kindly fill out this blank with information about some man whom you 
 think it would be desirable for us to employ. 
 
 Name 
 
 Address. 
 
 Why is he desirable?. 
 
 How do you know? 
 
 What kind of work can he do? 
 
 Is he now employed? Where? 
 
 How old is he? What rate of pay would he expect? 
 
 Married? Single? _How many to support?.^ 
 
 Nationality? Religion? What union? 
 
 What is his relation to you? 
 
 Is he related to any member of your family? If so, what is the re- 
 lationship? 
 
 Signed 
 
 Name 
 
 Position 
 
 Date. 
 
 Department 
 
 Blank No. 2. — Recommendation — This may be sent in by 
 any employe recommending someone he knows who is de- 
 sirable. Employes should be encouraged to do this. It 
 makes them feel added interest in the organization and 
 gives the department more material to select from. 
 
 10 
 
Blank No. 3. 
 
 Form 704 
 
 APPLICATION 
 
 Name 
 
 Address 
 
 Nationality Religion What Union 
 
 Date of birth, month year Height Weight. 
 
 Single or married? How many dependent on you for support?. 
 
 Ever employed here? Under what Foreman? What Dept.?. 
 
 Permanent? 
 
 Position wanted? Temporary? 
 
 Names of relatives employed here 
 
 Whom shall we notify in case of an emergency? Name „ 
 
 Address 
 
 Please check the following list as accurately as possible as to whether you are: 
 
 Careful? 
 
 Courteous? 
 
 Punctual? 
 
 Accurate? 
 
 Industrious? 
 
 Careless? 
 
 Discorteous? 
 
 Tardy? 
 
 Inaccurate? 
 
 Lazy? 
 
 Memory? 
 
 Obedient? 
 
 Orderly? 
 
 Cheerful? 
 
 Patient? 
 
 Forgetful? 
 
 Disobedient? 
 
 Disorderly? 
 
 Gloomy? 
 
 Impatient? 
 
 PREVIOUS EMPLOYMENT AND REFERENCES 
 
 EMPLOYER 
 
 Position Held 
 
 Give Exact Dates as to 
 Month and Year 
 
 Reasons 
 for Leaving 
 
 
 
 From To 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Date 
 
 Blank No. 3. — This is the Application Blank which the 
 applicant is asked to fill ’out in his own handwriting. The 
 reverse side is preferably filled out on the typewriter, the 
 questions being asked by the examiner and recorded by 
 the stenographer. 
 
 11 
 
Blank No. 3 — Application — Reverse Side. 
 
 Can you speak any foreign language? What? 
 
 How much time have you lost by sickness during the past five years? 
 
 What was the nature of your illness? 
 
 In what places have you lived? 
 
 What position do you now hold? What pay? 
 
 How long have you been so engaged? 
 
 Why do you wish to leave? 
 
 Describe two positions you have held before the last one, giving pay, time and 
 
 reason for leaving 
 
 What education and training have you had? General? 
 
 Technical? 
 
 In school, what studies did you like best? 
 
 What lea8t?_ 
 
 What do you read? ^What kind of work do 
 
 you like best?. 
 
 if you could have any position you wished for what would it be? 
 
 Is there anything you would rather have than money?_ _ What? 
 
 What, beside pay, is important to you in a position? 
 
 According to your observation, by what method is advancement generally won? 
 
 Through what means do you hope to secure advancement?. 
 
 What, if anything, are you doing to improve yourself?. 
 
 Can you manage people well?. —State the evidence?. 
 
 How many times have you lost your temper during the past year? 
 
 What were the causes? What did you do? 
 
 Can you take a joke on yourself? Joke others? 
 
 Do you like to be with people? Which sex? 
 
 How many intimate friends have you? 
 
 Do you make acquaintances readily? 
 
 Blank No. i. — Analysis — This is the key to the Em- 
 ployment Plan. Upon it is kept data which should reveal 
 to the competent employment supervisor at a glance, the 
 character, capacity, abilities, weaknesses, tendencies, rec- 
 ord and future possibilities of every man in the plant and 
 every applicant on the waiting list. The front side of the 
 blank and its uses are described fully later in tliis Manual. 
 
 12 
 
Blank No. 4. 
 
 Form 705 
 
 ANALYSIS 
 
 Name 
 
 Address 
 Health 
 
 Hair Eyes Texture 
 
 , Eyes _ Nose r> -i i Motive 
 
 *=“'”"“8: Skin Mouth Mentnl 
 
 Beard Chin Vita! 
 
 Capacity of Intellect 
 
 Face: (Energy) 
 
 Head Type: 
 
 Hand Type; 
 Condition of Body 
 
 . (Vitality) 
 
 Type, 
 
 (Endurance) 
 
 High 
 
 Long Narrow 
 
 Square 
 
 Low 
 
 Short Wide 
 
 Round 
 
 Rigid 
 
 Flexible 
 
 Hard 
 
 Consistency: 
 
 F?abby 
 
 Short 
 
 Fingers: Medium 
 Long 
 
 Dress. 
 
 CONCLUSIONS: 
 
 Ppsitives 
 
 Negatives 
 
 Recommendations . 
 
 Analyzed: 
 
 Date (Signed). 
 
 On the reverse side is space for the man’s record for a year. 
 This record is collated from the work record at desired 
 intervals and is a comprehensive epitome of the man’s 
 standing. Efficiency of the employe is determined by such 
 methods as the department uses, under instruction, on a 
 percentage basis, while his deportment is worked out on the 
 same basis, from data furnished by the foreman. If, dur- 
 ing the period, the employe has shown any special ability. 
 
 13 
 
the foreman reports it, and it is entered here. Such re- 
 marks as may be a guide to the employment supervisor in 
 either determining the future of the employe or checking 
 
 Blank No. 4 — Analysis — Reverse Side. 
 
 Record of. 
 
 1 Date 
 
 Foreman 
 
 Dept. 
 
 Position 
 
 Number 
 
 Kind 
 
 of 
 
 Work 
 
 Deport- 
 
 ment 
 
 Special 
 
 Ability 
 
 Act. Hrs. 
 
 Sta'dHrs. 
 
 s 
 
 Total 
 
 Pay 
 
 Remarks 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 — 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 up his own previous observations upon him, may be en- 
 tered in the space designated. At the end of the year, the 
 employe’s rate of payment, efficiency record and deport- 
 ment are totaled and averaged. This total and average, to- 
 
 14 
 
gather with such general observations upon the man as the 
 employment supervisor may desire to make, are carried 
 forward to a new record blank, exactly like this one, ex- 
 cept that it has space for a year’s record on each side. The 
 first blank is filed in a transfer case for possible reference. 
 
 Blank No. 5. 
 
 Form 706 
 
 REFERENCE TO FOREMAN 
 
 Original 
 
 Mr 
 
 Clock No.. 
 
 to see Mr.. 
 
 Department. 
 
 .for position No.. 
 
 Rate. 
 
 .To begin work. Date. 
 
 _a. m. 
 
 p. m. 
 
 EMPLOYMENT DEPARTMENT 
 
 He is not satisfactory* * 
 
 Reason why applicant is not satisfactory: 
 
 Signed.. 
 
 Foreman 
 
 *Note — If the applicant IS satisfactory, cross out the word “not.” 
 Date 191 
 
 NOTE — This blank is u«ed in duplicate. 
 
 Blank No. 5 . — Reference to Foreman — Before the em- 
 ployment supervisor, after weighing the data on Blanks 
 3 and 4, selects a man for certain work, he first sends him 
 to the foreman in charge of that work. The applicant car- 
 ries with him, in an envelope, as indicated. Blank No. 6. 
 This blank as here reproduced, is self-explanatory, its 
 purpose being to give the foreman an opportunity to ex- 
 press his opinion on the qualifications and personality of 
 the applicant. Only for very important reasons should 
 
 15 
 
a man be hired in opposition to the expressed wishes of 
 the foreman. In sueh eases, perhaps, the applieant may be 
 sent to some other department, or he may be hired for that 
 department if in the judgment of the employment super- 
 visor the foreman’s reasons for rejeeting him are inade- 
 quate. 
 
 Blank No. 6. 
 
 Original 
 
 EMPLOYMENT 
 
 Office 
 Factory 
 
 Form 707 
 
 TO THE PAYMASTER’S DEPARTMENT: 
 
 Please enter on the pay roll the name of 
 
 Clock No.. 
 
 City address 
 
 Employed as„ 
 
 for position No.. 
 
 in the. 
 
 .Department 
 
 at the rate of. 
 
 Supenruor of ELmpbymenl 
 
 Date 191 
 
 NOTE — ^Thii blank u lued in duplicate. 
 
 Blank No. 6. — Employment — This is the employment 
 supervisor’s notifieation to the paymaster’s department that 
 a new name is to be placed on the pay-roll. It is self- 
 explanatory. In case the employing firm or corporation 
 requires its employes to sign an agreement, the back of 
 this blank is a good place for it. 
 
 16 
 
Blank No. 7. 
 
 Form 708 Original 
 
 REPORT ON EMPLOYE 
 
 Office 
 Factory 
 
 Name 
 
 Clock No. Dept Position No 
 
 Kind of work 
 
 Deportment 
 
 Special ability shown 
 
 POSITIVES SHOWN 
 
 NEGATIVES SHOWN 
 
 Carefulness 
 
 Courtesy 
 
 Punctuality 
 
 Accuracy 
 
 Industry 
 
 Memory 
 
 Obedience 
 
 Orderliness 
 
 Cheerfulness 
 
 Patience 
 
 Carelessness 
 
 Discourtesy 
 
 Tardiness 
 
 Inaccuracy 
 
 Laziness 
 
 Forgetfulness 
 
 Disobedience 
 
 Disorderliness 
 
 Gloominess 
 
 Impatience 
 
 With reference to this man I recommend:. 
 
 Returned to you, Date_ 
 Reason 
 
 a. m. 
 p. m. 
 
 All tools, tool checks and other articles loaned No., 
 have been returned. 
 
 Tool Stock Room No By 
 
 Signed 
 
 Rate approved by 
 
 Date 1 9 1 
 
 NOTE — ^This blank i* used m duplicate. 
 
 Storekeeper 
 
 Foreman 
 
 Superintendent 
 
 Blank No. 7 . — Report on Employe — This is the periodic 
 report blank by means of which the employment depart- 
 ment is able to keep the periodic record on the reverse of 
 Blank No. 4. One such record is made out^ when required, 
 for each employe, from the highest to the lowest. Work- 
 ers, foremen and superintendents are all reported in ac- 
 cordance with the method in vogue. If all men are checked 
 up by standard efficiency records, furnished by the effi- 
 ciency department, then the summarized periodic record 
 secured from the paymaster’s department goes on this 
 blank. 
 
 17 
 
If there are no effieiency records, then the foreman may 
 report on the men under him, the superintendent on the 
 foremen, the manager on the superintendents. 
 
 The list of positives and negatives, to be checked by the 
 one signing the report, is for the guidance of the employ- 
 ment supervisor in verifying his first observation; also to 
 give him the data for determining the percentage of the 
 employe’s deportment. By deportment here is meant every- 
 thing in the employe’s behavior, outside of actual -work 
 done, that affects his value to the concern. Foremen and 
 others should be carefully instructed as to the marking of 
 positives and negatives. Some of these checked off may 
 be manifested much more strongly than others. Let these 
 be indicated with a double or even a triple check mark. 
 From this, and from the general report of the signer on de- 
 portment, it will be easy for the employment supervisor, 
 
 Blank No. 8. 
 
 Form 709 Original 
 
 TRANSFER 
 
 Office 
 Factory 
 
 PAYMASTER’S DEPARTMENT: 
 
 Please | 
 
 Clock No.„_ 
 
 From 
 
 Department. 
 
 
 To 
 
 Deoartment 
 
 
 of wnric fn ....... 
 
 Now rate Reginning 
 
 a. m. 
 
 191 
 
 New Clock No. 
 
 p. m. 
 
 
 Foreman 
 
 Approved: 
 
 
 Superintendent 
 
 Dale _ 191. 
 
 Supervisor of Employment 
 
 NOTE — Thi$ blank ii used in duplicate. 
 
 
 
 18 
 
or even an intelligent elerk_, to work out the percentage. 
 The report on efficiency is more complete and reliable. 
 
 The Report on Employe blank is used whenever the fore- 
 man wishes to make recommendations of any nature regard- 
 ing a man. He may wish to promote the man in his own 
 department, transfer him to another, increase or cut his 
 rate of pay, or recommend that he be discharged. This 
 blank is also used as a “quit-slip,” when the tool release 
 has been signed by the storekeeper. 
 
 Blank No. 8. — Transfer — This notifies the paymaster — 
 and everyone else concerned — of the transfer of an em- 
 ploye from one department to another. 
 
 The foreman releasing a man fills in his name, his clock 
 number, position number, rate, and department number, 
 then sends it to the receiving foreman who fills in class of 
 work transferred to, the new rate, new clock number, time 
 he wishes the transfer to become effective, signs it, has it 
 approved by the superintendent, and forwards it to the 
 employment supervisor for action. 
 
 Blank No. 9. 
 
 Form 710 
 
 NOTIFICATION 
 
 Office 
 
 Factory 
 
 OriKinal 
 
 PAYMASTER’S DEPARTMENT: 
 
 Please pay off and remove from pay roll 
 
 Name - Clock No 
 
 Address _ 
 
 Department- Position No 
 
 Quit work, Date__ a. m. 
 
 p. m. 
 
 Tool clearance__ 
 
 Signed. 
 
 Supervisor of Employroeat 
 
 Date. 191__ 
 
 NOTE — This blank is used in duplicate. 
 
 19 
 
Blank No. 9. — Notification — When an employe is re- 
 turned by a foreman to the employment department, he 
 should have the right of explanation to the employment su- 
 pervisor, who may be able to adjust the difficulty and save 
 a valuable man for the institution. Sometimes this may be 
 done by persuading the foreman to give the employe 
 another trial. Or it may be done by transferring the indi- 
 vidual to another department. When, however, the em- 
 ployment supervisor sustains the judgment of the foreman, 
 the notification blank is sent to the paymaster, who settles 
 the account and removes the man’s name from the roll. 
 
 The employment department should enter on the em- 
 ploye’s record the information concerning his resignation, 
 transfer, pay-off, or discharge, as the case may be. If 
 the employment supervisor selected that man, it will be of 
 great value to him to know just why he left. 
 
 GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 As will be readily seen, the most important of all these 
 blanks are the application, analysis and record blanks. To 
 them all the others are contributory or subordinate. The 
 others may be varied to suit the conditions of the concern 
 using them. But they are not unimportant. The employ- 
 ment supervisor should see that they are regularly filled 
 out, not only in the letter but in the spirit. Each of them 
 has a purpose in the Plan. By means of them the lines of 
 discipline and efficiency will be kept taut. They have 
 been devised to aid the employment supervisor in keeping 
 the whole organization in his grasp. To permit the use of 
 any of these forms to be neglected or become perfunctory 
 is to slip back toward the old, hit-or-miss, unscientific and 
 prodigally wasteful methods of the past. 
 
 THE HUMAN ELEMENT IN BUSINESS. 
 
 In the summer of 1911, a big New York corporation was 
 losing money. It was doing a larger volume of business 
 than ever before. Prices for its product were high and 
 going higher. All conditions seemed favorable to generous 
 profits. But, month after month, its balances were written 
 in red ink. 
 
 During the summer of 1912, this same corporation had 
 recouped all its losses and was paying the largest dividends 
 in its history. The seeming miracle was wrought by a new 
 general manager. The human element, represented by one 
 man, was more potent in that corporation’s affairs than all 
 other factors combined. 
 
 Andrew Carnegie started in the iron and steel business 
 long after his competitors had grown great and powerful. 
 Yet in a few years he had outstripped them all. And all 
 the world knows he did it by gathering the right kind of 
 
 20 
 
men around him. He and hundreds of other big winners 
 in business have proved that the human element is the all- 
 important faetor — that men can control conditions and shape 
 circumstances to suit their purposes. 
 
 The converse has also been demonstrated times without 
 number. Conditions may be right, circumstances favor- 
 able, and opportunity almost forcing success upon an insti- 
 tution. Yet, with the human element unfit or misfit, failure 
 is inevitable. 
 
 Knowledge of men, then, would seem to be the first and 
 most vital qualification for success in an employer. And 
 yet, for some reason, equipment, materials, markets and 
 processes have been exhaustively studied, while human na- 
 ture has been largely neglected. Here is the most potent 
 cause of inefficiency, inharmony, discontent and even mu- 
 tiny and rebellion among employes, with consequent de- 
 struction of profits, property and even human lives. 
 
 “Welfare work” in itself will not solve the problem. 
 
 An employer once complained to me that he had spent 
 several thousands of dollars upon the betterment of con- 
 ditions for his workmen and that, not only did they not 
 appreciate his efforts, but they showed resentment. They 
 wanted to know why the amount had not been added to 
 their wages, although they were already receiving current 
 rates of pay. 
 
 What was the trouble.^ 
 
 A little investigation showed that it was in the unwise 
 selection of men. 
 
 IMPORTANCE OF EMPLOYMENT SUPERVISOR 
 
 The employment supervisor, therefore, deals first hand 
 with the most vital factor in the success of the insti- 
 tution. Upon him rests responsibility for the fitness of 
 the human element out of which the business structure 
 must be built. A fire-proof edifice cannot be constructed 
 of dry pine. An organization that is to survive the stress 
 of competition cannot be made of soft, weak human mate- 
 rial. As the employment supervisor judges and selects, so 
 will the institution succeed. 
 
 But an expert employment supervisor’s opportunities for 
 good do not stop with helping the institution grow and 
 make larger profits. He should be both examiner and 
 counsellor of men. His is the privilege of taking men who 
 might otherwise be all their lives misfits and failures, in- 
 troducing them to their work, and showing them how to 
 succeed in it. It is also his task and pleasure to select 
 men who are not only adapted to their duties, but of such 
 temperament and disposition that they will work harmo- 
 niously together for the good of all. 
 
 Contented workers produce more and better work than 
 unhappy ones. They are more easily managed. This has 
 been demonstrated by scientific tests. In a large factory 
 employing women, it was observed that during the hours 
 from one to three in the afternoon production was at its 
 
 21 
 
lowest ebb, and there was the largest percentage of spoiled 
 work. A large and beautiful dining room and social hall 
 was built. The employes were given a simple but appe- 
 tizing and nourishing luncheon at small tables covered with 
 clean, white linen and equipped with tasteful china and 
 silver. After luncheon a half hour was given to singing 
 and dancing. Immediately production in the hours men- 
 tioned rose to normal and the percentage of spoiled work 
 was as small as at any time during the day. 
 
 There is nothing more demoralizing and wasteful than 
 the presence of trouble-makers in an organization. If these 
 chronic agitators and disturbers could be eliminated, there 
 would be fewer strikes and less labor difficulty. When such 
 people find that they can be detected the moment they 
 apply for work or, if they are already inside, “spotted” 
 as soon as their evil activities begin, they will cease to be 
 fomentors of strife and seek a legitimate outlet for their 
 energies. 
 
 Understanding his men, the employment supervisor will 
 sympathize with them. There is too little kindness, too 
 little sympathy, too little encouragement in the world. A 
 great deal of what there is goes to waste or, worse, is 
 misdirected through lack of imderstanding. 
 
 In a large institution the worker is liable to lose his 
 individuality in the mass and become a mere cog in a ma- 
 chine. This is another form of human waste. A man’s 
 value to his employer is not in his large bones and muscles, 
 his weight-lifting and strenuous physical labor. Human 
 muscle-power is the most expensive form of energy used. 
 
 A man is valuable in proportion to the thought, the psy- 
 chical inspiration and the happiness he puts into his labor. 
 A man doing work he does not love, lacks enthusiasm, 
 spontaneity, interest and concentration — therefore effi- 
 ciency. Even those doing work for which they are well 
 fitted become negative, stale and flat at times. The em- 
 ployment supervisor should be a dynamo, recharging and 
 reinvigorating those who need his services. If he under- 
 stands the nature of each man — and he is totally unfit for 
 his position if he does not — a look, a friendly word of 
 encouragement, an appreciative smile, will inspire them to 
 a conscious and successful effort to do more and better 
 work. 
 
 In the highest sense, an industrial or commercial insti- 
 tution should be a school where men and women learn to 
 live through useful and happy effort. Raw human material 
 should be developed, rendered valuable, and utilized. Ge- 
 nius should be discovered and given its opportunity. The 
 employment supervisor should therefore be an educator. 
 And he should be ever alert for unusual ability. Many 
 millions of dollars are lost every year because of unutil- 
 ized human powers. 
 
 REQUISITES FOR AN EMPLOYMENT SUPERVISOR 
 
 Since the employment supervisor must bear such heavy 
 responsibilities, his qualifications are of momentous im- 
 
portance. Certain attributes are fundamental and indis- 
 pensable. These are: 
 
 (1) Teachableness. A man who cannot be taught is 
 suffering from mental anchylosis. He is ossified and mum- 
 mified, intellectually. Of doubtful value in any place, he 
 is worthless for selecting men. 
 
 A teachable man has a broad outlook on life; for he 
 daily perceives that his sum of knowledge is a mere atom 
 in the mass of what may be learned. He knows 
 that new discoveries tomorrow may render obsolete the 
 highest wisdom of today. Therefore he is not only re- 
 ceptive of, but eager for, more and more truth. 
 
 (2) Love of Humanity. Every successful horse-trainer 
 or dog-fancier loves animals. There are no exceptions. 
 Likewise, those who handle men successfully love humanity. 
 Nor do I know of any exception to this law. 
 
 Love begets love. Hate begets hate. Indifference leaves 
 others indifferent. 
 
 Love is constructive. It means interest in the welfare 
 of the loved one and desire to protect liis interests, to see 
 him grow and prosper. 
 
 Hate and indifference are destructive. They cause care- 
 lessness and hostility toward the interests of their object. 
 They even lead to malicious destruction of property or 
 life. There is no more extravagant human waste than hate. 
 
 (3) Deliberate Judgment. To be a good judge of men 
 one must have the judicial mind. Sound judgment is so 
 rare an achievement and of such priceless value that one 
 should be always definitely on guard against unsound con- 
 clusions. 
 
 Unsound judgments are of four kinds: hasty, mistaken, 
 prejudiced and illogical. 
 
 Hasty judgments are made without taking all the evi- 
 dence into consideration. 
 
 Mistaken judgments rest upon apparent facts that are 
 not facts. They are the result of incomplete or careless 
 observation. 
 
 Prejudiced judgments arise from giving undue weight 
 to some of the evidence and holding other parts of it too 
 lightly. They are most often due to personal bias. In 
 judging men they are to be most carefully avoided. 
 
 Illogical judgments are due to unsound processes of rea- 
 soning in drawing conclusions from the evidence. 
 
 A good employment supervisor, then, must be calm, delib- 
 erate and thorough in securing his facts. He must be 
 keen, alert and painstaking in making his observations. 
 Most studiously should he rid himself of all preconceived 
 notions and prejudices. Let him always remember that he 
 is weighing scientific data and not consulting his personal 
 likes and dislikes. Fallacious reasoning has many seduc- 
 tive forms, and the employment supervisor who succeeds 
 will avoid them all. Thorough study of a good text book 
 on logic will aid him. In any mass of evidence there will 
 be some apparent contradictions. They are never real. 
 
 23 
 
By careful checking up they can all be harmonized. A 
 reliable judge of men will learn to do this. 
 
 In order to reach conclusions, therefore, the employ- 
 ment supervisor must himself be reliable, deliberate, sta- 
 ble and well-balanced. 
 
 (4) Keen Observation. An atrocious murder was com- 
 mitted. Three men saw it done. In court one testified 
 that the victim was struck on the head with a club and thus 
 killed. The second declared that the weapon was a huge 
 knife. The third said it was an axe. The third witness 
 was right. Yet each man was telling the truth as he saw 
 it. The first had seen only the handle of the axe. The sec- 
 ond saw the blade. The third, having keener observation, 
 saw both. 
 
 So, in judging men, one observer will see only a few of 
 the good qualities in a man and be blind to his deficiencies. 
 Another will see only faults and weaknesses and overlook 
 fine, strong points. Both are right, but only half right. A 
 competent observer sees both positives and negatives. 
 
 Everything about a man is significant of his character. 
 No one thing tells the whole story. You will go far astray 
 in judgment if you base your conclusions upon any one 
 point that you cannot verify. 
 
 Keenness of observation is partly inherent. But no 
 matter what natural endowments you may have they must 
 be painstakingly cultivated. And the way to cultivate 
 your powers of observation is by practice — practice — prac- 
 tice, always checking up and verifying your deductions 
 by subsequent behavior of the men. 
 
 (6) Tactfulness and Faculty of Putting Men at Ease. 
 It is the practice of some employers to get an applicant 
 before them, assume a fierce expression and “grill” the 
 poor fellow until he hardly knows his own name. If the 
 victim can stand this “fire and brimstone” test sufficiently 
 to assert that he is the right man for the place, he is en- 
 gaged. He who becomes confused and makes a weak pre- 
 sentation of his merits is rejected. Could bad judgment 
 and inefficiency go farther? 
 
 The most modest man is often the most capable and 
 easiest to manage. And a brazen-faced, tough-nerved indi- 
 vidual is skilled in deception and frequently a trouble 
 maker. 
 
 If a man is on his guard against you, he will not express 
 his true character. It is the employment supervisor who 
 has the rare gift of a kindly, friendly, pleasing, confidence- 
 inspiring personality who will get best results, both in ex- 
 amining and in counselling men. 
 
 (6) Knowledge of Human Nature. More important 
 than all other requisites is knowledge of human nature. 
 Some men are naturally good judges of men. These can 
 easily acquire the scientific training necessary to convert 
 fairly accurate guesses into definite knowledge. Other 
 men are inherently poor judges of men and no amount of 
 training will make them expert. They can improve them- 
 
 24 
 
selves in this respect but always will they be mediocre. Such 
 men are unfitted for the position of employment super- 
 visor even though they rate well on all the other requisites. 
 
 (7) Knowledge of Qualifications for Work to he Done. 
 The six requisites described in the foregoing are inherent, 
 fundamental, and indispensable. They depend more upon 
 natural endowment than upon education. Any man having 
 them in goodly degree is fairly well equipped for the posi- 
 tion of employment supervisor. To them, however, it is 
 wise to add other qualifications by study and training. One 
 of these is a working knowledge of the essential qualities 
 required in men for each class of work in the institution 
 which he serves. It may be learned from the foremen of 
 the different departments. This method applies the third 
 principle of efficiency, seeking competent counsel. To it, 
 however, it would be well to add a diligent study of the 
 work to be done, the best ways of doing it, and the require- 
 ments for doing it in those ways. 
 
 ETHICS AND TECHNIQUE OF THE WORK 
 
 Applying for a position is an important event in the life 
 of any person. It may be epochal. The more lowly and 
 unskilled the applicant, oftentimes, the more momentous 
 is the occasion. He may be only a few scanty meals re- 
 moved from want. To fail may discourage and brutalize 
 him to the point of desperation and crime. 
 
 An offending employe once exclaimed, as he left the 
 office of his superior, “He is the whitest man I ever 
 knew !” 
 
 “Did he reinstate you?” his companions inquired. 
 
 “Reinstate me! No! He fired me. But he talked to me 
 like a father!” 
 
 It is not your duty to employ men because you are sorry 
 for them, if they are unfit. But the ethics of your position 
 demand that you send the rejected applicant away more 
 cheerful and more encouraged than when he came to you. 
 This is not done by making or seeming to make any prom- 
 ise you do not intend to keep, but in making helpful sug- 
 gestions that may serve him well elsewhere. 
 
 HOW TO EXAMINE APPLICANTS 
 
 In every kind of work best results are secured by getting 
 all conditions right. There is a best way to examine appli- 
 cants. 
 
 Each caller should be received alone, by the supervisor 
 in a private office. It is desirable to have a stenographer 
 to record questions asked and answers given, but he should 
 be unobtrusive and not seem to be reporting the conversa- 
 tion. 
 
 After a pleasant greeting, the applicant should be given 
 a chair so placed that the light will fall directly upon his 
 face — not such strong light as to be uncomfortable for 
 him, but enough to bring out the color, lines and expres- 
 sions. The examiner’s face should be turned from the 
 light. 
 
 25 
 
Putting your applicant at his ease with a word or two, 
 give him the application blank to fill out at once. This 
 transfers his attention from himself and enables you to 
 observe him without his realizing that you are doing so. 
 In placing the blank before him, you should stand, prefer- 
 ably at his right side and a little behind him. With the 
 point of your pencil indicate to him which questions he is 
 to answer. While you are doing this you have an oppor- 
 tunity to look directly down at the top of his head, to ob- 
 serve his back-head, neck and other features which, as 
 will later develop, are all-important. 
 
 Having made these observations, you may resume your 
 seat and, in a few seconds, check up your Analysis Blank. 
 When he has finished writing, and you have completed 
 your inspection, you should, in a quiet and friendly man- 
 ner, ask the questions outlined in the Plan. After a little 
 practice you will be able to ask these from memory. Then 
 your applicant will not realize that jmu are following a set 
 form for a definite purpose. He will feel — and ought to 
 feel — that these are friendly inquiries and not tests of his 
 character. Having memorized your questions, you can also 
 ' give full attention to the play of expression on his fea- 
 tures. 
 
 After all the data has been obtained — which need not 
 Y consume more than ^n or fi fteen minutes — you should 
 know whether the man seems fitted for any position you 
 have open at the time. The more experience you have, the 
 more quickly and accurately will you be able to draw your 
 conclusions. If your verdict is favorable or at least ten- 
 tatively so, give the applicant the Reference to Foreman 
 blank, send him to his prospective foreman, and instruct 
 him to return to you at a definite time. During the inter- 
 val you should go carefully over the evidence, determine, 
 label and pigeonhole the man’s character and qualifications 
 in your consciousness for future reference; not neglecting, 
 of course, to put all this information in permanent written 
 form and file it where it will be readily accessible. 
 
 If the foreman’s judgment coincides with yours, and 
 you decide to employ the man, the Employment blank, 
 notifying the pa;fmaster’s department, is made out. He 
 is no longer an applicant but an employe. He is now defi- 
 nitely under your care. 
 
 I am a firm believer in the good intent of all men. 
 When a man applies for a position he is in a sense making 
 a new start in life. Perhaps he has a deep feeling of fail- 
 ure. Things may not have turned out as he expected. 
 Oftentimes an applicant approaches his new employer 
 much discouraged and sick at heart. Or he may be deter- 
 mined to rectify his former mistakes, so that he takes 
 up Iiis new work in high spirits. 
 
 Whatever the mental condition of the new employe, the 
 employment supervisor will see that he starts his work in 
 the right attitude. 
 
 20 
 
The foreman under whom the new man is to work 
 should be instructed to show him the place wdiere he is to 
 be stationed, his machine, desk, or whatever equipment he 
 is to use. The foreman should also make him feel that he 
 will be received courteously and kindly by his superiors 
 and the other workers. He should also be made acquainted 
 with the rules of the place and what is expected of him. 
 It is poor practice to install in any position a man who is 
 ignorant of its requirements. If the place calls for unusual 
 hours or special sacrifices, your man will be much better 
 satisfied if he is told about them before he accepts the 
 position. Then, if he accepts, he is much more likely to 
 continue. If he is allowed to go in blindly, he is likely 
 to resolve to stay only until he can do better. 
 
 The rules, requirements and ideals of an organization 
 should be set forth in concise language, in printed form, 
 and posted at a number of prominent places throughout the 
 plant. Applicants should see these before they are ana- 
 lyzed, and each man should be given a copj’' when he is ac- 
 cepted as an employe. 
 
 Adjustment to new people and a new place is always 
 trying. The employment supervisor who is really making 
 the most of his opportunities will make a practice of visit- 
 ing each new man shortly after he has been installed. 
 He may do little more than greet the man by name and give 
 him some word of hearty encouragement. But it will pay. 
 
 I am quite aware that, in a large institution, this means 
 work, but I do not advocate as competent for this im- 
 portant position any man who is afraid of work. 
 
 Finally, the employment supervisor should make all the 
 workers in his institution feel that he is their friend and 
 helper in all matters pertaining to their work and their re- 
 lation to the firm. In this way he will be able to aid them 
 to benefit themselves by rendering more profitable service 
 to the concern. And he may easily quench many sparks 
 that might otherwise burst into flames of discontent and 
 rebellion. 
 
 AN EFFICIENT EMPLOYMENT DEPARTMENT SHOULD: 
 
 1. Number all positions and list the qualifications for 
 
 each. 
 
 2. Employ and discharge help. 
 
 3. Make recommendations for all positions. 
 
 4. Secure for all positions the very best obtainable hu- 
 
 man material. 
 
 5. Outline re-adjustment of the workers already em- 
 
 ployed so as to get the best results. 
 
 6. Gradually eliminate the unfit and place those retained 
 
 where they will be the least objectionable. 
 
 7. Take steps to secure applications from desirable men 
 
 not at present obtainable or particularly needed: 
 
 To analyze and list these as a reserve or source of 
 
 supply. 
 
 27 
 
8. Keep accurate records of the deportment and per- 
 
 formance of every man as: (a) means of dealing 
 with the man himself, (6) as a check on the effi- 
 ciency of the employment department, (c) as a 
 means of determining the trend of the whole organ- 
 ization. 
 
 9. Investigate, consider and bring up for adjustment all 
 
 cases of inefficiency, discontent, inharmony and 
 misunderstanding. 
 
 10. Taking “competent counsel,” establish a maximum 
 
 wage rate for each position, or, secure the best 
 human material , obtainable for each position at as 
 low a rate as possible commensurate with justice to 
 employer and employe. 
 
 11. Systematically make known the ideals of the organ- 
 
 ization. 
 
 12. Make known to each worker the qualities considered 
 
 to be ideal for his job — then inspire him to strive 
 for their attainment. 
 
 13. Form classes among executives, superintendents and 
 
 foremen for inspiration, suggestion, and instruc- 
 tion as to scientific methods of understanding men. 
 
 14. Determine and render available as far as possible all 
 
 the latent genius and special abilities of employes. 
 16. Beginning at the top, endeavor to instil into every 
 individual the “spirit of the hive,” the desire to 
 co-operate, to **play the game.” 
 
 16. As far as possible, select and educate understudies 
 for every position of importance. 
 
 READING THE EXTERNAL SIGNS. 
 
 Everything about a man indicates his character. The 
 analysis blank is arranged to aid in observing and record- 
 ing all the essential qualities of the applicant. The fol- 
 lowing paragraphs will suggest what these indications 
 mean. 
 
 Handwriting . — ^When a man writes his name, address 
 and other items, he tells far more about himself than he 
 thinks. 
 
 Like voice, handwriting is an expression of character. 
 
 First, a man’s writing shows his expertness with a pen. 
 While this is not always essential, yet well-trained fingers 
 show at least latent ability to handle small tools of any 
 kind. The rapidity with which he fills in the blank will 
 indicate, to some degree, the applicant’s quickness of 
 thought. 
 
 Carelessness and slovenliness, as well as carefulness, 
 neatness and deliberation, will show themselves in hand- 
 writing. 
 
 28 
 
Small, compact, even writing is indicative of a neat, 
 modest, conservative, refined nature. 
 
 Large, bold, pretentious letters indicate a frank, self- 
 assertive, proud nature. 
 
 Hopeful, buoyant, optimistic people write “up-hill.” De- 
 pressed, despondent, pessimistic natures write “down-hill.” 
 
 Sharp, angular letters indicate energy and ambition ; 
 round, curved letters show love of ease, comfort and 
 pleasure. 
 
 Connected letters and words are written by people of 
 continuity and connectedness of thought. Disconnected, 
 disjointed writing — letters in the same word being left to 
 stand by themselves — indicates impulsiveness and a ten- 
 dency to jump to conclusions. 
 
 Name and Address , — It is obviously important to have 
 the applicant’s name. Aside from this, there is much “in a 
 name.” Men who have within them the elements of great- 
 ness incline strongly to simple, unpretentious names — 
 George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln. 
 The would-be great make more pretentions. 
 
 If the section of the city or of the country whence an 
 applicant comes is known, he can be classified to some ex- 
 tent by his address. 
 
 Nationality and Religion . — However much we wish it 
 otherwise, race and national prejudices and hatreds are 
 significant, fundamental and stubborn facts. Even those 
 from different sections of the same country are often antag- 
 onistic and will not work well together. It is dangerous to 
 place North Italians and South Italians in the same gang. 
 Germans and Englishmen do not harmonize readily, nor do 
 Irishmen and Negroes. An acquaintance with interna- 
 tional affinities and enmities will be a great help in placing 
 men. 
 
 In the same way, and for the same reasons, it is desir- 
 able to know the religion of the applicant. Roman Cath- 
 olics will work best under a foreman of their own belief. 
 
 In no case is it wise to place in charge of others any 
 man who makes himself obnoxious because of his intense 
 religious beliefs. Both national feeling and religion are 
 products of the emotions. Emotions when aroused are like 
 dynamite — dangerous explosives. 
 
 In his excellent book, “Motion Study,” Frank B. Gil- 
 breth says: 
 
 “A bond of sympathy between the workmen and the 
 people who are to occupy the edifice upon which they are 
 working will also increase the output.” 
 
 Date of Birth . — Many firms make it a hard and fast 
 rule not to employ men beyond a certain age. This is never 
 wisdom. Years, as we have seen, are not always the test 
 of a man’s age. Youthfulness is of the spirit and is not 
 measured by calendars and birthdays. The man who looks 
 young for his years is usually advancing. He who looks 
 older than he should is slipping backward. 
 
 29 
 
Height and Weight. — The height and weight of men in 
 connection with their work should always be considered. 
 In this connection, Mr. Gilbreth says: 
 
 “Size of men with relation to their motions has much 
 more influence than is usually realized. 
 
 “Short men are usually the best shovelers where the 
 shovelful need not be raised much in doing the work, such 
 as in mixing mortar and concrete. Few foremen realize 
 that this is because a short man does fewer foot-pounds 
 of work in the same amount of shoveling. On the other 
 hand, when men are shoveling in a trench, the taller the 
 men, usually, the more output per man.” 
 
 Much stooping or bending soon fatigues a tall man. 
 Reaching for things beyond his height is tiresome to the 
 short man. 
 
 The tall man, with long legs, will cover distances or 
 do standing work well. The heavy, vital man must do the 
 bulk of his work while sitting. It is a great mistake to 
 put a heavy man in work that requires him to be much on 
 his feet, unless he is exceptionally well-muscled. 
 
 Single or Married. — Happily married men, other things 
 being equal, do the best work. They are more permanent. 
 Bachelors come next. The man with serious domestic 
 trouble is least efficient and least satisfactory of all. There- 
 fore, in selecting men for important positions, it is an es- 
 sential to know something of their domestic relations. 
 This is not difficult, by indirect methods, if the examiner 
 is tactful and sympathetic. A man’s ambitions for his 
 home and for permanent employment throw light on his 
 family relations. The man may be single yet have a large 
 family dependent upon him; hence the next inquiry. 
 
 Former Employment Record. — If the man has been em- 
 ployed by the firm before, and there is an adequate system 
 of records, it will be possible to learn how he performed. 
 Under the Blackford Plan, there will be complete data 
 concerning him. In the absence of such information, 
 it is important to know why he left and why he wishes to 
 return. 
 
 Position Wanted. — The applicant may be applying for a 
 position far beneath his abilities — or far beyond them. 
 Or he may be applying for work in one department when 
 his talents fit him especially for another. The examiner 
 should discover such errors by weighing the evidence with 
 the requirements of the position in mind. 
 
 It is also for the examiner to determine whether this is 
 a “temporary” man seeking a permanent position, or the 
 reverse. 
 
 Notification in Case of Emergency. — The value of this 
 information is obvious. 
 
 Checking Positives and Negatives. — When the applicant 
 has written the data called for in the first few lines, he is 
 instructed how to check the positive and negative qualities. 
 He is to be kindly and pleasantly informed that perfection 
 is not expected in anyone but that the desire is to know 
 
 30 
 
in what points he falls farthest short of it; also his strong- 
 est qualities. Explain to him that, if he is frank in giving 
 this information, it will be possible to plaee him where his 
 positives will win him the largest profits and his short- 
 comings will interfere as little as possible with his success. 
 Tell him, if necessary, what each one of the positives and 
 negatives mean. 
 
 The applicant may declare that he doesn’t know whether 
 he is positive or negative on the points indicated. This 
 shows that he is little given to introspection and self-anal- 
 ysis. Make a mental note of this. Then give the applicant 
 such assistance as is needed in checking the list. One very 
 good way is to draw him out by asking specific questions 
 about each positive and negative. This also helps the 
 applicant to get better acquainted with his own character. 
 
 The way a man checks this list shows, to a certain extent, 
 how honest he is with himself. That a man should credit 
 himself with a positive, when all the other indications are 
 that he is usually negative on that point, does not always 
 mean that he is intentionally dishonest. The same man 
 may charge himself with a negative when you know, by 
 other signs, that he is entitled to a positive. These dis- 
 crepancies should be a valuable guide in weighing his an- 
 swers to other questions and in estimating his tendencies 
 and worth. 
 
 The marks an applicant makes on this part of the blank 
 will be useful to the employment supervisor for months 
 after the man has gone to work in the institution. As his 
 positives and negatives must manifest themselves in his 
 daily work and conduct, reference to this list will confirm 
 or condemn his judgment of himself. Here, too, will be 
 found a most convenient basis for checking up, correcting 
 and establishing an estimate of the man. Constant study 
 of this data, always comparing it with the actual perform- 
 ance of the individual, is part of the price paid for in- 
 creasing facility and accuracy in judging men and women. 
 
 STATE OF HEALTH 
 
 Some important indications of good health are: Clear, 
 bright, expressive eyes; clean, wholesome-looking mouth; 
 red lips; animated expression; vibrant voice; alert mus- 
 cles; responsiveness to impressions. In good health the 
 whole body and mind express latent energy and abundant 
 life. 
 
 Deficiency in health shows in dull, leaden, listless eyes; 
 muddy, jaundiced, oily, pimpled or irritated skin; de- 
 cayed or unclean teeth; sticky saliva; pale or pinched- 
 looking nostrils; weary-acting muscles; slow response to 
 impressions; blue finger nails; extreme sallowness or ex- 
 treme pallor; intense excitability or nervousness. 
 
 The eyes indicate mental conditions. 
 
 The skin shows how actively the eliminative system is 
 working. 
 
 31 
 
The nose is an index of the capacity and condition of 
 the lungs. 
 
 The mouth reflects the strength and state of health of 
 the digestive tract. 
 
 The lips, color of skin, temperature of hands, and color 
 of finger-nails are manifestations of circulatory power or 
 heart’s action; therefore endurance. 
 
 When you get the full significance of instructions in this 
 manual, you wiU be able to judge a man’s physical defects 
 and strong points quite as accurately as the average phy- 
 sician. A medical examination for fitness will be un- 
 necessary. 
 
 TEXTURE 
 
 Texture is the inherent grain or fiber of the individual. 
 It shows his degree of responsiveness or impressionability. 
 
 Fine hair and fine skin, well-formed, balanced and sym- 
 metrical features indicate a high degree of responsiveness 
 or cultural capacity. Coarse hair and coarse skin, ill- 
 shapen, disproportionate, and unsymmetrical features are 
 indicative of a lesser degree of responsiveness and cultural 
 capacity. 
 
 The fine textured man prefers to do mental work or to 
 handle light, fine materials. Being more responsive, he 
 will be more appreciative of beauty in all its phases, and 
 therefore will naturally enjoy work that gives him an op- 
 portunity to create or handle beautiful things. 
 
 The coarse textured man is more at home among heavy, 
 coarse materials. Being less responsive, he will not suffer 
 keenly if required to work in unpleasant or unbeautiful 
 surroundings. 
 
 COLOR CHARACTERISTICS OF BRUNETTES 
 
 Adhesive 
 
 Steadfast 
 
 Conservative 
 
 Patient 
 
 Serious-minded 
 
 Dependable 
 
 Strong love nature. 
 
 Slow to anger — slow to recover. 
 
 Slow to become ill — slow to recover. 
 Tendency to specialize. 
 Disinclination to frequent change. 
 Sometimes gloomy and resentful. 
 
 Prefers work along lines of production; is conservative 
 rather than speculative; is economical rather than wasteful. 
 
 COLOR CHARACTERISTICS OF BLONDES 
 
 Active 
 
 Changeable 
 
 Diffusive 
 
 Impatient 
 
 Quick to anger — quick to recover. 
 Quick to become ill — quick to recover. 
 Often wasteful. 
 
 Variety loving in work or play. 
 
 Speculative and optimistic ; usually mild and good- 
 natured; often inventive; like to conceive the idea or plan 
 but do not like so well to work it out. 
 
 Blondes usually prefer aggressive work, such as sales- 
 manship and advertising. They frequently have brilliant 
 
 32 
 
imaginations, with a wealth of fine ideas which they seldom 
 render practical. 
 
 It is convenient to express the degree of coloring of 
 your applicant on the Analysis blank in numbers. A hun- 
 dred-point scale enables you to do this: 
 
 100 — Albino, no pigmentation, white hair and skin, color- 
 less eyes. 
 
 90 — Flaxen hair, light blue eyes, shell-pink skin. 
 
 80 — Golden hair, blue eyes, fair skin. 
 
 70 — Red or auburn hair, blue or gray eyes, freckles. 
 
 60 — Light brown hair, dark blue eyes, tinted skin. 
 
 60 — Brown or black hair, gray or blue eyes, medium skin, 
 
 40 — Brown hair, light brown or hazel eyes, medium bru- 
 nette skin. 
 
 30 — Dark brown hair, dark brown eyes, brunette skin. 
 
 20 — Black hair, black eyes, olive skin. 
 
 10 — Brown races, yellow races, and mulattoes. 
 
 0 — Negroes and other black races. 
 
 Between the two extremes, albino and negro, are all 
 races of humanity. The albino manifests in an extreme 
 degree all of the intense characteristics of the blonde. He 
 is the most unstable human compound known. The negro 
 has all the qualities of the brunette in pronounced form. 
 
 The more nearly a man approaches a balance, as repre- 
 sented by fifty on the foregoing scale, the more are these 
 extreme characteristics modified. 
 
 FORM 
 
 Nature has placed in the human face indicators of all 
 the internal organs. A man’s state of health and natural 
 forms of activity may therefore be easily judged by learn- 
 ing to interpret Nature’s language. 
 
 Brain and nervous system are represented in the face 
 by the eyes; lungs by the nose; digestive organs by the 
 mouth; and heart by the chin. 
 
 Any feature which is sharp, prominent or convex in 
 form indicates that its corresponding internal organ is 
 positive in action and quick in response. 
 
 Any feature which is blunt, receding and concave in 
 form indicates that its corresponding internal organ is 
 passive in action and slow in response. 
 
 APPLICATION OF THE LAW OF FORM 
 
 Eyes . 
 
 S Convex 
 \ Concave 
 
 Nose .. 
 Mouth . 
 
 Convex 
 
 Concave 
 
 Convex 
 
 Concave 
 
 Chin 
 
 Convex 
 
 Concave 
 
 Keen Perception 
 Slow Perception 
 
 Active Lungs 
 Passive Lungs 
 
 Quick Digestion 
 Slow Digestion 
 
 Excitable Heart 
 Steady Heart 
 
 Quick Thought 
 Deliberate Thought 
 
 Positive Energy 
 Negative Energy 
 
 Negative Vitality 
 Positive Vitality 
 
 Negat’e Endurance 
 Positive Endurance 
 
 The upper portion of the face, that is, upward from a 
 line drawn just below the nose, indicates what a man is in 
 
 33 
 
thought. Downward from this line indicates what he is in 
 action. 
 
 Thus, a convex upper and concave lower face would be 
 quick in thought but rather deliberate in action. Concave 
 upper and convex lower would be slow in thought but rapid 
 in action. A man of this type makes many errors because 
 of his tendency to act before he thinks. When repri- 
 manded, he usually makes the very characteristic but truth- 
 ful reply, “I didn’t think.” 
 
 BODY BUILD 
 
 The Mental Type . — When the mental element is pre- 
 dominant, the brain and nervous system are most active. 
 This is indicated, in body build, by high, wide forehead; 
 tapering, delicately chiseled features; fine, often sparse 
 hair; face wide above and tapering to a pointed chin; 
 sloping shoulders; slight build., with small bones and slen- 
 der, compact muscles7 andlrapid movements. 
 
 Persons of this type are best adapted to intellectual 
 work. If they do physical labor, they prefer to handle 
 light, delicate articles or tools. They are inclined to cler- 
 ical work, literature, art, education, and music. 
 
 The Motive Type . — When the motive element predomi- 
 nates, the muscular system is most active ; the body is 
 strong and athletic in build ; broad and square at the shoul- 
 ders and tapering downward to the feet; the face is broad 
 and square in general outline, with strong, wide chin and 
 jaw and prominent cheek bones; the feet and hands are 
 large ; and the whole build inclines to ruggedness and angu- 
 larity. 
 
 Men of this type love the open air, freedom, activity 
 and physical exercise. They are creative and constructive, 
 especially along material lines. 
 
 The Vital Type . — When the vital element is pre- 
 dominant, the digestive system is most active; the body 
 is plu mp , often corpulent; the face round and full; the 
 limDS comparatively short and large; the body large in 
 the middle section and tapering toward head and feet, 
 bodily movements are slow. 
 
 Those of the vital type prefer sedentary work. They 
 incline to banking, finance, management and superintend- 
 ence. Physical exertion is usually distasteful to them. 
 They are especially successful in handling food products. 
 People of the vital type are often judicial, and we find 
 them on the bench, practicing law, and filling executive 
 positions. 
 
 Capacity of Intellect . — Capacity of intellect is meas- 
 ured by the height and breadth of the forehead. The 
 higher and broader the forehead, the greater the intel- 
 lectual capacity. For a balanced measurement, the dis- 
 tance from the hair line at the center of the forehead to 
 the root of the nose should equal one-half the distance 
 from temple to temple across the middle of the forehead. 
 
 34 
 
A forehead that is proportionately higher than broad 
 shows capacity to concentrate and specialize along one 
 line, but indicates rather narrow, contracted views. A 
 forehead proportionately broader than high indicates 
 breadth of vision and large mental grasp. 
 
 Type of Intellect , — There is a natural line of demarca- 
 tion between the upper and lower portions of the fore- 
 head. In men it is usually more easily observed than in 
 women. 
 
 There are two types of minds; the material, observant, 
 matter of fact, practical type; and the imaginative, thought- 
 ful, speculative, theoretical type. The former has a fore- 
 head most prominent at the brows, receding as it rises. 
 The latter’s forehead is least prominent at the brows, 
 gradually expanding and widening as it rises, and is most 
 fully developed in its upper portion. 
 
 For work requiring quick, keen, accurate observation, 
 the observant type should be chosen. For positions involv- 
 ing thought, inventiveness and analysis, the thoughtful 
 type is best. 
 
 Face — Energy . — For indications of energy observe the 
 development of the face between the root of the nose and 
 the indenture in the upper lip at the junction of nose and 
 lip. A large nose, high in the bridge, Roman or aquiline; 
 wide, open nostrils ; and high cheek bones are all indicative 
 of good lung capacity and activity; therefore physical 
 energy. Large lung capacity, used, aerates the blood, 
 charging it with oxygen. A plentiful supply of oxygen 
 circulated by a strong heart, increases combustion in the 
 tissues of the body, thus generating an abundance of poten- 
 tial power, or energy. The energy section should be one- 
 half the length of the face from the brows down. De- 
 ficient development in this section shows a tendency to 
 inertia and laziness. 
 
 Face — Vitality . — Vitality and recuperative power are in- 
 dicated by a well-shaped mouth; strong, well-articulated 
 teeth; oval, round or full cheeks outward from the corners 
 of the mouth. Deficiency in this region shows weak vitality 
 and is often accompanied by a gloomy disposition. This is 
 the second section of the face and should be one-half the 
 total distance from the juncture of the upper lip and nose 
 to just beneath the point of the chin. 
 
 Face — Endurance . — The third section of the face extends 
 from the indenture in the lower lip to beneath the chin. 
 It is the region of endurance and courage. It is indicative 
 of the strength of the museular and motor nerve systems. 
 From it may be measured mental and physical endurance. 
 All animals that are strong, powerful, executive, determined 
 and courageous have a strong lower j aw. 
 
 As man ascends in the scale of intelligence and develops 
 the ideal and spiritual out of proportion to the physical, 
 we find the size of the chin and lower jaw decreasing. 
 
 Strength always gives courage, fear being a result of the 
 negative weakness. 
 
 35 
 
The balanced proportion of the endurance section to the 
 rest of the face is one-half the distance from the indenture 
 in the upper lip to beneath the chin. 
 
 HEAD TYPE 
 
 High Heads and Low Heads. — A high head is one whose 
 longest diameter is from a point midway between the open- 
 ings of the ears directly upward, vertically, to the crown. 
 A low head is one whose diameter between these points is 
 short in proportion to the length and width of the head. 
 
 High-headed men are ambitious and aspiring. They 
 reach upward. They have high ideals of right and justice. 
 It is a significant fact that men who accomplish great things 
 and who uphold lofty ideals are men with high heads. In 
 the educational world there are few successful men whose 
 heads are not high. 
 
 Low-headed men are less aspiring. They may have ideals 
 but they are not so lofty as those of the high-headed. They 
 are often ambitious and aspiring in a practical, material 
 way. Low heads do the menial and coarser work of the 
 world. 
 
 Long Heads and Short Heads. — By a long head is meant 
 one whose longest diameter, proportionately, is from the 
 root of the nose in front, to the occipital spine in the back. 
 A short head is one whose measurements between these 
 points is relatively short. 
 
 Long heads look forward into the future. They are 
 ready to sacrifice temporary gain, if necessary, for greater 
 benefit “in the long run.*’ They are business builders as 
 well as business getters. 
 
 Short heads are mindful only of temporary gain. In 
 business this type is intent upon grasping everything with- 
 in reach at the moment, without consideration for the 
 future consequences. They are often greedy, selfish 
 natures. In commercial life they are more successful as 
 business getters than business builders. 
 
 Narrow Heads and. Wide Heads. — As a general rule, nar- 
 row-headed men and animals are harmless. They are 
 not very tenacious of life, are yielding, mild, easy-going, 
 good-natured and not over-energetic. They are not com- 
 bative or destructive, and usually attain success, if at all, 
 by persistence and persuasion. 
 
 Men with wide heads are destructive, resistant, com- 
 bative, grasping and selfish. When these tendencies are 
 modified by great development of the finer characteristics 
 and directed into proper channels, they express themselves 
 with energy and great executive ability. The cat, the tiger, 
 and the Indian are all examples of wide heads. All are 
 noted for their resistance to attack and their cruel, destruc- 
 tive natures. 
 
 Square Heads and Round Heads. — The distinguishing 
 feature of a square head is its corners — corners in front 
 and corners behind. Square-headed men are thoughtful, 
 prudent and careful. They look into the future with cau- 
 
 se 
 
tion. They are deliberate in forming judgments. As a 
 rule they are “on the square.” 
 
 Round-headed men are careless, impulsive, and some- 
 times cunning. They rush into a situation without counting 
 the cost. Rashness, carelessness, and imprudence are their 
 great faults. 
 
 HAND TYPE 
 
 Rigid Hands and Flexible Hands. — The stiff, rigid hand 
 which cannot be readily bent back indicates a set, decided 
 nature. A man with such a hand does not change readily. 
 He cannot be easily persuaded. It is useless to try to drive 
 him. He is not versatile. He prefers one line of work. 
 
 Flexible hands accompany pliable, adaptable, versatile 
 natures. 
 
 Hard, Elastic, Soft, and Flabby Hands. — Hard hands 
 accompany hard heads and hard hearts. They are un- 
 sympathetic, cold, somewhat dense, unrefined and ener- 
 getic. An extremely hard hand indicates a cruel, brutal 
 nature. 
 
 The elastic hand is the desirable one in consistency. 
 It has, as you close your fingers upon it, a feeling of spring- 
 iness, of life and resistance. It is found among active 
 men and women — those who not only talk but who also 
 act. Elastic hands show life, energy, push, vim and vigor 
 without brutal, driving tendencies. 
 
 Soft hands accompany tender, sympathetic, yielding, im- 
 pressionable natures. They do not like strenuous physical 
 labor or great physical hardship. 
 
 The extreme of the soft hand is the flabby, limp type 
 which indicates the lazy, idle, worthless, often invalid 
 and complaining nature, who lacks the physical and mental 
 energy to accomplish anything worth while. 
 
 CONDITION OF BODY. CONDITION OF DRESS 
 
 Condition of body and dress reveals one’s personal habits. 
 As a general rule, a man who is careless and slovenly in 
 his dress and personal appearance will be loose and care- 
 less in his business dealings. 
 
 A man who is aspiring, self-respecting, approbative, 
 orderly and idealistic will be clean, carefully groomed 
 and dressed in clothing selected with good taste. 
 
 The coarse braggart wears loud colors, contrasts, extreme 
 styles and elaborate ornamentation to attract attention. 
 
 The modest, prudent, unassuming individual will select 
 subdued colors, standard styles and moderate ornamenta- 
 tion. 
 
 WHAT THE QUESTIONS WILL BRING OUT. 
 
 “Caw you speak any foreign language? What?’* 
 
 Where many different nationalities are employed it is 
 desirable to know of all who have linguistic ability. 
 
 **Horv much time have you lost by sickness during the last 
 five years? What was the nature of your illness?” 
 
 37 
 
If reply to this question shows that the applicant has 
 been ill a great deal^ inquiry as to the nature and date of 
 his trouble will indicate what to expect in the future. If 
 his sickness has been mostly in the earlier part of the 
 period, or has been typhoid fever or other infectious or 
 contagious diseases, the record does not stand strongly 
 against him. If, on the other hand, he has been repeatedly 
 ill .with colds, grip, headaches and other so-called minor 
 ailments and his present appearance is not good, his vital 
 resistance is low and he will probably continue to fre- 
 quent the sick list. Chronic functional and organic diseases 
 usually promise ill for the future. In case, however, there 
 has been a marked improvement and the applicant has 
 ceased the wrong ways of living that cause his affliction, 
 there is hope. Other conditions being right, he may be put 
 to work at some temporary job and kept under observation. 
 Or his application may be filed and his health record 
 watched for a few weeks or months. 
 
 ‘*In what places have you lived?^^ 
 
 This query brings out, indirectly, the man’s stability. 
 Care should be taken, however, not to form a prejudiced 
 judgment. If your applicant is of the restless type (blonde, 
 convex faced, with small back-head and deficient crown) 
 and has lived in many dift’erent places, you will be disap- 
 pointed if you expect him to be a permanent part of your 
 organization. If he is of the more stable type (medium 
 in color or brunette, balanced or concave faced, with large 
 back-head and good crown) and has, nevertheless, moved 
 frequently, he probably prefers permanency, but has not 
 “found his work.’’ If he is otherwise well fitted, and you 
 can place him according to his needs and abilities, the fact 
 that he has roved a bit should not weigh too heavily 
 against him. 
 
 **What position do you now hold? Pay? How long have 
 you been so engaged? Why do you wish to leave? De- 
 scribe two positions you have held before the last one, 
 giving time and reason for leaving.” 
 
 The three last positions are most important. If your 
 applicant’s course has been downward rather than upward, 
 questioning should reveal the cause. He may have been 
 ill and discouraged. He may have temporarily lost his 
 grip. In either case, he needs a mental tonic. It is your 
 duty to administer it. You may save a splendid man from 
 going to waste. Or he may be going down-hill because of 
 some bad habit. It is your duty to discover which. Every 
 change a man makes should be a step upward unless there 
 is a very good reason for the contrary. Occasionally a 
 man, realizing that he is in the wrong place, will leave a 
 comparatively advanced position in one line of work to 
 begin at the bottom of a trade or profession better suited 
 to him. Or there may be some other good reason that in- 
 quiry will reveal. 
 
 The best reason for leaving a position a man can give 
 
 38 
 
is that he outgrew it, that there was “no more ladder” for 
 him to climb. 
 
 Many men leave places because they want better pay. 
 This is legitimate, provided they are capable of earning 
 more and willing to give the necessary service. 
 
 Discharge should not always count against a man. With 
 unscientific methods of selecting, placing and handling 
 men, discharge is more frequently the fault of the manage- 
 ment than of the man. It is often the case, too, that a 
 foreman or superintendent is too short-sighted to appreciate 
 the value of a good man. 
 
 A case in point comes to my notice as I write. A 
 manager had a most competent private secretary and con- 
 fidential clerk whom he had been training for eight years. 
 Because the secretary drew a fairly large salary and the 
 institution was temporarily short of ready cash, the man- 
 ager let him go. The young man immediately secured a 
 better position with a larger concern. And the manager 
 had to begin at the bottom again, training a new secretary. 
 
 If a man’s answers show that he left his former posi- 
 tions on account of unreasonable discontent, frivolous 
 whims, violent temper or impulsive haste, he is a poor in- 
 vestment in any work where permanency and harmonious 
 conditions count. 
 
 **What education and training have you had? General? 
 
 Technical?’* 
 
 If a man reports little schooling but shows that he has 
 a well-disciplined, trained mind, it indicates ambition for 
 advancement. Other things being favorable, he is a “find.” 
 Self-education is the best education. Indeed, I might say 
 that it is the only education. Schools and colleges do not 
 educate — they can only guide, direct, assist and inspire 
 their students to educate themselves. And a man who edu- 
 cates himself without all that guidance, direction, assist- 
 ance of bought-and-paid-for inspiration is a big man. 
 
 On the other hand, our schools and colleges give us 
 much good timber, and there are many positions that re- 
 quire men with considerable technical training. Look out 
 for the man who has several collegiate degrees and yet 
 applies fpr an inferior position. He is deficient in some 
 qualities of character. He may lack ambition, initiative, 
 courage or self-confidence. Your final analysis should 
 determine where he is weak. 
 
 **In school what studies did you like best? Least?” 
 
 Answers to these questions should promptly discover 
 whether your applicant is practical, philosophical, artistic 
 or romantic. It may also give some indications of his 
 mental industry or laziness. The practical mind likes to 
 deal with facts, and so prefers mathematics, physics, me- 
 chanics, chemistry and biology. The philosophic mind 
 prefers abstractions, such as philosophy, literature, the- 
 ology and, in lower grades, reading, grammar, rhetoric 
 and composition. The artistic mind loves beauty and in- 
 clines to drawing, painting, music and gardening. The 
 
 39 
 
romantic mind loves stories and people, and so revels in 
 history, poetry and perhaps sociology, economics and polit- 
 ical science. These may occur in combinations of any two 
 or three. Your duty is to discover which leads. The 
 practical mind does things. The philosophical mind finds 
 out causes and effects and evolves theories. The artistic 
 mind creates beauty. And the romantic mind deals suc- 
 cessfully with people. Some studies in school are noto- 
 riously “easy.” Others are “hard.” A mentally lazy per- 
 son always prefers the “easy” ones. 
 
 ”What do you readV* 
 
 In response to this inquiry, your applicant reveals the 
 direction of his interest and mental life. It may show 
 that he delves into the practical side of electricity, loves 
 animals, is enthusiastic over agriculture, or spends hours 
 perusing works on machine work and shop practice. Or 
 it may turn out that he rarely if ever reads, but puts in 
 all his spare time experimenting with some hoped-for 
 invention. Again, your applicant’s reading will probably 
 tell you whether he is studious and ambitious or reads 
 merely for entertainment. Excessive story and novel read- 
 ing usually indicates mental dissipation. 
 
 Reading the headlines of a newspaper for all current 
 news shows interest in affairs generally — an intelligent de- 
 sire to keep abreast of the times. The man who turns first to 
 the sporting page is either a lover of athletics or has 
 sporting tendencies. Further inquiry should reveal which. 
 Prime interest in the financial page may show either that 
 your man is a money-saver and watches for opportunities 
 of safe investment or that he is a speculator. Find which. 
 To read the editorials first indicates thoughtfulness and a 
 deep interest in the problems of the day. He who gloats 
 over news of crime and death is neurotic, degenerate and 
 has a filthy mind. 
 
 **What kind of work do you like best? If you could have 
 
 any position you wished for, what would it be?** 
 
 By this time you should have your applicant thoroughly 
 at his ease and should have his fullest confidence, and 
 be able to talk with him about his dearest ambitions. A 
 man’s ideal is the most important thing about him. It 
 does more to determine his value and ultimate success 
 than any other one element in his character. Yet you 
 must be on guard in seeking to know a man’s ideals. If 
 a man tells you of his Great Ambition, but applies for a 
 position that does not lead towards it, there is a discrepancy. 
 Find it. Remember that there is a vast difference between 
 mere limp wishing and strong, definite purpose. Occasion- 
 ally a man seeks a position seemingly inconsistent with his 
 ideals, but really bearing directly upon their realization. I 
 once knew a man who was ambitious to push to the top as 
 a writer on economics for business men. To that end he 
 sought a position as salesman that he might get into closer 
 and more intimate touch with business men. If the sales 
 manager to whom he applied had known that he was not 
 
 40 
 
seeking for a permanent position, it might have made him 
 hesitate to spend the time and money necessary to train 
 and prepare him for his work. 
 
 there anything you would rather have than moneyf 
 What? What besides pay is important to you in a job?** 
 A man whose highest ambition is money is likely to 
 hold the dollar so close to his eye that he cannot see the 
 ten dollar bill at arm’s length. Usually his passion for 
 mere gain is so strong that he will sacrifice large future 
 profits for smaller immediate winnings. Such a man is 
 therefore likely to leave at a moment’s notice if a dollar 
 more seems in view elsewhere. He may be expected to 
 connive to obtain money from other sources than his wages 
 or salary — and perhaps to the detriment of his employers. 
 If he is also imprudent, he will probably be one of the 
 first to join a strike movement for the sake of a possible 
 few cents more a week. On the other hand, when a man 
 says he would rather have a good conscience, health, love 
 or honor, or all of them, than money, he gives you valuable 
 information as to how he may be best handled. Men and 
 women are always most easily influenced, persuaded and 
 inspired by appealing to their strongest motives. One of 
 your ambitions, as employment supervisor, is to fill prac- 
 tically all positions with men who will grow; and men 
 grow as their ideals are lifted and stimulated. 
 
 ** According to your observation, by what methods is ad- 
 vancement generally won?** 
 
 Of course, the right answer to this is “by merit,’’ or 
 “by rendering better and better service.’’ If, therefore, 
 your applicant says that he thinks advancement is gen- 
 erally won by seniority in service or by “pull” alone, one 
 of two things may be true: Either he has been working 
 in organizations where men are advanced on such consider- 
 ations, or he is a malcontent and inclined to throw the 
 blame for his own failure on anyone but himself. A 
 little questioning will bring out the truth. There is a 
 lesson here for your own organization. If men know that 
 advancement will come to them through length of service 
 only, or through “influence,” they are unlikely to develop 
 high personal merit. Therefore the firm using those meth- 
 ods cannot hope to build an efficient organization. 
 
 ^'Through what means do you hope to secure advancement?** 
 Personal worth, skill, efficient service, and a genuine 
 enthusiasm for the concern’s business are desirable answers 
 to this question. An occasional applicant may say that 
 he expects, in addition to these, to use skill in selling his 
 services. This may usually be taken as an indication of 
 self-confidence, ambition and mental vigor. 
 
 *^What, if anything, are you doing to improve yourself?** 
 When a man has ceased to make conscious effort to im- 
 prove himself he has ceased to grow. He has therefore 
 reached his maximum value. He must therefore be em- 
 ployed, if at all, on the basis of his present worth, not his 
 future possibilities. As a general rule, the more definite 
 
 41 
 
and systematic a man is in his effort for self-improvement, 
 the more certain and rapid will be his progress. You 
 should be on your guard, however, in weighing replies to 
 this question. There is a class of individuals who are 
 fanatics on self-improvement, taking one “course” after 
 another — or perhaps going almost daft over some 
 particular method. They learn the mere mechanics 
 of self-improvement. They may be able to reel off 
 
 glibly all the “laws of success.” But the methods and 
 laws have never truly gripped their souls. They have 
 never really applied them. They may be excellent for 
 some kinds of work — other indications will show. But 
 they are not truly growing. In this connection, also, it 
 is well to remember that years are not a true indication of 
 age. I have seen men of sixty who were full of the spirit 
 of youth and growth. And I have known boys of eighteen 
 whose minds had absolutely ceased to develop. Watch the 
 man’s eyes. Their expression tells his true age. 
 
 "Can you manage people well? State the evidence.” 
 
 This question enables the examiner to draw out the 
 applicant on his ideas of management. It also may furnish 
 interesting data on his manageableness. My observation 
 is that the worst managers often imagine themselves among 
 the best. This is especially true of the harsh, driving, 
 brow-beating type. On the other hand, because of modesty 
 or inexperience, an applicant may reply that he cannot 
 manage people well — or has never tried — when all other 
 evidence shows that he has large latent capacity for 
 handling men. So, as a rule, the answer to this question 
 will reveal only a little directly, but perhaps much by 
 inference. 
 
 *^How many times have you lost your temper during the 
 last year?” **What were the causes?” **What did you do?” 
 Self-control is a most desirable quality, but a spiritless 
 man has little force of character. If a man tells you that 
 he used to be very quick tempered but seldom grows angry 
 now, and you have reason to believe him, you may safely 
 assume that he is gaining in self-control. A man who has 
 never been given to anger may be deficient in some way. 
 Weigh him carefully. Righteous indignation is not only 
 excusable but desirable at times. A friend of mine was 
 once attacked on the street by a brawler. One of his 
 employes happened to be with him. The latter’s wrath was 
 magnificent. It was with great difficulty that my friend 
 restrained him from administering a terrific beating to the 
 brawler. His indignation arose from his intense loyalty. 
 Find out when and why your applicant gets angry, and 
 what he does. Beware of the “hair-trigger” fellow who 
 is quick to imagine some grievance and “fly off the handle” 
 about it. If, on account of superior abilities — which he is 
 quite nkely to have — you employ him at all, be sure to 
 place him under an executive who understands and loves 
 men unusually well, and with associates who are most likely 
 to be congenial. 
 
 42 
 
*^Can you take a joke on yourself?*^ **Joke others?” 
 
 A sense of humor is a saving grace. It lubricates all the 
 relationships of life. It is also a guarantee of sanity. 
 The man who is willing to take what he gives has the 
 disposition to “play the game.” He can be relied upon 
 in an emergency. Buffetings and hardships are not likely 
 to down him. His merry laugh will save many a difficult 
 situation. 
 
 **Do you like to he with people?” *‘Which sex?” 
 
 Dislike of contact with people greatly limits one’s use- 
 fulness, no matter how great one’s abilities. In almost all 
 kinds of work, love of one’s fellows and desire to be with 
 them are indispensable. Too great sociability may lead to 
 visiting and neglect of duty during working hours, but a 
 good manager or foreman can control this by keeping his 
 men intensely interested in the game of production. There 
 is much, too, in putting the right people together. Find 
 out whether your applicant works better with women than 
 with men. The presence of those of the opposite sex seems 
 necessary to stimulate some people to their best efforts. 
 This applies to women as well as men. 
 
 **How many intimate friends have you?” 
 
 A man who knows many people but has few or no inti- 
 mate friends has attractive qualities but lacks constancy. 
 He may excel in some kinds of salesmanship or occupations 
 which require him to see only occasionally those with whom 
 he must deal. A man who has many friends in comparison 
 with the number of his acquaintances usually has very ad- 
 hesive, stable qualities. 
 
 **Do you make acquaintances readily?” 
 
 There are some types who are excellent “mixers” and 
 who make acquaintances very readily but who make very 
 few close friends and who really care very little for others 
 in a genuine way. They are friendly from motives of 
 policy, not sentiment. 
 
 ALL QUESTIONS NOT ALWAYS USED 
 
 Of course it is obvious to any intelligent person that all 
 these questions are by no means applicable to every indi- 
 vidual. These blanks have been prepared for the broadest 
 possible use, from the engagement of a general manager 
 down to the hiring of a common workman for two or three 
 days’ temporary work. The more important the position 
 the applicant seeks, the more minute and thorough should 
 be his examination and analysis. Just which questions 
 should be asked and which omitted in each case is left to 
 the discretion of the employment supervisor. 
 
 HOW TO CHECK UP AND COMPARE DATA 
 
 In your function of employment supervisor and examiner 
 you sit as a judge. You are weighing evidence and de- 
 ducting conclusions from it. Like an impartial court, you 
 consider only the facts and the laws governing them. Your 
 
 43 
 
prejudices do not influence you. You do not jump at 
 conclusions not warranted by the evidence. 
 
 Your facts consist of observations of external signs in 
 the body and clothing of the applicant, plus his answers 
 to certain questions. Laws governing these have been out- 
 lined in the foregoing pages. Your task is to weigh them 
 in the light of these laws, and from the two deduce a 
 definite, practical conclusion as to the qualifications and 
 possibilities of the applicant. 
 
 A few suggestions will aid you in making deductions. 
 
 First, bear in mind that any marked characteristic shows 
 itself in many ways. It is therefore never safe to assume 
 that an applicant possesses any quality in strong degree if 
 there is only one indication of it. 
 
 Second, remember always that no indication should be 
 misleading. Nature is orderly in her ways — her laws are 
 exact. Dawn is always an indication of sunrise. But the 
 effects of the sunrise are quite different when the sky is 
 overcast with heavy clouds from what they are when the 
 sky is clear. Just so, every sign used in human analysis 
 must be interpreted with reference to other signs present in 
 the individual. 
 
 Third, in judging character as in judging cases at the 
 bar of justice, decisions must always be based upon a 
 preponderance of evidence. Any feature or sign of extreme 
 type will counterbalance several modifying signs of only 
 moderate type. For example, a prominent nose, high in 
 the bridge, is an indication of energy — always. But bad 
 health is an indication of deficient energy. So is a soft 
 hand. All three may occur in the same individual. (Never 
 forget that any combination of signs is possible.) An ex- 
 treme development of the energy section of a face, however, 
 will indicate considerable energy, even if health is only fair 
 and the hands somewhat soft. Similarly, if all indications 
 but one or two agree, the modification effected by. these will 
 be comparatively slight. 
 
 Fourth, there are no real contradictions in nature. What 
 seem to be such are only apparent and can always be 
 reconciled by careful observation and study. In case of a 
 seeming contradiction, make sure that there has been no 
 mistake in data. Suppose you have checked your applicant’s 
 head as square, and then find him showing many signs of 
 carelessness. Look at his head again. Perhaps you will 
 find, upon a closer examination, that it is round. If you 
 do find it square, then check over carefully the other data, 
 until you locate the cause for his seeming carelessness. It 
 may arise from temporary weakness or discouragement. 
 
 SAMPLE DEDUCTIONS CARELESSNESS 
 
 That you may have a model for work in deducing char- 
 acter from the data on the application blank, I give here 
 a few sample deductions. The same methods should be 
 employed in checking up and comparing data on all other 
 qualities. 
 
 44 
 
Suppose the applicant has checked himself as “Careful” 
 on the list of positives and negatives. And suppose the 
 position he seeks is one demanding great carefulness. How 
 are you to know whether or not he has checked himself 
 accurately in this.^ 
 
 First examine his handwriting. If it is neat, even and 
 compact, it confirms his judgment of himself. But if it 
 is slovenly, sprawling, blotted and smudged, all are signif- 
 icant of carelessness. Next consider his health. It is ex- 
 uberant. He would therefore not be careless on account of 
 pain or listlessness. 
 
 A look at form shows that he has concave upper face 
 and convex lower. This indicates that he will act before 
 he thinks; therefore be careless. His head type is high, 
 short, wide and round. This is the strongest indication of 
 all that he is impulsive, thoughtless, aggressive and care- 
 less. The condition of his person and his clothing adds 
 another strong link to the jchain of evidence. He is ill- 
 groomed and his clothing sadly needs brushing and press- 
 ing. 
 
 His hand type shows short fingers, which are impatient 
 of detail — therefore careless with it. 
 
 By this time it is fairly well established that the applicant 
 is a very careless fellow. However, to give him every pos- 
 sible chance, ask him the questions on the reverse side of 
 the application blank. 
 
 His replies are hasty and ill-considered, he makes several 
 errors in pronunciation and grammar, and has a careless 
 offhand air. These things hasten the verdict, careless, and 
 it is not surprising to learn that he left two of his former 
 positions because of “accidents” in his work. We conclude 
 that the man is really very careless, and either reject his 
 application or put him to work where carefulness is not 
 imperative. 
 
 ENERGY 
 
 In examining for energy, consider the handwriting. If 
 it is sharp and angular in formation, energy is shown. 
 State of health comes next. While good health does not 
 always connote energy, it is not usual to find much energy 
 with poor health. 
 
 A convex nose, wide head and good development of the 
 energy section of the face are the best indications of 
 energy. Certain forms of energy are shown in the high 
 head; other forms in the wide head. 
 
 An elastic hand is another good indication. 
 
 In replying to questions, a man may show that he has 
 successfully held positions requiring great energy, receiving 
 good pay, and remaining until he resigned to take better 
 ones. Such evidence is valuable. 
 
 A man of energy may have done a good deal of self- 
 education. If he is studious, energy will incline him to 
 the harder studies. 
 
 45 
 
CHEERFULNESS 
 
 Cheerfulness shows itself in the optimistic, “up hill” 
 slant of the handwriting, in good health, in blonde color- 
 ing, in the habitual expression of the face, in manner, in 
 a belief that merit wins advancement and, to a certain ex- 
 tent, in ability to take a joke and joke others. In watching 
 expression for cheerfulness, do not be deceived by tran- 
 sient moods. Look for the drooping lines left by gloom 
 and anxiety, or the up-turned lines of consistent hopefulness 
 and optimism. These are best judged when the face is at 
 rest. 
 
 HONESTY 
 
 Honesty is seen first in the frank, steady, open expres- 
 sion of the eye. Next, there is some indication in the way 
 the applicant checks his own positives or negatives. Look 
 at the head-type. If it is high and square, the chances for 
 honesty are good. A frank, straightforward but prudent 
 manner of answering questions, even admitting facts that 
 might be detrimental, are marks of honesty. Bear in mind, 
 however, that there is a difference between frankness and 
 bravado. The latter is often assumed for concealment. 
 Some men are clever actors, so this indication must be 
 carefully checked up with others before acceptance. 
 
 The applicant’s ideas about how advancement is to be 
 gained, his ambitions, whether or not he would rather have 
 a good conscience than money, and what he reads will all 
 have a bearing upon the question of his honesty. 
 
 Honesty is a complex virtue — much more so than is com- 
 monly supposed. Good intentions are not a guarantee of 
 honesty. There must also be an appreciation of values, 
 a strong sense of justice, some financial ability, and suf- 
 ficient will power to withstand temptation. 
 
 MEMORY 
 
 Memory depends upon good health, intelligence, keen 
 observation, and above all on the interest taken in the 
 things to be remembered. The normal memory, be it ever 
 so “poor,” never forgets that in which it is intensely inter- 
 ested. Therefore, in examining the applicant for memory, 
 first note his health and intelligence; then test the degree 
 of his interest in the things you want him to remember. 
 There are other tests that will confirm or modify what 
 you find here. 
 
 The quality of an applicant’s memory will show itself 
 in the readiness with which he recalls his address and the 
 date of his birth. Memory depends also upon repetition 
 of the thing to be remembered, either mentally or verbally. 
 Hence, a concave forehead, showing deliberate thought, in- 
 dicates, other things being equal, a better memory for mental 
 things than a convex forehead; while a convex forehead, 
 showing keen perception, will have a better memory of 
 material things. 
 
 46 
 
In answering your questions, the applicant gives you 
 another opportunity to test his memory. Note what things 
 he remembers best — events, figures, people, ideals, money, 
 places, books or duties. This will also show you in what 
 direction his interests lie. If he has successfully held posi- 
 tions requiring a good memory, that is a point in his favor. 
 If he likes studies requiring considerable memorizing, like 
 history, grammar, literature, and languages, that is another 
 bit of evidence to be considered. 
 
 INITIATIVE 
 
 For initiative, demand good health, medium or blonde 
 color, plane or convex form, a good development of energy, 
 a high, wide head, inclining to roundness; elastic, flexible 
 hand. Any one or two of these many indicate it, in absence 
 of the others; but the more of them there are present and 
 the more extreme they are, the more initiative. 
 
 Initiative is also shown by the kind of positions held, the 
 amount of self-education a man has given himself, his 
 ambitions and ideals, his ideas of how to get advancement, 
 what he is doing in the way of self-improvement, and the 
 kind and quality of work he has done in managing men. 
 But these should be carefully checked and compared with 
 other indications. There are men who are forever studying 
 and taking various “courses” for self-improvement whose 
 entire stock of energy seems to be expended in that way. 
 
 CONCLUSION 
 
 There is no such thing as perfection in human analysis. 
 Every day you work upon it you will learn something new. 
 But you will come nearer and nearer perfection the more 
 you study and practice. Every time you examine an ap- 
 plicant, do your best — as if your very life depended upon 
 accurate deductions. Then verify as quickly as possible, 
 checking up your analysis by the man’s actual performance. 
 When you are mistaken in judgment, study to know why. 
 Make these painstaking studies in as many cases as pos- 
 sible. Scientific practice is the only way to expertness in 
 judging men and women. 
 
 47 
 
.r."' ’ 
 
 - i ^.-r, ^»' ^ ^ T. -a&» n,5 .e:' 
 
 g. " * ' -T' ' f 
 
 W^i uvfe.i'i s i* <3« ’'■■ ■-■ .-‘-^ 'r 
 
 n;-‘I*f.=,#.m&^-r! :^'-'^-c, 
 
 
 
 
 v-v-^ t'-v^-;& 
 
 f’-T 
 
 
 
 T ?«\ f< 
 
 
 2-1^ e'^ ’*‘'4 > - ' " ' 
 
 P,S;"!s ’, .i,'.?!-.. -v 
 K'-'-'^'. '-rJi.l'Ti.: