that there is many a member or secretary who would like to assist nature in her work of extermination.

The Secretary in Difficult Situations

A secretary will sometimes find himself in difficult situations where there are several factions at loggerheads over some proposition; where he must act as a diplomatic mediator in bringing about proper feelings; where he must first get results, and then ameliorate any temporary harm which has been done.

Just as a secretary must not have favorites among members, so he must never take the side of any group in an argument, but rather let the members settle the thing themselves. Such discretionary suggestions and steering as he may offer must be given obviously in the interest of harmony. In all this the secretary must use good judgment. It is no easy matter to weigh issues carefully and impartially and to do the right thing in a crisis.

One of the most important duties of a secretary-constituting, one might say about three-quarters of his value-is that of keeping the members all feeling right towards one another. When one member makes a statement about another member the secretary must be careful not to agree with him, but to make a mental note of that statement, to find out if the facts are as stated, and then if they are not, to go back and correct the speaker's misapprehension.

Family Rows

There is many a secretary who could relate his experience in straightening out some "family row." One instance occurred in a national association which represented a food industry. A producer in the West had a salesman who came east and who thought that he discovered certain conditions about the members in the East which were inimical to the interests of the western members. He let this matter grow in

his mind, and when he went to Chicago he told his employer a story which was more fiction than fact. The employer believed him and told it as a fact to other producers further west, with the result that the first thing the secretary knew he had a divisional contest on between his members in the East and his members in the West. By making some careful inquiries he found out where this information originated and went to the member in Chicago and had a frank talk with him. He discovered that the source of this member's information was the salesman. Further investigation showed that the entire controversy had arisen through a misstatement of facts plus a vivid imagination on the part of the salesman.

If the secretary had not undertaken actively to correct that situation a serious condition would have arisen in the industry, doubtless resulting in all kinds of malpractice, a retaliatory price war, and other things which would have been detrimental not only to the members but to all who bought the product. It would have set going a campaign of destructive competition.

Keeping Up Association Spirit

Rumor, gossip, and misinformation generally play a large part in stirring up ill feeling among members which may lead to disastrous results. It must be the secretary's duty to kill the trouble at the start, to forestall the destructive tendencies by quietly and effectively instilling the disposition for harmony in the mind of each member. The secretary should be a constant harbinger of truth.

Any secretary of several years' experience will bear witness that practically all the allegations which are brought up by one member against another are absolutely groundless when you get down to the real facts. Allegations are generally the result of a story being told about the actions of some member which finally gets back to the competitor affected in such a way as to seem almost a heinous crime. Then it is that the secre

tary must step in. If necessary he must bring the two members together and see that their differences are cleared. A frank talk will clear almost every situation. Such a policy steadily pursued will develop a splendid spirit among the members, produce a loyal membership and a solidly effective association.

The Character of the Secretary

Before we leave this consideration of the qualities of the secretary and the relation between the secretary and the members, there is one statement that must be made—although it might seem unnecessary-and that is that the last place on earth for a crank, or an egotist, or a bigot, or a religious or social fanatic, is in the position of secretary of a trade association. Many a good secretary has been spoiled by his being "twisted" on one or two subjects.

One of the best trade association secretaries in this country, by becoming obsessed with the impractical principles of socialism, made himself an impossible executive for the organization which he represented. This was most unfortunate, because otherwise the man was valuable; but his ideas of social democracy and the brotherhood of man were a little too strong for the organization which he served. He therefore has since resigned and gone into newspaper work.

A secretary must be a man of positive, clear-cut thought and conviction, but must not be one who is flying off at tangents, or given over in the least to erratic views.

R. S. Kellogg, secretary of the News Print Service Bureau, formerly for five years secretary of the Northern Hemlock and Hardwood Manufacturers Association, followed by three years as secretary of the National Lumber Manufacturers Association, therefore a man of thorough experience, in an address before the Chicago Forum of trade association executives presented most ably the relations between a secretary and his officers and members as follows:

The history of trade associations throughout the country shows that these organizations have been successful and attained their purposes just to the extent that they have followed a consistent course of employing a competent executive officer and giving him a free hand in the carrying out of the general policies favored by the members, without petty supervision and restriction as to details. Aside from the executive officer who is called, "secretary," "manager," or some other appropriate title, and who should never have any personal interest in the line of business represented, the other officers and directors of a trade association are active business men with many demands upon their time.

The secretary, or manager, is the man to whom the rank and file of the membership look for the carrying out of association policies without favoritism and with no personal stake in the undertaking save the desire to do his duty honestly and fearlessly. Absolute neutrality of management is a first requisite. If an individual, representing some particular section of the industry, attempts to dictate as to the details of administration, distrust inevitably arises and the usefulness of the organization is imperiled. No individual member of the organization, actively engaged in business on his own account, can attempt to manage the organization during a temporary occupancy of office with satisfaction either to himself or to the membership. Despite the best of intentions, suspicion and jealousy will arise, followed either by the dissolution of the organization or the nullification of its efforts. It is not necessary to list the well-known cases in which the domination of a trade organization by a single individual or interest within it has had exactly this result. Nothing else can be expected if every change in the titular head of the organization, which occurs frequently, really means a new executive and a new method of doing business. This is the point where the supposed analogy between a corporation and a trade organization falls down. The secretary, or manager, should be the permanent executive officer who keeps the machine running and who maintains the continuity of effort essential to the accomplishment of the purposes of the organization as expressed by the membership and its board of directors.

CHAPTER XV

THE SECRETARY-PROCEDURE

The Valuable Secretary

The successful and valuable secretary is the man who is able so to systematize his work that he is free to place at the disposal of his members his best thought and service. The man who can do this is the man who knows intimately not only his own work, but the work of every employee under him. It is not meant by this that a secretary should concern himself with clerical work. Neither, however, should he consider his position so exalted that he is above detail; quite the reverse, he must familiarize himself by actual contact and make special effort to keep in constant touch with every detail of the association.

Before the secretary can tell one of his subordinates to do something he must be able to do it himself, and consequently, if he is to be able to devote his best efforts to things of moment, he must build for his office organization a practical system which he can direct.

How these practical systems for office organizations can be built, or suggestions as to how they may be built, is one of the most important things to be considered.

Office Enthusiasm

One of the first essentials if the secretary is to have an efficient, smooth-working organization, is enthusiasm among his assistants. Every one of them should take a lively interest in his or her task, for the sake of the task itself and because it is worth doing; not merely because it means a steady job. Employees should feel that they are integral parts of the