rt in the conduct of the business.

Since 1857 I can remember all the great panics, but I believe the
panic of 1907 was the most trying. No one escaped from it, great or
small. Important institutions had to be supported and carried through
the time of distrust and unreasoning fear. To Mr. Morgan's real and
effective help I should join with other business men and give great
praise. His commanding personality served a most valuable end. He
acted quickly and resolutely when quickness and decision were the
things most needed to regain confidence, and he was efficiently
seconded by many able and leading financiers of the country who
cooeperated courageously and effectively to restore confidence and
prosperity. The question has been asked if I think we shall revive
quickly from the panic of October, 1907. I hesitate to speak on the
subject, since I am not a prophet nor the son of a prophet; but as to
the ultimate outcome there is, of course, no doubt. This temporary
set-back will lead to safer institutions and more conservative
management upon the part of everyone, and this is a quality we need.
It will not long depress our wonderful spirit of initiative. The
country's resources have not been cut down nor injured by financial
distrust. A gradual recovery will only tend to make the future all the
more secure, and patience is a virtue in business affairs as in other
things.

Here again I would venture to utter a word of caution to business men.
Let them study their own affairs frankly, and face the truth. If their
methods are extravagant, let them realize the facts and act
accordingly. One cannot successfully go against natural tendencies,
and it is folly to fail to recognize them. It is not easy for so
impressionable and imaginative a people as we Americans are to come
down to plain, hard facts, yet we are doing it without loss of
self-esteem or prestige throughout the world.

CHAPTER VI

THE DIFFICULT ART OF GIVING

It is, no doubt, easy to write platitudes and generalities about the
joys of giving, and the duty that one owes to one's fellow men, and to
put together again all the familiar phrases that have served for
generations whenever the subject has been taken up.

I can hardly hope to succeed in starting any new interest in this
great subject when gifted writers have so often failed. Yet I confess
I find much more interest in it at this time than in rambling on, as I
have been doing, about the affairs of