Those who come afterward;

              ATLANTA PORTLAND
BALTIMORE
BIRMINGHAM
BOSTON
BUFFALO
CHICAGO
HASKINS & SELLS PROVIDENCE
SAINT LOUIS
SALT LAKE CITY
CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS SAN DIEGO
SAN FRANCISCO
CINCINNATI SEATTLE
CLEVELAND TULSA
DALLAS WATERTOWN
DENVER BULLETIN DETROIT ——
KANSAS CITY
LOS ANGELES BERLIN
LONDON
PARIS
MINNEAPOLIS SHANGHAI
NEWARK NEW ORLEANS
NEW YORK EXECUTIVE OFFICES HAVANA
PHILADELPHIA HASKINS & SELLS BUILDING MEXICO CITY
PITTSBURGH 37 WEST 39TH ST., NEW YORK MONTREAL
VOL. VIII NEW YORK, MAY, 1925 No. 5
Those Who Gome Afterward
HEREDITY is accredited with the re­sponsibility
for traits, both good and
bad, which emanate from the conduct of
human beings. The contention has been
made that individuals are powerless to
change certain characteristics conferred
upon them by birth. With equal merit,
it might be argued that accountants are
born, not made. By the same token, it
logically should follow that the theory of
self-determination is little else than a
myth; that there is nothing in the power
of example.
Mankind has been classified, for vari­ous
purposes, in a great variety of ways:
sex, occupation, religious beliefs, political
affiliations, etc. There are those whose
personality is pleasing. There are those
who generate antagonism merely by their
presence, without so much as speaking a
word. Some persons think for themselves;
some allow others to do all their thinking
for them.
Accountants, deriving their occupational
designation from the nature of their work,
are subject to classification in many differ­ent
ways. Some accountants are given to
self-determination and do their own think­ing.
They are as independent in action as
in thought. In the main, however, ac­countants,
like other persons, are tremen­dously
influenced by example. Even the
original thinkers usually are wise enough
to observe, and to profit from what they
see.
Example is a powerful factor in the life
of any business organization. Of more
importance, possibly, is the question of
example in an organization of a profes­sional
nature such as ours. In the matter
of dignity in contact with clients, in the
technical attention which is given to en­gagements,
in unselfish devotion to the
firm's affairs, and in the thousand and one
details which make up that serious voca­tion
known as professional practice, ex­ample
is a strong force in delineating the
character of the organization.
Those who will carry on tomorrow will
be influenced by the example of today. A
spirit of carelessness, of disinterested,
routine work today, will bear fruit of its
own kind in the future. Building for the
years to come should not be a meaningless
phrase. The romantic history of Ameri­can
business contains too many instances
of office boys who have risen to high posi­tions
in the business structure of the coun­try.
A sense of pride in the past, of de­votion
to an ideal, of hope for its fulfil­ment
in the future, should prompt those
of today to leave nothing undone which
will serve as a fitting example to those who
come afterward.