g g THURSDAY. MAY 23. 1963 MEDFOBD MAIL TRIBUNE. MEDFOBD. OBEOOW
Slodro Stresses Need for (Highly Competent American
By DELOS SMITH
UPI Sdtnct Editor
New York-iUPIi-There's no
point in sending a birthday
present to the lean and effici
ent man who will be 88 yea
old next Thursday. But
would if he could make
present to you and to you and
to you - indeed, to each and
every American.
HU fortune, estimated
financial circles at something
like $200 million or more,
has In large measure already
been dedicated to people. But
unhappily the gift for every
one is unpurchasablc in mas
sive lots. Yet it is something
almost anyone could give
himself if he really puts his
mind to It.
It is the burning and un
quenchable desire to be com
petent. According to the die
tionary, to be competent
to be able "to answer to ail
reaulrements." That takes
great deal of doing in h
present world, what with th
enormous complexities which
science and technology have
wrought.
For the secure future of
our country and its free enter
prise system there can't pos
sibly be too many highly
c o m p e t ent Americans. Yet
millions of us are more de
lighted by games than by
technology and more fasci
nated by television escapism
than by the meanings and
strivings of science.
Competence Need
This would-be gift giver
believes nothing Is more inv
portant for America than
high competence in the even
more difficult years and dec
ades which are to come. To
be sure, he Is biased, He has
proved himself to be one. of
the most competent of men,
He Is Alfred Pritchard
Sloan Jr., arriving at yet an
other birthday bright of eye,
sharp of mind, and hard of
Hearing. This man Is the
prime maker of General Mo
tors Corporation as It has
evolved today with its work
ing capital of $3,828,030,000,
its gross 1062 sales of $14,
640,241,000, Its Investment of
$6,630,872,000 and its some
605,000 employees.
He also it the prime devel
oper of thousands of highly
competent minds and, what's
more, the layman whom his
tory may well single out for
a share of the credit when
science finally licks cancer.
These are the free enterprises
which now absorb his still
sizeable energies.
At 88 he has outlived al
most all his contemporaries,
Including a dearly loved wife
with whom he had 58 years
of tranquil marriage. He is
childless and so there is an
aloneness which could isolate
him from people and the real
world, as it docs so many
aged persons.
Sloan at Desk
But he doesn't allow this
to happen to him. If he did
it would show he was no
longer "answering to all re
quirements." Every week day
morning he is at his desk by
10 in the offices of the Alfred
P. Sloan Foundation on the
25th floor of a Fifth ave. of
fice building.
It is now endowed with a
little over $240 million and
is set up to work through per
petuity for high American
competence in technology,
science, economics and all
other requirements for living
and achieving.
He Is board chairman, the
policy maker. As he was when
he was head man at CM, he is
surrounded by executives of
demonstrably high compe
tence. Dr. Everett Case resign-
ed as president of Colgate uni
versity to become president of
the foundation. Dr. Warren
Weaver, one of the most am-
complished of American men
of science, is a vice president,
so is Albert Bradley, a GM
financial aupcrbrain who was
Sloan's successor as GM chair
man.
This is no giving money-
away enterprise, please under
stand. It is directed at invest
ing money in people (rather
than in projects and other
things,") and most definitely
Sloan and his foundation ex
pect these investments to
yield returns in the public
interest.
Fighting Cancar
Up to the end of 1062 it had
spent or committed about $65
million toward improving the
competence of Americans and
about $25 million into the
search for the knowledge
which will relieve people of
"the greatest curse levied on
mankind by nature." That is
Sloan's characterization of
cancer.
The money seeking high
competence went into educa
tion at all levels - "high,"
professional, elementary, sec
ondary and even "popular".
Most of it was invested in in
dividuals seeking to make
their high competence even
higher, and In individuals
with the burning desire to
achieve it.
The cancer millions went
into the Sloan-Kcttering Insti
tute for cancer research in
New York which Sloan got
going in the late 20's, enlisting
the late Charles F. Kettering
of GM. It was one of the first
large-scale and fully staffed
and equipped organizations
devoted exclusively to con
quering cancer and provided
an impetus that encouraged
the present world-wide mas
sive effort. It now get finan
cial support from many sourc
es, especially from private
philanthropies attracted by
Sloan's initiative,
Giving money away is no
problem, as anyone knows.
But private philanthropy
which is intended to be highly
competent In producing bene
fits for Americans and their
country is the toughest of
problems. The federal govern
ment could be a competitor,
an overwhelming one. The
hundreds of millions of gen
eral tax funds which go an
nually into such old-line phil
anthropic causes as education
and medical research dwarf
the potentials of even the
largest fortunes.
Not Competing
The Sloan philanthropies
avoid competition with gov
ernment funds. In one way or
another, they're designed to
get selected balls to rolling,
Sloan got tne cancer re
search ball rolling. Another
ball of his was formal research
and study to improve the com
petence of industrial manage
ment. A current ball is to
stimulate continuing technical
education of engineers and
teachers of engineers.
In his vocabulary, "imagi
nation" and "aggressive" are
big words. He looks for the
imaginative idea which is
meaningful enough to be pur
sued aggressively. These ideas
come to him in abundance
still, as they always have. One
such resulted in the founda
tion s keen interest in popu
lar education. Science and
technology need both an inter
tested and knowing public and
Sloan grants are being used to
build such a public.
Sloan does not quarrel with
the use of tax funds for many
philanthropic purposes. But
he has been concerned lest
private philanthropy should
get discouraged by govern
ment competition.
"I believe that every one
profits by the opportunity
presented by this country of
ours," he told this reporter.
"I hold, therefore, that each
accumulates a debt or ob
ligation, subconsciously, of
course, to our society and to
the degree so benefited there
is recognized an obligation to
contribute in proper measure
one s talent and one's sub'
stance to promoting the gen
eral cause, especially in the
area of greatest need,
Aids Increasing
"I believe the incrcasini
realization of all this in the
face of urgent social needs of
all types expanded by the
advance of science, explains
in part the great increase in
private philanthropy in
cent years."
At 88, Sloan remains in
credibly well-informed, as he
was during the 30 years he
was at the top at General
Motors. (From 1923 to 1046,
he was the chief executive
officer; from 1846 to 1956 he
was chairman of the board.!
Appraisals and reports of
all kinds, (Including those
from GM where he remains
r-iteil prfpih prf pi if
I iHiiltlsi lhsita U$rtH?Ni If-fil&ggH i
r
ii i ii n miiiiiinii.i a i t ,Ym wMiiiiiw x.C,..Lx ..J
director, member of two
governing committees and as
honorary chairman; are chan
neled across his desk.
An executive is likely to
exclaim, "Why, Mr. Sloan!
You should have had your
secretary phone! I'd have
come to you. I'm younger
than you are." Such a remon
strance Sloan brushes off
with, "Yes, but you're busier
than I am."
There's not a single "yes"
man in the Sloan Foundation.
His affectionate trust is in
the people who can conceive
of Alfred P. Sloan being
wrong and are loyal enough
to him to speak up. He ex
pects to be proven wrong, of
course, and when one execu
tive succeeded in doing so
with utter finality, Sloan said
to him, "Did I flop on that
one!" All the while beaming
with the gratitude of the res
cued.
No Protege
This reporter asked one of
his right-hand men at the
lounaation, Albert Bradley,
were you Mr. Sloans pro
tege at GM? Bradley, who
is almost 72 by the wav. bris-
ilea, -certainly not," he said
and then made it nlain ho
naa risen to the top Job on
nis own nign competence.
With that, crisis surmount
ed, ne talked of "Mr. Slnan
with bright humor and mani-
lest auection.
Sloan has a way of stand
ing off and having a look at
nimseit. He Jokes about his
poor hearing and his creep
ing age. 11s ncu to get old
but I don't care much for
the alternative," he said, His
personal humility and his
modesty are among his most
cnarming qualities.
Yet he is aggresive" - to
use a favored word of his
He aggressively expects peo
ple 10 De competent and to
grow increasingly more so
with age and experience. It
hasn t yet occurred to him
that this attitude could he
oia-iashioned,
He is "Mr. Sloan to evcrv
one, and he has been through
nis aauu years. Not even
Bradley calls him "Alfred
and as far back as Bradley
can remember, only a verv
few people who were close
business associates of his
youth, ever have.
There is no apparent rea
son why this is so. He appears
to be a simple man although
of course he couldn't be since
no man really is. But he is
easily approachable, a man
10 wnom you can say any-
tning. But there's something
austere, detached and ele
vated in his personality which
makes chummy familiarity
unthinkable.
Dines Alone
Aside from his late wife
who is often in his thouahts.
he has had no true intimates,
no cronies. When he goes out
to lunch, he goes alone.
After Mrs. Sloan died in
1956 he sold their homes in
Florida and on Long Island
and he now lives only in their
co-op apariincnt on Fifth Ave
nue, some 15 blocks from his
office, attended by a small
staff of servants. Compared
to the usual run of multi-mil
lionaire homes, it is no great
shakes. There isn't a single
Rembrandt in the place. But
there is a television, of course.
Sloan enjoys the night base
ball games.
His hair is both sparse and
white. His voice may quaver
t times and his face 19 lined.
But he has intense drive still,
ud intense interests, and a
dedication which he docs not
advertise but which is always
evident,
Look back over his long
life and you'll find only con
sistency from boyhood to the j
present. As a teen-ager in
Brooklyn he was seeking spc-1
cial instruction so he could ,
get into Massachusetts Insti
tute of Technology ahead of
BEST THING NEXT TO A NEW CADILLAC!
It has been rightly said that the only logical sub
stitute (or a new Cadillac motor car is a Cadillac
of greater vintage, lika the popular white llltil
coupe shown above.
With gales of the new 1963 Cadillac at an all
time high an exciting world of used Cadillacs
Bwaits you at your authorized dealer right now.
If you have long looked forward to ownership
of the Standard of the World, we Mieve this is
a most opportune time to achieve that divani.
Countless thousands of proud and happy owners
will tell you that a well-caivd-for used Cadillac
is a sounder, longer-lasting investment than many
new cam of less distinction.
In most dealers' current attractive selections
of used Cadillacs you will find a wide choice of
models, colors and equipment lo economically
provide you with the superb motoring luxury
reserved for Cadillac owners alone.
Visit your dealer right now while his stock
of Quality-Value used Cadillacs is at its finest.
VISIT YOUR LOCAL, AUTHOIUZED CADILLAC DEALER
SKINNER BUICK-CADILLAC
143 SOUTH RIVERSIDE
Mercy Flights Takes
Patients to Homes
Several persons have been
flown to hospitals outside of
the Rogue valley or returned
home recently, according to
Mercy Fliithts. Inc.
Mrs. Edith Warnock. Med-
ford, was returned to her
home from Wheeler, Ore.,
after receiving medical treat
ment there. She was the
457th patient flown by the
non-profit air ambulance serv
ice since it was started.
Douglas Loudon, Yrcka,
was tlown to ban rrancisco
for emergency medical care,
and Bert Blondcll. Agncss.
as returned to the valley
Iter medical treatment at the
Veterans Administration hos
pital. Vancouver, Wh.
Earlier, Patricia Stroll. 11-
cxr-old daughter of Mrs.
Catherine Stroh. H7 Fourth
ave.. Gold Hill, was flown to
the Children's hospital, Scat-,
tic. Wash., for medical care.
ASTROLOGER EXPELLED
Katmandu. Nepal - UTS - Ja
ganath Misra, an Indian as
troloijcr who predicted trou
ble for King Mahcndra's two-
month-old parliamentary Rov
ernment. has been expelled
from this mountain kingdom.
ins age group. He needed only
inree years there instead of
the usual four to get his de
gree in electrical engineering.
He was then 20 and imagi
native enough to realize anti
friction bearings were going
to revolutionize mechanical
design, since they overcome
the destructiveness of friction.
Even now most people would
say automobiles revolution
ized it, but the fact is anti
friction bearings made auto
mobiles possible.
Well Endowed
Obviously he was well-endowed
by nature. His parents
had education, and culture,
and were comfortably well-to-do
without being wealthy. He
has three brothers and a sis
ter, all living but all younger
than he. Two brothers have
distinguished themselves. Dr.
Raymond P. Sloan as a public
health scientist,, (he is a pro
fessor at Columbia Univer
sity), and Harold S. Sloan as
an economist,
This reporter reports sci
ence in the main. Sloan be
came a vibrant personality to
him, rather than merely a
name at the top of American
industry at the Memorial
Sloan-Kcttering Cancer Cen
ter where he is an inspircr, an
encouragcr, and an "Incen
tive "-maker-to use another of
Sloan's favored words. The
scientists regard him with af
fection. To them he is a pow
erfully stimulating force.
Yet this man has never had
cancer strike close to him.
You could wonder why his
deep emotional involvement-
why cancer was such an in
tense interest. Slowly you re
alize why-cancer offends him
deeply. It cuts down compe
tent human beings in their I
prime. So far it has made
mock of the most competent
scientific efforts to lick it.
This reporter asked Sloan
if he felt discouraged, if only
now and then. "No," he said.
"Cancer has only been under
attack during the last 25
years and intensively only
during the last 15 years. It is a
most profound problem. It in
volves the very processes of
life concerning which science
knows little. I hold that any
problem, such as cancer, at
tacked aggressively and pro
gressively, given adequate
time, essential talent and ths
required facilities, will ba
solved."
I TH CHECK
J THE SAVE ITEMS
I I at HUBBARD BROS,
I SALE ENDS MAY 25th
OREGON FOOD
WESTGATE VARIETY
SPE
Oblong
With
Attached
Benches
uiL Round With . cSSgSs. atilm
iJIll . 2 Benches
$798
TABLE & BENCH SETS
CHIIDREN'S
DIALS!
BEAUTIFUL SELECTION
PLASTIC
FLOWERS
All
Kinds and
Colors
Priced From
10 29
STEM
WREATHS AND
ARRANGEMENTS
99o$298
IADIES'
DUSTERS
All Cotton
Drip Dry-Wash and Wear
. New
Patterns U
M98
Each
"Garing" Deluxe 3-Ply
Nylon Reinforced
Garden Hose
716 Inside Diameter
598
Cm
50-Foot
Long CM Ea.
10-YEAR GUARANTEE
"REDDY IOC"
Adjustable ' .'
WINDOW SCREENS
Priced
From
89 c
le
49
ALUMINUM
SCREENING
LOW, LOW PRICES
uHLj. BARBECUE
I .ooV. at the Features 1
XEafL" WHAT A PRICE
Mum idlM- 'in njf y f M
- l "Mti-t-ittic" MM " Jr
I in ijtta mm mw at
1 1 while They
OREGON FOOD STORES WESTGATE CENTER
Pn'coi tfftctlv.
Thru May 26
mm