Paul Harris,
the founder of Rotary, was a lawyer. Jealous for the honor of his
profession, he took an active part in the work of legal
associations—local, state, national, and international. In those days of
1905, there was the gulf of a long tradition between members of the
learned professions and those engaged in trade. Paul Harris felt deeply a
need to bridge that gulf—to rescue the professional man from an isolation
that was alternately lonesome and irritating—to dignify the occupation of
tradesman with a zeal for its honor.
So to the first meeting in Chicago of the first Rotary club he invited a
coal dealer, a tailor, and a mining engineer.
Men of different vocations, trades, and professions formed the first
Rotary club. Vocation was the principle of selection at the beginning, and
has remained the distinguishing core of Rotary ever since.
Let it not be thought, however, that the implications of this principle
have remained unchanged through years. The impact of practical experience
on earnest men such as Arthur Frederick Sheldon stimulated a continuing
development. An early member of the Rotary club, Sheldon established a
school of salesmanship based on the idea that successful salesmanship
depends on rendering service and that no transaction is justified unless
both parties benefit. He gave to Rotary slogan, "he profits most who
serves best."
Hardly had this concept been presented than objections were heard that it
made greed the motive of service. An alternative proposed by B. F.
Collins, President of the Rotary Club of Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.A.,
was "service above self" which came into use on Rotary stationery in
conjunction with the Sheldon slogan. This compromise received official
sanction from the Rotary International convention in 1950 although
complaints about each of the mottoes still occur occasionally. Those who
believe that profits are the basis of free enterprise contend that
"service above self" is unrealistic if not subversive, while others
reply that selfless dedication is the secret of success of any business or
profession. Such vigorous controversy cannot help but move forward the
thinking of Rotarians in vocational service, for where all think alike,
there is not much thinking done, and little progress can be expected.
Nowhere is there more substantial testimony to the evolving character of
vocational service than in the official phrasings of this avenue of
Rotary. It appeared first in the constitution of the Rotary Club of
Chicago (January, 1906). The first of the two objects reads as follows:
The promotion of the business interests of its members.
Before this aim is condemned as utterly selfish, the comment of a past
president of Rotary International may be recalled: "Vocational service
really started in the early clubs when they had an official known as a
statistician whose duty it was to compile each week all the orders that
had been given or received by members. But that kind of vocational
service, we found, would not work. I am not ashamed of it, however,
because they were helping each other even then."
In 1912, this statement of vocational service was abandoned, and the
International Association of Rotary Clubs adopted for the guidance of
clubs and the individual Rotarian as the first of five objects:
1. To promote the recognition of the worthiness of all legitimate
occupations, and to dignify each member's occupation as affording him an
opportunity to serve society; to encourage high standards in business and
professions; to increase the efficiency of each member by the exchange of
ideas and business methods.
"The ideal of service as the basis of all worthy enterprise" was
introduced in 1918 together with a rearrangement in order of the objects.
In 1922, the paragraph which called for an exchange of ideas and business
methods was dropped, and the word "useful" replaced "legitimate" in the
first paragraph of the object as last quoted.
No further change was made until 1935, when the Six Objects were restated
as Four Objects, and vocational service was presented in the phrasing that
was retained n 1951 when it became the second of four avenues in the
single Object of Rotary:
2. High ethical standards in business and professions; the recognition of
the worthiness of all useful occupations; and the dignifying by each
Rotarian of his occupation as an opportunity to serve society.
So the dominant impulse of vocational service, present at the start,
developed and expanded. Helpfulness to others—not only to fellow Rotarians
but to all the "others" who make up human society. Respect for others—not
only the rather ambiguous "legitimate occupations" but all "useful" ones.
Thoughtfulness of others—not only in the cause of increased
efficiency—-though that is important—but in every way that will extend the
usefulness and consequent dignity of his occupation.
The dignity of a profession derives from the reputation of its
practitioners for dedicating their learning and skill to the service of
others rather than to personal profit. "In fixing fees," declares the
American Bar Association, "it should not be forgotten that the profession
of law is a branch of the administration of justice and not a mere
money-getting trade." Doctors of medicine subscribe to the statement that
"a profession has for its prime object the service it can render humanity;
reward of financial gain should be a subordinate consideration.” In so far
as a business man earnestly applies to his working life the dignifying
concept of "service above self," he too can aspire to professional status.
"I thank God that I am in the paper business," a manufacturer told a
Rotarian clergyman. "I believe that it is a service calling just as much
as your ministry. Every time I see children carrying home bread and meat
from the store wrapped in clean paper, I give thanks that I am permitted
to serve them in this manner."
On the other hand, it should be apparent that the human relations that
concern vocational service are just as challenging to the professional
man. He, too, is obligated as a trustee of his classification, to
exemplify and share the ideal of service with his patients, clients, or
pupils, with suppliers of his practical needs, and with colleagues or
competitors. Even if he has few or no employees himself, he is still in a
position to help people become better and happier employees. In
association with Rotarians who are businessmen, he may be reminded how the
dignity of his occupation derives from service.
"It has been said that in this town," reported a Rotary club in the
Eastern Hemisphere, "certain members of the medical profession have not
been living up to their Hippocratic Oath, and that in the course of
healing they also clean out their patients' pockets. Washing of dirty
linen among Rotary members may well have a salutary effect. It is proposed
to arrange a symposium of a doctor, patient, and onlooker to discuss the
comprehensive picture, the difficulties, problems, and prospects."
These critics were trying to defend the dignity of an occupation by
providing an opportunity for practitioners to explain its contributions to
the common welfare. Without such opportunities for defense, the rascality
of a tiny minority of doctors with money-mania is used to justify general
charges of clandestine fee-splitting, prescription of unnecessary
treatments or surgery and the abuse of insurance plans. Miracle drugs and
vaccines are given the credit for keeping people well while the
old-fashioned doctor—sitting beside the bedside waiting for nature to take
its course—is mourned. Opportunity to examine such charges before his
Rotary club will be welcomed by any physician just as the representatives
of education, law, and religion rejoice in defending the honor of their
occupations against similar accusations.
If these professions whose reputations for service are long established
need to defend themselves, how much more is business subject to suspicion
and attack. The target is so broad and so vulnerable at many points.
A cultivated distrust of business, in fact, is often one of the most
formidable obstacles in the path of service, and Rotary clubs occupy a
strategic position in helping to overcome it. The general manager of a
great corporation told one Rotary club that the businessman is too often
like Little Jack Horner sitting in a corner and saying "What a good boy am
I" when pointing to employment provided, high taxes paid, and products or
services produced. "A lot of our neighbors," he continued, "see us as we
see Little Jack. We wail loudly each time new social legislation threatens
our sphere of action, just as Jack would howl if anyone tried to take away
any of his pie. Despite our calamity howling, the plum pops out quite
regularly in the form of good business earnings so that no one seems to
believe us any more."
The public relations of business is too often conceived in terms of a
contrived image or "the engineering of consent," whereas the real need is
eloquent example and courageous leadership in the common cause of human
betterment. A Rotarian who "puts Rotary to work where he works"—a Rotary
club that singles out some local leader for a vocational service award or
opens the offices and factories of its members for a tour of frank
inspection by school teachers—contributes more to understanding and
respect for business than any amount of breast beating and mutual
admiration. Indeed, if business does need an image, one of soul-searching
and even self-criticism is most likely to arouse a sympathetic response.
Can—or should—business aspire to the status of a profession? The question
produces constant and fruitful debate. Present trends lend urgency to the
quest for an answer. Even though profit is still the accepted prize in the
great game of business, how the game is played, rather than the amount of
the prize, is increasingly the concern of businessmen. The growth of
educational requirements for business employment and the accumulating body
of technical knowledge in each field suggest comparison with the
professions. And, perhaps most significant of all, membership in trade
associations arouses in businessmen a feeling of common loyalty and
responsibility for the dignity of their calling.
One difference, however, does exist between business and the professions.
By licensing the right to practice, the professions are shielded from the
competition of unqualified individuals. In most business, by contrast,
anyone possessing the minimum of cash or credit can get into the game.
Accordingly, the attitude that businessmen take toward their competitors
is crucial to the success of their efforts in dignifying an occupation.
Who in your community would you nominate to receive a public award
for
exemplifying the ideal of service in his or her daily work?
