Historical Articles

PRESIDENTS MESSAGE

January, 1925

At the inception of this, our Society, about 15 years ago, we pledged ourselves to devote all our energies to making each year in the plating industry a brighter one than the previous year. It seemed to us then that we could set up no more EXACTING PROMISE than that of AIMING at a constant improvement. It seems to us today on the threshold of another year that WE can scarcely do more than to BIND ourselves to a steadfast continuance of the same program.

As you all know, our profession is one of many conventions, traditions, superstitions and dogmas, some of which you read about and like, and some you disbelieve and dislike, and we also know to take all these beliefs for granted would be in this fast-changing age to court disaster--for instance, not many years ago platers would not divulge their trade secrets, and wives and daughters were not interested in the fathers and husbands business, but look at our annual conventions nowadays, and see how equally interested men and the women of our families are in the FUNDAMENTALS of their livelihood.

The continuance of our principles--Truth, Cooperation and UNSELFISHNESS--will soon conquer the resistance of the non-member plater executive and cause him to seek our fold, and will also establish confidence in the manufacturer, and in this way bring forth things dealing with ideas, emotions and facts that are close to the every day life of the plater executive who, by thought, will produce many new things for the Bureau of Standards to experiment on for the next conference at the Bureau.

It is well too for the membership to remember, that at the start of this society a great many men with chemical and sales experience joined this Society in faith and sincerity of purpose, and together with the practical plater have helped to make permanent this GREAT EDUCATIONAL SOCIETY OF PLATER EXECUTIVES, and both of these classes of members gave unselfishly of time, experience and much patience, at a time when numbers and enthusiasm were worth more than money in dispelling the lack of understanding that existed in out profession at that period, and like all organizations newly formed, the laws were very lenient as to the qualifications necessary to affiliate, and these have been by practice and experience since made more stringent, yet I feel that we practical members owe it to ourselves from NOW ON, if we have been remiss heretofore, to curtail all of the miscellaneous insinuations relative to certain classes of our membership, as it reflects upon our INTEGRITY as a whole and is only suppositional and erroneous, has no foundation, and is detrimental to our progress.

Yours truly,

FRANK J. HANLON,

Supreme President.