Lord Northcliffe [British press magnate] once told me that he had discovered in America a tendency to install and worship system to such an extent that so much time was spent on system that little time was left for rounding up business to keep the system going. Is it not so with conferences? Isn't the legitimate purpose of conferences being lost sight of? Just how far should businessmen go in spending hours in conferences with their colleagues and shut out, meanwhile, all communication with those from whom they derive their business? Executives cannot make a business pay by taking in one another's washing. —B. C. Forbes, 1880 - 1954