Disquisition by Scripps, E.W., Leadership, January 23, 1915

              Ohio University Libraries, E.W. Scripps Papers, MSS 117, Series 4, http://bit.ly/scripps_mss117
1.EAmmau( I P... §..
My son has asked. me to write a disquisi tioD. OD. "Leadership"_
I am not qualified to write suoh a disquisition becallse I M'h
known so very few leaders personall,.. Personally, -I have bon no
great leaders, so-oalled. While m.y readillS', especially on historical
subjects, has been great, 1 hal'e ne'fttl" been oOl\sideriDg or studying
, the subject of uJ.Ae~ershiptt while thus reading.
When one speaks of a lead.r, one generally means a ma:n in po­li
tioall!fe. '?-:nen one i.s discussing war, 8l1d speaks of a leader, he
is generally referring to some successful military ohief.
Of course there sre leaders in tbe oommercial W'orld--sucb as
great bankers, great manufe.et"L1.rers, and '[7eat railroad sneut!'"' ••
There ~.re IfH~dars in art" litera.ture, and soience.
Often enough the word "lead.ern t espeoially wbenother fields
than :politics and. militarism are considered. is used in a different
sense than it is when it refen"to politioal and military matters.
A leader in art, or in science. or, more part iOltlar11 , in com­merce,
is apt to be one who is 8im~ly ~re-eminent in his field. and
aot Olle whom' any great school or class of Mn are able to follow or
are even anxiouB to follow.
advanoa of his fellows.
Such a leader simply occupies e place in
The kind of leader my Bon desires _to deal with is one who
is capable of, and who act11ally does, influence ""by perna.ioll or
.oar.iollt a larger or smaller ba:nd of partisans, partner., or mall sub-jeot
by reason of their employment t towards soma goal which the 1.ad~~· .,;:;;
himself has oho ....
'l' •• " n can 8a1 that then art