a photostat in the record room, it would be a very simple matter to copy periodically the complete current set of curves so that the cross-index of cards by function or account may be provided for the executive, as described in the preceding paragraphs.
The plan suggested for a record department sounds much more complex than it really is. In considering the space and expense necessary for such a department it must be borne in mind that the time of the chief executive of a modern corporation is of a great value—almost beyond computation. The value of the president's time in a large corporation cannot be figured out on the basis of his salary, for it is certainly true that the executives of large corporations receive salaries much less than the value of their services to their corporation. A single "yes" or "no" decision of the corporation executive usually involves a gain or loss in the earnings of the corporation greater than the executive's salary for a whole year. Anything that can be done to give the president and the other executives better and more quickly available information on which to base decisions is justifiable and should be installed practically without regard to cost.
In a large office it will be found desirable to give a number of department heads access to the record room. As no one would ever be admitted to this room except the chief executive, and department heads who were given written permission by the chief executive, there would be no danger of confidential information coming into the hands of outside parties. As it may not be desirable to have department heads in a business know anything about the finances of the company as a whole, or anything regarding the records of departments other than their own, it may be best to have the curve cards filed in several drawers with a separate drawer for the cards relating to the work of each department head. If the drawers are equipped with spring locks, each department head could have a key to his own drawer, yet it would be impossible for him to go through the records of departments other than his own. The chief executive would, of course, have a master key to all the drawers, so that he could compare the records of one department with the records of any other department whenever he desired. The presence of the man in charge of the record department would in itself tend to keep minor officials from going through the cards relating to bank deposits, earnings, etc., for the corporation as a whole. There would necessarily be times when the head of the information department would not be in the room while minor officials were there, and the expedient
