Arthur Nash: The Golden Rule in Business

"GOLDEN RULE NASH"

A REMARKABLE EMPLOYER

Profits Distributed Amongst His Employees

NEW YORK, Saturday

At Cincinnati (Ohio) 4000 clothing workers have benefited -by their employers’ generosity, receiving a hundred percent, dividend. Mr. Arthur Nash, called "Golden Rule Nash," became famous several years ago through renouncing his profits in favor of his employees, making them joint workers 'in his business. His board of directors, recently informed Mr. Nash that his year's earnings totaled a million dollars, whereupon Nash, through newspapers and periodicals, .put the questions: "How shall I avoid becoming a millionaire?" "What shall I do with my billion?" Nash received thousands of replies, but to-day he assembled his workers, and answered his own questions, saying! "If I kept the money myself I should be worse than a. thief. I should, have stolen your work. You earned this money. I am giving it back to you.” Sunday Times (Perth, WA) Sunday 25 May 1924

Mr. and Mrs. Elbermont Nash visit their son "Golden Rule" Arthur Nash,
 Cincinnatti clothing manufacturer,
 for the first time in seven years.

In Cincinnati a clothing manufacturer, one Arthur Nash, has startled business. Three years ago he was struggling against bankruptcy with twenty-nine employees. He became interested with the philosophy of Jesus as expressed in the Golden Rule. He called his employees together and told them he didn't know how long his business would last, but that while it lasted he would treat them as he would like to be treated. He raised their wages materially, relying upon their earning what they got. They did it. He found in a short time that the cost of garments to him was materially less. In 1919 his factory alone was unaffected by the strike. He substituted profit-sharing for wages. In three years his number of orders increased twelve times and he was employing 2400 men and women. His is the most successful clothing business in the city. He says unions are not going to save the industrial situation, nor are employers' associations. The only thing that will is "the philosophy of Jesus." The Pacific Unitarian (1892)

”In order to perfectly live the Golden Rule, one in business, to begin with, would be compelled to buy his merchandise in such a way that he would be dealing with the seller on the basis of the Golden Rule, as well as buying for his customers on the basis of the Rule. The thought I want to bring out, is that we have left most things religious and spiritual down in the boggy swamps of sentimentalism. The efforts of the church in the past have not been directed as much as they may be toward educating and equipping men and women to live larger and full lives. Whatever success has come to the A. Nash Company in living the Golden Rule has come because there has been enough business knowledge to enable us to live it to just that degree, and whenever we have failed in exercising the very highest and keenest business judgment on a truly ethical basis, it has been because we did not have sufficient insight to understand our obligation measured by the Golden Rule. . .  In other words, perfect and infallible living of the Golden Rule would require infallible mentality and undaunted courage.” – Nash