Yachting & Singing

Not every name in Directors of the United States appears in Who's Who. Directors vary from smalltime politicians on the boards of backwoods construction companies to tycoons on billion dollar corporations. Unique among U. S. Directors is George Fisher Baker Jr. who is on four billion dollar corporations: General Motors, General Electric, U. S. Steel, American Tel. & Tel. Last week while his Tel. & Tel. and General Electric were in the midst of a 23 and a 25 point rise, unique Director Baker did something which surprised his conservative stockholders, about half of whom are women. The board, including Thomas Cochran of J. P. Morgan, Francis Lee Higginson and the chairman, famed Owen D. Young, was scheduled to meet in Manhattan at 11 a. m. Promptly on the hour they trooped aboard Director Baker's Viking, 272-foot seagoing yacht. While General Electric motors propelled the Viking down Long Island Sound they transacted business, pocketed the gold pieces always given directors for incidental expenses,, adjourned for luncheon. The afternoon was spent on a pleasure jaunt, no minutes being kept of what was said or done.

The same week that "G.E.'s" directors went cruising, directors of Brunswick- Balke-Collender Co. elected Asa Yoelson (Al Jolson) to their board. This was not done because they pined for entertainment to alleviate the tediousness of meetings, nor alone for the goodwill that Singer Jolson will bring to aid them in selling his records, but mainly for the knowledge of the amusement line and the shrewd sense of business that Singer Jolson has shown. For contrary to the belief that all actors end in an Actors' Home, he has prospered financially and his operations in Warner Bros. (Vitaphone) stock alone are said to have made him a fortune.