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T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
November, 1936
Aerial view of the Le Tourneau manufacturing plant, Peoria, III., where heavy grading equipment is built. Since the spring of 1935, when this company began business in Peoria,'the plant has been enlarged twice, and its present length is 1,200 feet. Inset at upper left: R. G. Le Tourneau, President and Manager, who believes in g iving the gospel to the workingman. Lower right: Another view of the plant, showing its location on the Illinois River. w? * The Gospel In Industry By DONALD M. TAYLOR and MILDRED M. COOK
Y OU are an executive in a manufacturing concern. You have heard about gospel meetings being held at the Le Tourneau plant in Peoria, Illinois. You have seen or heard a little about some dedication services for a new addition to the plant—the second doubling of its capacity since it started in the Middle West in early 1935. A friend of a friend of yours himself heard M r. Le Tourneau talk at a luncheon club, heard him tell about some of his experiences and insist that the phenomenal growth of the business, from the time about four years ago when the creditors were debating whether to clamp down, liquidate and take a few cents on the dollar, to its present size and prosperity, employing 850 to 900 or more men, was all due to God. Naturally, you want to see this plant and this man yourself. V iewing the P lant Arriving in Peoria early, around 8 a . m . you telephone the plant to learn when M r. Le Tourneau will be down and when will be a good time to see him. “He must be here now, somewhere about the plant,” says the telephone girl, “because he always gets here at 7 o’clock.”
“Is he likely to be there long?” you ask. “In all probability, he’ll be here at least until 7 or 7 :30 tonight, probably 9 or 10, unless he has a date to speak somewhere or is going to church. Do you want me to ring him for you?” “Never mind, I ’ll come out.” You approach a long brick-faced building, across the railroad tracks, just below Adams Street at Grant where the athletic field is located. A small squat appendix near the front end of this structure is labeled “Office.” “Is that M r. Le Tourneau?” you ask the girl who greets you as you enter. “Yes,” says the girl, “that’s M r. Le Tourneau. Which one did you want to see?” “Well, I- guess this is the one.” He comes your way and you make yourself and your business known. • “I t ’s Bob you want to see,” he says. -“ I am Bill Le Tourneau, his brother—J. W . You want R. G. (Later you learn Bill is general sales manager and secretary-treas urer.) Do you care to walk out through the shop and lqok around? We’ll probably find him out there. Here is a pair of dark glasses to protect your eyes from the- arcs.” You follow him into a blast of heat, a glare of sputtering blue flames. Seven or eight hooded men are bending over
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