We don’t know why a 25th anniversary should have any more significance than the 24th or the 26th, nevertheless it is the established custom to celebrate reaching the quarter century mark. Some business houses present a gold watch for 25 years of service and of course a silver wedding anniversary is secondary only to the golden.
Probably the most important thing about an anniversary is the fact that it makes you stop to look back. First off, you wonder where the time flew and then you start to reflect upon the things you did right or wrong. Naturally, you get some satisfaction from the decisions which turned out on the plus side and we suppose that most of us ultimately benefit by not repeating our mistakes.
Naturally, the SURPLUS RECORD 25th milestone brings back a lot of memories and our first reflection makes us think of our many friends—those who gave us encouragement when SURPLUS RECORD was just the germ of an idea and those who have stuck with us through thick and thin and stimulated our determination to carry on.
After all there is no substitute for friendship. If we don’t value and cherish the friends we have, there is nothing much left in this world to cling to. The vivid memory of all the things which our friends have done for us during this span of years is one possession which no one can ever take away.
We hope that we have not forgotten a single one of our friends even though our paths do not often cross. In order to gain and hold a friend, there is only one practice to follow: never let him down.
We have always tried to show an appreciation of the confidence which has been placed in us as editor and publisher of this magazine. We value the faith which our readers and our advertisers have in this journal which was charted on a definite course of service to American Industry. The success we have gained is measured only by the service which we have rendered, and we can only thank our thousands of friends and associates who have made it possible.
