Maxims of the past

The Rev. William John Henry Boetcker was a Presbyterian minister and notable public speaker who served as director of the pro-employer Citizens' Industrial Alliance, a position he held when, in 1916, he produced a booklet of nuggets from his lectures. Boetcker's collection of maxims eventually crystallized as the list of ten now-familiar entries (variously known as the Industrial Decalogue, the Ten Don'ts, the Ten Cannots, Ten Things You Cannot Do, or the "American Charter"). His axioms are:
• You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
• You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
• You cannot help little men by tearing down big men.
• You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.
• You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.
• You cannot establish sound security on borrowed money.
• You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
• You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than you earn.
• You cannot build character and courage by destroying men's initiative and independence.
• You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they can and should do for themselves. 
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