William Cooper Procter (1862-1934) rose to the chairmanship of the Procter & Gamble Corporation and never sacrificed his ideals of humane business management. He devoted a great deal of attention to devising systems that would reward employees for both loyalty and efficiency. Procter was remembered for his "radical" labor practices, including the five-day workweek and an employee profit-sharing plan.

Procter came into the family business as a production laborer and worked his way up through the ranks. In 1907, he was named president and chief executive of Procter & Gamble, following the tragic suicide of his father, William Alexander Procter. As William Cooper Procter rose through the company ranks, he developed close emotional ties and concerns for the lowliest of the workers. He strove throughout his lifetime to ease their burden. It was his belief that such a business ethic would maximize profits for all concerned. Procter felt that financial benefits...