Herbert J. Taylor Author of The Four-Way Test

THE FOUR-WAY TEST

Of the things we think, say or do:

Is it the TRUTH? Is it FAIR to all concerned? Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS? Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?

From the earliest days of the organization, Rotarians were concerned with promoting high ethical standards
in their professional lives.

The Rotary Club of Fairborn, Ohio, commissioned children's author Andrew Shoup to write and illustrate a book that helps children understand the Four-Way Test's principles. The resulting book, Andy & Elmer's Apple Dumpling Adventure, has been distributed by Rotary clubs to teachers and classrooms across the country through projects that address both The Four-Way Test and literacy.   In District 6780, Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary Club members have helped distribute the hardback and paperback editions of the book to schools and other Rotary clubs in our area; the companion bookmark is distibuted in dictionaries distributed to area third-graders through The Dictionary Project.

One of the world's most widely printed and quoted statements of business ethics is The Four-Way Test, which was created in 1932 by Rotarian Herbert J. Taylor (who later served as RI president) when he was asked to take charge of a company that was facing bankruptcy.

This 24-word code of ethics for employees to follow in their business and professional lives became the guide for sales, production, advertising, and all relations with dealers and customers.

The survival of the company – Club Aluminum – is credited to this simple philosophy.

Adopted by Rotary in 1943, The Four-Way Test has been translated into more than a hundred languages and published in thousands of ways.

Taylor's grandson, Allen W. Mathis III, was a featured speaker at the 2008 Multi-District Conference in Nashville.