By Glen Meakem
Published in the Pittsburgh Tribune Review
May 31, 2009

April 1898. The United States was on the brink of war with the Spanish Empire.

To develop a campaign for fighting the Spanish in Cuba, President William McKinley required intelligence on many things. The situation demanded that McKinley communicate immediately with the leader of the Cuban resistance, Gen. Calixto Garcia.

There were no telegraphs that penetrated into the Cuban interior. Furthermore, the U.S. did not know where Garcia was. The head of the Bureau of Military Intelligence suggested a young officer named Lt. Andrew Rowan be tasked with finding him and delivering a message.

On April 8, Rowan departed for Cuba. Rowan had to find and coordinate his efforts with the Cuban resistance, traverse the island nation’s dense and mountainous jungles and avoid contact with its Spanish occupiers. Rowan delivered his message to Garcia on May 1. He returned with a response for McKinley on May 13.

More than 100 years later, Rowan’s story still is taught to first-year cadets and midshipmen at the U.S. Military and U.S. Naval academies.

Rowan’s story remains relevant because he provides an example of leadership, determination and resourcefulness worth emulating today. Rowan did not complain or dither. He simply completed his assigned mission. He exercised individual responsibility and self-reliance and, against all odds, delivered the message to Garcia and Garcia’s response.

The value of this kind of person is timeless for any business or organization. Without “Rowans,” no wars are ever won, no entrepreneurial efforts ever emerge and no businesses ever are built. Without many thousands, perhaps millions of successful Rowans throughout our history, America would have failed long ago.

And yet today, President Obama castigates the Rowans in our society — particularly the ones who make a lot of money — calling them greedy and shortsighted for succeeding and encouraging dependence on the part of those who are far less productive.

President Obama recently told graduates that millions of people suffered economically even before the current economic crisis hit because “greed and short-term thinking were too often rewarded at the expense of fairness, and diligence, and an honest day’s work. … Too many of us view life only through the lens of immediate self-interest and crass materialism, in which the world is necessarily a zero-sum game.”

Furthermore, Obama claimed that our economic salvation is not found in individual self-starters, but rather “through our collective labor.”

During the 2008 campaign, Obama often stated that Ronald Reagan’s policies of lower taxes, a somewhat constrained government, and free enterprise not hindered by excessive government regulation rewarded wealth, not work. The statistics directly contradict Obama’s claims. In fact, the poorest were helped the most.

Obama simply does not understand economics. He wants to raise tax rates, increase the size and scope of government and institute massive and costly government regulations on many areas of business, including energy.

All of these policies punish the productive individuals in our society, the Rowans, who by their efforts generate wealth for themselves — but also through what Adam Smith called “the invisible hand” generate increased wealth and opportunity for everyone.

In order to be successful, our economy and our system of taxation must reward the Rowans of our society. Without them, no one moves anywhere.

Glen Meakem was the founder, chairman and CEO of FreeMarkets Inc. He is co-founder and managing director of Meakem Becker Venture Capital in Pittsburgh.