The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-04-19
THE INDUSTRIAL SYSTEM.
The Views of a Journalist on How Labor
Reforms May Be Accomplished.
The System of Profit Sharing Advocated as
Practicable Solution Of the Unsatisfactory
Relations Between Capital and Labor.

meeting Of workingmen in the hall of Typo
graphical Union yesterday afternoon. on some
question connected with the interests Of the la
boring classes He spoke for an hour and re-
ceived the closest attention.
In the discussion of the eight-hour question,
with which the address began, Mr.. Ross, after
showing that the eight-hour day had been the
normal working day, urged that in the effort to
regain It the question Of wages and the question
of hours be kept apart. AS soon as they were
coupled, it gave the employer the warrant to as
sumo that the present wages was correct, and
that, therefore, one-ffth less time must
mean that much less work. The true propo-
sition was, "My days work is eight
hours How much will you give me for my
days works This must mean, in many cases, a
sacrifice on the part Of the workman, because
the answer would be, "One-ffth less than tae
present" But this he thought would only be
temporary. as the adoption Of the eight-hour
day by official bodies and by many businesses
would have It's effect The Knights of Labor
would do well to publish a list of the
firms who were giving an eight
hour day, without reducing wages.
shorter hours in England and Australia, it was
shown that it had been antagopized by capital
to begin with, which bad compelled labor to take
such wages at first, but in the end had resulted
in not only the restoration of the old rate but in
still higher wages, better work and greater pros
perity to capital. In making the attempt Mr.
Ross reminded labor that it should not relinquish
any of the safeguards it had now for its own pro-
lection and with that assurance that it ought
to 60 forward, cheered by the fact that Austria
liam history showed that the complete attainment
of the eight-hour day was begun by accepting
reduction OF Is per cent in wages, and yet final
ly getting more wages than it first had, without
having to call to aid strikes or boycosss. These
were to be regarded as diseases, showing the
wrong condition of the industrial SYSTEM under
which the workman was not getting his fair
share Of the national wealth, the progress of the
system having concentrated capital on one
side while it left labor on the othel This pro-
cess had gone on so that to check consumption
of the enormous outputs of the great plants which
capital had enlisted in production meant
ruin. This was illustrated by showing
that to boycott q little four-nill repre-
side of the township, but when the -four mill had
grown to be such an establishment as the Pitts
burg mills, with an output of TO- 600 barrels day
TO boycott such manufactures was to paralyze
system which had caused such enormous con-
centration of capital was forging the weapon
which checked its rapacity. The harm was not
in the concentration. The day Of the small pro-
Queer would never come again, and it ought not
The fault lay in the concentration that had not
carried society with it, and was producing plu-
tocracy on one side and . proletariat on the
other. new element must come into it,
and this element was labor, whose
recognized. The sign of this was the spirit Of
arbitration. This settled difficulties by reason;
but if it could settle difficulties it at started
the query why 1t cannot remove the cause of the
difficulty.
IN: A.
the present troubled situation ran the constant
expression that something must be done to
better adjust the whole system OF capitals rela-
ton to labor This system, the speaker believed.
IT,. bsrns hs gave ii the 1 history s Of
Leclaire. 1t had been successfully applied to
almost every form Of industry there A great
French insurance company had, in thirty years
trial. allotted over one million dollars as labors
share of profits over and above wages paid.
Swiss musc-box mandatory had paid as high
as 28t per cent. The capitalists, in each case,
testified that it had been to the advantage of
the business, and that they would not know how to
get along without it. In this country 1t had been
tried in a number of instances, and was being
adopted rapidly The great German newspaper
in New York, the Stats Zetune, had just made
its fourth annual division, the total amount
assigned to labor being $780, 000 and the rate
mills had just divided $50, 900 in the same way;
and member Of the firm declared it had
greatly increased the ,ompany's profits by the
superior diligence and care which it
caused among the workmen, and The company
would not willingly give it up. The N. o.
Nelson Manufacturing Company of st. Louis,
had just announced that it would begin profit
sharing with this year, on the basis OF per cent.
interest on the actual capital invested, the re-
mainder of the profits to be divided equally be-
tween the employer and the workman. Their
pay-rolls amount to $4,000 per year, which
will be assigned about one-third of the net prof
its. That illustrates the general application of
the principle.
The official investigation of the Massachusetts
State Labor Bureau of Statistics had just been
published, which declared that preft-sharing
was applicable to the management of transpor
| tation, mercantile business and agriculture. The
fundamental idea OF it was that it enlisted the
diligence and care of labor in such a way that
labor's share of the profits were thereby created
over and above any profits now accruing to cap
ital under the present wage system. The Pills
bury mills. declared such to be the eft
feet in its case, that it made more
profits for itself by allowing labor share of the
profits. This system manfesty dissolved the
antagonism between labor and capital. Should
a man strike at his own pro6ts4 Should he boy
colt the thing tho sale of which made his profits?
Strikes and boycotts had never been known
under proft-sharing But this system was one
of comparatively allow growth. 1t was matter
of education to both capital and labor. and in
the meantime arbitration was needed to bring
about friendlier feeling between the two, and
so pave the way to mutual confidence and trust,
which was the basis of profit sharing
The State and national government should at
once establish arbitration, based probably on the
French system established by the great Ma
poleon, and with this effort to smooth the way
for the better adjustment of legitimate business
the spirit would grow that would legislate
monopoly out Of existence, so far as legislation
could. He believed this battle against monopoly,
which had been nearly talked to death, was soon
to take the form of action, the sign of it be-
ing Powderly's challenge to Jay Gould. But
the fight was long one, and that victory
was only to be won by patience and persever-
ance. and the orderly progress of legal methods.
The eight hour movement was only one step for
ward. Arbitration wouldn't usher in the mil
lennium, but would help toward that lifting-up
in which capital and labor, sharing toll and re-
ward. would give to the term Legitimate bust
nessn a new and significant meaning. and so