The Dickinson press., 1888-11-03
TIE G0DIN FACTORY.
METHODS OF THE COOPERATIVE
ESTABLISHMENT AT LlEGE.

A Peculiar Scheme of Industrial Distribu.
tion-Division Between Capital, Labor,
Talent and "Naturc''-How tho stock
Changes Hnnds-Rcsults.
,NS"ith his social palace, so in his scheme
Of Industrial distribution, NJ. Godin's ideas
wee rnlnrcd by Fouricri>t rccollcctions
Before lN>o VI. Godin had merely set apart II
r*rtai!! >um-eS,0O0 or Glo,000-out of the
profits of the Year to he distributed among
Ia, men Is Il bonus; hut in 1850 he converted
t."snsi,c>S intom commandite company, and
la;r1.iced = complicated system of arrange
mrnt,fr i realizing effectively Fouricr's prin-
ril!e Of II just divisionof the produce of i'll
'.tj,iys. the division between capital, labor
and talent, according to tho importance of
their several contributions. 1t is true he
Thought tins principle theoretically defective,
lc"au~r ia!cM, was only IL particular kind Of
labor, ami because nature, which Fourier
wholly IGNORED, was, i'll Godin's opinion, as
imt"4lurt II contributor to production as any
of i"'i.trl three. Natures share in the di-
Wis. oUtt!. he thought, to be appropriated
lv ii" STATE. partly 10y means of the nation
AHA; 81 OF LAND for the purpose of letting it
on : ELI sorts Of productive societies, and
81 'H .iiNftllS VI u StlN r. Tx SUI
ce.- , '.ll;N and the funds thus obtained
ca =; .r employed in establishing u sys-
tr;i.,. u.ivrr>al Insurance against sickness,
a.r,. :. ~, and viciSSitudes generally.
IL: i; IT," meantime, so long as the laws of
l"iv'-c Inheritance and private property in
lard remained unmoditicd, and the state
Si""r,i no disposition to serve herself heir to
natures share, individual producers must
,l,.li sf rsii. Hint SlNuln for. 4 hp1,,Sa vac and
consequently the first part i'll NJ. Godin's an
maal division is % per cent. of the whole net
l~ral.,st 10 II reserve fund for purposes of per-
s"!lal insurance. In passing l may say that
beside this every workman is obliged to pay
To That fund , per cent. III his wages, that in
isNi the fund amounted to 10000 francs,
Ei!l i'll the three years 1t had existed at that
time more than 10000 francs had been paid
oGt Of it for sick relief and pensions on q
comfortable scale.
Next to natures deal comes the deal Of
talent or intelligence, and tina also is liked
at - per cent. The director alone on. Godin
during his l%ifetilnc) got and gets IL per cent.
If the profits, i'll addition to his salary Of
$500 francs. In 1883 this 12 per cent.
%a:noyMtcd to more than four times his salary.
l.a!t the profits going thus i'll equal shares to
;..ilre and intelligence, the other half re-
manning to be divided between the factors,
a, italu and labor. Capital had already re
"'ivc1 ) per cent. interest, and labor had of
roliise already received its weekly wages, all
:,f.rc there was any calculation of profit at
Il, and NJ. Godin concluded that the proper
.iHciple now was to give capital q share of
the remaining half of the profits in proper
ION to tie amount Of interest it received,
aItl labor in proportion to the wages it had
received. III 1883 the total amount of interest
.g@l was 100000 francs on 10000 900 francs of
'%a..'ltal, and the total wages paid was 1 ,SSS, 900
%tr'ics, SO that Of this remaining half of the
profits some nine-tenths 60 to the deal of
,3or.
N. Collins scheme, however, by no means
.:is here; his object was to make tho en-
lloycs in the final result owner of the
capital of the business, and with this view he
decided that the laborer's share of the profits
,hould not be paid Immediately into their
lands, to be used at their discretion, but
>...ould be applied to buy for them shares in
the business. In this way the business is
gradually falling into the hands Of the labor
crs engaged in it. In 1883 they already pos
sasscd stock amounting to nearly two millions
of francs, and though the capital has been
raised to 10000 900 francs, it will only take q
few more years for it to be acquired entirely
lN the employees. Tho interest on the shares
they possess they receive like their wages, to
spend as they will.
NJ. Godin states, in his book on govern
ilent, that the average amount of indirect
taxation on articles of consumption paid per
head i'll the familistere of Guiso is seventy
five francs, and turning to books of statistics
We find that the average for Franco generally
is only thirty francs. The people of tho
familistern live, therefore, two and q half
times better than the rest of the French.
Their working day is ten hours, and they
lave besides common holidays, two special
fete days of their W every year-tle Feast
of Labor on the first Sunday in May and the
Feast of Infancy on tho first Sunday in
September.
The director, who at the head Of the whole
place, is an autocrat in all business affairs.
He is elected-that is, since 1SS0-but he is
elected for life, and his management is I'M
controlled. He chooses the foremen and makes
the bargains. Mex below him stand the
group that elect him, the a~ssocies, numbering
siXty-cight in 1883, who must have worked at
least five years i'll the foundry, be men of
good education and stainless life and possess
not less than 500 francs of capital in the
business. Their privileges arc large, like
their requirements. They elect themselves
by co-optation, share In the profits on twice
their wages, can only be expelled from the
association by a vote of two-thirds of thei7
w peers (tho other associes), have tho first
right to work when work is short and retire
Oh n pension of two-thirds of their wages or
salaries. After them come ninety-fye so.
cietaircs, chosen by the manager and admin.
i%strative council, sharing the profits OH one
and one-half times their wages, and getting a
pension on one-third of them; 573 partici.
pants, similarly chosen, and sharing on their
simple wages only; 25s auxiliaires, who as
yet get no share in tho profits, except through
their interest in the insurance fund, and 2Se
interesses, who are allowed to retain stock
they have inherited, though they have nc
further interest i'll the concern.
The stock, which is only being gradually
taken up year by year, must, when it is all
taken up, be again parted with in the same
way, the first shareholders being then obliged
to sell out their shares to the new corners
During the interval the shares may appar
entity be held by widows or other persons not
i'll active employment, but at the end of the
term they must always return to the posses
sion of actual laborers, and SO the way il
smoothed for the retirement of the older gen
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