The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1890-10-29
Weekly Payments.

The general committee considered the
weekly payment bill last Thursday evening.
Messrs. l.. ID. Hazen, Superintendent
Turner of the scale works, and Representa-
tive Walker, all Of St. JOhnsbury, spoke
against the bill. Mr.. Hazen spoke Of the
additional expense 1t would be TO himself
and the great Inconvenience it would oc.
rasion. He is the owner of extensive tim
Der and lumber camps in northeastern Yer
mont. He employs every season about five
hundred choppers an other help, many of
whom are Canadians. He does not see
this force from the time it, starts into the
woods in the fall till it gets through in the
spring. The men stay in the camps over
night where the accommodations are of
rude and simple character. It would be a
practical absurdity to pay them every week
They would have no place to keep their
money and no way to spend it if they
should have IT, Not one OF the thousands
of men he had had in his employ had asked
for weekly payments or even inquired if he
paid weekly.
Mr. Turner testified to the cordial feelings
which had always existed between the
Fairbanks Scale Company and its employees
These pleasant relations had always been
maintained by the employers; first, from hui
name feelings, and, second, because it was
for their interest. They had about 600 EN-
ployees, many of whom were skilled labor
ers. The Company's monthly pay roll is
about $4,000. The company runs a general
store where large proportion of the EN-
ployees buy their provisions and other
goods. The value of the goods purchased
was deducted from the wages due. The
plan was mutually satisfactory and adj
vantageOus. Under the weekly payment
system, the credit account could not he
practiCed ana laborers could not purchase
their. goods so favorably. The company
bought every year about 1000 tons
of coal which was sold to employees at a
saving of seventy-ive cents ton. 1t
also bought for the labOrers large quantities
OF apples, potatoes, etc, at the low est rates
This feature was one of the benefits arising
from the credit system. Again, weekly pay
ments would involve additional expense
and trouble 70 both parties and was neither
asked for nor wished by either.
Mr.. Walker said he had been in the en-
ploy OF the Fairbanks Scale Company for
the past forty five years and this was the
the weekly payment question would come
up when he was elected and took pains to
inquire of his fellOwworkmen if they de-
sired it. The universal answer was No"
Being paid a considerable sum at once,
many of them were able to run quite bank
account, whereas being paid much smaller
sum once week the aggregate sum saved
would not amount to much. A few of the
jovially -inclined would be tempted to in
dulge in racket every Wees, while now
they could have only one-fourth as many
frOlics. A grocery man had told him he felt
sure of getting his pay ii the men are paid
m 'nihly. He had never lost a bill from a
Fairbanks employee. If weekly payments
went into effect, it would cost the company
every year $500 which he had told the
men they would have to help make up. II
the bill went into ell, ct it would cause a
vast amount of work for the company to
adjust itself TO the new order of things
Being as +u if any of the men were sick ar