Wood River times. [volume] (Hailey, Idaho) 1882-1915, 1891-03-11

side certain proportion Of the net
earnings Of business as a reward to
labor and distributing this among the
workmen in proportion to the wages
earned, as it these represented the
possession OF a certain amount of
stock. Til" plan of NJ. Leclaire,
which is followed essentially by NJ.
Godin aud NJ. Laroche Ioubert, diff.
fcrs from this in providing that the
workmrn shall eventually b. come the
owners of the business, and thus
makes a vast stride toward successful
cooperation.
The general results obtained from
the profit. sharing schemes ordinarily
practised have been good. The con-
di'ion OF the workmen is improved by
the increased wages which they are
enabled to earn, and the advantages
derived by their employers more than
make up for the additional expense Of
labor. Among these are reduction in
waste Of material, superior quality il
the work done, diminished expense Of
super,ntcndence and increased eff
cheney Of the men. There is far
greater stability it, the force of work.
men, less danger Of strikes or other
labor troubles, and consequently less
risk in commercial undertakings. The
strength of this system, indeed, rests
in this fact, that it is not ut all phi
Ianthrop,c scheme, but purely bust.
ness affair, from which both parties
to the agreement expect to derive sub.
s,antial advantages.
AS an instance Of the increased
efficiency Of labor under the stimulus
of an opportunity to share in the
profits If n business, may he cited that
Of the Bourne mills at Fall River,
where this plan was introduced only
n Ii, tie more than six months ago. In
comparing the latter half of the year
with the first. it was found that there
had been a gain in average weekly
earnings Of about 6 per cent, indie.
pendent Of dividends. At the same
time there had been a marked i'm.
provement in the quality of the work,
and much less waste. The Peace
Dale Manufacturing Company, Of
: Peacedale, II. L., and Pillbury & Co.,
of Minneapolis, have used the system
for number Of years with success.
The Ingersoll Sergeant Rock Drill
> Company. Of New York, introduced
r it in 1890 and paid q dividend o.
3 from per cent. to 6 per cent to III
1 employees. At the Nelson Manu-.
a featuring Company, in St. Louis,
plan of sharing prof has now beer
l. in use for five years, during which
time dividends amounting 20 As pc
), cent. have been paid upon wages, a
n the same time the dai!v hours o
!, work have been reduced from 10 to
hours, and the company is satisfied
that the plan is successful. In THU
S case the system adopted is somewha
D similar to that OF M. Leclaire, o
Paris, since the men NAV conver
their dividends into stock of the Com
pany. Those who have taken advan
tage Of this opportunity have received
: Ga per cent. upon their wages in the
r period Of FIVE years.
TIE failures Of the profit sharing
system have been, in most instances
when, on account Of depression IN
business, there have been, temporarily
: no profits TO share, or even a reduc'
, ton in wages has become necessary
Thus, ut the Wildwood Galleries in
England, after $4,000 had been
distributed in nine yeats, the men
struck, the scheme received its death
blow. Brewster Il Co, of New York
5 tried the system in 1871 and con
tnued 1t for three years, when the
1 men joined in an eight hour move
ment and struck, forteiting $ll, OOl
: then due them. This danger to thu
\ system seems to be overcome by tn
t plan followed in Paris, and in St
t Louis, where employees become tinan
a c,ally interested in the business, thu
:. assuming a measure Of responsibility
% The profit sharing system. to enlis
u the best energies OF the mass OF tn
It working people. should always err
:. body cash pay men.s, which should b
4 distinct surplus above wages. A
follow ed IN this manner it has alread
> been successful and seems likely t
l. come into more general use.