The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1896-12-21
Illinois Central Plans of EN-
plOyes Owning Stock Discussed
Chauncey DepeW and Havemey
er Both Ind0rse Tt.
LABOR is SUSPICIOUS.
Some Leaders Favor lit Others
Suspect Motives.
President Fish Condemns Last
For Calling Names.


railroad to try plan of cooperation
that may prove TO be of radical inn
portance in solving the problems OF
capital and labor. has excited great in
terest throughout this city, both among
the employers of labor and the masses
OF those who are employed
The Illinois Central railroad en-
ploys q. coo men. and II is estimated
that at least half of that number viii
shortly become stockholders More than
i 500 applications have already been
made and further applications are rap
dit once the fun value of a share viii pc
idly coming I'M Those who cannot pay
allowed to pay for it in instaHments o1
SIS each. The stock of that company ls
of good market value, making the m
vestment a. very desirable one.
Many prominent thinkers have be-
lieved that in cooperation on lines
similar to this lies the sole solution Of
the dfssensiOns that have so frequently
arisen between capital and labor Iney
have urged that if every lapOFef We're
also a capitalist even if in but slight
degree. the conflicts between the Two
forces would come to an end as a mat
ter of course.
President Fish recently expressed
himself about the present suffering and
discomfort in the south and west, and
explained the reasons for the great
scheme of which he is the author
There is still a good deal of discon-
tent i'm the south and west he said
DIe anarchists The majority are as
true and earnest citizens as can be
found in any part OF the country Lney
have a great many things to contend
with which many of us in the east do
not take into account. The price of
corn is low and that of cotton still low
er. Wheat alone shows material ad-
vane.
-+Of course. when farm products are
SO cheap there must be more or less
suffering in the agricultural districts.
san &c 1nF af17
mands as high as IL and 10 per cent
about the time the crops are to be
moved leilleli4tel, - Aal DaSh -
1885. how Governor Oglesby of Illinois,
said that agitation henceforth would
not be so much between people and the
railroads as between the HAYES and
we are confronted today with the
communistic and sOcilalistic tenden-
cies which have long given trouble in
Europe These make it imperative that
we continue our campaign of educa-
fion. We have settled the is TO / cues
ti0n- but there are a number of other
important questions to be passed upon
before the present popular discomfort
is allayed- Instead of calling the peo-
pie of the south and west fools and
fanatics. we would better correct our
own errors.
These were well described by Mr.
Henry WattersOn, in a recent inter
view. as suddenly acquired riches and
vulgar OstentauOn-
The way to answer this PopuHstic
ClamOr is to ascertain the cause of
complaints. redress wrongs as far as
possible, and show the west and south
that their interests and ours fin the
north and east are identical and in
separable. 1T is within the power Of
the present congress to take away the
cause Of much Of the discomfort and
thus open the way for a return to
prosperity And it is our duty as citi-
zens TO see that they perform theirs as
legislators
Tt is no cheap stock that Mr. Fish is
enabling the WOrkmen on his great
road to buy-It is -gllt-edged- The
company operates 2 SSS miles of road
1T has a bonded debt of SS6 361 600. be-
sides SIO.0O0.000 in stock. on which it
pays an annual dividend of 3 per cent
Its credit is very high 1t is one OF the
few corporations in the country that
has been able to float bonds at 31R per
cent. At the time Of the great strike
of 1894 the Illinois Cenral, although in
volved. was not crippled like some of
the roads 1t was quite successful in
running trains
In this city. Stuyvesant Fish has been
known more as a millionaire of the
conservative old Gramercy Square sort
than q man of executive talent or lib
eral ideas. He was a close neighbOr
and warm friend of the late Samuel J
ridden Possibly he derived some of
his latter-day wisdom from that foun-
tain-head Of sapience and common
sense.
Below are given the views of promi-
nent employers and those who are en-
T. a. Havemeyer vice president of
the American Sugar Refining company
The idea seems to be an excellent one
The interests Of capital and labor are.
OF course now Identical. but they
would seem to be still more so if such
a principle should be generally adopt
ed If an employee gets an interest in a
business his heart viii certainly be
more fully i'm his work. The Bible says.
you know. that where a mans treasure
is there his heart viii be also. En-
plOyes would be far less liable to do
acts that would be injurious to cor
Tectly interested in it, As to whether
or not they would, as class. be dnan-
cially able to purchase stock. [ think
that would have to be left to each in
diVldual case Certainly. a man could
as easily put his money into stock as
into savings bank
William IT, FNardwell. treasurer of
the Standard oil COMPANY do not see |
successful lt has from the very be-
ginning of our own company been our
bOllcV to sell stock to any EMPLOYEES I
who may wish To buy 1T. and a very
considerable number have awaited
themselves of the opportunity. The
number Of such employees is increasing
every year, although they have r be-
AeNe- been pretty generally confined to
members of our various office forces
q mere Is however, no restriction on
This point We like to have our en-
ployes personally interested. as we find
that they do better work. It seems in (
theory. to be a self-evident proposition |
That employees will work better. for their |
own interests and that of their en-
ployers. if they are financially interest
ed in the result
Chauncvey NJ DepeW--The plan Of !
organization of employees of q railway /
Iany is an admire bic one 7 have had /
Il fn mind for ten years. and have /