Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1898-10-14

A few months ago the great felt mills
and other industries of Mr.. Alfred
Dodge at Dolgeville, N. Y, were shut
down. They have now been reopened
under new management. Mr. Dodge
operated them on cooperative, profit
sharing, insurance, pension, short
principles. He made a failure. The
new management proposes to run ten
hours day, pay wage for that work,
and let it go at that. 1t hopes to be
successful.
Near Leechburg, Pa, cooperative
coal mining company was recently
formed 1t started under favorable
auspices. A few weeks ago the CO.
operative mining company broke. Last
week the coal lands were sold to an in
dividual operator He expects to sue
cessfully operate the mines.
OF the Leechburg mine it Is sufficient
to say that. it was simple co-opera-
tive scheme, and consequently shared
the fate of the great majority of such
undertakings The experiments of Mr..
Dodge have achieved wide celebrity,
and were quite elaborate. His profit
sharing embraced three theories: l,
insurance; 2, pension; 3, endowment.
The first, insurance, was good while 1t
lasted. This plan provided that after
five years continuous service the OPP
erative should receive an insurance
policy for $1,000; at the end of another
five years another $1,000 policy, and so
on. Mr. Dodge paid the premiums on
the policy. About rs policies were in
operation at the time Of the failure.
The second plan, pension, provided
that when an operative had become old
and feeble and no longer able to work,
he should be retired on a pension of
half pay. Only four men were on the
pension roll at the time of the failure
The third plan embraced the endow-
ment theory. This provided that If any
of the operatives made an improvement
to the machinery SO that the cost OF
production should be decreased, the OPP
erative should have credit for certain
per cent of the increased profit. The
endowment account was payable when
the workman reached the age of 60
years, or to his heirs on his death.
Many of the old operatives had several
hundred dollars credit on the endow-
ment books, but now the account is
not worth the price of the paper 1t Is
written. on. The insurance and pension
plan had a tendency to encourage con-
tinued service, while the third plan had
a tendency to encourage harder work.
Profit sharing, has no standing with
the new owners of the works. Three
years ago Mr.. Dodge limited the hours
of labor in his factory to 91h, giving 10
hours pay. This is now Off.
The cooperative mine failed. 1t is
easy to see why, in competitive mar
ket. Mr.. Dodge was also bound to fail.
He was paying more for his product
than his competitors. He was load
ing himself with fixed charges. To sell
his product he had to meet his competi-
TORS. And he could not sell at any fixed
price. unless the fact that he always
had to meet the price of the lowest OF
them can be taken to have put fixed
price upon his ware.
But while experiments such as those
of Mr.. Dodge and the general sort of
co-operative enterprises are doomed to
disappointment and failure in the long
run as long as they are conducted in
opposition to plain hiring and COM
petitive prices, it does not follow that
the general principles underlying them
may not ultimately win secure place
in industrial economy. Prince Bis
marck successfully did for Germany as
a nation about what Mr.. Doyle unsuc-
cessfully tried to do for the people OF
Dolgeyille. His state insurance system
has been so successful in Germany
that it has been initiated In nearly
every European nation. The Sickness
Insurance law of 1888, the Accident In
surance laws of 1884 and 1885 and the
Old-Age Insurance law of 1889 are due
to him. AS to the value Of the system
evidence is given by Consul Monaghan
of Chemntz in report printed'by the
state department on Aug. 4. The con-
sui says:
Time is proving the practical value
of the German workingmen's insurance
system. If | return to the subject
again. it is because | believe it to be
one deserving a great deal of attention.
The social and economic influence of so
gigantic a system must be very great
rhs object of the system is to alleviate
she sufferings of workmen and their