El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-05-13
MIR. JONES Ui' TOLEDO.
A RISING STAR IN POLITICAL
FIRM lent.
He Believes That the People Are En-
titled to Some OF the Fruits of
Their Labor-They Also Believe In


figure in the political and public. life
of Ohio, and of the nation as well.
He is Christian socialist, who after
having been elected mayor Of Toledo
| by the combined votes of the laboring
| classes and the church-going elements,
proceeded to apply to the conduct OF
public business as far as possible the
| golden rule principle which has distin-
guished his private life. His ideas, if
generally adopted would revClutiOniZe
| the social and labor conditions of the
country. He advocates and applies to
his own business the eight-hour day,
pays his employees good wages, enters
sympathetically into their personal
concerns and contributes financially
and personally for their social enjoy
ment and improvement.
In the conduct of the vast interest of
his business he has the enthusiastic
cooperation of every empioye. In adj
dition to their regular wages for eight
| hours work, he pays them a yearly
dividend from the profits Of the busi-
ness proportional to their wages.
Every legal holiday means an enter
tainment or excursion for the en-
ployes of his factories; if il sum ner,
out of doors; if in winter, indoors. A
year ago he purchased a piece OF land
adjoining his factory, put landscape
| gardener to work and TRANSFORMED it
into park, with flower beds and wind
| ing cinder paths, with seats and
benches under the trees for older peo-
pie and swings, Maypole, tennis court
| and games for children. Then he
opened the gates free to the families
of the poor of Toledo. He named it
! Golden Rule park, and every Sunday In
! summer there are good music and
good speakers. Mayor Jones was born
in Wales in 1916, and came to the
United States with his parents when 3
years old. His parents were very pocr
1 and it was necessary for the son, when
| old enough, to go out to work, and he
| says: Il bear upon my body today
the marks OF the Injustice aid wrong
of child labor When IS years old
he heard of the Pennsylvania oil fields
and went to Titusville, when place ne
reached with Is cents in his pockets.
He found work and seized the opportu-
mites that we're presented ard in 1870
became himself an oil producer. IN
1856 he came to Ohio and entered the
Lima field, and since then has followed
the same business successfully in
Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana. He
made several improvements in appl1-
ances for producing oil, and establish
ed in Toledo a factory for the manu-
facture of his inventions. This fac
tory brought him for the first time
Into contact with the labor conditions
of the city: He studied the social
problem and determined to do what
The could to better the lives of his en-
ployes, both financially and socially.
He had the full sympathy and cooper
alton of his wife. He announced this
rule: Every man is entitled to such
a share of the product of his toll as
will enable him to live decently and
| in such a way that he and his chill
Idren may be fitted to be citizens OF
the free republic" In 1895 he estab-
iished the wage dividend system, and
has maintained it ever since. The
first was issued on Christmas day, and
the cash was accompanied by letter
breathing a spirit Of true Christian fell
iIowship Since then the employees
have been guests several times at his
great house, which their work has
helped him to build and where the men