The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1899-08-13
COLONIZATION
PLAN SUCCEEDS
Tell City, Indiana, the Only Real
Cooperative Town.
WAS FOUNDED BY THE SWISS.
Its People own Twenty-Six Factories
and Work at Wages Fixed by
Themselves - Not a Failure
Mars the Long Record.

In Tell City Ind. a city OF town busy
| souls hidden away between the Indiana
! knobs ana the Ohio river. and so situated
! thar DO escapes attention and mcddiug, ls
| being worked out The only successful colo
! n.zaton scheme in the country. says tle
/ Boston Globe.
10 is Mother Tho cooperative theory of
| b-l.amy, tle industrial plan of Deos non
| the social dream 0f owen. but .alher a
modified ana greatly altered combination
! OF the three. IAe theoreutal has be u laid
aside and the practical and successful.
made dominant
Forty-four years have tested its strong
and weak points and. wcathering them
ALL BE- stands to-day not only ls the 0uy
successful cooperative industrial colony
in tho nation. but also a5 possibly tha
most prosperous municipality u Indiana.
nioyiag among other distinctions chat ot
being The Indiana city lu which DIS found
the largest percentage of home owners
and the iewest GrOnes ana lecchcs ON SOC
ciety.
Nuefy-three per cont. ~ the home occu-
pants own their homes. More than tlIs.
they own tWenty-sIX manufacturing c0u-
Germs and work lu them. They select
their own officers and super.n-endents and
SET their own scale of wages. Tho plan
thus carried ONT in Che manufacturing
plants is pr yalent 20 % greater extent
DOB the management of municipal affairs.
FOUNDED BY THE SWISS
Tho city was founded DOB 1876 by tha
Swiss Colonization Society OF Cincinnati
am organization Effected by wealthy Sw.s
citizens OF that and other American cities.
who sought the batterment OF their f.l-
low-cOuutrymen who had como t0 this
country, but had not made success iu
securing remuncrarre employment.
They purchased the present st. because
of its location ou The uaFictilo Ohio ami
its rather Isolated situation. In the Knobs.
three hundred yards back from The Ohio.
was found an almost inoNhnustihle supply
OF the best camel coal Do was named
Tel city in honor of VIII m Tei
From the frs, the policy was t) organ
lie small companies. from ten t0 one hun
drei men. The men selected ther own
officers. managers and superintendent
and bosses by popular ballot once year.
and made themselves subject .o the orders
issued by these selected heads. III the ADJ
ministratiOn of affairs did not suit them
they knew they would have o. chance to
make a change in the following election
The colonization society advanced them
funds and they erected their FIRST factory
in $50 They were almost al expert
wOod-workers and ioiners n the old cou1-
try. and they selected furniture as their
bent The plant which they erected I'm
1876 is still standing u has been cn-
larged almost annually. and is to-day che
largest chair-mahng plant in ,ie Unit d
states and possibly in Che wor q.
PLAN WORK I'D WELL.
The cooperative plan. as thus worked
out. was found 20 Doe successful beyond
an anticipation. The men at first divided
the earnings M intervals among Them
selves. but as soon as they had discharged
their Indebtedness and established them-
selves On homes they began to tN q week
ly scale of wages. They SCI their own
wages no the annual meetings. doing SD
by popular vote
By popular vote they have always ad-
hered 90 a plan Of graduating wages ON a
basis ~ efficiency in work and excellence.
The finest workmcn were thus given an
advanced figure over the others who were
not so proficient. All work was put on "a
piece-work basis. and &c Is claimed THIS
was one OF the first plants Don the United
BY a graduated scale every workman
was urged to best effort. By every man
having an Interest in the plant as well as
a desire 10 earn his we kly wage Tor tho
support Of himself and his family. ali at
tempted 20 make an output excel in work
and STYLE
The wonderful success which marked
the starting OF the first plant urged the
Colonization Society on. and another coo
operative company was formed and adj /
vanced money They also erected a furni- |
.ure-making establishment. and in IT'S lire |
" manufacture 10 is to-day the largest I'm |
he State Of Indiana
Another and another ana another was |
added until az present. there Is a total |
" twenty-s.x Of these plants. All have \
adopted exactly the same plan as drafted !
md developed by the pioneer company. |
Jot a failure marks the long list There |
las not been a financial weakening; every .
M. OF them has been cleared from all OF |
he original obligation and all other debts
AVE been iiQuidafed.
GOT HIGHER WAGES
The w0rkmen who have set their own
wages have been receiving 10 and many
lines 20 per cent. higher wages than paid
o workmen in the plants over the coun-
~ which como into contact with them.
,esides this weekly advanced wage. at
he end OF the year there have been large
arnings 10 be divided among them and
I times these have run up as high as
everal thousand dollars 20 The man.
Last year there were EMPLOYED in these /
wenty-six Tell City piari7 81 wo-kmon.
heir wages and the earnings distributed
mong them at the last OF the year
10 sCSco0o.
Besides the men employed In the facto-
les among whom this money was divided
YER l3 men and women were given en- ]