The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-05-14

Illustrations soon convinced them that
these things were for their best interets,
and I know that they feel the loss that
has come upon them deeply. This failure
meant much more, very much more. to
the wage-earners than the mere loss OK
money"
From the workmen themselves learn
ed that they are trying to save the va
900 that was In their pension fund and the
$1,000 that was in their endowment fund
when the crisis came to Dolgeyille.
The fact that the famous Dolgeviile felt
mill has passed into the hands Of the Felt
trust led me to ask Mr.. Dodge his ouin-
ion Of trusts In general. His answer
was a straight avowal OF q belief In these
combinations.
THE trust Is the direct economic out
come Of the factory SYSTEM he said.
Formerly each workman had his little
shop. Then these combined into the fac
tory, and then the factories combined to
be economical. There was no loss to the
workman, for the foreman In the factory
got better wages than when he was his
own master. and the workman did not
get less as rule" Following this line OF
conversation. Mr. Dodge strongly assert
ed his belief In the principle of protec-
ton. IF you protect the American manu-
facturer and he makes money, the wage
Garner must also prosper" he said.
AVOIDED POLITICS.
Politics he would not talk about. al,
though in stirring campaigns he has net
hesitated to make effective speeches in de-
fence of his expressed belief. I'VE paid
the best wages in the country here" he
said, land we never had any of the so
called labor troubles in Dolgeville. Once
the Knights Of Labor organized branch
here. but there was no reason for its ex-
fotn nNaI 49, Def r @ffA ~n6
the men our public hall as a meeting place
when l learned about it,
The ~orkren say that they never had
any trouble until three months ago. when
new hands began to take hold Of the
Dodge property and ordered a cut in the
wages. That cut closed the shoe factory
during the short time in which it was In
force.
For the cause of the failure which has
practically wiped out the interesting COM
munity of Dolgeville a variety OF reasons
are given. Mr.. Dodge asserts in public
and in private that he was betrayed by
business associates whom he trusted and
does not hesitate to mention Names The
reply made to this has been chiefly Of a
legal nature and not particularly Valu-
able In clearly establishing the causes
The rigid money market caused by the
early events of the Spanish war is be-
lieved by many to have been the chief
contributing agency.
But whatever may be. urged as the
cause, the fact remains that Dodge
ville which for a quarter of a century
WAS tho most striking example Of applied
economic theories In this or any other
country is no more. The skilled wOrkmen
are leaving and the factories have some
of them closed. perhaps forever. Ths
workmen who remain are depressed. and
years of hard work will be required to
put the once prosperous village back
where 1t was but a few short months ago.
THE GREAT RAILROAD
The wonderful railroad whose way was
blasted through the cliffs in 1882 and
which cost over half q million dollars
daily carries travelling men to and from
the village. but they admit that the life
of the place Is gone and that business
there shows that the master hand Of
Alfred Dodge no longer controls
Some trace the present trouble to the
construction Of this road, whose cost was
more than double the estimate furnished
at the start. and which drew heavily on
thu resources of the protector at a time
when money was most needed,
The last great Improvement made was
the dam and power house, whose COM
celebration, attended by many promi
nent men, including a party headed by
Lieut.. Gov Woodruff. A gigantic water
power scheme was also contemplated by
Mr.. Dodge. and all the plans had been
perfected to utilize the Auskerada river
and the five lakes which are it's unfail-
ing source. The picturesque. shores Of
these lakes were to become the seat of
colonies Of summer homes, and. indeed,