Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1901-03-27
MR.. CARNEGIE ACKNOWLEDGES A DEBT.
"Labors Capital and Business Ability are the
Three Legs OF Three.Legged Stool"

Mr.. Carnegie's latest gift, that of
$6,000,000 for the benefit of SUPER
annuated and disabled employees of
the Carnegie Company, was au-
nounced yesterday, and is said to be
the largest benefaction created by
him, and probably without a coun-
terpart in the world. 1t is certainly
a generous one, and is especially
notable because of the reasons which
be assigns for making it.
AS explained in his letter to the
president and managers of the COM
pany, the income of $1,OOo,000 is to
be spent in maintaining three large
Libraries already provided mainly for
the use of the employees of the COM
pany, and that of the remaining
$4,o00,000 is to be applied for the
support of all injured employees and
the dependents of those who are
killed, and to provide pensions or aid
to such employees as, "after long and
creditable service, through excep-
tional circumstances, shall need help
in their old age, any surplus over
100000 after ten years of such use,
to be applied in like ways for work
men in mills other than of the COM
pany, in Allegheny County, the near
est of such mills being first en-
braced."
This gift, it is noted in the dispatch
announcing it, is independent of and
in addition to the savings fund estab-
lished by the company fifteen years
ago for the benefit of the employees
generally, in which nearly $2,000,0OO
of their savings are on deposit, and
on which the company, "by contract,
pays 6 per cent and lends money to
them to build their own homcs," the
aggregate fund available for their aid
and relief in misfortune and for home
building purposes, while they are
able to work, being $6,000,00O-the
annual income from which, it may be
assumed, in consideration of the
general profitable management OF the
company, cannot be less than $780,
600. The employees may, therefore,
be regarded as very we'll provided for
and protected from want and anxiety
in times of need and in old age. It
may also well be believed that tho
company, by reason of their several
beneficent provisions, will always
have an exceptionally strong claim
on the loyalty of its many employees
and will be able to command their
most efficient work in it's service.
Doubtless its investment will prove
profitable one, as we'll as benefi-
cent one, accordingly.
The especially noticeable point in
Mr.. Carnegie's letter, however, is the
reason he frankly and publicly assigns
for his gifts. He says: "I make this
just use of surplus wealth upon re-
firing from business as an acknowl.
edgment of the deep debt which 1
owe TO the workmen who have con-
tributed 80 greatly to my success"
and he repeats what he had before
said in a recent speech to some of
them, that "labor, capital and bust
ness ability are the three legs of q
three-legged stool"-the stool of
business success "and neither is first,
neither second, neither third; there
is no precedence, all being equally
necessary"
These, it is to be remembered, are
not the words of a theorist, a vision
ary, leveller, Socialist, or mouth
ing politician, but of particularly
practical business man-about the
most practical ond successful one that
the Iron Age has produced so far.
He speaks with unimpeachable au-
thority, and out of the fullness of a
full knowledge, an unprecedentedly
successful experience and an over
flowing pocket. What he says is
worthy of the profoundest attention
and respect of all other representa-
tives of "capital" and of "business
ability" everywhere. Hc has not so
much made generous present to his
workmen, he says, as "acknow ledged"
merely, not paid, "the dcep debt"
which he owes to the workmen who
have worked with him and for him
and contributed so greatly to his
succcss-who have made it possible
for him to give away money like
water to them and to others. Capi.
tai and business ability, says tho
greatest living representative of both,
do not come before the "labor," the
humble and unknown, but efficient,
worker, who works with them. "Therc
is no precedence"
1t is an impressive statement TO
come from such an authority, and it
10 ual1 ,uorfh <bo .~.... xtly.s I,