The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1902-02-27
National Cash Register Co.. of Dayton
Ohio, is Placed by the American
Federation of Labor.
WAS POSING AS LABOR'S FRIEND
Another Utopian Bubble Punctured and &
Would-be Philanthropical Scheme is
Exposed-Had Numerous Strikes

lister company has been posing before
the public as friend of the working
man, but in reality it has proven itself
labor crusher.
The reputation of this firm was
gained by advertising to the world
how we'll they treated their employees
and how satisfied and contented they
were. They would even discharged
any man or woman who had the tenn
Gritty to deny it, but they were con-
tinually antagonizing labor unions
that they might keep their employees
from organizing and in complete sub
lection to themselves.
This much 1auded concern has had
five strikes in the last three years, the
men insisting upon being independent
and thinking for themselves, a thing
which is contrary to the National Cash
Register Company's idea of what
workingmen are entitled to. When
those COMMENTED" men did join labor
unions, the firm Immediately began to
take an interest in their meetings, and
in order to keep in closer touch with
from secret agencies to keep protect
ing eye upon them. The duty of these
spies was to time the men on their
work and suggest which jobs should
be reduced, to take note of all CONVEX
sations among the men, to report the
proceedings of their meetings, ETC.,
etc., for which they received fone hun
dred dollars per month. Five of these
traitors in the employe of this COM
pany were exposed at the same time.
In applying for job there you must
answer more than twenty questions,
such as "Tel1 your religion" "What
education have you," "Do you drink or
not" Ever married." "Ever arrested"
"Where did you work last" "Why
discharged. If all goes well and you
land, you then proceed to the COM
pany's doctor for physical examina-
tion which costs you dollar, pass or
rot, and if you do pass, all you have to
do is to sign an agreement to live up
strictly to lengthy list of iron-c1ad
rules. You then get job which pays
you any where from a dollar and ten
cents day up, and if you have any
tattle-ta1e propensities, you are in
fair way for promotion.
A visitor in going through the fac
tory is impressed by the beautiful
flowers and palms in the foundry and
polishing and grinding rooms. Now
take a peep behind the scenes; the
"contented" men see a janitor with
truck load of flowers and palms placing
one in each pile of sand and behind
each machine and then hurry out of
sight. In few minutes in comes your
visitor whois agreeably surprised to see
so much beauty in those usually smoky,
dusty rooms, and passes out willing to
say that it is 'the model factory of the
world" In the meantime the janitor
is gathering up his flowers and palms
and taking them back to the green
house. If that visitor would only stop
to think how long flowers could live in
such places, 'there would be food for
thought
When the Dayton public library de-
cided to place branch Libraries in vari-
Gus parts of the city, they gladly &C
copied the use of a small building of
the firms near their factory, as they
volunteered to attend to the carrying
of the books to and from the main Ii
brary. In very short time the whole
world had seen pictures and descrip-
tons of that library which the ''mode1
factory" claimed as their own.
These philanthropical fakirs furnish
the three hundred girls who work on
the drill presses, make the locks and do
the typewriting, a eight, easily di-
gested lunch" whose menu, if Compar-
ed with that of three cent lunch
room, would appear insignificant.
the girls would rather
pay this than carry their lunches, or
invite the disp1easure of the com pany;
besides, it makes another pretty exhib-
it for visitors who, by the way, are not
made aware that any charge exists.
Some of the. photographs that we're
most widely circulated were obtained
from a window on the top floor of one
of the buildings, some of the girls who
had been taken there for the occasion
being placed onspicuously in the fore
ground to convey the impression that
such views were obtainable from the
girls workrooms.
The business acumen which has
made the millions which this firm
possesses was again displayed in the
unique scheme which for advertising
purposes was called the boys gardens.
Twen y-five dollars in prizes-ranging
from two dollars and half to five dol |
lars tied up in little blue silk bags
we're offered.Ito the' juvenile polpuation |
Of the neighborhood for cultivating |
several acres of their land, they fur
nishing the seeds free through the
kindly agencies of the agricultural de-
partment of the United States govern
ment. This land has now advanced /
to double its former price, and photo
graphs of it are being used to good ad-
by their agents.