Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1902-03-18
PROFIT SHARING.
Experiments Showing the Business
Success Attending It.

The Pillsbury flour mills pay cash
dividend to salary learners. skilled labor
ers and those who have worked five years
when the profits exceed per cent inter-
est on the investment. All the excess
apparently doesn't go to the employees,
and in 1886 and 1SS7-the system was in
troduced in 1sS2-there was no dividend to
labor because of a steady decline in
breadstuffs. In 1883 and 1888 $4,000 was
divided. and there has been distribution
every year since, when the per cent and
more were earned. the Ballard q Bal
lard Company has had a profit-sharing
plan for more than 10 years. Fourteen
years ago it employed head miller AT
a stipulated salary and agreed to give
him per cent of the profits in addition.
From this beginning complete scheme
of sharing profits has been developed.
Mr. Charles T. Ballard, president of the
company, says: 1--WE might say that
common day laborer, who comes to us at
1.25 a day, is advanced to $1.5O at the ex-
piration of six months, s1.75 at the ex-
piration of year and to 81 at the cXp-
ration of Is months. beginning to partic-
lpate in our profits as above after being
with us "a months The company has
never lad a strike, nor have the en-
ployes had a grievance.
The Haines. Jones and Cadbury Com
pany made it's first trial of profit sharing
in lSS7-Ss, all employees participating. In
three years the sum of $4,000 was dis
tributed. The Columbus (Ohio) Railway
Company pays all its employees the same
dividend on wages that stockholders re-
cedve on their stock. President Rober;
T.. Sheldon says: During the three years,
since the Inauguration of the plan. we
have twice made voluntary advances in
the wage schedule, and, besides. have in
creased our dividend from to per cent
per year on our preferred stock, which. of
course. inures to the benefit of employees
and stockholders alike. We do not pre-
tend to advise others. because conditions
may be different in other localities, but
rfn rra1 ftcfIn
plan that has passed the experimental
period The Columbus Gas Company
also pays employees semi-annual divi-
dend equal in rate TO the dividend to
stockholders. This dividend may be in
stock at the election of the company I'M
til the employee has three shares to his
credit, when he may sell them.
The Riverside Press allows share in
profits by paying an extra interest on
savings, which may not loom large as
benefit, but is an encouragement of thrift.
The Proctor & Gamble Company adopted
profit-sharing in 1887 as protection
against strikes-there had been IA the
year before. According to the proportion
of wages to the whole cost of production,
the net profits were divided between en-
ployes (boys and girls not included) and
the firm. At first the employees were
skeptical. but the dividend for the initial
six months was 13.47 per cent on wages,
for the second 11.S0 and for the third 933
per cent. To discourage waste and indif-
ference, II was uecldeu 10 pay Twice tne
regular dividend to those employees who
took lively interest in their work-who
hustled, in other words; the regular div
idend to less Jealous workers and no div
idend at all to sluggards and MASTERS.
The dividend in April. 1890, was 1857 per
cent and in three years the employees,
without a single exception, were working
hard and intelligently and wasting moth
ing. In July, 1890, the plan of giving en-
ployes a dividend on wages equal to that
on the common stock was adopted. and at
the time it promised to be Il per cent.
Many of the employees now own stock.
There have been no strikes since 1887.
The cost of labor has decreased nearly
40 per cent, and wages are II per cent
higher.-Ainslee' Magazine.