The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1902-07-17
il Possible Solution? !?
II Reply to u. r. $.

TO stay the will of the majority. It
would therefore be necessary for the
employees of corporation to own a
majority of the stock of such cor
poration before they could assume
control. Even tyro in finance
ought to know that to own few shares
OF stock in a corporation does not give
one the power to "boss" the president
OF to dictate the policy of the concern.
The capital stock of the United States
Steel company is in round numbers
,OO0,0O0,O0O, about equally divided in
common and preferred stock. The en-
ployees of this corporations number
about 10000. OF this vast army about
25,OOO are boys, ranging in age from
thirteen to twenty years, who earn from
$ 80 to $1.25 day. A man but half
willing to see the truth must admit
that the members of this division of
the grand army of employees need no
special agent to buy burglar-proof safes
for them in which to deposit their
shares in the United States Steel COM
pany. Of the 125, 900 men with whom
we have now to deal about $4,000 are
common iaborers, and their wage is
from $l.35 to $175 day. Asa MAORI
ty of these are men of families, even
man who lives in the realms of fancy
will be able, upon the least reflection,
to perceive that it will require no Mo-
gul engine to haul away the dividends
that these men will draw on their money
invested in the United States Steel
company.
We have now 5000 men left, whose
wages average $3.50 per day. Now,
supposing these 5000 men could invest
$4,000 each in United States Steel COM
pany shares-which is four times as
much as the writer of "a Possible Solu-
tion", allows them-and taking it for
granted the stock can be bought at 40
per cent of its par value; then the CON-
bined holdings of the $4,000 employees
would amount to only 1876 600 900 worth
of common stock. 1t is clear tirat the
directors representing the stock owned
by the employees would be hopeless
minority and could in nowise shape
the policy of the corporation, and the
workingman would still have to forego
the pleasure of taking Mr.. Schwab down
a peg or two.
But even if every employee had $1O,-
600 to invest, does anyone suppose Mr..
Morgan and his associates, who now
own the majority of the stock and there
fore have control of the corporation,
would let the controlling power slip
out of their hands? The net profit of
the United States Steel company for
one year was $8I, 100000; and as no one
has ever accused Mr.. Morgan and his
associates of being natural born fools
we have every reason to believe they
will take care that the control of the
corporation will remain in the hands
that now WELD it.
The student of labor problems who
edited US with his Possible Solution
seems to labor under the impression
that if the workingmen would invest
some of their savings in stock Of the
concern that employs them, all diff
Guilty in arranging wage scale would
be removed; for, eff the scale were too
high the men would get in wages what
they missed in dividends, and if the
scale were too low they would draw in
dividends what they lacked in wages"
A kind of "heads win and tails you
lose affair" Well, let US see. The
United States Steel company employs
700 skilled laborers, and pays each
laborer at an average $3.50 per day,
which amounts to $3.50 year, allow
ing 300 working days, or $56, $4,000
year for the whole force employed.
Now, if the master spirits of the con-
|cern should suddenly be ainspired0 to
post up notices to the effect that 10.
per cent reduction in wages would be-
about the proper caper, it is evident
such reduction would amount to So
l625O00 year for the whole number of