The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-02-10
LECLAIRE OF AMERICA.
N. o. Nelson Tells of His Profit-shar-
ing Business.

CH f. Armstrong in Ainslee's)
"Profit-sharing was instituted by the
Nelson company five years before the
colony at Leclaire was founded, and
the scheme includes the Office and
store forces at st. Louis, as well as the
operatives at Leclaire Until 1895 the
dividends ranged from TO 10 per cent
on salaries and wages, at first payable
in cash. and after 1890 in the form Of
stock bonuses The ajOrity of the
employees at St. Louis and Leclaire are
stockholders. Since 1895 the bonuses
have been suspended, but only in the
sense that the cash value has been
applied to improving Leclaire. We
have used the earnings says Mr.. Mel
son. in charging the plant in building
homes, and in providing and maintain
ing the public utilities. We, in effect,
pay 10 or 10 per cent dividends by
working a nine-hOuT day in trades that
are ten hours throughout the country.
in paying full union wages. when many
other manufacturers in our lines pay
10 or Is per cent less. The proft-shar-
ing plan is in force, and the cash divi-
deIds Will be resumed. At the same
time the people, as we'll as myself. re
gard il Of more Importance at present
10 provide good living conditions than
TO get a cash dividend
Like Leclaire, Mr.. Nelson is master
in his business. but when working
hours are over he becomes a social unit.
Then. says he, I am one of the people,
and the mechanic who lives next door
that is to say. on the next LOTS as
good a man as I am. He visits his
employees, they come in TO see him: he
shares their indoor and outdoor social
recreatiOnS; all are alike interested in
the development of Leclaire. its roads.
its gardens. its lawns. and the members
of his family mingle with the plain
folk without COndescension on one side
or failure of esteem and respect on the
other. Mr.. Nelson's employees have
never presumed 10 interfere with his
management Of the business. One of
their number used to look over the
books at the end OF the year by invi-
tation. but Mr.. Nelson's word was good
enough for them. and they declined to
delegate anyone for the purpose. This
in spite o. the fact that Mr.. Nelson
says Of his relations with his men at
Leclaire: We get as far away from
the cash Menus as we can.
With all his success. Mr.. Nelson
sometimes talks in a way that would
stampede Gradgrind who was covert
~ meditating a trial Of profit-sharing
with single eye 10 his own bank ac-
count Mr.. Nelson happens TO be one
Of those men who would sOOner. give
has employees an interest in his bust
ness than squeeze them 10 endow insti-
tutiOns- He dares TO say that business
for profit only is immoral He looks
on pToft-sharing as a step toward CO.
operation, and believes that the CO.
operative commonwealth is something
more than day dream. There is an
economic value in profit-sharing. he
holds; but its justification must be ms
tee This sounds like philanthropy
until We remember that in many busi-
nesses. whose prOprietOrs would scout
the idea. that they ever had a phiIan-
lhropic motive IN their lives. a cOntin-
gent interest in profits is paid to heads
OF departments, and stock is sold 10
employees on easy terms. Strikes are
unknown al Leclaire In 1893. when
sales were slow and depression general
wages were reduced p per cent by the
company. but so were salaries and in
terest- There was no complaint on the
part o. the employees; everybody
worked with the same zeal: in three
months full pay was resumed. and at
the end Of the year the 25 per ea,t
-~~tt-tVI NdS MADE up Is II SuTDriS-
ing that Mr. Nelson's Industrial com
hunlty IS success and that his work
men are intelligent industrious. con-
tened, loyal and self-respectfnge This
IS the place to insert an opinion. which
Aar- Nelson expressed in 1892. Had
carnegie. he said. adopted profit
sharing instead Of the sliding scale
the chances are there would nave hse1
no Homestead massacre, and the stop-
page Of work throughout the country
Incidental % the strike would have
oeen avoided II is important to an
pend 70 this view that Mr.. Nelson is
Delleyer in labor unions, and encour-
ages his workmen to join them.