Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1903-01-05

that when an employee Is afraid Of los
ing his position he will work harder
and more faithfully than if the head
of the firm commended him for every
thing he did we'll
Now, such Il course as tina. is not
honest or just. The Bible distinctly
says that every laborer is worthy of his
hire If a man is paid what he ought
to be paid for doing his work, there
is no need to fear that he will not do as
good work with a few words of COM
mendation as with the depressing eff
fects of unjust and systematic depre-
citation. | tell you candidly and ear
nestly that chronic fault finding has the
same effect in a factory or a store as
the cold, dark, driZzling days of No
vember have upon the floral world,
while words of kindness and apprecia-
ton have the same inspiration upon
the tagging energies of the employees
as the inspiring strains of the regi-
mental bands had upon the despairing
spirits Of the French soldiers when
they were scaling the Alps for their
great Italian victories. During the last
days of that awful ascent, when the
French cannon had to be dragged up
by the ropes held in the soldiers bleed
ing hands, Napoleon Bonaparte COM
manded his musicians to keep on play
ing the most inspiring patriotic airs.
So the employers words of commenda-
ton sound in the ears of the worker
like the notes of sweetest and most
inspiring music, which will make the
employees sometimes even double their
energies to merit the appreciation
which their employers have expressed.
The Spirit of Depreciation.
But though words of commentator
may have such benefcent results in the
employers dealings with employees,
yet it is the settled policy of many Il
business man not only to say nothing
pleasant to his employees, but also to
make his clerks live upon as small a
salary as possible until he is by force
of circumstances compelled to pay
them more. | am sorry to say, too that
this spirit of depreciation, this reluc-
lance to recognize and reward merit,
is sometimes seen in the relation of a
church to it's minister, although, thank
God, most congregations are not selfish
and are giving their pastors all the ell
enlargement and financial support that
they can. A selfish congregation will
start in with a system of fault finding.
1t will grind the minister down and
down. 1t will make the pulpit dump
ing ground for all its carping and con-
temptible criticism. 1t will for years
keep its minister upon a starvation sal
airy. Then after awhile, when that
minister gets a call from a sister
church in a neighboring city, with an
increase of $4,000 or $4,000 salary, that
congregation will act as though a bomb
had suddenly dropped among them.
They will gather around the minister to
plead with him with beseeching tears.
The boards of the church will immedi-
ately meet and vote to raise the minis
: ter's salary $1,000. Resolutions will DE
: passed begging the minister not to
: leave them. If that minister is so valu-
able to the congregation now why was
he not appreciated before? If the con-
gregation could raise the salary $4,000
now, why not before? If the congrega-
ton could pass commendatOry resolu-
tons now, why not before? Oh, no;
that is not the policy upon which many
a selfish church and many a business
esta Adjustment is run. The policy which
Is almost everywhere in vogue is that
against which Solomon is giving the
warning Of my text. 1t Is to say as
=, few pleasant things as possible, to pay
as little as we can to those who are in
our employ and then to spend the rest
Of our time in Boosting how much W
have been able to get for little or fol
l. practically nothing.
u Depressing depreciation is annually
L driving thousands and hundreds
thousands of poor men, women and
, children into a life Of crime and into
{ quickstep march to a premature
\ grave. The public is guilty Of compiled
ty in the evil. 1t not only encourages
. the employer in his inadequate remu
= neration of his employees, but 1t incite.
= it. Everywhere the universal cry is
- "Give us something cheap, cheap
70 cheap, cheap and the heads of tn,
large factories and stores are daily try
ing to meet this demand, and to meet 1
y the salaries Of employees must be Gu
~ down. By the laws of social economic
Il some people must be, figuratively
a showed to the wall. 1t is not the heat
~ Of the great dry goods emporium who
- as rule, has to suffer. Oh, no. He will
&c get his percentage Of profit no matte
!! what comes. But 1t is the mechanic d
=, the bench, 1t is the poor female clerl
W. who receives salary less than she Cal
=, live on. 1t Is the poor sewing girl VIII
g g. has to work all night and far into tn
~ hours Of the night. 1t Is not. as a rule
- the capitalist who has to be crushe
- and squeezed by the great crowd
9 which swarm around the "bargai
= counters" Oh Monday morning. 1t
~ the small wage Garner whose heart an
:" life are being trampled under the fee