Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1905-07-21

Companies prospectus. Mason and
Wilder attacked and defended 1t. to
the amusement of their fellow men,
bers in the Thespians. Miss Harlan
and her father spoke of 1t, but the
latter seemed to grow impatient OF
uuestionings on the subject, and 1t
was not referred to again. Pat Mullin
and "Pupsey" Knox passed some words
about it at the factory in the pres
ence of an interested audience attract
ed by the word liar" which was
batted to and fro with great frequency
by the disputants. Mr.. McMannis and
Mr.. Trundell held private converse
tion concerning it at the latter's Of
fee, apparently to their mutual salts
faction. Wall street read Of 1t In the
newspapers, merely noting 1t as "oue
of Trundelps things" and then the
little world to which 1t was momenta-
rily interesting, thought no more about
1t.
Even at the shops the matter ceased
to be discussed, for the new order OF
things brought few immediate
changes. Except for the names which
gave place to the Confederated Machine
Companies, no one would have been
aware of the new ownership. But lit
tie by little the fact Of cooperation
began to make itself felt in all the es-
sociated factories. There was no long
er any necessity for expensive clerical
| &c lQrQplv
eliminated, fewer statesmen were re-
Quired, and one buyer took the, place
of 20. The officers of the smaller
companies ceased to draw salaries.
and the companies themselves cut
down their interest charges. Better
material was turned out at the same
or lower prices.
Kennard watched the changes with
keen appreciation and growing conf
dence.
Economy seemed to he the outcome
all along the line-good, sound, busi-
ness economy, bearing harshly upon in
dividuals whose vocations disappeared
in the process, but tending, on the
whole, to the benefit of the vast ma
jority. In only one respect was the
new regime disappointing to Ken
nard. He had looked forward to less
ening his responsibilities. but before
his first inspection of the allied facto-
ries was completed he had greatly
increased them. He had known his
business world thoroughly prior to
the consolidation, but had merely
Judged the result without full knowl-
edge of the causes He had long sus-
pected poor business methods in some
quarters, aud lax factory system In
others, but never dreamed Of the amaz-
ing stupidity and recklessness which
his investigations brought to light.
In one establishment he found ma
terial purchased and paid for with no
yerification of the weights received;
in another he located waste of by
products equal to one-quarter the cost
of manufacture. But it was in the
workshops themselves that he made
the most surprising discoveries. One
company had had seven men Injured
by the same machine before 1t was
effectively repaired. Another had been
closed down for two months by an
outbreak of typhoid due to unsanitary
conditions on their own premises; a
third changed superintendents every
IS months-"to prevent any one man
becoming a necessity" 1t was ex-
planned. In the squalor and filth OF
some of the city shops, neanness and
false economy degraded and dispirited
the workers, until they labored more
like beasts then men, and with about
as much intelligence. A few OF the
factories compared favorably with any
thing he had seen. we'll ordered out
side and in, and directed with an in
tellieent recognition of the relative
value of things.
| Well-grounded economics, uniform
management and Intelligent co-opera.
ton soon produced an effect upon the
earnings, and before long it was dem
onstrated that the new company could
and would make money. 1t was al
most certain to be a great commercial
succcss Having satisfied himself of
this fact, Kennard began to consider
what the company's policy should be
towards its employees. His attempt
to sound Mr. Harlan on the subject
was without result However, he had
little or no fear of the outcome.
The directors had been carefully
chosen to include majority of Ken
| olhnrantc hut - rim
went on it was evident that the pre-
caution was unnecessary, for the board
was a unit who voted at his sugges-
ton. Mr.. Trundell seconded his every
motion. The four financial figure
heads Wed with one another in their
Jealous support, ard when at the end
of the first quarter Mr.. Harlan pro-
posed a vote of thanks for the efficient
management which had resulted in a
complete systemiZation Of the manu-
featuring of the company, the motion
was carried with enthusiasm. 1t was
shortly after this that Kennard veil
tured to throw out his first official hint
as to the employees. What was the
best way of securing for them fair
share Of the benefits thus far OBJ
tanned? 1t was too early to discuss
that, Mr.. Harlan considered. Per
haps there weren't going to be no
core" he quoted loosely. Somebody
must think so, was Kennard's observa-
tion The stock was quoted at fancy
prices on the street. I'D rather hear
from the treasurer than the trader,
was Mr. Trundell's only comment, and
the subject was dropped; but the board
continued to work so harmoniously
that when Latham died it was not
thought necessary to elect his sue
cessor. Indeed Mr.. Trundell opposed
It on superstitious grounds. They had
had enough of the 13 hoodoo, he de-
clared.
To Kennard the spring never seemed
so short, the summer never so long,
the fall never so welcome. Miss Har-
Ian went abroad in May and returned
in October. When they met for the
first time after five months of wonder