Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1905-05-15

Its principal works in the order of
their Importance are located at Proc
tor, West Rutland and Center Rutland.
Proctor, the headquarters of the
business, is village of about twenty
FIVE hundred people. 1t is isolated
from any other town of considerable
size. and is distinctively one indus
try town-dependent enough upon
that one industry so that it has never
been felt that outside capital to the
extent required for large first-class
store would be likely to be attracted.
The company has believed and still
believes that from the nature of the
case it ought to maintain in that vii
laee a first class store for the accom-
mediation of its employees, and that.
situated as that village is, its people
would not be provided with the va
riety and quality of goods which they
ought to have nor at economical
| prices except through the instrument
tally of store such as the company
with its capital and facilities is able
to maintain. At Center Rutland
there is no other store except that
maintained by the company, but
there is an electric road into Rutland
situated mile and half away.
| At West Rutland there is no
| other store in the immediate
vicinity of the quarries, but there
are several, none of them large.
in the small village little way dis
tant. The necessity for the company
to maintain store at Center Rutland
and West Rutland is less than at
Proctor, but it has always felt that it
| was rendering its employees a real
service by maintaining them. While
the Proctor store, which is larger than
the other two combined, is a necessity.
the later are at least convenience.
Although these stores did not
escape their share of criticism from
outside against all corporation stores.
they were, as conducted, very salts
factory to the company's employees
and any proposition to abolish them
would have been equally unsatisfae-
tory. For many years they have been
run at as low a margin of profit as
safe business would warrant. In 1902
| on business almost as large as thew
had ever done until then the per
! cent of profit to the company on
their entire sales for the year was
only 3 s per cent. They endeavored
to make a speciality of staple goods
| and necessities and in some cases
through the facilities of the company
were able to make marked reduc-
ton from the regular price. For
| example, for years the company have
had coal delivered at their houses by
these stores at from fifty to seventy
cents per ton cheaper than it was sold
in the neighboring city of Rutland or
could be bought anywhere in the
vicinity. This was accomplished by
the company buying the same in
connection with its coal for com
mercial uses and being willing to
forego the profit upon it.
About two years ago Herr Krupp,
the head of the great Krupp Com
pany in Germany, died, and at that
time4 in one of the articles descriptive
of the industrial betterment features
of the Krupp business mention was
made of the division of the profits of
its stores among it's employees. This
came to the attention of the manage
ment of the Vermont Marble Com
pany, and that company, upon lines
which it devised to fit it's own case,
began May 1, 1903. the experiment in
question. At that time the company
announced that it proposed to divide
among it's employees according to their
trade at each store the entire profits
of that store. The management of
the store was continued in the hands
of the company. A representative
committee, however, of five employees
was appointed for each of the stores
to take consultative part in its
management and particularly to
supervise and audit the settlement
of its business and the distribution of
its pro fits at the end of the year.
These committees are from time to |
time consulted and suggestions are
sought from them as to changes or
improvements which would help the |
service, but the real responsibility for
the management of the stores has
continued as before in the company.
which advances all of the money
required for their business and through |
its executive officers directs their |
general policy. The purpose has been |
to continue to Keep the prices of the
stores as low as possible and assure a /
reasonable margin of profit.
The total sales for the first EIGHT /