Arizona republican., 1906-07-18

ployes in practically every important is hardly a town of any size in the en- tire country that does not contain a number of families who will be bene- fitted by this action.
 Factory managers throughout the country have sent reports to the gener- al offices of the company, at III Fifth avenue. New York, since the notice was sent out, saying that the new proposition has been received with the greatest enthusiasm among thes em- ployes. Those who will be benefitted' by the cOmpanys offer include every kind of employe, the travelling sales men, of whom the company employs several thousand stepographers, clerks, bookkeepers, office boys me chanics, porters, truckmen, watchmen and common laborers, asweu as the skilled workmen of various classes.
 Mir. J. Fletcher, Jr., comptroller of the American Tobacco company, whose department has charge of the new ben eft plan. yesterday made the follow ing statement:
 "The directors of our company have been carefully considering this prop osition for several months. They have learned that the employees of the com pany are paying thousands Of dollars every year for industrial insurance. The premiums or assessments of this type are paid in weekly installments and make a more or less serious drain upon the resources of the employees drawing small or moderate wages. Af- ter due consideration the company de- vised this plan to relieve its employees from the expense of carrying any i1- surance of this kind. Of course, we hope that those of our employees who can afford to do so will carry insur- ance additional to our bounty.
 'The plan of the paying of tine ben eft Is made as simple as possible. There is absolutely no red tape of any kind connected with it. No employees will be called upon to contribute di- rectly or indirectly a single penny U the fund out of which the benefit will be paid. There will be no document to be drawn up and signed. All that the employe will have to do will be to give to the cashier of the branch pr office at or from which he is employ ed, the name of the beneficiary 10 whom the bounty is to be Daid. The bounty is not attachable, nor will it be turned over to his heirs or assigns of the beneficiary. The reason for this | is that the bounty does not belong to the insured, but to the company. and can be delivered only to such person as the employe designates by his own free will In other words it will be im- possible for any one other than the person named by the employe to col 1 lect the money.
 ''We expect that the expense of es- tablishing this bounty or benefit sys- tenn will be large but we believe that it will be money well invested. It will certainly greatly benefit our employees and we believe that it will have a ten l dency to keep in our employ the very best class of working people"
 So far as known, this is the first in stance in which a corporation has en- gagged itself to pay death benefits out of it's own treasury.
 Other corporations have helped their employees organize mutual benefit so- cieties, and have contributed funds to that end. Some have sold stock to their employees and have put into operation dividend plans of one kind and an other, but this is, it is believed, the only case on record in which a bounty has been granted voluntarily and freely without payment of any kind on the part of its employees.