Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1907-01-03
FE PENSION
SYSTE N IS NOT
A c CHARITY
Believed that Scheme viii Add
To Efficiency Of Employees
and Result in Benefit to the
Stockholders,


The santa re Railroad company has
announced Ia is employees through its
president. L. p. Ripley. that with the
new year ii will nut in force a pension
system. The announcement has caused
much comment in The railroad world
The Chicago Chronicle says OF it;
The system seems to be as liberal as
II could be made with safety until II
has been subjected To the test of
experiment. No doubt IL will be made
more liberal if results are such as to
justify The step. 1t is obviously best
to make a conservative beginning so
that there may be a reasonable pros
pect OF change in the direction Of
greater instead of less liberality. The
effect Of progression viii be better
than that of retrogression upon the
morale of the service.
The word liberal" is not 10 be
understood In this connection as signi-
flying anything like gratuity. Neither n
corporation nor a firm nor a business
establishment owned and managed by
an individual is a charitable institti-
ton.
This is especially true OF 4 corpora
ton. An individual or a firm may
practice systematic giving without
tA tftldAlbn III RiiiiAs nut u tpf fVl1AAPl
can not. 1t is the duty of directors 10
consider the interests Of stockholders
in deciding for or against any new line
OF policy affecting tho net earnings.
If they decide to pay pensions as q
permanent policy they should have
reason to believe that on the whole
and in the long run the interests Of
the stockholders viii thereby be sub
served. They should have reason to
believe that those in the service of the
corporation viii promote its interests
by closer attention to their duties and
more faithful care of its property if
they have before them the prospect of
"A pension than they will If they have
no such prospect.
This may seem to be a cold n
heartless view of the matter, but it Is
not necessarily so by any means.
If the directors Of a corporation
come to the conclusion that its pecun-
larry interests will be promoted by
humane and co~nsiderate treatment Of
employees and by providing for their
welfare and tina of those dependent
on them in old & or in case or dis
ability by accident or disease they
deserve credit for humanity as well as
for business ~sagaeity
II they were not animated by
humane and kindly sentiments 1t
would not occur to them that there
was a profit in humanity and kindness.
IT Is not to their discredit. surely. that
they find a way to be humane and
kind without being remiss in their
duty to those whose property interests
have been committed 10 their keeping.
Most Of us now believe that the mer-
chant finds honesty to be much the
best policy and not many Of us are
t.,.ts-1. avl,fmf, IN fhfnL that hn tG
honest merely from motives of policy
and that he does not prefer 70 be hon
est because it is right.
So we may recognize that it Is pro-
ftable for a great corporation to be
humane and at the same time give the
directors who act upon that theory
credit for being themselves humane
and considerate.
They may be as sincerely DESTROYS
Of promoting the material and moral
well being Of the company's employees
as they are of promoting the pecuni-
airy interests of those who own shares
in the property Of the corporation.
It is really one of the cheering signs
of the times-one of the proofs that
the world is growing better and not
worse-that those who employ many
men are in various ways giving sub
stantia, proof of their interest in the
welfare Of those whom thew employ.
The fact that they manifest their
interest IN ways calculated to encour-
age sobriety. industry, the conscien-
tious discharge of duty and general
manliness adds proof that their inter
est is genuine and not merely sordid.
There is far more true humanity,
more to promote sobriety, morality
and efficiency rs well as more direct
material aid i'm the methods voluntar-
ily adopted BY employers for the bene-
fit OF those in their employ than there
can be in any government system Of
pensions.
This is SO because q government sys-
TEN has regard only TO the fixed pen
sion when 1t falls due and not to the