The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-11-13
S1O,OOO,O 900 FOR
 VARIOUS BENEFITS
FUND AVAILABLE FOR BELL AND
 OTHER EMPIOYES.
Pensions, Sick Benefits and Life In-
 surance Provided.

A fund of s1oooo. 900 for pensions.sick tbeneffts and life insurance will be available on January for the 175,- 600 employees of the Bell system and associated interests, and their falmi- lies and dependents, amounting alto
 This $10 900, 000 fund will be made good from year to year by annual appro- priations on the part of the American Telephone & Telegraph Company and associated companies, and the Western Union Telegraph Company and the Western Electric Company.
 The plan for the distribution of this most liberal, comprehensive and ideal ever inaugurated. President Theodore N. Vail has provided combined bene- fits for superannua tion,S sickness, acci- dent and death, for an industrial army
 more than twice as large as the stand ing army of the United States. This provision is made entirely at the ex-
 pense of the various companies inter
 ested: without contributions of any kind from the employees, themselves fits will be strictly democratic and
 will be for the benefit of all employees of every rank. The plan will pro- vide for free change of employment ;1, full credit for combined terms of ser vice.
 The Bell system and associated in- terestS provide employment for about I75. .Oo00 people; of this number 130.- GOO are employees of the Bell telephone system. The total yearly pay for the whole group is about $115, ,O00, 900, some thing over sso. GOO. 900 being paid out in wages by the Bell telephone system alone The terms by which provision is made for the needs of age, illness, accidents and death, may be sunmar- iz as follows:
 PensionsrMaIe employees, who have reached the age of 60 years and who have been twenty years or more in service, may retire on pensions. They may be retired at the option of the company when they have reached the age of 55 years and have been twenty five years or more in service. The pension age of female employees is in each case five years younger than that of male employees. Any employee who has been thirty years in service, re- gardless of age, may be pensioned on the approval of the president of the company. The amount of the pension is automatically based the years of service and the amount of pay, and will be 1 per cent. of the average an nual pay for ten years, multiplied by the, number of years of service. There fore, a man who had been thirty years in service would get 30 per cent. of the ayerage salary Thioh Sia aff he fnn had neen ref e service. No pension will be less than $20 a month
 Accident Disability Beneits-In the case of accidents, occurring in and due to the performance of work for the company the employee will received, for total disability, full pay for thir- teen weeks and half pay for the re- mainder of disability, up to six years. If the disability is temporary, he will receive fun pay for thirten weeks and half pay until able to earn a iveli- hood, not exceeding six years.
 Sickness Disability Benefits - Elm ployees, who are disabled by sickness or accident outside of the regular course of duty, after ten years or more in service, will receive full pay for thirteen weeks and haH-pay for thir- ty-nine weeks, if from five to ten years in service, full pay for thirteen weeks and half-pay for thirteen weeks; if from two to five years in service, full pay for four weeks and half-pay for nine weeks. In the case of em- ployees who have not been two years