El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-11-11
BELL TELEPHONE SYSTEM
ADOPTS PENSION PLAN
Covers Also Disability and
Accident Insurance.
Mountain States Company
Will Put Same Into Eff
feet January First.


available on January first, for the 49,
600 EMPLOYEES Of the Bell System and
associated interests, and their families
and dependents, amounting altogether
10 more than quarter OF mlL-loh
This $40, 900. 600 fund viii be made
good from year to year by annual ap-
propTiatiOns on the part Of the Amen
can Telephone and Telegraph company
and associated companies, ana I'M
Western Union Telegraph company ana
the Western Electric company
The plan for the distribution OF TINS
fund has been characterized as the
most liberal, comprehensive and ldeal
ever inaugurated. President T. n.
Vail has provided combined benefits for
approximation, sickness, accident ana
death. for an Industrial army more
than twice as large as the standing
army Of the United States.
This provision IS made entirely at
the expense of the various companies
interested without contributions Of
any kind from the employees them
selves. The application OF these varied
benefits VIII be strictly temperate ana
viii be Tor the benefit OF al eLnpioy &
of every rank The plan viii provide
for free change Of employment from
one company TO another, with IUll cred
il Tor combined terms OF service
The Bell system and associated IN
terests provide employment for about
1T5,0OO people; OF this NUMBER 4oy'vOU
are employees OF the Bell Telephone
whole group is about $ll5,y OOUUO' some
thing over $50 100000 being paid out
in wages by the Bell Telephone system
alone.
The terms by which provisions are
made for the needs of age, illness, ac-
cidents and death, may be SUMMARIZED
as follows
Pensions: Male employees who have
reached the age Of sixty years ana
who have been twenty years or more
in service, may. retire on pensions Iney
may be retired at the opuon OF ne
company when they nave redclleu the
age Of So years and have been twenty
five years or more IN service me pen
sion age of female employees IS IN edcI
case tive years younger than thar on
male employees Any empIOye VINO mas
been thirty wears in service regarulesS
of age, may be pensloned on the ap-
proval of the president OF the com
The amount Of the pension is auto
maUicaIy based on the years OF ser
vice and the amount OF pay and VIII DC
i percent of the average annual pay
for ten years. multiplied by the num-
Der of years of service Therefore q
man who had been thirty years IN ser
vice would set so percent OF tne aver
axe salary which he had Deen IecelF-
ing during his last ten years OF service
No pension VIII be less than 5000 a
month.
Accident Disability Benefits: In case
of accidents occurring in and due TO
The performance or work FOR the COM
Dauv. the employe will receive for total
disability. full pay for thirteen weeks
and half pay Tor the remainder or ms
3lility. up TO SIX years
If the disability is temporary, ne
will receive full pay for thirteen weeks Z
and half pay until able to earn z I'VE
HhoOd not exceeding six years
Sickness. Disability BeneIlus- En-
cloves who are disabled by sickness or I
accfuent outside of the regular co0fs7 I
Of d-ty AFTER ten years or more IN Sc
rarra mil
weeks and half pay Tor lnlrt -IilLe 4
weeks; if from five TO ten years IN SCI j
vice. fun pay for thirteen gseehs az /!
baIf nav for thirteen weeks; II from I
TWO to five years in service IulI pay /
for four weeks and half pay Tor nine I
weeks In case Of employees VINO nave
oot been two years IN service, heads or !
departments wiz be permitted the same
discretion as heretofore, IN coh-huLHS
pay during temporary illness
Life Insurance; In me case OF ueatL
resulting from accident in ana due 10
performance Of work for the company,
an insurance amounting to three years
Bav viii be paid to the dependents OF
he employe, the maximum payment
In the case of death resulting, from /
sickness or from accident outslHS llS
business, the payment VIII DS ~
years pay for employees VINO nave Deeh Z
len wears or more in the service ana one
half Of one years pay for employees
who have been from i've 10 ten years (
in service. the maximum payment be .
ing 100000.
IL anv state statutes provide for 4
more liberal compensation lhan IS pro 4
vfded under the benefit plan, the stal-
utOrv provision viii prevail Nhere I
The employees have legal rights, as IN I
some accident cases, they VIII nave
the option Of exercising sucn rlghls or i
accepting the company DeneL!ls- ne !
American Telephone ana Telegraph 4
.ornDanv has set aside from Its surplus 4
fund which provides for those whom
In directly employs. and also provides
a reserve uDOn which, under ceTlit4A
conditions. the associated companies
NAV draw This fund is supplemented 4
by funds set aside by eacn company
The total appropriations VIII aggregate
something more than SlUsuUU,VUO-VU- I
The benefits it is estimated, viii cost 4
annually about $1,000 10000 more than
the present payments on this account
The administration Of the funds VIII
be in the hands OF an Employees Bene-
fit committee Of five, to be appointed
by the board Of directors Of each COM
pany The committee Of each associ-
ated company viii have jurisdiction
over the benefits for employees OF that
me Employees Benefit committee Of
the American Telephone and Telegraph
viii have general jurisdiction
over the plan for the entire system
and specific authority as to the Ameri-
can Telephone and Telegraph compa-
ny's employees benefits.
President E. b. Field, Of the Iri-
state Telephone company, announces
that his company viii adopt the plan
January first. Mr.. Field says this com
Drehensive and far reaching plan. COW
ariug an employees benefit fund and
pension and a form of disability and
accident insurance has been adopted by
a unanimous vote of. the several presi-
dents of the associate companies of The
American Telephone and Telegraph !
in conjunction with the latter :
1t viii be noted that it covers the
whole United States benefiting some /
$4,000 employees, but / want to bring
home the fact THAI it viii become ef-
fective January first in the territory
covered by the Tri-State Telephone com
Dany. operating in western Texas.
There never has been adopted, in the
history Of pensions or benefits, d plan
that is so far reaching, covering as II
does all employees from the highest to
The lowest without discrimination
I sincerely hope the public viii grasp
the underlying significance Of this plan
and how il has been possible to bring
t about
a thought along this line is particu-
arly timely. Much has been said bout
combinations of capital and their eff
feet upon public welfare. but 7 want to
all attention to the fact that no such
plan could possibly have been brought
lbout except through a combination of
financing such IS that afforded by The