The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-15

| an auditor that the bonuses were paid
on the real profits. Finally Herr Freese
made, his periodical speeches from the
throne" in which he expounded to his
parliament the position OF the factory,
of business generally, and the prospects
| for the future.
Presses parliament has unlimited
control over all the factory's social and
charitable institutions Under such
management the factory's institutions
defeated the competition of rival in
stitutions run by outside organizations.
| The substitution of the unpaid parlia-
ment for paid officers and aSitators
led to an enormous saving in the ad-
ministration of funds. Before the par
| lament was founded, workmen paid "a
cents a week for benefits of from 10
cents to $1,50 a week in time of sick
ness Under parliamentary control
| they pay from 6 to cents week, and
in time of sickness draw from $3.50 to
1915. Similar good results We're at
teined with the death, widows and
| orphans funds, the savings banks and
Christmas funds. The parliament fur
| ther runs with success the factory
baths sport grounds and fire brigade,
and it organizes the factory's annual
! festival
The trouble of the constitutional fac
! tory, as experience soon showed, is
not in the notice itself but in the sus
|
! outside Herr Freese has had trouble
with both the organizations of en-
ployers and the organizations of EN-
ployed. Both are well organized, com
! bative and distrilstful. DIR. Sydow, Prus-
| sian minister of trade, praised the con-
| stitutional factory as one OF the most
fruitful social initiatives of the present
! generation: ii was further backed up
| by the reischtag member, Friedrich
Naumann; by the leading economist,
| Professor Brentano, and by Professor
| Sering. But reactionaries everywhere
have opposed the plan. In the Prussian
diet the opposition was led by DR.. V.
! Roechling, who characterized indus
| trial constitutionalism as "one of the
most dubious and slippery notions
| which ever entered the brain of man.
| The fact that the granting of con-
stitution did not diminish Herr Freeses
| profits proved no consolation to his
| frightened fellow employers. and the
beitgeber." the organ of all Ger
man manufacturers. began a campaign
gainst Freeses schemes. But Freese
| has experienced that greater danger
| still comes from the side of alleged
friends of the working man.
I The trades unions. which are nearly
all in the hands of the social demo-
| cratic party, began a campaign against
the constitutional factory. Their cam
paign was natural enough, because
Freeses wish is to spread content, and
the socialists admit that they do not
| want content even If 1t is brought
about by an amelioration OF the work
ers' lot. Freese Is assailed as dis
| honest man whose aim is to bribe his
men out of their "healthy dissatisfac-
| ton" The socialist reichstag member,
| Heinrich Heinse, leads the assault.
| Socialism, he aHirms, does not want a
constitutional factory; it wants dem
| ooratic factory: factory which IN
stead of a division of power shall have
| all power with the workers. The con-
| stituticnal factory says Heinse, lets
| the subjects share power with the
we examine it closer We see that we
| can do without the King The social
King; that looks big thing but when
ist assault has had some success. Tho
socialist organizations captured one of
Freese's factory parliaments, and from
that day compromise was at an end.
The parliament declared war on the
| so-called reformer" Freese: a strike
| ensued and in the end Freese adopted
the expedient of refusing employment
altogether to members of the social
| democratic party. Freese has this month
published a new book on factory con-
stitutionalism, in which he declares
that his projects must be carried
| through not in union with the social
democrats but in collision with them.
The constitutional factory requires as
condition of success constitutional
frame Of mind"
Despite his one bad experience Freese
! is continuing his constituttonalism He
| boasts that for 2S years 1t has suc-
ceeded and has enabled him to pay
higher wages, to reduce the working
day to eight hours and to divide
profits. All these concessions must
have increased rather than diminished
the efficiency of production, because
| Presses own profits have not declined.
This fact is having its effect upon
| manufacturers elsewhere. The bulk OF
employers and their official organiza-
| tions are still distrustful. but last year
| two Westphalian manufacturers fol-
| lowed Presses example by converting
the advisory workmen's committee.
which was made compulsory by the
| 1891 law, into genuine parliament
| with powers to veto and approve. Tho
same experiment is being tried in two
| factories Of Silesia. Herr Gellius, one
| followed Presses example inasmuch
as after a struggle he drove the oppo-
sitional socialists out OF his patlia-
| ment. Gellius reports that 'the prin-
ciple of sharing of authority be-
tween employer and employed Is ono
| of the most fruitful. In four years
| it enabled me to create general con-
| tent to reduce the working day by
! one and three quarter hours; to I'm
crease daily wages by II per cent:
and piecework by 211s per cent" All
this was done without any sacrifice
| of profits. Naturally other manufac-
| turers are being shaken by these re-
suits in their opposition to industrial