The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1914-01-06
FORD FACTORY
HAS A HEART
Would Rather Make 10000
Prosperous and Contented
Than Seven Mil
lionaires.
CREATING AN EXAMPLE
Profit Sharing Plan Causes Ten
Thousand Men to Apply
for Work at tho
Plant.

UNITED Press Leased Wire Service.1
DETROIT. Mich, Jan. e.-Ten thou
sand anxious, determined men, some
ragged and unkempt, others seeming
ly prosperous, this morning fought
for places in the line that stretched
out from the employment window at
the Ford Motor company in Highland
Park-a line that continued for many
blocks from the company's factory.
Each man sought to becoms one of
the army Of $4,000 workers who will
benefit under the $10,0o0,O0o prafit
sharing plan made public yesterday
by Henry Ford, head of the big con
cern. The formation of the line had
started at three o'clock this morning
whsn small group of the city's un-
employed took up their position before
the big factory gates to await their
opening at Z o'clock. An hour later
several hundred were awaiting in the
bitter cold. At seven O'Clock the
crowd had bscome showing mirth-
less mass of men each with the pur-
pose of reaching the employment win-
dow before the 1000 jobs created by
the shift from 8 to s hour day were
portioned out. A squad of a half hun
dred policemen maintained a semb-
/ lance of order. 1t was not a new
scene to Ford's, for three months Il
/ has occurred on much smaller
4 SCALE When first it Was called to zllis4
! attention, Henry Ford determined to
seak remedy.
I There" said Ford this morning.
/ pointing to the struggling mob, is
| probably the chief reason we have
adopted this plan. We want to give
employment to more men, SO we re-
| duced the working day from nine
hours in two shifts to eight hours in
three shifts"
1 Each man of those who struggled
before the factory gates this morning
who is hired by the Ford company
4 will be employed at wage of. not
less than five dollars per day VIII her
he be floor sweeper, janitor or me-
chanics' helper. Until the details OF
the profit sharing scheme were an
nounced the minimum wage had bsen
S2.34. Henceforth, beginnn with
next Mondays pay day-the first In
4 1914-no man in the employ of the
Ford company who is over % years of
I age, will receive less than S. a day.
This means ninety srcent of the 22,-
900 employees.
/ James Couzens, OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
of the company who with Ford de-
yised the details of the plan, today
made public the motives that caused
the seven Ford company stockholders
to vote to permit their employees to
/ share in approximately one half Of the
concerns yearly profits.
I I'VE believe that social justice be-
4 gins at home" Couzens said. 1--WE
want thoss who have helped us to
produce this great institution and ara
helping maintain it, to share our pres
perity We want to have present pro-
/ fits and future prospects Their iniu
ence, good service and sobciety will
/ be encouraged and recognized
''It Is our hope to do still better by
our employees in the future We want
them to be In reality partners in our
enterprise. We do not agree with
those employers who declare that
the movement toward the lettering
of society must be universal We
think that our concern can make