The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-06-21
Lack of Honesty of Employer Chief Cause for Failure
of Many Schemes That Have Been Abandoned
in the Past

customers their work people N.n ,o,o
their employment, even such l. If b.
With this frame OF mind ~ ri,,r'.
but feel a certain sympathy. In L,.i
nesses managed by n single prnp,jo,a.
it is often true that the worr, n ro,
ting trade, on top of the other worry q.
looking after the plant, Is su hir,ssin,
and engrossing that the cmp.,u.r b,.
simply no energy to spare for luythins
else. But as the undcrtaking IA. ,.,sa9
in scale 1t ceases to be pussih,. d, L.
everything under one mans sg,l,p,op
and with specialization Of resi-, .huit,
II not before, comes an oppui.,p tv -
take stock of the situation.
And what the business world ia ro..
realizing is that, whether they desir'
Ii or not, the labor side Of al Nh, In
dustrial concern calls for a Arge ,n1
continuous expenditure of brain powas
on the part of somebody. II anna, n.
left TO subordnates; 1t mus, he mad.
the main concern Of one of ,h. b.,1
of the business. and even then ahpr, wIi
he large questions of policy which wiI,
need to be anxiously and laburiousIy
considered by the whole board"
Such a central empoymont hnr.,r
should be headed by one who should
pass on all applicants for cmploymsn,
before they go to the oycrspor vba
wants to hire them. lie should aI,,
receive all complaints and ,ugsc.,'nns
and should have the executiy. admins.
tration of the profit sharing plan
Employees should not be fired hv
an overseer. II the oversccr docs M,
like their work he should report +, tbo
la hpr N..h, a.
view the employee in question ana trv
him in other positions until it d, found
what the man, boy or woman is fitted
for. Only in case of pure vl.iou,ness
or laziness should a man be fired" and
then only after warning. In small con.
Germs which cannot afford to have a
labor secretary. the same results can
be obtained by a number Of them getting
together and hiring a labor secretary.
The reader will note from the ab,ys
that the three main features nf my
plan are: First, to furnish rewards for
individual initiative. industry and eff.
cheney. second, to furnish rewards
which will promote the efficiency Of the
whole organizations; and bird. to prJ.
vide for employees some day having
share in the control OF the concern.
believe that a plan founded on such
basis Is economically sound. II pro.
vides Incentives for both labor and cap,.
tai: 1t tends to increase production and
decrease waste; it stimulates those
motives which have been Responsible for
the success of this nation In IN, pas,
and upon the continued ENCOURAGEMENT,
Of which depends the future OF this
country.
To the details mentioned above may
be added pensions plans. although these
are generally too remote TO influence
the productiveness of the worker. as
they affect only a comparatively small
portion of the employees. This can be
seen in the case of the United States
Steel Corporation, where the employees
in 1913 numbered over 22S,000, and ye,
only 2092 We're on the pension rolls.
While the above outline for profit
sharing plan may seem to cater too
strongly to selfish motives it cannot be
denied that self-interest Is the strongest
of all motives in industry. 1t should
also be remembered that only when
self-interest Is satisfied Is it possible "a
secure loyalty and enthusiasm, those
motives which inspire the highest grade
of work. Never should we forget that
lack of education is responsible for the
unrest and uneasiness of our people,
and that the only cure for this condi-
ton Is more observation-disclosures, men
tai, manual and vocational.
Under a democratic form of govern.
ment constitutions and laws Will avail
much to restrain people from vioen,
revolution, but the self-control Of each
person is of much greater importance,
Established forms and customs some
times run counter to a deep seated con-
viction of the great mass of people and
then self-control is needed To keep
people from going too far In the
struggle of the ages people have sue.
cessively gained control of their own
bodies. of their religion. of the right to
property ownership and Of their gov
eminent.