The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1915-12-28
TO The SWEATERS
Corporations Becoming More
Liberal With Employees.
Profit Sharing Plans Are Now
Common Thing.
A WISE MOVE FOR CAPITAL
Plan Lessons Agitation of Great
Labor Problems.
Bonuses Make Men More Loyal
to Their Employees.
A WISE MOVE FOR CAPITAL
EY ID. c. FORBES.

New York, Dec. 2S.-Have you no
ticed thar many companies and insti-
tutions are announcing profit-sharins
plans, bonuses to employees and other
methods of arousing interest, the sta
bility and the loyalty of workers?
Financfer and financial concerns
have lately figured most prominently
in this movement.
Ii Notwithstanding, bonuses, pension
funds, sick benefit and the like are
good for clerks, why are the same not
good for workers of railroads, lndus-
tries, public utilities, mining anu Oeii1i
corporations?
The tendency heretofore has been
toward bonuses based on profits, ohlS
to presidents, vice presidents mana
gers and other high Salarled Ottlcla4s-
The new five million dollar Amerl-
can international corporation has set
aside one million dollars mahaSs
stock" carrying very speclal PRIV
leges But no plan for proflt-shaflhs
,,-5fb rho rank and file of workers has
been devised 60,
similarly. the United States steel
CORPORATION distributes bonuses, paseu
on profits earned
TO Rank and File
This money goes to the rank ana
flo In the case of this corporation
bo1vexer. n serious effort has beeh
made to have employees pecoIiIe
Stockholders and some 4O,GUU workers
now hold shares on which special dlNl-
SeDd t,axruents are made. There Is a
Growing need for deVlsInS ways anu
means for sharing profits Tor an worn
ers from the highest to the lowest
The poorest paid workers uaudllS
.re tbe most shiftless and undepend-
Wen. why not give them induce
uents to become less shIftless anu
more dependable
70
l.eer, o71r- common labor employed ali
the year round. We find the large
nur1ber of unskilled workers at dlI-
ferent seasons of the year
fact And this is one of the big
s-es+ problems employers must take
forthwith. If we are to nave lhouS-
trial and social peace ana GEM eHu4i ~
prosperity. concerted eI1orl9 must DO
made to modify season IIucbudD4Oi-7 -
Inc great aim must be to provide
all the year round employment ioI
workers 1t is a problem whose SoIu-
10, viii test the best brains of Amer
fca But unless capital makes an
earnest. Dersevering effort to solve H.
the politicians and the pubic Will
y Social Evil
Mich of this countrys social evil
comes from the discharging OF nun
,ireds of thousands of bread winners
by employees in slack seasons
In numbers of industries this could
be done by taking little thouSht anu
realizing the responsibility tnaI leSI9
uncn hose in whose hands the we'll
being of workers have been entrusted
Reduce the evil of seasonable employ
uent whenever possible and one stock
excuse for not allowing uilSkIlIeu
workers to share IN proIIts VIII pe
moved.
The common workers those who re-
ceiVe the lowest pay, are the ones WHO
must need share in the protlts they
q
of the profits and well-paid OFFICIALS
are all right and may be necessary 10
require the service of the right klhu
of men. But, ordinary workers, Wo-
men as well as men, should also De
considered in this connection After
all, the basis of industry rests in the
rank and file of workers.
Very well, see that the basis is
properly attended to. or your Wnole
structure is in danger of topping
sooner or later
Let each corporation strive to give
the year employment to the ma1ority
of its common laborers and then let
these laborers participate in profit
sharing arrangements.
\ Change Coming.
The European war will alter the
whole status of government; Of cap
ital and labor. The men who used
bullets will. hereafter, use the ballot
to assert themselves. We are to wit
ness a changed order.
The common people are to rise up in
their might and take a. stronger hand
in running things.
It behooves capital in this country
to remove every reasonable cause for
complaint on the part of the rank and
file. One of the most practicable and
essential steps now within sight is the |
adoption of profit-sharing, the bene-
ficiaries to include all classes of en- |
ployerS, skilled and unskil1ed.
Both these suggested steps are feas- |
ible if capital will but arouse itself |
rub its eyes and discover the vital no
cessity for moving before it is driven. |