The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1915-01-28
An Emperor Who Succeeded Because HI
Paid High Wages.

In the February American Magazine
Ida Nj. Tarbell continues her series o
business articles entitled "The Colder
Rule in Business" In the present ar
ticle she takes up the subject of wages
in the course of which she tells the
story OF Brooklyn drop-forging com
pany, founded by james H. Williams
Mr.. Williams factory grew from the
smallest of its kind in the United States
to the largest. His idea was that it is
chiefly the employees who make bust
ness successful and not the proprietors
or the banks or the tariff or the rebates.
Accordingly, he paid high wages and
in other ways developed the men who
worked for him to the highest point
OF efficiency and contentment. In the
following extract from her article Miss
Tarbell tells part of the story OF what
Mr.. Williams did;
"He decided, in spite of the fact that
he was running the smallest business Of
it's kind in the country 10 pay high
wages. One of his chief concerns as
the business grew was to see that the
men were getting enough-all that they
earned Again and again a man was
called in and told that something had
been added to his wages because he
was earning it. But the reverse was
never true, that is, the pay was never
cut below what was a days wage.
"But Mr.. Williams was not satisfied
with the operation of the fixed daily
wages. He believed that it did not give
the men sufficient chance or the maxi
mum incentive Accordingly fifteen
years ago he introduced wherever he
could a system of piece work. II was
at a time when this system was high
ly, and justly, unpopular; but Mr.. VIII
liams in introducing il made il an iron
clad rule that the two practices which
had made IL bad repute should never be
allowed in his shop. In the first place,
the regular days wage was guaranteed, |
whatever the mans output. In the sec
10 be cut, whatever the conditions; if
il was ten cents piece, ten cents il
should remain.
!" You may earn all you can and the
more IL is the better we shall like it,
"The experiment was Immediately
Earnings of workmen rose in
some cases 10 six dollars or more a
lay. and at one period IN two years the
hops output was doubled. There were
'ertain other phases of this wage policy
which Mr.. Williams insisted on, for
Instance, il dull times came, as they al
gays DO come, the work went on, stock
,eing made up in order to keep the men
ogether II this lasted longer than the
csources Of the firm could stand, half
ime was tried, and men were employed
.lternately so as TO give each fair !
nance.
Consider the heresy II upset the
ogma upon which our whole Industrial
'olicy has been based. the dogma OF
he economy Of cheap labor. You must
,ay labor as little as possible. since
his i the only way 70 produce cheaply
nd il Is 20 the interest OF the people
hat things be cheap. There i also 4 !
loral reason for low wages. High !
ages give men more money 20 spend
. drink and "idle amusement snd hence
re = kind Of social evil IN other words. Z
poll labor. .
Mr.. Williams experiment with his 1
reed proved that IL did not spoil labor. I
o-day the little drop forge works q q
NO hammers in 1852. and the smallest ,
the eight in the United States at that .
me. has eight-seven. and IL the largest =
some twenty-eight or more in the
,untry."