El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1916-04-25
SHARING
HAS OPPONENTS
Report Shows Many Work
men Prefer Fixed Wages;
Successful Plants.


New York, April 25.-One Of tba ,,,sr
exhaustive reports that has ever hen
made on the various profit qbari,,--
plans that are in force or have bee5
tried IN the United States was made
public today by the Welfare 49,
ment Of the National Civic Federation
Civic workers have been engaged for
y months past in investigating moro
than 300 so-called profit-sbarine-
schemes ana their report covers the
ANALYSIS OF some two hundred plans.
THE work was undertaken" save
chairman Ralph NJ. Easlev. Of tbe ~
ecutive council, Gin response TO man,
requests for up-to-date informatfon
from men interested in the subject in
a practical way There has been a
marked growth Of interest i'm the nrofit
sharing idea during the past wear and
large number of new schemes have
been launched, but thus far the news
papers have been the only source Of
information with regard to these re-
cent experiments. some Of which are
far-reaching in extent"
No Set Conclusions.
The report itself comes to be no set
conclusions, for or against the nrofit-
sharing idea, but it devotes more than
260 pages to an exposition of the MANY
plans In force today or tried and
abandoned.
The views Of the leaders Of organized
labor appear unanimous in opposition
to the general theory and practice 81
profit-sharing, while a large number
of the employers whose plans are an
alyzed in the report consider profit
sharing a success.
. Many reasons. says the report, ARE
given by these employers for their
faith I'm the idea. Among these are
that 1t promotes more continuous SER
vice. reduces cost of production. Sc
cures more regular attendance at work {
builds up confidence and creates a
spirit Of cooperation. gets rid of rolling |
stones and encourages home building,
enables the company to keep its en- /
ployes during rush seasons. induces /
promotes efficiency, interest and 10y /
atty; and increases the profits OF the |
business.
Men Prefer Fixed Wages.
Yet" the report continues. "em- /
plOyers who have had experience on /
the subject are by no means a unit 1
as to its practical value. Some en- /
Dloyers express disappointment that /
the efforts Of their companies were !
not appreciated by the men, that they
seemed to prefer their total earnings
in fixed wages with no variable ele- /
nent, that they were suspicious OF the
employers motives. that. they ihsist-
ed upon joining unions and presenting
demands in spite OF the companies
Efforts to give them an extra share of
the business. and that when stock was
sold to employees upon favorable terms
they would dispose Of it at a profit
when its value rose.
Among the points raised against !
he prOfit-sharing among the trades
Inions the chief is, Of course, that the
Of labor as a whole would
De imperilled by any weakening or de-
itructiOn Of strong organization to pro-
ect wage standards which, under
would pass wholly under
he control OF the employers.
Reaches Only Well Paid Men.
Another objection by organized Ia
or which II must be acknowledged
s borne out by the statistics of many
4 these experiments, is that profit
haring chiefly affects only the SUPER
foremen. and higher grades
f employees and does not reach the
ank and file. Either. II is claimed.
he profit payments are too small to
e of any moment to the low-paid /
-orkers. or, where il is a stock sub
cription plan, the mass Of the workers
o not earn enough to buy any stock,
ven on instruments
"Union Representatives also point out ,
nat labor itself is making no demand
Or profit-sharing, either in the or ]
anized or unOrganized fields, and that (
he things Of real and vital interest
, labor are not those which employ
RS propose, but which emauate from ! r
le worloingmen themselves"
Three Main Divisions \
There ~are three main divisions of | i
'hemes the first being a percentage
{ profit plans under which the EN-
oyer agrees TO pay his employees a
,rtain percentage, fixed in advance. Of | o
lie profits Of the business The East | i
an Kodak company of Rochester, New | o
Ork, is cited as a typical example I'M D
II this plan. A second scheme is the
,ecial distribution OF gratuities I'm a a
eat variety OF forms ranging from a
scounts on supplies purchased to cash L
)nuses paid usually a the end OF the D
sar. The Crane company, OF Chicago, ! d
named as presenting a good Illus a
alton Of such special distribution
hemes. The third plan is stock Own-1
ship. which is being given notable J -