Metropolis weekly gazette. (Metropolis, Ill.) 1???-19??, 1917-02-09
Actively Aid WolfcTe Plans Of
Every Description For
Employees.
PHILANTHROPY NOT INTENT.
Comfort and Contentment OF the
Workers Considered Paramount.

Hundreds OF millions Of dollars have
heen expended during the past decade
by American manufacturers for those
forms Of Industrial betterment In be-
half Of employees. that are generally
elsssed as philanthropie or beyond tho
mere requirements OF laws and coii-
tracts
Decent manufncturers-nnd they are
Ia the vast ma aIority-as are the decent
people Of other clnsscs-nre oppoSed to
grinding child labor. and they strive to
lay living wage TO all OF their em-
fsloyes- They so much farther than
AL, ar a stndy OF American industry
VIII show. They devote time. nsonsy
and effort 10 provide every possible
supplementary means for promoting
the convenience. the comfort the
health, contsotmsnt and happiness of
their wo<iSrs ana of tina families OF
employees. Very few manufacturers
consider such sork OF expenditure TO
I've philanthropy. but. rather. neces-
sary feature Of their business. While
their motives may be as altruistic as
those OF the average OF mankind. they
find that It Is good. from the business
point of view. 10 promote as far as
possible the welfare OF thoir employees.
Industrial betterment pays.
Industrial betterment means an at
tempt to provide the best kind OF work
ing and living conditions. and II I'm
plies the cooperative responsibility OF
the wage Garner and the employer In
bringing those conditions about and In
improving them from time to time. II
n not dole to be handed to the wage
Garner. but is token Of that spirit Of
mntuallty which, under right condi-
ttons. should permeate Industry.
A thorough description of Industrial
betterment activities In the United
States would require more space than
II contained In the most yolumlnous
encyclopedias to be found In the IL
brarles. Indeed, volumes might be
written about the welfare work OF n
single corporation alone-the National
Cash Register Company, for instance.
or the International Harvester Com
pany. tho United States Steel Corpora
tion, Cheney Brothers. the Curtis Pub
fishing Company, the bethlehem Steel
Company. the American Telephone and
Telegraph Company. the Eastman ko-
dak Company. any one of the lending
railroad companies. the principal banks,
Wanamaker's. or any Of host of other
concerns which has developed activities
OF the sort There Is hardly a concern
Ia the country doing business on fair-
iy extensive scale that has not initiated
some form OF industrial betterment for
It's employees. The honors do not go to
the larger companies exclusively either.
for many OF the smaller business units
have developed this side OF their ac-
tvities to remarkable extent. Natu-
rally 1t Ia easier for the larger corpora
tons 10 put highly trained specialists
In charge Of the various branches OF
Industrial betterInent work.
The fundamentals of Industrial bet
terment are observed in furnishing
pleasant, sanitary. safe working condi-
tions. Educational aud entertainment
features. facilities for study and recre-
alton, special opportunities for the ex-
ercise OF thrift and provisions tending
to remove the dread OF and TO mitigate
the sufferings occasioned by sickness.
disability or invahdity are matters
which next receive attention. Well
lighted. well ventilated and otherwise
pleasant and safe worislng places. yes