Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1917-01-10
SHOPS AND PLANTS
FAVOR INDUSTRIAL
RETIREMENT WORK
Actively Aid Welfare Plans Of
Every Description For
Employees.

POJV
PHILANTHROPY NOT INTENT.
Comfort and contentment Of the
Workers Considered Paramount.
|.
Hundreds Of millions OF dollars have
.een expended during the past decade
by American manufacturers for those
forms OF Industrial betterment. in be-
] Salt of employees. that are generally
| eIassed as plii.anthroIic or beyond the
mere requirements Of laws and con-
tracts.
Decent manufacturers they are
| in the vast majority-as are the decent
| people of other classes-are opposed to
| grinding child labor, and they strive to
pay living wage to all Of their en-
ployees. They 60 much farther than
| that, as study Of American industry
1 Will SHOW. 1ACy uCNOtC tAAASIs AAAoASJ
and effort to provide every possible
supplementary means for promotin;
the convenience, the comfort, the
health, contentment and happiness of
| their workers and OF the families OF
| employees. Very few manufacturers
consider such work or expenditure to
be philanthropy, but, rather, a neces-
sary feature of their business. While
their motives may be as altruistic as
| those Of tll,. average of mankind, they
find that it is good, from the business
point Of view. to promote as far as
possible the welfare of their employees.
| Industrial betterment pays.
Industrial betterment means an at
tempt to provide the best kind of work
| ing and living conditions. and it i'm
plies the cooperative responsibility o.
the wage Garner and the employer In
bringing those conditions about and In
| improving them from time to time. 1t
| is not dole to be handed to the wage
Garner but is token of that spirit of
mutually which, under right condi-
lions, should permeate industry.
A thorough description Of industrial
betterment activities in the United
| States would require more space than
| is contained in the most voluminous
encyclopedias to be found in the IL
braries. Indeed, volumes might be
| written about the welfare work Of a
single corporation alone-the National
Cash Register Company, for instance,
or the International Harvester Com
| pany, the United States Steel Corpora
| ton, 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 leading
railroad companies, the principal banks,
| Wanamaker's, or any Of a host Of other
| concerns which has developed activities
| Of the sort There Is hardly concern
in the country doing business on fair
~ extensive scale that has not initiated
some form Of industrial betterment for
its 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-
tivities to remarkable extent. Natu-
rally it Is easier for the larger corpora
lions to put highly trained specialists
in charge Of the various branches Of
Industrial betterment work.
The fundamentals Of Industrial bet
terment are observed In furnishing
pleasant, sanitary. safe working condi
lions. Educational and 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 occasi0ned by sickness.
disability or invalidity are matters
which next receive attention. Well
lighted, well ventilated and otherwise
pleasant and safe working places, res
taurants, reading rooms and libraries.
rest rooms, emergency kits and hospi-
tails, club rooms, assembly rooms, gym
nasiums, lockers and bathing facilities.
recreation grounds, bonus and profit
sharing plans, special housing accom-
modations, facilities for the purchase
Of homes OH easy payments, discounts
In the purchase of goods, industrial
and other educational classes. lectures
for entertainment or instruction, NOV
ing pictures. excursions, field days
medical attendance. safety committees
for accident and fire prevention, sick
ness. disability and invalidity funds.
insurance or benefit associations and
pensions are some of the customary
features of industrial betterment work.
the variety Of which has no limit
Tens Of thousands of lives are saved
zach year and hundreds Of thousands Of
lesser accidents are prevented annually
through the accident prevention cam
raign and feature of Industrial better
ment
The Eastman Kodak Company In five
years reduced the accidents in its
plants by over 70 per cent per annum
through a progressive safety campaign.
The Pennsylvania Railroad in ten