The Cordova daily times., 1919-06-24
SAFETY VALVE FOR CAPITAL
 AND LABOR

NEW IOnN, June Af (Dy ASSOc1a- ted Press) Sitting before a pile of letters from manufacturers all over the United States, hundreds Of them, lall asking him for information as to the success of the industrial democ-
 racy" plan in operation in his silk
 mill in Paterson, N. J., B Edmund
 David explained in his office here to-
 day the advantages of the system and
 the difficulties in installing is in the average factory.
 There is no doubt said MT. David that the plan, which is based upon the idea of Constitutional govern ment, creates better basis Of under standing between management and
 worker than is possible under the old system.
 Ut is the means of settling every question of wages, hours, and working conditions that may arise and, through the constant, close personal contact between employer and en- ploye, facilitates such settlements to a considerable degree. It tends to the elimination of wasteful methods and workers interest in his work and best of all it puts the human touch into the relations between employer and employe, the one thing more es- sential to industrial peace than all others combined
 I have never known of an indus trial subject that appealed to popular imagination so much as this does This idea will spread because every manufacturer who is alive to the times is looking for some system that will ease up situation that has rap idly been growing from bad to worse, labor. But let no one think the plan is easy or that it is one-sided. It is purely a give and take and live and let live idea
 of a manufacturer goes into it ex- pecting to make it pay financially or if he expects immediate returns he will be disappointed. Such an atti- tude would foredoom him to failure. We have discovered that it is a slow process of education for both sides managers and workers.
 "Tact, dipomacy. ingenuity land a desire to see absolute justice done are requisites of the success of 'democ- racy in industry Problems are con- stantly arising that require gentle handling, chiefly because of misunder- standing The systems gerat value lies in its aid in clearing away mis- It virtually uncovers all of the elemnts that make for pos sible dissatisfaction and thus becomes 8 kind of safety valve so that, 1n- stead of workers nursing grudges or grievances they come to the light to be remedied or removed.
 "It is an expensive undertaking if one merely regards it from the stand points of dollars and cents. It means that the firm adopting it is bound to pay the top notch wages for that in- dustry It means you must employ of personnel and that the aspirations and desires of your workers must receive as constant at tention >as the production of the production of your plant. Meetings of workers on the company's time, cost money, too. The workers in my Paterson mill are now the most con- tended lot ever had.
 "The government of the mill, as now in operation, Is practically along the lines of the government of the United States and rests with three bodies chosen by the company execu- tive, the foreman and the workers and known as the cabinet, the senate and the house of representatives" con tinued MT. David.
 1.-TWO strong features of the system are very active committee called the on suggestions, appointed by the house, and board of appeals. The latter was formulated under a resolution which provides that com plaints and matters of dispute shall be referred to the hoard of appeals, composed of the presidents and five other members of the senate and house. If the decision is unsatisfac- tory to either side appeal may be taken to the cabinet which consists of the executive officers of the com pany.
 "Prizes are offered for suggestions for the betterment of the service or beneft of the workers or the com pany and from ten to twenty-five sug- gestions are received weekly. Fifty per cent of them receive awards. Thus in