Evening star., 1920-02-03
MILL WELFARE WORK
CRITICISED BY SOME
OF STEEL EMPLOYEES
Mr.. Gary Points to Benefits WhichA re
Conferred, at Great Cost to Com
pQnu-Uni0nS See A utOcrQcy.
BY RAY STANNARD BAKER.
Article XII.

BY RAY STANNARD BAKER.
Article XII.
If one would bore into the very ker-
mel of the present industrial unrest
let him examine the significant mod
ern development of welfare work in
American mills and factories. For
here at once we encounter an extraor-
dinary difference Of view between
certain leaders among the employers
and certain leaders among the work
ers.
In the Senate investigation of the
steel strike. for example, Judge Gary
gave no part of his testimony greater
Importance or spoke with more sin.
cere enthusiasm Of any aspect OF the
poration than of the extensive well
fare work now in operation in the
various mills and towns-pensions
stock ownership. sanitation. acciden,
prevention, schools, churches clubs
Fairgrounds and the like.
He gave at length the numbers OF
restaurants. swimming pools. athletic
fields, bandstands, sanitary drinking
fountains, water closet bowls. clothes
lockers. and so on, provided by the
corporation for the benefit of it's army
of 26S.000 workers. He showed thai
in 1918 over $17.000.000 was expend-
ed for these purposes and in 1917 over
$10.000.000.
He said: 1.-THE amount we have
| expended for the benefit of our en-
ployes Is extraordinary as compared
| with anything that has ever been done
before, SO far as I know, anywhere
or during any period
This is absolutely the truth; no in
dividua1 or corporation ever eQualed
Judge Gary's great company in the
| extent or cost of its welfare work.
There is, therefore, no better example
no -Cfn fn CT
| the demonstration more complete.
Nor is tfere any doubt that Judge
Gary looks upon the system with sim
cere faith and satisfaction, for he
Of his subsidiary corporations (in
"All of US experience more or less
a thrill of pride in hearing from
| government officials that our reputa-
tion for considering and promoting
the welfare of our employees is the
best in the entire industry"
] He is right. 1t really is.
How, then, are we to interpret the
bitter and cynical references to this
explain-if it can be explained-Mr.
| Gompers'. contemptuous term for it.
He called it-before the Senate COM
mittee-''hell-f fare" work. If this is
the word of the most conservative
labor leader in America, it can be
imagined what must be the feeling
| of more radical leaders
Are not all these things-these COM
| forts, these aids to health and pleas
ure; these x incentives & to .ha thTiftmafe tns,5e
they be so bitterly resented by the
| labor leaders?
I Origin Of "safety First,
| Before trying to explain this ex-
| traordinary difference of view I wish
to present a few more facts about
the work Judge Gary has done: for
it is in many ways very wonderful.
has now spread over the world. orig
mated under Mr.. Burlington in one
of the plants of the Illinois Stee
company at Chicago. 1t represented
in which the Steel Corporation has
led the entire country, to Introduce
safety devices. to eliminate acci-
idents. No industry Is more danger
|. Gus to life and limb than the stee
industry and in none has the safety
ress. Competitions have been Sc
up between mill and mill and de
pa rtment and department, and a
Gary I. saw huge electric lighted bulle
tin boards-like base ball scores
bearing the records Of various groups
and everywhere about were signs o.
warning.
Danger Here"
our Motto: Safety and cleanli
No Smoking. Matches or open
Lights"
They have accident specialists
veritable safety "cranks'-who d.
nothing else but study safety i'm
watch for danger. Last year ds1s.
they spent over $l.Ooo.o 900 in thi'
work of accident prevention. Be
tween 1906 and 1912 the number o
serious and fatal accidents in al
the plants of the corporation Wer'
fund for relieving men and fam
lilies Of men injured or killed in th'
mills, upon which they expended II
1918 $3.336,000.
They have a pension fund started
by Andrew Carnegie in 1901 for super
animated or disabled workers. Owe
2, 800 men are now SO pensioned. re
ceiving an average Of about $22
month. This cost in 1913 100000.
Stock Ownership by workers.
But the feature of the entire plal
upon which Judge Gary lays most stress
is the effort TO encourage stock owner
| ship in the corporation among the work
ers. Arrangements are made to sci
shares at little below market price t,
all classes of employees, give them lonl
time to make payments. and, finally. !
they hold their stock continuously 10
five years, to pay them a bonus OF $5 ;
| share per year for each share they hold
On September I, 1919, there were 81, 80
employees out of a total Of 268,000 VIII
owned 1853, ,061 shares in the corporation
upon this basis. This is. of course.
very small fraction Of the total stocl
issue of the great corporation-abou
one fifty fourth-not enough. naturally
to influence the action of the director
in any way. 1t represents an averag
saving of all employees Of about $50 each
| If the value of the stock Is counted a
par.
The corporation has also built man,
houses for it's employees (though far from
enough) which it rents at rates gener
ally lower than those prevailing amonl
private owners, or has sold the homes
as at Gary, on long time at low pay
ments. 1t also contributes literally t
all churches. many schools. libraries AM
the like. Judge Gary personally pre-
sented large sum Of money for erect
ing the Y. NJ c. A. building in the cit.
of Gary and Andrew Carnegie built tn
Why should the workers call thil
'hell-fare' work? II we are really t
understand the length and breadth ant
depth OF this problem we must under
stand exactly how these things look ant
feel from below. AS have said before
it is not what the employer thinks thu
worker ought to feel that matters, bu
what the worker really does feel.
/ have talked with many leaders
and many workers upon this subjec
and endeavored to get at their exac
point of view. NJ. F. Tighe. presi
dent of the Amalgamated Association
of Iron, Steel and Tin Workers o.
America one of the leaders concerned