Evening star., 1926-09-26
M1TTEN HAS PLAN
TO STOP S. RIKES
Would Make Employees Con.
troIIers of an Industry's
Capital Stock.

SHeflAl mspdtrf to IHe Sth'.
PHIi.t tnt.i.pilIA. Septemhsr "a
Thomas r.. Mitten, opera tof ri trans.
portation iatlhieS worm SaJ". .00o, ,0.e.
submit; ed tn he Congress of Ameri-
can Industry. held under the auspices
of the philaue iphia chamber of Com
merce in the SesouiCentennial Audi
torium here today. unique plan
which. he said. would abolish strikes.
inf,tse American industry with new
efhciency and huma nism and convert
the continung'y dissatisfied working
man into happy capita lis, nraN1nL
not only increa sed pay. hui also sub
stantial dividends from the .indus,r.
in which he works.
His plan was to make the employ,
Of given industry the controllers 4,
It's capital stock 49,
Nr. Mitten set forth az concrete
virtue for his plan the fact that tht
Philadelphia Rapid Transit 20. with
it's common stock of sac 900 900 con.
trolled by its employees. has long bsen
strikeless. has paid larger divide nds
than other city transit systems, has
given the public more accepta i,ie set!-
ice and created among it's personnel
spirit of responsibility and trust whicn
he said, has made the corpora tinn
unique in American industry
Traces Roads History.
Co-ow ration os ma ma cement ami
men on the Il. X. r.. he said. beean
I'm 1911 with An arrangement whereby
the employees would share. proportions
atelv with the stockholders in the
create. profits due TO harder work ana
greater efficiency. 1t eliminated dur
ing the past five years in the acQuisi-
tion by the employees. through the
profits OF cooperation. of more than
220, 900 Of 500 900 shares OF the com
pany's stock.
the mutual benefit of this coop
GRAFTON. Mr.. Mitten said. is shown by
the fast the "P. r. r. is now the only
large system which. by disuse of fare
hoxes. trusts it's employees. and that
the r. K. T. was. with one exception.
the only large street railway system
that gave continuous strike proof
service during the war
This condition, said Mr.. Mitten was
built uron a chaotic state created by
the 1s09-10 street car strikes in Phila-
delephls. Due to these strikes, he
declared. 1.-The r. r. r., in it's physi-
cal. fina ncial and labor conditions and
in its service to the public, was then
recognized as the very worst exam
pie Of pitalistically exploited com.
pa nies. thus offering. to my mind.
wonderful opportunity to prove to a
certainty whether the workers could
be depended upon to increase produc-
tion, wit h consequent improvement of
property, If given the assurance that
they would be permitted to partici-
PATE IN the increased profits thereby
engenedered." :"
Urges Plan for Railroads.
Postulating that the present crucial
condition in our social. political and
industrial life. IL not corrected, can
Lao In
disaster" Mr.. Mitten expressed the
belief that the same plan on the steam
railroads of the country would put
their employees in control of their
stock in 10 years. with the same
wholesome results for the industry.
the workers and the public.
A 10 per cent wage increase Rra mt
ed in the anthracite mines on the
hasts "f cooperative increase of eff
cheney and earnings. he added. would
enable the workers to control that in
dustry in 10 years. The same tran
formation. he said. could be effected in
the biturninous industry in 15 years.
And" he said. as a climax to his
utterances, 1T In safe to say that II
the emp@oye-owpership principle were
applied to all industry, America
would within one genera alton become a
strikeproof Nation. it's democracy
W0tll0 ne lnduStr1ai as well az political
end the ca capitalistic system would not
only have been huma nized but would
have reached its maximum Of useful
ness In the advancement Of human
progress and civilization"
The system was presented as one
az necessary for investors Of capital
as it is desirable for the employe
since. he declared. all arbitration and
other laws have proved of but tenn
porary efficacy. The employe. he
said. lis not likely 10 stop work when
10 not only stops his pay envelope
but his dividend check also. Nor is
he likely to increase his own wages
beyond the power Of the industry to
AA1 when the inevitable result would
k< to reduce his dividend payments
Or see his own property deteriorate
and 60 to smash"
Concentration Of capital In the
hands Of the few. which has gone on
since capital and labor were Identical
during the colonial days of the coun-
try. Mr.. Mitten believed. carries
with II great danger to our American
institutions. having created economic
Glasses. not contemplated by our
fathers. and around which politics in.
cree sinely focus"