iHIIMilWWIIllBHIilCMiaB 
 
 Cornell University Library 
 
 HD7654.H4 
 
 Citizens in industry, 
 
 3 1924 002 660 433 
 
CORNELL UNIVERSITY 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 NEW YORK STATE SCHOOL 
 
 OF 
 
 INDUSTRIAL AND LABOR 
 
 RELATIONS 
 
 THE GIFT OF 
 DR. PAUL ABELSON 
 
•►AUL A»Et80N 
 
B Cornell University 
 M Library 
 
 The original of tliis bool< is in 
 tine Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924002660433 
 
THE SOCIAL BETTERMENT SERIES 
 
 EDITED BY 
 
 SHAILER MATHEWS. D.D. 
 
 CITIZENS 
 IN INDUSTRY 
 
CITIZENS 
 IN INDUSTRY 
 
 BY 
 
 CHARLES RICHMOND HENDERSON, D.D.,Ph.D. 
 
 . 1 1 
 
 PROFESSOR OF SOCIOLOGY AND HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT OF PRACTICAL 
 -SOCIOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO 
 
 PROPERTY OF LIBRARY 
 
 NEW mi STATE SCHOOL 
 INOUSTEiAL m LABOR RELATIONS 
 
 CORNELL UNIVERSITY 
 D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 
 NEW YORK AND LONDON: 1915 
 
Copyright, 1915, by 
 D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION 
 
 The feeling of social responsibility which char- 
 acterizes our day has led to severe criticism of 
 vario.us phases of our modern world, and to innum- 
 erable plans for social reconstruction. In con- 
 sequence, the actual achievements of social better- 
 ment have been frequently overlooked in our sense 
 of imperative tasks and our distrust of Utopias. 
 Nevertheless, steady advance has been made in cor- 
 recting evils and in establishing laws, institutions, 
 and precedents looking toward the genuine improve- 
 ment of social conditions. The present series of vol- 
 umes undertakes to describe accurately this advance 
 for the general reader. Although written by spe- 
 cialists in their particular fields, the plan and method 
 of each volume are not technical. The great reading 
 public has been pretty thoroughly informed as to 
 our social liabilities; the present series will list our 
 social assets. Such a presentation it is believed will 
 not lead to a complacent optimism, but will serve 
 y to reassure the rapidly growing class of those who 
 
 "tj are ready and even eager to join in all practicable 
 ' efforts to right evils but who, at the same time, wish 
 
 >s!i to maintain the continuity of social evolution. 
 
 "^ Shailer Mathevi^s. 
 
 ,^ PROPERTY OF LIBRARY 
 
 \ NEW YORK STATE SCHOOL 1650' 
 
 ^ INOUSTHIAL AND LABOR RELATIONS 
 
PREFACE 
 
 This volume is Dr. Henderson's last contribu- 
 tion to the cause to which he devoted his life. The 
 last work in which he was engaged was the reading 
 of its proof. 
 
 The service which Dr. Henderson rendered the 
 cause of human welfare was largely in the field which 
 this volume covers. True, his interests covered also 
 the fields of penology and charity, but few men of 
 our day have a more accurate knowledge of the 
 conditions affecting the workingman. He was 
 called repeatedly into service by his city and his state 
 to help solve industrial problems as well as serving 
 as the representative of the United States upon the 
 International Prison Commission. His attitude to- 
 ward the problems of our industrial order was a re- 
 markable combination of the scientific spirit and 
 warm personal sympathy. There are few men who 
 have given themselves as generously or more intel- 
 ligently to the needs of their fellow-men, and his 
 death was largely due to his efforts as chairman of 
 a commission appointed by the Mayor of Chicago to 
 relieve the condition of that city's unemployed. 
 
 vii 
 
Preface 
 
 It is a cause for profound gratitude that in the 
 midst of his overcrowded life he found time to write 
 the summary of the efforts that are actually being 
 made to better the situation of the wage-earners 
 throughout the world. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 I. The Situation and Its Problems . . . i 
 
 The great industry — ^Welfare work — Outline 
 of organization and activities along industrial bet- 
 terment lines: South Works of the Illinois Steel 
 Company, South Chicago, Illinois — Governments 
 as employers — ^The transition from philanthropy 
 and welfare schemes to social legislation. 
 
 II. Health and Efficiency: The Fundamental 
 
 Interest of All Citizens . . . .48 
 The national interests affected by efficiency of 
 workmen — Safety devices — "Safety First" — Dis- 
 ease — Various hygienic measures in the work- 
 place—Cost and gain of safety and health meas- 
 ures — Organization of capitalisf^anagers to pro- 
 mote safety and health — New problems for the 
 nation to face. 
 
 III. Economic Inducement to Secure Effi- 
 
 ciency OF Labor 117 
 
 Profit-sharing — Thrift measures encouraged by 
 managers — Compensation is satisfactory. 
 
 IV. Methods of Improving the Conditions of 
 
 Home Life of Employees . . . 168 
 
 Family and home of employees — The dwelling a 
 primal necessity of life — Benefits of improved hous- 
 
 ix 
 
Contents 
 
 ing — ^A suburban plan — Conditions of successful 
 plans — Standard for dwellings — Legal obstacles — 
 Cooperation with municipalities — Inspection and 
 control of dwellings — Octavia Hill methods. 
 
 V. Neglected and Homeless Youthful Em- 
 
 ployees 187 
 
 Responsibility — Homes for working boys — 
 Working girls' homes. 
 
 VI. Education and Culture .... 200 
 
 Vocational education — Liberal culture. 
 
 VII. Experiments in Industrial Democracy . 234 
 Political rights of the wage-earner — The de- 
 mand for self-government in the shop — Training 
 
 for self-government: representation in manage- 
 ment, building and loan associations, education in 
 political science, neighborhood centers — Organiza- 
 tion and administration of betterment methods 
 within an establishment or in a trade on a volun- 
 tary basis — Seeking for a basic principle of agree- 
 ment — Economic wages — ^Arbitration — ^Attitude of 
 the American Federation of Labor toward arbi- 
 tration. 
 
 VIII. Administration of W^elfare Work and 
 
 the Social Secretary .... 266 
 Functions of social secretary — The social secre- 
 tary in relation to the principal — The personal re- 
 lation between employer and employee mediated by 
 the social secretary — Natural qualifications of a 
 welfare or social secretary — Educational prepara- 
 tion of a social secretary for an industrial estab- 
 X 
 
Contents 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 lishment — Health conditions : direction — ^Women 
 secretaries — ^The ideals of the "capitalist managers" 
 — Educating business managers in social politics. 
 
 IX. Moral and Religious Influences . . 288 
 The moral standards in industry — Religion: 
 dangers and obstacles — Libraries: advantage and 
 disadvantage — Protection of girls in work-places — 
 Farming out the task— Methods of Y. M. C. A. 
 in industrial camps — ^The church — Ideals and 
 conclusion. 
 
 Appendix. List of establishments which have organ- 
 ized welfare work -315 
 
 Bibliography 329 
 
 Index 339 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 The title is chosen to indicate the point of view.^ 
 It is now generally agreed that all feudal, patri- 
 archal, patronizing factors in industry must be 
 eliminated. One of the achievements of the In- 
 dustrial Revolution was to take the wage-earner 
 out of the control of "status" and secure to 
 him the dignity, security and personal responsibility 
 of "free contract" in a political and legal regime of 
 equality before courts, legislatures and public ad- 
 ministration. Worklngmen are justly sensitive to 
 any hint of return to serfdom; they resent any at- 
 tempt on the part of the employer to direct them in 
 their enjoyments, studies, creeds, worship or political 
 action. They say they want "justice," not "charity." 
 
 The patriarchal, feudal relation between employer 
 and employee, which is disappearing in Europe and 
 altogether absent in America, survives in Japan and 
 retains much influence there. The legal protection, 
 even since the factory law went into .effect, is very 
 meager; the care of the workers depends on the char- 
 acter and disposition of the managers, which vary 
 greatly. 
 
 The Hon. Kojiro Matsukata (D.C.L., Yale), a 
 distinguished manufacturer, proprietor of a news- 
 paper, and statesman of Japan, recently said:^ 
 
 ' Japan's Message to America (1914), p. 117. 
 
 xlii 
 
Introduction 
 
 "There is in Japan a social relationship between em- 
 ployer and employee that does not prevail in your 
 country. It is the relationship of lord and retainer. 
 For many centuries, Japan was under a feudal sys- 
 tem where the giver of 'rok' (or annual pension) 
 was the lord, while the recipient of it was the 
 retainer. Such feudalistic relations between payer 
 and payee have not yet altogether died away in this 
 country, though they are gradually diminishing with 
 the capitalization of labor. Even to-day, he who 
 pays wages is allowed to assume something of the 
 mental attitude of the lord — not in a despotic but in 
 a protectoral sense — toward those who receive them. 
 A young man who was earning his school expenses 
 by work in America came into possession of a lengthy 
 letter from his mother left behind in Japan, repeat- 
 edly advising him to be loyal to the person of his 
 master; and he looked around to find to his renewed 
 surprise that nobody would claim in the Republic 
 such personal loyalty as his good old mother must 
 have meant. But in Japan there exist many subjects 
 for this quasi-feudallstic virtue. . . . My American 
 readers may think that the comparative scarcity of 
 strikes In Japan is due to lack of self-assertion on the 
 part of the laborers ; but that Is not quite right. The 
 chief explanation must be found In their active loy- 
 alty to their employer's person, rather than in their 
 passive forbearance." Rare and faint are the sur- 
 vivals of this feudal feeling in America. 
 
 Our workmen demand "justice," but justice needs 
 a definition; it Is a vague word and is used with 
 
 xiv 
 
Introduction 
 
 various meanings. For our present purpose it 
 means "good citizenship"; conduct which furthers 
 the life process, which promotes the common wel- 
 fare, which harmonizes all interests, or tends to do 
 so. The word "citizen" implies legal and political 
 equality, common rights and reciprocal duties, obli- 
 gation to further the life of the entire people. The 
 special relation of employer and employed is indi- 
 cated by the word "industry"; since the general 
 principles of social obligation are hereto be applied 
 to the contacts and contracts required by the process 
 of producing commodities for the world's markets, 
 for the satisfaction of human wants. No hint of 
 personal superiority or inferiority is suggested by the 
 title "Citizens in Industry," and it clearly describes 
 the relation of employer to employed and of both 
 to the city, state and nation. The word "citizen" 
 also points to a common brotherhood in the realm of 
 ideals, of eternal values. 
 
 "Citizenship in Industry" is suggestive of proph- 
 ecy; it intimates that the modern workingman never 
 can be morally content and satisfied as long as his 
 mind, will and voice count for nothing in the direc- 
 tion of the industry and its product. He may not yet 
 be adequately prepared for that responsibility; his 
 ambition may outrun his education, but he is looking 
 forward to it, and he chafes while he waits.^ 
 
 ^Shadwell: Industrial Efficiency, i, 177. 
 
 "The reign of the benevolent employer is over. He gets 
 no thanks, and the tendency is all in the direction of secur- 
 ing such conditions of employment as will enable the em- 
 
 XV 
 
Introduction 
 
 The illustrations of methods and principles in this 
 book will be drawn from a vast mass of actual cases. 
 While advertisements of particular corporations will 
 be avoided or minimized, specific examples must be 
 used to give concrete form to the discussion. If it 
 were attempted to describe all the known schemes of 
 particular establishments in detail, the result would 
 be confusion, duplication and just complaint of par- 
 tiality in selection. It seems wiser to present the 
 results of the study of many establishments in com- 
 pact form, the principles which underlie the whole 
 movement, the inventions which are still in the ex- 
 perimental stage, and the problems yet to be solved. 
 
 The conclusions here offered are based on numer- 
 ous personal visits and interviews not only in Amer- 
 ica and Europe, but also in important establishments 
 of the great industry in India, China, and Japan, 
 where European examples and models have been 
 adapted to Oriental conditions. No one country 
 
 ployed to provide their own benevolent institutions." ii, 
 170-172. 
 
 "Voluntary institutions may be, and often are, more ad- 
 vantageous where they exist; but they affect such a very 
 small proportion of the industrial population — a few pin 
 points in a fifty-acre field — that they hardly count in a gen- 
 eral comparison. 
 
 "What labor demands in a modern community is not 
 favors, but justice; not gifts, but a fair share of the takings, 
 with the means and the opportunity to provide its own wel- 
 fare institutions. In itself that is a sound, wholesome and 
 proper aspiration, inseparable, indeed, from the organic 
 development of society." 
 
 xvi 
 
Introduction 
 
 has a monopoly of patriotism, public spirit, be- 
 nevolence, and invention. Ideas quickly travel 
 across land and ocean. The magazines and 
 books which announce new methods of philan- 
 thropy are now found in the Parsee, Hindu 
 and Mohammedaa counting-rooms of millionaire 
 manufacturers of Bombay, Calcutta, Madras, La- 
 hore, Shanghai, Tientsin and Osaka. The diffusion 
 of the ideas of "welfare work" in the Orient is ex- 
 tremely interesting. One of the most hopeful enter- 
 prises of young China is the Commercial Press of 
 Shanghai, publishers of educational books, employ- 
 ing 1,400 persons, with a payroll of about $20,000 
 per month. The buildings are large and commodi- 
 ous, well lighted and ventilated ; sufficient ground has 
 been reserved for the recreation of the employees. 
 About four hundred women and girls are engaged in 
 the bindery and elsewhere. They are permitted to 
 leave the establishment five minutes before the men. 
 A woman is allowed a vacation with full pay one 
 month before and one month after confinement. 
 This establishment is one of the strongest centers of 
 education in China and it sets an example which will 
 be imitated wherever the great industry makes con- 
 quests. Wages are good; a bonus is given in propor- 
 tion to the record and importance of the employee's 
 service, and a certain allowance is set apart as pen- 
 sion for the old retired employees or the family of 
 the deceased. The system of profit-sharing is intro- 
 duced and the key men of each department are share- 
 holders of the company. Clean and comfortable 
 
 xvii 
 
Introduction 
 
 blocks of dwelling-houses can be rented at moderate 
 prices. School privileges from kindergarten to high- 
 school training are maintained for their children. 
 An evening school is also kept for the younger mem- 
 bers of the firm, and a self-improvement club, with 
 school facilities, has been opened under the patron- 
 age of the company. A small hospital is established 
 for the sick employees. Nine hours' work and Sun- 
 day holidays are features seldom found in Chinese 
 workshops. While this attractive example is rare in 
 China, it is prophetic and will be influential as the 
 Great Industry makes its way.^ 
 
 A list of many books and articles is appended 
 which will enable the reader to go much further into 
 special questions than the limits of this book permit. 
 This list is at least a partial acknowledgment of the 
 author's indebtedness to other investigators and 
 students and will be a partial guide to travelers 
 studying "welfare work," or students who wish to 
 secure further details. 
 
 If some practical man objects to a discussion of 
 such a practical subject from one who is confessedly 
 a theorist dwelling in an academic atmosphere, the 
 apology may be offered that such a student is natur- 
 ally as free from partisan bias as anyone can be 
 who has convictions, and that the scientific habit of 
 patient collection of facts and criticism of nlaterials 
 may be some assurance of reliability. "Theory" 
 does not mean a dream or a guess, but a broader 
 view of the facts under consideration and a search 
 
 ^ Information furnished by Mr. Feng S. Sec. 
 
 xviii 
 
Introduction 
 
 for causal connections. Practice is blind without 
 theory to guide it by a vision of ends and ways, and 
 practice needs the rational justification by proof 
 which a sound theory affords. In Goethe's "Faust," 
 the popular scorn for "academic theory" is expressed 
 in the oft quoted lines : 
 
 Gray, dear friend, is all theory. 
 
 And green alone the golden tree of life. 
 
 But those who cite this passage from the great poet 
 sometimes forget that "Goethe knew very well why 
 he put these words in the mouth of the Devil." ^ 
 
 '^See Dr. R. von Erdberg: Das Programme der Wohl- 
 fahrtspflege. 
 
CITIZENS IN INDUSTRY 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 THE SITUATION AND ITS PROBLEMS 
 THE GREAT INDUSTRY 
 
 I. Industrial evolution has advanced through 
 muny stages and forms of organization.^ Primitive 
 industries of fishing and hunting passed into pastoral 
 and agricultural occupations. Cannibalism was tem- 
 pered by domestication of captives as slaves. Serf- 
 dom gave the workman a measure of possession but 
 bound him to soil and master. The system under 
 which we live is complex and varied; for the house- 
 hold industry survives in a great part of the earth 
 and competes with the immense shops which are fur- 
 nished with the finest machinery and steam power. 
 In the great urban centers of manufacture the cap- 
 
 ' For details see Biicher : Entstehung der Volkwirtschaft 
 (Development of Industry). 
 
 G. Schmoller: Grundriss der Allgemeinen Volkwirt- 
 schaftslehre. 
 
 Herkner: Die Arbeiterfrage. 
 
 A. Toynbee: The Industrial Revolution. 
 
 Von Zwiedeneck-Siidenhorst : Sozialpolitik, 
 
 I 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 italist management system is monarch, and it has 
 transformed the face of the world. It already shows 
 defects and signs of failure and transformation; the 
 Socialists are ready to inform us that a substitute has 
 been found in their methods; while poets and seers 
 already imagine a system which will supersede So- 
 cialism. No organization is permanent; all is fluent 
 and transitory; but just now we have to work with 
 the capitalist manager whose achievements are 
 praised, whose faults are cursed, but whose seat on 
 the throne at present is firm. Under this modern 
 system we have not only private property, but con- 
 trol of property used in production in relatively few 
 hands, with a tendency to further concentration of 
 commercial power. 
 
 The industrial group is composed of a multitude 
 of operatives and their families. These men are 
 equal with their employers before the law, have po- 
 litical power in proportion to their numbers, if they 
 know enough to use it; but in the work-place they 
 are subject to the commands of men who, being in 
 control of all the materials and instruments of pro- 
 duction, hold over them literally the power of life 
 and death, except so far as this power is restricted 
 by fear of strikes, humane sentiment, or by regula- 
 tion of law. 
 
 2. The great industry, in its social aspect, is a 
 
 form of cooperation between capitalist managers 
 
 and operatives for the production of goods wanted 
 
 by the community.^ The immediate motive on one 
 
 1 J. A. Hobson : Work and Wealth. 
 
 2 
 
The Situation and Its Problems 
 
 side is profits, on the other wages, and what these 
 will buy. 
 
 The modern great industry is, from the social 
 point of view, an organized method of cooperation 
 in production; individuals find it a divider of men 
 into hostile camps. This paradox arises from the 
 fact that the elements in production must combine 
 or be sterile — land, labor, capital and management. 
 Isolated they are barren ; only in cooperation do they 
 bring forth commodities which satisfy human wants. 
 The contradiction is real, not imaginary. The very 
 situation gives occasion for friction, irritation and 
 conflict. The employer and capitalist manager estab- 
 lishes a business to gain profits; if labor costs him 
 more, profits are less; at least it seems so to the 
 paymaster, and sometimes this is true. The very 
 phrase "labor cost" means different things to the 
 men in opposition: to the manager it means money 
 paid out for wages, possible abstinence from lux- 
 uries and risk of the investment; to the worker it 
 means sweat, toil, weariness, pain, danger, exhaus- 
 tion, a daily surrender of vitality.^ The antagonism 
 
 1 J. E. Cairnes : Some Leading Principles of Political 
 Economy (1874), p. 75. The "cost" of labor involves the 
 elements of duration, severity or irksomeness and risk of 
 injury. "In the usual exposition of the doctrine of cost of 
 production the only risk taken account of is that incurred 
 by the capitalist; but this is merely a consequence of that 
 habit of contemplating the work of production exclusively 
 from the capitalist's standpoint." Compare J. A. Hobson: 
 Work and Wealth, ch. v, where this idea of Cairnes is devel- 
 oped, 
 
 3 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 of interest may be softened, modified, attenuated; 
 it cannot be entirely removed by any means yet dis- 
 covered. Rough justice must ever take the form of 
 estimate and compromise, until social science can 
 make its calculation of values much more exact than 
 it has yet been able to do, and laws and legal tri- 
 bunals have been evolved for an equitable division 
 of the product. The most advanced employers will 
 try experiments which will help to supply the data 
 for a judgment when the time is ripe for law. 
 
 There are cases where the laborer is fully recom- 
 pensed for more costly self-sacrifice by corresponding 
 advantages; and there are situations in which the 
 employer finds higher wages and better conditions 
 to be a wise and paying investment. But the area 
 of advantage in expenditure is limited and its 
 boundary soon reached; then a real conflict must be 
 openly faced and a tolerable compromise accepted as 
 a condition of continued cooperation. 
 
 In strikes and lockouts we see the antagonism in 
 flame; but the ashes which conceal strife are never 
 quite cool; the volcano always rumbles and smokes 
 so long as there is a hot place down below. Socialists 
 tell us that the conflict can never cease until the 
 whole people, through some form of representative 
 government, controls the process and the distribu- 
 tion of the product over which the battle wages; 
 but that question is for the future. 
 
 3. The compromise of mutual understanding is 
 reached with more difficulty partly because the great 
 industry has made personal relations difEcult or even 
 
 4 
 
The Situation and Its Problems 
 
 impossible. In the petty relations of fishing, agri- 
 cultural and village industries, master and man talk 
 out their difficulties while both are toiling side by- 
 side. The journeyman knows quite closely the 
 profits of his master and what it is possible for him 
 to pay in wages. But in a great steel mill, or on a 
 railway, the capitalists are thousands of unknown 
 stockholders, the managers are great men in ma- 
 hogany furnished offices, far off as heaven. The 
 president sits on Olympian heights, twenty stories up 
 in Broadway or Wall Street, New York; while the 
 section hands or miners in Colorado wonder vaguely 
 how the "old man" looks. We may regret the good 
 times long ago when employers and employees were 
 comrades ; but weeping will not save the ancient sys- 
 tem. The impersonal corporation, with no body 
 that can be kicked and no soul to feel pity or re- 
 morse, has displaced the visible and tangible owner 
 who was himself a workman. It were as childish 
 to wish for the moon as to sigh for an organization 
 which is buried beyond recall. 
 
 4. The social necessity of some kind of harmony 
 and adjustment is apparent. The waste and loss of 
 social friction are enormous; political stability is in 
 peril from class conflicts; there Is a recrudescence of 
 savagery in "sabotage" ; victory of either side after a 
 strike is purchased at awful cost no matter who wins 
 or loses; men are degraded by the hatred engen- 
 dered; civilization is impeded; health Is ruined and 
 offspring are born feeble. It is this civil war which 
 has induced men of high character to seek at least 
 
 5 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 palliatives of misery in acts of kindness and con- 
 ciliation. 
 
 5. There are many signs of a conscious recog- 
 nition of the need of harmony between employer and 
 employees, and on both sides. The party in power 
 must of course make the advances; the party at 
 present in power is the capitalist manager.^ The 
 capitalist managers, including the great financiers, 
 have a position of advantage and power above that 
 of ancient kings. A small group of bankers con- 
 trols the destinies of millions ; not absolutely, but in 
 great measure. They are quite willing the world 
 should believe that they are the great men of the 
 age. Their contempt for men of rank in other 
 
 ^ A representative of good-natured employers has thus 
 expressed this growing recognition of a new era : "Consider 
 for a moment that almost anything on four wheels was 
 selling from ten to fifteen years ago, that the entire country 
 had suddenly waked up to the fact that pleasure makes for 
 efficiency; that in the old days men responded to pain but 
 now to pleasure; formerly to fear, now to hope and ambi- 
 tion ; formerly that they had to be driven and now that they 
 have to be enticed. Summing it up, in the old days in gen- 
 eral they advanced because of fear of hell-fire, and now they 
 advance in hope of some day riding in an automobile." — 
 Arthur E. Colvin. 
 
 This seems to be an echo and practical application of the 
 social doctrines of Professor Patten to the effect that the 
 civilized world has passed from an age of economic deficit 
 to one of surplus, and hence from a "pain economy" to a 
 "pleasure economy" which abolishes fear and asceticism from 
 morals and theology and calls for harmonious, just and 
 rational enjoyment of increased production, 
 
 6 
 
The Situation and Its Problems 
 
 professions is only too frequently manifested in 
 forms which beget deep, rankling hatred, not only 
 among wage-earners, but among salaried people. 
 The manager of a great mill, factory or railway, 
 determines the physical, moral and spiritual condi- 
 tions under which human beings must toil all their 
 days. Evidently such colossal power, inevitable 
 under capitalist management, must be held responsi- 
 ble for what it does, or the world is enslaved. His- 
 tory shows no instance of irresponsible power which 
 did not destroy the character of its possessors, 
 whether in army, church, state or business. A spe- 
 cial claim is set forth by the most powerful combina- 
 tions of capital, precisely those which are most un- 
 popular, the most conspicuous targets for criticism 
 and unfavorable legislation, that they can do most 
 to promote the well-being of the employees. Thus a 
 representative of one of the large corporations ^ 
 said: 
 
 "Such combinations, to my mind, would be man- 
 aged by able, fair-minded men who, though naturally 
 engaged upon utilizing the money intrusted to their 
 care by the stockholders, in the most profitable man- 
 ner, are at the same time conscious of their social 
 obligations to their employees, their customers, the 
 community in which they operate, and to the people 
 at large; and, in addition, possess the imagination 
 and foresight to realize that such broad-minded con- 
 
 1 Mr. Magnus W. Alexander (General Electric Company) : 
 The Annals of the American Academy of Political and So- 
 cial Science, July, 1912, 134 ff. 
 
 7 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 ception of duty and obligation will In many ways 
 help, and in no way hinder, the accomplishment of 
 their legitimate business purpose." But can society 
 count on the voluntary appearance of such managers 
 and on their taking this view of their duties, so long 
 as they are legally in a position where they can do 
 as they please? Does experience teach us that al- 
 most royal power tends to develop in the adminis- 
 trator's respect for the right of citizens, either con- 
 sumers or workmen, unless there is some agent of 
 public authority to enforce responsibility? 
 
 Mr. Cyrus H. McCormick certainly is a repre- 
 sentative capitalist manager, and of the highest 
 type. The following statement may be taken as illus- 
 trating the nobler view.^ Mr. McCormick said: 
 
 "There are several companies that have gone 
 farther than the harvester companies In making in- 
 vestigations and Installing work along these better- 
 ment lines, but we are making a constant study of 
 the question. We purpose making as much progress 
 in it as is consistent with certitude. We do not 
 want to begin any work and then find a little later 
 that for one reason or another It must be dropped. 
 We do not believe in publicity for it. In many ways 
 its best purposes are defeated by wide advertise- 
 ment. The only excuse for talking about work of 
 this kind Is the hope that It may assist some other 
 employers In different parts of the country to know 
 along what lines good results have been obtained. 
 ' J. K. Mumford : Article, apparently an authentic report. 
 Harper's Weekly, July ii, 1908, lii, 22 ff, 
 
 8 
 
The Situation and Its Problems 
 
 The problem in formulating any system of the sort 
 is to find a common platform from which both em- 
 ployer and employed can view the thing; and then 
 again to determine the point where business judg- 
 ment and the instincts of humanity can meet and 
 agree upon conditions which can satisfy the most 
 rigid tests when regarded from either standpoint. 
 The elements to be reckoned with are many, and 
 some of them are difficult quantities, but personally I 
 do not believe the common ground is so hard to find 
 if it is sought in a wholehearted, disinterested and 
 honest wish for conditions that shall be better for 
 both parties. It is doubted by many, but to my 
 mind has been practically demonstrated that a busi- 
 ness can be successful and still not be devoid of 
 sentiment. The employer who wants the people in 
 his business to work under the very best possible 
 conditions as to hours, wages and surroundings, and 
 who feels happier when he knows this state of things 
 has been obtained, the employee who takes satisfac- 
 tion in his work because of the improved environ- 
 ment, and because he knows that in providing it the 
 employer has no ax to grind — these two men can- 
 not, in the nature of things, remain at loggerheads; 
 and in their cooperation there can be no question but 
 that the utmost advantage comes to both. There are 
 tests, however, that must be applied at every step 
 of the way, and anything proposed which will not 
 stand these tests had better be abandoned before it 
 is begun, for it is certain to fail in the end. For 
 example, I should say the test of reasonableness was 
 
 9 
 
citizens in Industry 
 
 fundamental. Extremes on either side are death to 
 welfare undertakings. The employer who makes 
 such elaborate outlay that employees and observers 
 generally are convinced there is in his action a 
 large element of advertising, or of self-gratula- 
 tion, is likely to find his work fruitless. The 
 man who cannot truthfully tell himself that in his 
 effort to better the condition of his employees there 
 is absolutely no desire to put them under obligation, 
 might as well wait until he can, for there is no man 
 more sensitive to atmosphere and impression than 
 the workingman; and, undoubtedly with good rea- 
 son, he is more suspicious where his employer is 
 concerned than with any other being. He is glad 
 to have facilities of all kinds and better conditions 
 to work under. Anybody would be, and the sur- 
 roundings in which people have been compelled to 
 labor In many instances have been disgraceful. But 
 he is bound to resent any amelioration if there has 
 lodged In his mind the least suspicion that these im- 
 provements are merely a means to an end, a bait 
 put forth by the employer to gain some additional 
 advantage. There have been too many decades of 
 uncomfortable experience for the workingman. 
 What wonder that it is hard for him to believe that 
 the man who pays him his wages is wholehearted and 
 disinterested in doing things which under the old 
 system would have been counted manifestly outside 
 of the regular line of business? The average work- 
 man has not yet reached the point where he can be- 
 lieve that an employer Is willing and even glad to do 
 
 10 
 
The Situation and Its Problems 
 
 these things because the benefit from such an under- 
 taking is common to them both. He will not approve 
 of betterment in conditions nor accept it, if he 
 thinks that he is expected, by reason of that accept- 
 ance, to forego his claim to fair wages and decent 
 hours. And nobody can blame him. It must, in 
 short, be clear that the whole affair is mutual: that 
 the employer is glad to appropriate part of his net 
 earnings for the improvement of the conditions of 
 labor; that the employee gives better service of heart 
 and hand because he can naturally do so under good 
 conditions more easily than under poor ones. And, 
 finally, the mutuality of the arrangement should be 
 so lived up to that each party shall honestly believe 
 he has the good end of the deal. The manner, too, 
 in which this work has been 'done' in many cases, has 
 made a failure of it. There cannot be any paternal- 
 ism in the atmosphere, nor any suggestion of con- 
 descension. The workman in America is not looking 
 for donations. Nor can the work be carried to that 
 extreme of lavishness where it bears the mark of a 
 fad. It is easy to push the thing so far that all 
 hands can see it is really a hobby and a vanity and 
 not a rational, advantageous system ; and, indeed, it 
 is rather difficult to know just how far to go in 
 spending money, where the expenditures may easily 
 come to be a drain upon the earnings of the business. 
 So, you see, when an employer, either corporate or 
 individual, undertakes a work of this kind, there are 
 stumbling-blocks and pitfalls almost without num- 
 ber, by which the best-meant efforts may be brought 
 
 II 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 to worse than nothing. The work is so compara- 
 tively new that it has not yet by any means been 
 reduced to an exact science. Industrial employers 
 are really groping for knowledge of what to do and 
 what not to do, employees are in an attitude of doubt 
 and partial distrust, and the whole outcome of the 
 undertaking in many cases hangs upon a hair. By 
 and by experience will have confirmed much, but of 
 the wisdom and justice of the general purpose there 
 may be no doubt. In o ur company we are endeavor- 
 ing to consider it from a business standpoint and not 
 from a humanitarian one. It is difficult to dissociate 
 the two. If an employer followed his humane im- 
 pulses without the check which business judgment 
 applies, he probably would soon be running his 
 business plant at a loss, and in a short time would 
 have no employment to offer. But from the stand- 
 point of pure business, it is highly desirable that 
 conditions should be improved. In the first place, 
 the moral effect on the attitude and energy of the 
 workman is great, and thus indirectly the work is 
 benefited. But perhaps even more important is the 
 reflex influence upon the employer and on the entire 
 business. There is a point where a work of this sort 
 pays good returns to the stockholder as well as to 
 the employee, and aside from this there is a per- 
 sonal satisfaction to the superintendents of plants 
 and to the managers of a business when they dis- 
 cover that they are able, without lavish expendi- 
 tures or unnecessary waste, to see that business is 
 conducted under such advantageous conditions. In 
 
 12 
 
The Situation and Its Problems 
 
 a company of large size, with diversified interests 
 and many employees, it is difficult to move as rapidly 
 as may be desired, because a nev7 problem arises at 
 every step. A work undertaken at any one plant of 
 a company cannot be adopted until It is decided 
 whether It can be installed at the other plants so 
 that no partiality shall be shown. Another difficulty 
 arises from the employment of many classes, for 
 each must be borne In mind and recognized in pro- 
 portion to Its standing In the business. The danger 
 in such a case Is that the benefit will be spread out so 
 thinly that no one class or one set of employees will 
 get enough practical advantage from the work 
 done." 
 
 After Mr. C. W. Price, who for a time was at 
 the head of the welfare work at the International 
 Harvester Company, was rebuked for having sold 
 himself to a trust, he said: "You seem to have over- 
 looked entirely the possibility that the trusts may be 
 in earnest In trying to do some good." 
 
 6. Public opinion has become not only more sen- 
 sitive, but more intelligent. Noblesse oblige. So- 
 ciety has thus far shown willingness to protect the 
 lives and property of those who amass these incred- 
 ible fortunes and who enthrone themselves in posi- 
 tions which make ancient emperors seem paupers 
 and weaklings. But the tacit assumption is that this 
 grant of power Is accompanied by affirmation of cor- 
 responding responsibility, and this implicit claim is 
 gradually taking distinct form in legislation. Pub- 
 lic opinion is slowly clarifying Itself by demanding 
 
 13 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 I more adequate and scientific analysis of the con- 
 :eption of welfare. Men are refusing to give the 
 ast word to mere economic considerations, and they 
 ire sharply asking for information on the costs of 
 jroduction in health, race vigor, intelligence, hap- 
 )iness and character of the working people and their 
 'amilies. They are Increasingly inquisitive about the 
 •eal meaning of "national wealth." Perhaps, they 
 hink too much humanity is consumed to create en- 
 iowments for parasitic families of leisure, endow- 
 nents which must be replaced by labor at Intervals 
 )f twenty years without any efforts or services on 
 he part of those who hold the titles to property. 
 ■*erhaps It would be wiser to have a somewhat 
 mailer material product, with fairer distribution and 
 letter citizens. 
 
 Dr. Felix Adler, who Is eminent as a prophet of 
 thical idealism, voices our national protest against 
 he idolatry of production : ^ 
 
 "But, however this may be, certain It is that the 
 ;ospel of work in its narrow and unjustifiable sense 
 las become the gospel of this country. What is 
 ailed the "industrial spirit" is abroad in every so- 
 alled civilized land, but nowhere does It display 
 tself with so little check as among us. Work for 
 he sake of work Is the watchword, and by work is 
 leant increased production; and this is the idol to 
 i^hlch we sacrifice the soil, the trees, our own health, 
 
 ^ Felix Adler (New York City) : Annual Address of the 
 'hairman of the National Child Labor Committee. Annals 
 / the American Academy, Mar., 1910, i ff. 
 
The Situation and Its Problems 
 
 and the children. We are hard toward them because 
 we are hardened against every consideration which 
 can check increase of production; because we are 
 under a spell — we are ruled by a fixed Idea. And 
 this, to my thinking, is the real reason why it has 
 been so difficult to secure the abolition of child labor 
 .despite the earnest interest of so many persons in 
 this movement. This is the real reason why we find 
 opposition in quarters where we should least expect 
 it; why we not infrequently find that the so-called 
 best men in the community, the men who are known 
 as the pillars of charity in their neighborhoods, are 
 the most obdurate adversaries of our cause. Busi- 
 ness and sentiment, they think, must be kept distinct. 
 Business requires Increase of production; and since 
 ■. even a child's feeble strength. In connection with 
 modern machinery, is capable of adding to the heaps 
 of products, it seems to them a kind of law of nature 
 that even the child should be drafted into the ranks 
 of labor, no matter what the ulterior consequences 
 may be." 
 
 The public has been at a disadvantage In its criti- 
 cism. Humane men have been convicted of misrep- 
 resentation even when they wished to be fair and 
 reasonable. Business has hitherto kept its secrets, 
 and men of affairs have regarded loquacity as a vice 
 or weakness. In this respect business resembles war 
 with Its deceptive strategy. Under the spell of tra- 
 ditional individualism, the manager of affairs has 
 believed that the public had no right to ask him about 
 his conduct. When manifest evil has resulted from 
 
 15 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 his methods; when children have been robbed of 
 childhood, workmen of health, and the public has 
 been charged with the burden of paying dividends 
 on watered stock, and the voice of protest has arisen, 
 the managers have often replied that the orator, the 
 editor and the preacher were ignorant of business 
 and did not know the facts. This was often true, 
 because many of the facts were purposely hidden. 
 
 Recently the necessity of publicity has become so 
 evident, as in the case of railways and insurance, 
 that a much larger measure of investigation and 
 report has been accepted, and, consequently, criti- 
 cism has more reliable material for its work. It is 
 ridiculous to affirm that the business management of 
 a huge corporation which affects the health and en- 
 joyments of millions of people is a mere private 
 affair; so ridiculous that the more sincere and saga- 
 cious magnates are ready frankly to admit the ab- 
 surdity. But they have a right to demand in the 
 name of the public welfare as well as their own 
 interest that the public inspection and control shall 
 be free from mean partisanship and be intelligent, 
 competent and fair. The utmost publicity is the best 
 protection for all groups of Interests Involved. 
 
 Public opinion ultimately shapes a program for 
 the realization of Its higher demands. In Germany, 
 svhere a "social policy" has been In process of devel- 
 opment for ages, even from medieval feudality, 
 there is a scientific hterature on the subject. In 
 America we are only at the beginning of a conscious 
 development of such a policy, part of which includes 
 
 16 
 
The Situati on and Its Problems 
 
 the voluntary activities of enlightened employers, 
 which are the subject of the present discussion. 
 
 WELFARE WORK 
 
 7. "Welfare work" is a form of voluntary activ- 
 ity of employers for the betterment of conditions of 
 employees, by methods which are not yet incorpo- 
 rated in legal institutions. This definition would ex- 
 clude measures which are essential to the existence 
 and conduct of the business itself; as, for example, 
 where a corporation, having erected a mill far from 
 towns, is compelled to build boarding houses and 
 dwellings as a condition of securing laborers. So far 
 as the employers try to make these dwellings com- 
 fortable and attractive beyond mere necessity, the 
 element of "welfare work" may be recognized. 
 
 In a country where social insurance and protective 
 measures are legally obligatory, the accident and 
 sickness insurance and old-age pensions are not de- 
 pendent on the goodwill of employers, but in the 
 United States, where law has not yet developed far 
 in this direction, there is large room for voluntary 
 action. 
 
 A German writer thus gives these directions as to 
 fixing the meaning of the term : ^ 
 
 a. Exclude all those features in which the interest 
 of the employer is as great as, or greater than, that 
 of employees: for example, a compulsory savings 
 
 ^ Dr. Heinz Patthoff (Dusseldorf) : Sosiale Praxis, Feb, 
 I, 1912, xxi, 551-553- 
 
 17 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 fund which serves the employer as a reserve fund 
 or running capital; or a building association, if the 
 building of houses in the neighborhood of the factory- 
 is necessary for the business; or a canteen, a con- 
 sumers' league, etc., by the installation of which the 
 employer gains. 
 
 b. Exclude all those features for which the em- 
 ployer himself does not actually make expenditures, 
 those which the employees themselves conduct inde- 
 pendently for bettering their condition — such as a 
 savings fund which pays the ordinary interest; sick- 
 ness, death, and pension funds to which the employer 
 does not contribute; building of houses, the rent of 
 which pays the interest in full. 
 
 c. A savings fund used in the business, even 
 though it pays larger interest than ordinary, is not 
 to be considered a welfare feature, because the em- 
 ployer reaps larger advantage from it than its cost 
 to him ; the interest is not at the employer's expense 
 but comes from the profits of the business ; similarly, 
 pension funds and the like. 
 
 d. If through the working agreement the em- 
 ployee is compelled to contribute to welfare features, 
 these features must comply at least with the condi- 
 tions which are prescribed by law or custom for 
 business enterprises of like kind. 
 
 e. The employee should have a share in the 
 administration of welfare features. 
 
 The boundaries between voluntary arrangements 
 of employers and compulsory methods enforced by 
 law are constantly shifting. What was philanthropy 
 
 l8 
 
The Situation and Its Problems 
 
 yesterday is statute to-day;. yet philanthropy has for 
 centuries pioneered the way for action of the State. 
 
 8. The purpose of welfare work is to build up 
 a community of interest in work and life in such a 
 way as to unite workmen and managers in an effort 
 to prevent misery, and to make the work itself a 
 means of inner satisfaction, and the relation one of 
 common striving for the same end, of mutual help- 
 fulness, and of material and ideal progress.^ The 
 purpose must, therefore, be social and not merely 
 private and selfish — civil and not merely personal. 
 
 9. Attitude and Motives of Employers. — So far 
 as motives are concerned, we are dealing with in- 
 visible and unverifiable factors. It would be very 
 interesting to be able to prepare a mathematical 
 formula which would represent accurately the com- 
 position of the incentives which led to the introduc- 
 tion of clean towels, baths, restaurants and rest- 
 rooms, as philanthropy and religion 50 per cent; 
 hope of larger product, 25 per cent.; political aspira- 
 tions of the patron, 10 per cent.; miscellaneous, 15 
 per cent. Such estimates may be amusing, but they 
 are scientifically absurd. 
 
 Since we must abandon all hope of measuring the 
 force of the various elements of inducement, we 
 shall not go far wrong if we give generous credit 
 for the subjective feelings and spend our time and 
 strength chiefly on studying the objective facts and 
 results of the plans and devices. 
 
 lAufgaben, und Organisation der Fabrikwohlfahrtspflege 
 in der Gegenwart (1910), p. i. 
 
 19 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 Under what conditions is "welfare work" advis- 
 able from the standpoint of pecuniary advantage to 
 the employer and, therefore, most likely to be 
 extended? The answer is: In any case where 
 the increased efficiency and product cover, or 
 more than cover, the cost. It is sometimes diffi- 
 cult to mea-sure this cost and the value of the in- 
 creased efficiency; but the principle is clear. 
 
 It is possible that welfare work may pay as an 
 element in advertising; it may attract customers and 
 gain reputation for the brand of goods which seeks 
 a market. 
 
 The firm which has a monopoly of the business, 
 or a control of patents, may easily do for its em- 
 ployees what a competitive firm, manufacturing sta- 
 ples, may be unable to do. In case of monopoly, 
 the public, the consumers, pay for the comforts and 
 advantages in higher prices. 
 
 A related situation is that where a firm sells for 
 fifty cents a package which costs it ten cents to make. 
 Here again the consumers pay for comforts, while 
 the firm gets fame for its liberality.^ When a cereal 
 food product is sold at a price which makes a barrel 
 of flour cost the consumer $25 to $50, it is clear that 
 the manufacturer has a wide margin for presents to 
 employees. 
 
 "No matter how much the manager of a business 
 may wish to run it for other things exclusively, or for 
 dollars exclusively, he will find that one is not at- 
 
 1 Duncan: The Principles of Industrial Management, 
 loi fif, 
 
 20 
 
The Situation and Its Problems 
 
 tained without the other. He is forced to run the 
 business for the dollar if he wishes to make an ideal 
 organization for each member of the human family 
 included in it. And vice versa, he must work toward 
 the best conditions for all the workers if he wishes 
 to protect the capital invested by making a stable 
 and fairly long-lived organization." ^ 
 
 We must notice the occasional capitalistic opposi- 
 tion to welfare work and its grounds. Mr. C. W. 
 Post, once president of the National Association of 
 Manufacturers, voiced the feeling of managers of a 
 certain type: "I am not a warm advocate of a lot 
 of foolish, misapplied, maudlin sympathy that has 
 paraded under the name of 'welfare work.' I don't 
 provide any marble bathtubs, lecture-rooms, stereop- 
 ticon pictures, free libraries and reading-rooms, or 
 free lectures. . . . 
 
 "Men who understand workmen at all realize that 
 first and foremost they do not want to be subjected 
 to a lot of gifts and charities that would place them 
 under lasting servile obligation to the donor, their 
 employer. Their subconscious manhood rises in 
 revolt, and they hate to meet the boss on the street. 
 They are embarrassed and don't feel right. The 
 American workman wants an honest, first-class price 
 for his labor, and then he wants to be let alone to 
 follow his own ideas as to his ways of Hfe and the 
 use of his money. If he is badly in need of a book, 
 there are ways that he can get one without being 
 under obligation to the boss for it. If he wants a 
 1 Hartness : Human Factor in Works' Management, p. 68. 
 
 ax 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 bath, the same thing is true. Pay men the highest 
 standard of wages and they will pretty well take 
 care of themselves. The welfare work that I be- 
 lieve in is that which makes it possible for the 
 man to help himself, but it does not include the 
 holding of a milk bottle to his lips after he is 
 weaned." ^ 
 
 On the other hand, a more critical and sober 
 attitude is taken by many employers who see the 
 advantages of welfare work in better personal 
 relations. For example, a certain firm treated its 
 employees according to the best standards and won 
 their confidence by courtesy and justice. At a critical 
 time of depression, when goods could not be sold 
 and it required credit to carry the unsold stock, the 
 employees sent a committee to the managers to offer 
 all their savings for the use of the company, if 
 needed.^ 
 
 One strong firm explained its reasons, and stated 
 its creed as a belief in "sympathetic, cooperative fel- 
 lowship of employer with employee, a fellowship of 
 purpose and interest, established not upon the plane 
 of paternalism, but upon the plane of recognized and 
 honored rights." ^ With this in view one man is 
 
 ^ The Survey, Aug. i6, 1913, p. 632. 
 
 ^W. H. Tolman: "Model Industries/' in Peters' Labor 
 and Capital, 312 ff. 
 
 ^ F. W. Ramsey (Cleveland Foundry Company) : Article, 
 "The Employers' Obligation to Safeguard Machinery, and 
 the Compensation Plan." National Civic Federation, Tenth 
 Annual Meeting, 1909, p. 59. 
 
 22 
 
The Situation and Its Problems 
 
 hired to devote most of his time to devising ways of 
 diminishing hazards. 
 
 Since generous examples are contagious, it may 
 fairly be said that it is the duty of corporations to 
 give publicity to their efforts to improve conditions. 
 Dr. Joseph A. Holmes, Director of the Bureau of 
 Mines, said at the first Cooperative Safety Congress : 
 
 "The most inspiring thing in this whole situation 
 is the spirit of cooperation, and I am delighted to 
 report that in the mining situation to-day I am finding 
 the heartiest cooperation between the miners and the 
 mine-owners, and I hope we will also have the co- 
 operation of the general public in being fair to both 
 the miner and the mine-owner. . . . We all realize 
 how important is public opinion, and, in my judg- 
 ment, one of the greatest mistakes the large cor- 
 porations are making to-day is that they are not 
 coming forward and letting the public know the good 
 work they are doing." 
 
 In the numerous methods which are to be dis- 
 cussed, we shall be able to discern indirectly the 
 reasons which explain the creation of these kinds of 
 schemes for the improvement of the lot of workers 
 in shop and home. 
 
 10. Attitude of Employees. — Not without some 
 reason many employees have objected to all forms 
 of service which depend on the voluntary conces- 
 sions of the employers. The modern workman, 
 happily for civiHzatlon, is exceedingly sensitive to 
 anything which suggests charity. Unlike the medie- 
 val serf or mendicant, the urban operative of our day 
 
 23 
 
Citizens in Industry- 
 
 feels degraded and insulted by the offer of alms in 
 any form. He sometimes discovers an offense even 
 where none is intended. The operative who has 
 identified himself with the trade union and believes 
 this to be the chief bulwark of his interests is in- 
 stinctively antagonistic to any scheme which tends to 
 separate him from his fellows and to identify his 
 interests too closely with those of the employers. 
 He does not wish to accept favors which interfere 
 with his freedom to move to better conditions, or to 
 strike when his comrades call. 
 
 The enlightened operative desires, so far as pos- 
 sible, to have his claims rest not on the caprice or 
 benevolence of his master, but on the solid and per- 
 manent basis of legal contract which can be en- 
 forced in courts. If the favor granted him cannot 
 be thus assured, it is not attractive to him. Occa- 
 sionally the operatives believe that gifts and favors 
 are thrown to them to divert attention from crying 
 wrongs, to make them silent under intolerable 
 abuses, and to allay public criticism. There have 
 been instances where the corporation furnished 
 houses to workmen at low rents but held over them 
 threats of eviction at the least sign of resistance to 
 their demands. 
 
 In some trade-union criticisms, the note of dis- 
 trust is marked and little credit is given for altruism. 
 In an analysis of the schemes of betterment chroni- 
 cled in a government bulletin they were all explained 
 by pecuniary advantage. Some of the plans save 
 time and material, as when improved lighting en- 
 
The Situation and Its Problems 
 
 ables the workmen to speed the process and secure 
 a better product. Cleanliness of the place is neces- 
 sary where food products are handled and the con- 
 suming public is easily disgusted. It pays to con- 
 serve the health, safety and lives of workers, since 
 change requires expense and effort to select and in- 
 struct new men, while injuries cause expense in 
 damage suits and expenditures for compensation. 
 Regard for comfort and security develops a sense of 
 loyalty to the establishment. "Welfare work is a 
 sop to labor." A corporation introduces an insur- 
 ance plan and cuts wages to meet the cost. There 
 is no welfare work where men are organized; be- 
 cause the supreme purpose is to keep out the unions. 
 Business men make a pretense of offering some- 
 thing for nothing, and that is not business. Real 
 welfare work is fair wages and shorter hours of 
 labor. If what is called welfare work were sup- 
 plied by the unions, they would get the credit and 
 become stronger. 
 
 Probably the attitude of Mr. Gompers, President 
 of the American Federation of Labor, may be taken 
 as typical.^ After commenting on some of the meth- 
 ods of welfare work, and showing that none of 
 these goes beyond the requirements of enlightened 
 self-interest and common decency, as supply of pure 
 water, baths, clean towels, good lighting, etc., he 
 concludes: "It should be clearly understood that an 
 employer who employs numbers of workers in his 
 establishments places them under an organization 
 
 1 American Federationist, Dec, 1913, p. 1041. 
 
 25 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 where they individually have no control over envi: 
 onment, and are unable to furnish for themselv( 
 even the most necessary things such as water, toilc 
 provisions, and things of like nature. Any perso 
 who is in any degree responsible for the well-bein 
 of human beings, cannot with good conscience di 
 regard the obligation. If he has intelligent imagin: 
 tion and foresight he will refuse to poison the bodi( 
 and lungs of the workers, or to permit them t 
 render their product unfit for consumption, to rui 
 their eyesight or to mutilate their bodies. He wi 
 do these things to satisfy his own sense of decenc 
 and justice, and anything less would do violence t 
 his conscience and cause him discomfort. Sue 
 deeds are not favors, but only a decent respect fo 
 humanity. The spurious kind of welfare work, ir 
 tended only to rob the workers of independence c 
 action and of just, compensation, has met with d( 
 served discredit and disrepute. Justice, not charit] 
 is the right of all the workers. Let welfare wor 
 become what it should be — conscience work." 
 
 Another union representative said: "Welfar 
 work chloroforms the worker and gets the bette 
 of him. The unionists want to help themselvei 
 They do not want to be the objects of patronag( 
 It is a noticeable thing that welfare work stops whe 
 shops become unionized. Shops which give turke) 
 at Thanksgiving stop giving turkeys after the me 
 form unions, but the men can buy turkeys sever: 
 times a year, if they care to do so, with the increas 
 in wages. This seems to be evidence that welfai 
 
 26 
 
The Situation and Its Problems 
 
 work is used to keep the men from organizing." — 
 Mr. Frey. 
 
 In at least partial answer to the objections of 
 wage-earners it has been urged: There is no great 
 danger to protective legislation from welfare work, 
 because the press, the extension of the suffrage to all 
 adults, and the secret ballot, all backed by a growing 
 public sentiment, furnish a guarantee that social leg- 
 islation will be steadily developed to meet all the 
 dangers of industry. Discussions and investigations 
 in legislatures keep criticism alive. 
 
 The "patronage" factor tends to disappear with 
 the education of the working people and of their 
 employers. The welfare work brings an advan- 
 tage to the manager only when it is acceptable to the 
 employees, for only then is it an inducement. 
 
 The assertion of legal rights is not likely to be 
 weakened because the state organization of inspec- 
 tion, independent of the employers, becomes more 
 and more effective. The abolition of "truck laws" 
 has removed one ground of complaint and source 
 of abuse. 
 
 The fact that employers profit by their expendi- 
 tures on beneficent schemes is quite consistent with an 
 equal or even greater gain to the workmen. It does 
 not seem to be generally true that the rate of wages 
 is lower with firms which furnish extra advantages ; 
 generally higher wages go with each additional com- 
 fort and privilege. 
 
 As has been said, it is generally agreed to accept 
 the principle that all "paternalism," feudal, patri- 
 
 27 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 archal, patronizing elements must be excluded fron 
 the relations between employers and employees 
 The reasons for this are manifold. One of th 
 essential achievements of the industrial revolutio 
 has been to take the workman out of a conditio: 
 determined by status and secure to him all the dig 
 nity and security of freedom of contract. In thi 
 relation the employer and employee are supposei 
 to be on a level of legal equality. This advancei 
 position was won at such cost that intelligent work 
 ingmen will never surrender it, and they are exceed 
 ingly and justly sensitive to any indications of en 
 croachment. The workman has won and intends t( 
 keep his right to his own career and his own person 
 ality. He wishes and wills to enjoy himself in hi 
 own way, so long as he does not invade the simila 
 rights of his fellow-citizens. He resents any kin( 
 of direction of his appetites, his tastes, his enjoy 
 ments, his reading, his worship, his creed, his exer 
 cisc of political rights. 
 
 Legally and politically he is the equal of his em 
 ployer. When he makes an oral or written contrac 
 to labor, his obligations are defined and limited b; 
 that contract, or what is implied in it, by law an( 
 custom understood of all parties. 
 
 The aspiration of the workman to be a true cause 
 is a real factor in the direction of forces which affec 
 his interests. Mr. John Williams, President of th 
 Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel and Til 
 Workers, Pittsburgh, voiced this ideal : ^ 
 
 ^ Annals of the American Academy, July, 1912, 3 fj 
 
 28 
 
The Situation and Its Problems 
 
 "The workingman loses his individuality as soon 
 as he enters one of our modern industrial plants. He 
 becomes but an atom in the great aggregate of this 
 industrial system, and his only hope of regaining his 
 social and economic individuality is by uniting with 
 his fellow-workmen in a movement through which 
 he will be able to secure a joint bargain with his 
 employer for the labor he has to sell." In other 
 words, he asks "justice" and nothing more; certainly 
 not gifts of charity. But again what is "justice"? 
 
 There are managers who insist, in their reaction 
 against welfare work, that they buy labor just as 
 they buy iron or wagons ; that their moral obligations 
 are fully met when they pay market or contracted 
 rate of wages. "Justice" has an insistent way of 
 pushing to the core of problems. Is the analogy 
 between "labor" and iron or wheat exact? 
 
 "Labor" is an abstraction and has no concrete 
 reality; what we mean are laborers, and laborers 
 are human beings with nerves and capacity for suf- 
 fering which iron ingots have not. Even in the case 
 of horses or mules, a manager of business cannot 
 claim to treat them as iron or wheat; for they have 
 nerves. 
 
 The employer to be "just" must take into account 
 the rights of the community, the nation, the race; 
 he has no right to exploit the vitality of the people 
 for his personal gain. "Justice" is no longer defined 
 from a merely individualistic point of view; it is a 
 social product, is social wealth, and is socially defined 
 and guarded.' 
 
 29 
 
citizens in Industry 
 
 The treatment of employees is regulated by law, 
 which is the rule of the will of society expressed in 
 legal and authoritative form. The requirements ol 
 "justice" are no longer left to private and irrespon- 
 sible persons to fix by caprice; they are discussed in 
 public, formulated in the light of conflicting criti- 
 cism, and finally set down for the authoritative regu- 
 lation of relations between men. It is not safe to 
 leave such matters of national interest to private 
 parties ; and they are not so left. The laws relating 
 to child labor, women workers, factory inspection, 
 comfort, health and safety, liability and compensa- 
 tion for injuries, are concrete examples of public 
 definition of the duties of employers to employees. 
 
 These laws are based on justice, not charity, and 
 they contain a body of regulations which is con- 
 stantly growing and widening and becoming more 
 precise and exact. This is legal justice; and it has 
 now entered into the shop, the mill, the mine. All 
 voluntary generosity must start with this legal 
 ground and take it for granted. 
 
 II. Typical Comprehensive Plans. — Before we 
 take up particular phases of betterment devices for 
 description and criticism, we may select a few exam- 
 ples to exhibit the system in which particulars find 
 their places. 
 
 A type of the better German welfare department, 
 that of D. Peters and Company, is selected.^ This 
 company has a special department for welfare 
 work. There is a council of "elders" of sick mem- 
 
 1 Shadwell : Industrial Efficiency, ii, 175 ff. 
 
 30 
 
The Situation and Its Problems 
 
 bers; a member of the corporation is chairman, 
 without vote; four members are named by the firm 
 and four are selected from the general assembly. 
 The duty of the council is to examine the accounts; 
 to look after cases of need and misfortune; to super- 
 vise the conduct of the younger work-people; to 
 encourage them to improve their leisure time; to 
 combat rough behavior and drunkenness; to secure 
 observance of factory rules, and to prevent waste. 
 As representatives of employer and employees, they 
 make regulations, fix piece-work price lists, and 
 hours of work, and adopt measures to avert danger 
 and increase efficiency. The sick benefit club Is the 
 legal organ of sickness insurance. All employees are 
 required to belong to the savings bank fund. Mar- 
 ried men deposit 5 per cent, of wages and unmarried 
 men 10 per cent. Interest at the rate of 6 per cent, 
 is paid on sums less than $500; after that the depos- 
 itor disposes of his savings as he pleases. There is 
 also a voluntary savings bank, which pays 5 per 
 cent, interest. There is a relief fund for the assist- 
 ance of persons not protected by the sickness insur- 
 ance law. Pensions are provided for by law. The 
 workmen are helped to build homes. 
 
 There is a large building for the use and enjoy- 
 ment of the people. Bathing facilities are provided, 
 and the fees go to the relief fund. A steam laundry 
 charges $1.25 a quarter for each family. Wages 
 are relatively high, and hours of work have been 
 gradually reduced by the firm. 
 
 A Typical American Corporation. — The Mllwau- 
 
 31 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 kee Electric Railway and Light Company has devel- 
 oped a rather complete system, a description of 
 which gives a tolerably fair example of the type. 
 The welfare department has for its object "to pro- 
 mote the well-being, the happiness and the content- 
 ment of its employees." Membership in the Em- 
 ployees' Mutual Benefit Association is voluntary. 
 It provides for medical care, sick benefits being 
 granted in case of illness of more than one week. 
 Representatives of the Company visit homes when 
 there is sickness or other misfortune, and employees 
 call at the office of the welfare department for ad- 
 vice. Sick children of the workers are treated med- 
 ically at reduced rates. The educational purpose of 
 the department is made effective by encouraging the 
 use of the public library, a branch being established 
 in the public service building, and the reading-room 
 is furnished with technical magazines. The educa- 
 tional aim is defined as preparing "the individual to 
 reach the highest state of efficiency possible in carry- 
 ing out his life-work." The educational value of 
 play and recreation is recognized in the maintenance 
 of a band, an orchestra, a men's chorus, a dramatic 
 club, dances, entertainments, poolrooms and bowling 
 alleys. 
 
 The economic interests of the workers are pro- 
 moted by a pension fund which provides an income 
 for those who reach the age of sixty and have been 
 in the employ of the Company for fifteen consecutive 
 years. Employees who find it necessary to borrow 
 are not driven to the pawnbrokers. In the year end- 
 
 32 
 
The Situation and Its Problems 
 
 ing March ist, 19 13, 344 loans were made ranging 
 from $10 to $100 each; a total of $13,740.50. 
 
 The importance of suitable homes is recognized 
 by assisting families living in unwholesome houses 
 to move into better quarters in the less congested 
 sections of the city. 
 
 Even in such a delicate matter as marital troubles, 
 the agent of the Company, a person of tact and fine 
 feeling, has been able to secure reconciliation and 
 readjustment of the relations of married people, 
 thus saving them and their children from disgrace 
 and misery. Manifestly such work as this cannot 
 be bought with money. A magazine is published 
 whose purpose is declared to be "to strengthen the 
 bond of fellowship, the spirit of mutuality between 
 man and man." 
 
 The safety work of the Company includes : safe- 
 guarding machinery, making various kinds of work 
 less hazardous, installing appliances that will protect 
 the public as well as the employees, posting of no- 
 tices in conspicuous places, pointing out the dangers 
 of the street and making a direct appeal to the em- 
 ployees to cooperate and make suggestions as to 
 methods of preventing accidents. There is a cen- 
 tral safety committee, composed of heads of depart- 
 ments, which meets every week. Subcommittees are 
 composed of superintendents and foremen, and meet 
 every two weeks, making recommendations to the 
 central committee. There is cooperation with the 
 Wisconsin Safety League, which educates school 
 children in methods of safety. Cards are issued tQ 
 
 33 
 
citizens in Industry- 
 
 each employee with suggestions for the prevention o 
 accidents. 
 
 OUTLINE OF ORGANIZATION AND ACTIVITIES ALONG II 
 
 DUSTRIAL BETTERMENT LINES SOUTH WORKS OF 
 
 THE ILLINOIS STEEL COMPANY, SOUTH 
 CHICAGO. ILLINOIS 
 
 South Works covers an area of approximately 35 
 acres, on which are located the ore-receiving dod 
 and massive bridges and cranes for handling ra^ 
 materials ; 1 1 blast furnaces for the smelting of iror 
 26 open-hearth furnaces, and 3 bessemer vessels fc 
 refining the iron into steel; 2 rail mills; 2 bloomin 
 mills; 2 structural shape mills; i slabbing, and 
 plate mills ; an electric furnace, and complete sho 
 system, including machine, bridge, pipe, carpente 
 pattern, blacksmith, paint, and locomotive repa: 
 shops, foundries, etc. 
 
 Eighty-five hundred people are normally en 
 ployed, the bulk of whom are foreign laborers. 1 
 all thirty-two nationalities are represented, and mar 
 of these aliens are illiterate. The proper treatmei 
 of so large and so varied a force is a matter c 
 intense moment to the officials in charge. To hand 
 this problem there was created some eight yeai 
 ago a department of labor and safety, wherein ai 
 centered the employment, fire, police, accident pr 
 ventlon, personal Injury settlement, visiting nurs 
 pension, and all other similar activities of the who! 
 plant. This department is unique In Its operatio: 
 
 34 
 
The Situation and Its Problems 
 
 and has been a very active force in carrying out the 
 policy of the general superintendent, viz., that every 
 man shall he guaranteed a square deal in all his rela- 
 tions with the Company. The department of labor 
 is supreme in its decisions regarding all questions of 
 eligibility (other than efficiency) of all applicants 
 for employment, and in like manner, reviews all 
 cases of dismissal from the service, which are recom- 
 mended by the various department heads, and sees 
 that they are not prejudicial to the expressed policy 
 of the General Superintendent. When necessary, 
 reinstatement is made, and all questions of infraction 
 of plant regulations are passed upon directly by the 
 Supervisor of Labor and Safety. 
 
 The best results have been obtained through edu- 
 cational measures, which are accomplished mainly 
 through committees of workmen themselves. In 
 each department there is maintained a committee of 
 workmen who have general charge of the safety 
 work in their own department. 
 
 At this meeting a discussion of all accidents oc- 
 curring in the preceding month is read, and the com- 
 mitteemen classify the accident according to the fol- 
 lowing chart, a majority vote deciding: 
 
 I. Trade Risks, Incidental and Non-preventable 
 II. Negligence of Company 
 
 I. Failure to use safety devices provided by 
 foremen or others 
 35; 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 2. Failure to use proper tools or appliances 
 
 provided 
 
 3. Violation of rules by foremen or others 
 
 4. Improper act, or selection of improper 
 
 method of doing work by foremen or 
 others 
 
 5. Failure to instruct men as to method of 
 
 doing work, and hazards incident 
 thereto by foremen or others 
 
 6. Failure to provide safety devices 
 
 7. Failure to provide proper tools, appli- 
 
 ances or place to work 
 
 III. Negligence of Workmen 
 A — Injured Man 
 
 1. Failed to use safety devices provided 
 
 2. Failed to use proper tools or appliances 
 
 provided 
 
 3. Violation of rules 
 
 4. Improper act, or selection of improper 
 
 method of doing work (by work- 
 men) 
 
 B — Other Workmen 
 
 1. Failed to use safety devices provided 
 
 2. Failed to use proper tools or appliances 
 
 provided 
 
 3. Violation of rules 
 
 4. Improper act, or selection of improper 
 
 method of doing work (by work- 
 men) 
 IV. Fault of Other Industry 
 
 36 
 
The Situation and Its Problems 
 
 There is also read at this meeting a description 
 of the accidents occurring at other plants, which 
 may be of value in preventing a like occurrence 
 locally. Moving pictures are shown and topics dis- 
 cussed, of interest to all. The recommendations 
 made by the workmen's committees are submitted 
 in writing to the superintendent of the department 
 affected, and their completion supervised through 
 the general plant committee. . . . 
 
 In addition to the Immensely gratifying results, 
 as effected from a humanitarian standpoint, there 
 has been a distinct financial saving effected. It may 
 be shown that the cost of installing and maintaining 
 the mechanical safeguards, plus the cost of all edu- 
 cational work, and the maintenance of an organized 
 safety department, is more than offset by the reduc- 
 tion in the cost of personal injury settlements. 
 
 Following close on the trail of the accident pre- 
 vention is a modest and dignified "Anti-Booze 
 Fight." Officials and safety committeemen alike, 
 are putting up for the calm consideration of the 
 workmen in general, the various financial, social and 
 industrial aspects of the liquor habit. These efforts 
 are meeting with a distinctly gratifying success. 
 There has not been any attempt made by the officials 
 to prohibit the use of liquor by employees. . . . 
 That the officials are governing themselves by the 
 same principles they would apply to the workmen 
 is shown by the increasing number of teetotalers in 
 the ranks of officers, and the elimination by them of 
 wine at banquets and dinners. Access to the plant 
 
 37 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 for the distribution of milk Is granted to milk de; 
 ers, and regular routes and prescribed distributii 
 stations are provided by the Company. The dai 
 distribution in summer totals 1,400 quarts of milk. 
 Two visiting nurses are employed, vi^ho visit tl 
 families of employees for gratuitous nursing servic 
 instruction in housekeeping, sanitation, preparati( 
 of food for the sick, infant welfare, etc. The 
 nurses are members of the staff of the Visirii 
 Nurses' Association of Chicago, but are detailed 
 the South Works of the Illinois Steel Company, ai 
 all their expenses are paid by the Company. Son 
 idea of their activities may be gained from the fc 
 lowing statistics: 
 
 Total number of patients cared for during 19 14.... 9 
 
 Total number of visits to homes 3,7 
 
 Total number of office interviews 3,1 
 
 When the visiting nurses began their work, mai 
 cases came to light where there was need of imm 
 diate financial or material assistance in the purcha 
 of sick-room supplies, etc., but there were objectio 
 on the part of employees and their families to recei 
 ing these supplies as a donation from the Compan 
 on account of a natural feeling of repugnance f^ 
 charity which exists among American workmen, l 
 a result of the need of Immediate assistance in cas 
 of destitution, and the objection to charitable don 
 tlons, there was organized a "Good-Fellow Club 
 which several hundreds of the workmen have joine 
 
 38 
 
The Situation and Its Problems 
 
 The membership dues are optional, between the 
 limits of ten and fifty cents per month, and the money 
 so raised is placed at the disposal of the visiting 
 nurses, subject to certain restrictions by the manage- 
 ment of the Good-Fellow Club. The Good-Fellow 
 Club is distinctly an employees' organization, and 
 the Company does not contribute a cent to its sup- 
 port. The revenue derived from dues and donations 
 during 19 14 was approximately $4,000, practically 
 all of which went for relief work and such items as 
 5,906 quarts of milk, 265 grocery orders, wheel- 
 chairs, sick-room necessities, porch screens, main- 
 tenance of inmates of sanitariums, etc. 
 
 The Club made over an unsightly vacant lot in a 
 congested district into a well-equipped playground, 
 which was maintained during the summer months for 
 the children and babies of the neighborhood. The 
 average daily attendance during the summer months 
 was 72 children, 10 babies and 25 adults. The total 
 number of days spent by children, babies and adults 
 combined, according to the daily average, reached 
 the startling number of 6,444. 
 
 The Good-Fellow Club was organized in June, 
 1912, and incorporated in March, 1913, and has a 
 steadily growing membership. At Christmas time, 
 1 9 14, 191 baskets of dinners and toys were distrib- 
 uted to needy families in the neighborhood. 
 
 The Illinois Steel Company practically supports a 
 large settlement house, located in this immediate 
 vicinity, and known as the South End Center. In 
 addition to the support given to this establishment 
 
 39 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 by the Company, the officials of the plant dona 
 generously of their individual earnings, many ( 
 them subscribing to regular monthly gifts of $5.c 
 each. It has been the custom at the plant for mar 
 years to have an annual banquet just prior to Chris 
 mas time, which is participated in by the heads ( 
 each department and their assistants. Prior to 191 
 this banquet was usually held in the Loop distric 
 and wine was served, bringing the cost of the dinn( 
 up to $5.00 or more per plate. In 19 14, howeve 
 the organization members voted unanimously to r 
 strict their dinner cost to $1.00 and hold their bai 
 quet in the regular clubroom of the plant, and coi 
 fine their entertainment to that furnished by loc; 
 talent. The difference in cost was donated to cha 
 ity, and amounted to more than $400. By such ac 
 as this, the members of the South Works organiz; 
 tion have come to be known as being deeply inte 
 ested in the moral and social betterment of the entii 
 community, and the mill men are usually found t 
 be active in local organizations, such as the Commi 
 nity Y. M. C. A. plan. The Calumet Recreatic 
 Association, The South Chicago Business Men 
 Association, and various charitable orders. 
 
 Coal is given free of charge to all of the church( 
 in the immediate vicinity of the plant, and to a 
 destitute famihes. Distribution of coal for charil 
 is accomplished through the various relief organiz; 
 tions, such as the United Charities, the South En 
 Center, The Women's Benevolent Association, Tl: 
 Catholic Ladies' Aid Society, St. Michael's Paris 
 
 40 
 
The Situation and Its Problems 
 
 Society, etc. In all cases the Company donates the 
 coal gratuitously, and in a majority of the cases 
 pays the teaming charges as well. In the months 
 of October, November and December, 19 14, this 
 distribution of coal amounted to 1,376 gross tons. 
 
 The distribution of pensions in conformity to the 
 rules of the United States Steel and Carnegie Pen- 
 sion Fund, to veterans in the service of the corpora- 
 tion's subsidiaries, is carried out through the depart- 
 ment of labor and safety. Every month a personal 
 representative of the General Superintendent calls 
 upon each of the 65 pensioners and delivers a pen- 
 sion check, the amount of which is based upon the 
 employee's length of service and rate of pay. The 
 average amount is approximately $35.00 per month 
 per individual. This personal delivery of the pen- 
 sion checks enables the General Superintendent to 
 keep closely in touch with the veterans, making it 
 possible for him to alleviate distressing conditions, 
 should they arise. All of the pensioners are given a 
 special pass, entitling them to come on the plant at 
 any time, and insuring special courtesies from all 
 employees. The pensioners are encouraged to visit 
 with their former cronies, and a conception of the 
 good feeling prevailing generally among the em- 
 ployees and management may be had only by partici- 
 pation in a reunion of these veterans. 
 
 In this description of the industrial betterment 
 activities of the Illinois Steel Company should be 
 cited the plan adopted during periods of financial 
 depression, viz. : the apportioning of available em- / 
 
 41 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 ployment as generally as possible among the need 
 employees. Thus, during the depression of 191^ 
 instead of discharging a large percentage of its en 
 ployees, the Company maintained all the marrie 
 men, and those having people dependent upon" ther 
 for support, on their payrolls, and prorated th 
 work among them. There is no doubt but what thi 
 action had a great deal of effect in preventing 
 large number of cases of absolute destitution. Eve 
 in times of normal business activity continuity c 
 service is fostered by interchanging men among th 
 several other departments of the plant, on occasio 
 of breakdowns or reduction of force in a partlcula 
 department. 
 
 Another feature of corporation service, having 
 great deal of influence on the relations between th 
 workmen and officials, is the plan of distribution o 
 stock of the Company to employees. For severs 
 years past the employees have annually been give 
 the privilege of subscribing to common or preferre 
 stock of the United States Steel Corporation at 
 price slightly under the market quotations. En 
 ployees are permitted to pay for this stock at a max 
 mum rate of 25 per cent, of their salary per montl 
 or a minimum rate of $1.50 per month per shar 
 for common, and $2.50 per month per share fo 
 preferred stock. 
 
 The stock is set aside in their name on the dat 
 of subscription and all dividends are credited t 
 their account, 5 per cent, interest being charged fo 
 deferred payments. In addition to the regular stocl 
 
 42 
 
The Situation and Its Problems 
 
 holder's dividends, there is granted to the employees 
 an additional annual dividend for five years, of 
 $5.00 per share for preferred, and $3.00 per share 
 for common stock. If an employee cancels his sub- 
 scription before delivery of the stock, is made, all of 
 his money is returned to him, plus 5 per cent, interest. 
 If he sells his stock, or leaves the employ of the 
 Company after stock has been issued to him, he for- 
 feits the special dividends referred to above, and 
 these are then set aside by the Corporation manage- 
 ment into a special fund, which is divided among the 
 persistent stockholders at the end of the five-year 
 period. The additional bonus derived in this man- 
 ner has ranged from $15.00 to over $60.00 per 
 share. Besides the very remunerative rate of inter- 
 est derived from an investment of this nature, it has 
 the added value of encouragement to regular savings. 
 From the foregoing it may be deduced that the 
 officials of the Company have exercised a benign 
 influence, not only in their relations with the men 
 within the plant, but outside as well. In fact, it is 
 the exercise of broad human interest, and a desire 
 to be absolutely fair on all questions, which has con- 
 tributed to the remarkable success achieved by South 
 Works in a maintenance of satisfactory labor con- 
 ditions, and gratifying production and cost records. 
 
 GOVERNMENTS AS EMPLOYERS 
 
 12. Aside from social legislation to control or 
 direct the actions of private employers and corpora- 
 
 43 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 tions, we must not forget that federal, state and 
 municipal governments are employers of labor on a 
 vast scale. The army, navy, post-office, public 
 works, schools, police and fire departments are in 
 control of a multitude of persons who live by wages 
 or small salaries. These great administrative 
 organs represent the wealth, honor, reputation and 
 duty of the entire people, and they are under moriaj 
 obligations to set an example of humane treatment 
 to workers. There are flagrant abuses to correct in 
 the conditions of post-office clerks who are forbid- 
 den to organize trade unions and present grievances 
 through elected representatives. While expendi- 
 tures fall on tax-payers, including wage-earners, and 
 should not be wasteful or extravagant, and while 
 public employees should be strictly held to loyal 
 service, there is wide room for reasonable improve- 
 ment in conditions, hours, treatment and pay of 
 many persons in public employ.^ 
 
 THE TRANSITION FROM PHILANTHROPY AND WELFARI 
 SCHEMES TO SOCIAL LEGISLATION " 
 
 13. The history of charity indicates the directior 
 we are to travel. There we can discover the gradua' 
 transformation of individual, private, exceptiona 
 
 ^ The physical condition of certain post-offices is a dis 
 grace and an injustice, especially as organizations of em 
 ployees are suppressed by the administration. 
 
 ^Hanus: "Das Programm der Wohlfahrtspflege," ii 
 Schriften der Zentralstelle fiir Volkswohlfahrt, i, 33. 
 
 44 
 
The Situation and Its Problems 
 
 kindness to custom and law. In medieval times a 
 man who founded a school, built a road or bridge, 
 or established a hospital for the indigent sick was 
 canonized as a saint and even had a surplus of good- 
 ness to carry him well on the way to celestial bliss. 
 Now roads, bridges, schools and hospitals are paid 
 for by public taxation and belong to all. 
 • It should not surprise us, therefore, to find that 
 the benevolent works of employers, which now seem 
 to be gracious and liberal gifts, should soon be re- 
 quired by law. In the case of old-age pensions, sick-' 
 ness and accident insurance, hygienic requirements of 
 workshops, and vocational training, the transition 
 is already far advanced; further evolution in the 
 same direction is only a matter of time. This is not 
 to the discredit of philanthropy. Civilization owes 
 much to the seers and pioneers, and they deserve 
 honor. 
 
 The cotton mills of the South have been severely 
 criticized by visitors from various parts of the coun- 
 try. The opening of a new industry has attracted 
 many families from the rural and mountainous 
 regions where they lived in extreme poverty, on poor 
 soil, without means of transportation, without 
 credit for investment, or schools, or outlook for 
 the next generation. Since 1880, it is said that of 
 the 110,000 operatives now employed in the manu- 
 facture of cotton goods in the South, about 80,000 
 were twenty years ago poverty-stricken, illiterate, 
 discouraged, without skill. The cotton mills gave 
 them employment and a cash income they had never 
 
 45 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 before known. "The first generation of operative 
 coming from conditions above described brough 
 fingers so stiffened, hands so hardened by toil, as t( 
 be totally unfit for handling the soft, unspun cotton 
 it followed that the children, with still supple fingers 
 were pressed into service as spinners." At first the; 
 went joyfully, for it was a novel experience, and thi 
 shining silver was to them a beautiful sight. The; 
 did not know what premature factory labor doe 
 to children; their parents did not know; the loca 
 physicians had no experience with occupational dis 
 eases; the employers did not always know; there wa 
 no public opinion, no social legislation, no tradi 
 unions. Abuses were inevitable; perhaps report 
 have sometimes been "yellow" and exaggerated, bu 
 the reality was too bad to be tolerated long. Thi 
 employers were not totally hardened. Some sor 
 of welfare work has been started in every mill ii 
 North and South Carolina and Virginia. In thi 
 more advanced villages the mill companies suppor 
 a welfare hospital. New dwellings have been buil 
 with four to six rooms each. Kindergartens, schools 
 churches, club-houses, recreation facilities have beei 
 provided.^ 
 
 Experience with depressing conditions in factor 
 and home, and employment of child labor, sooi 
 showed the more progressive manufacturers tha 
 they were parties to exploitation and destruction o 
 life, and conscience pricked them. But some wer 
 
 ^ Mrs. J. Borden Harriman : Annals of the America; 
 Academy, Mar., 1910, 47 ff. 
 
 46 
 
The Situation and Its Problems 
 
 tardy, obtuse, blinded by quick profits, and their 
 competition was an obstacle to advance. The Na- 
 tional Child Labor Committee, the Consumers' 
 League, and humane agitators, perhaps even "muck- 
 rakers" stirred the public mind. The people of the 
 South are gentle, chivalrous, just; they need only to 
 know what is right to be induced to act. Legisla- 
 tion completes the work of individual humanity, and 
 brings up the reluctant miser to the level of a fair 
 standard. The pioneer philanthropic gifts of "wel- 
 fare work" were factors in this improvement. With- 
 out excusing the cruelty which has been proved we 
 may well believe that the development on the whole 
 has been in the direction of larger welfare. A new 
 spirit is taking possession of the South and every 
 humanitarian cause there has a welcome and a 
 sympathetic hearing. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 HEALTH AND EFFICIENCY: THE FUNDAMENTAL I> 
 TEREST OF ALL CITIZENS 
 
 THE NATIONAL INTERESTS AFFECTED BY EFFICIENCY 
 WORKMEN ' 
 
 The productive power of the workman is a un: 
 versal interest; first of all to the wage-earner an 
 his family. Many factors afFect the rate of income 
 but individual efficiency is primary. Men are pai^ 
 for production, and there is a general tendency t 
 pay them in proportion to their efficiency. Th 
 weak, awkward, lazy, blundering mechanic does no 
 receive as much as the strong, skillful, industrious 
 accurate and alert fellow-workman at his side. Th 
 employer is interested in the maximum efficiency o 
 the employee because it is one of the chief causes o 
 higher rates of profits, interest, or dividends 
 Stockholders are interested, because their invesi 
 ments are more fertile in proportion to the increas 
 of product. The nation finds in a sound, stron 
 and vigorous labor force the physical basis of it 
 power and greatness. 
 
 ^ See publications of The Life Extension Institute, 25 Wei 
 45th St., New York City. 
 
 48 
 
Health and Efficiency 
 
 Industrial efficiency is not the end of human 
 existence; there are higher concerns; but this is 
 essential as a basis; the noblest spire must have a 
 solid foundation in the earth. We often hear it said 
 — and we say it ourselves in the proper connection — 
 that man is more than wealth or production. True; 
 but man lives by the productive process and cannot 
 live otherwise. 
 
 Nay, take my life and all; pardon not that; 
 You take my house when you do take the prop 
 That doth sustain my house ; you take my life 
 When you do take the means whereby I live. 
 
 Merchant of Venice, Act IV, Sc. I. 
 
 Man is more than money, but on this planet man 
 cannot live without money, and his present domicile 
 and duty are here. 
 
 Socialists sometimes object to the persistent em- 
 phasis on efficiency and to the efforts of employers 
 to get as much as possible out of their employees. 
 It is at once admitted that critics can find only too 
 many cases of shameless exploitation of men, women 
 and children for the sake of profits and dividends, 
 for which no decent excuse can be pleaded.^ But 
 industrial efficiency would be just as vital to the 
 socialistic state as it is to the capitalistic manager 
 system. One chief objection to exploitation is that 
 it does not get enough out of the workers. It is 
 irrational as well as mean, for it tries to get a ton's 
 service out of a pound of fuel. The time will never 
 
 ^ C, Hanford Henderson : Pay Day. 
 
 PROPERTY ^ LIBRARY 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 come when society can relax efforts or be conten 
 with Indifferent, feeble and incompetent operatives 
 It is rational, therefore, for us in the present age t( 
 do all in our power to improve the quality and thi 
 energy of labor force. Even now managers an 
 learning that the human machine requires exquisiti 
 care; that strain and fatigue must be avoided; tha 
 clear brains and steady nerves have an immediati 
 value in relation to investments. More strong man 
 agers than ever before have heard the appeal o: 
 John Ruskin : "Men are enlisted for the labor tha 
 kills; let them be enlisted for the labor that feeds 
 i, and let the captains of the latter be held as mucl 
 gentlemen as the captains of the former." 
 
 If ever Socialism comes to control the industria 
 process, it may make a new selection of manageri 
 and divide the product without reference to profits 
 but if it does not at once plunge the nation into eco 
 nomic ruin it must adopt and improve precisely th( 
 same kind of devices which we have now to discuss 
 It seems important to make this clear because th( 
 wage-earners are more and more looking in the di 
 rection of Socialism and are somewhat impatient ol 
 what their more restless leaders call half-measures 
 unworthy of their attention. The more farseeinj 
 and instructed among them, however, declare thai 
 they will take all they can get now and carry it ovei 
 ready-made into the new and happier order which 
 they tell us with exuberant confidence and constan' 
 reiteration, is almost at the door. At present w( 
 may leave to these sanguine agitators all the glorj 
 
 50 
 
Health and Efficiency 
 
 of prophets while we invite them to cooperate in 
 producing what in any event seems desirable for the 
 immediate requirements as well as for the unre- 
 vealed future. It is curious that before we discuss 
 the means for promoting "efficiency" we must estab- 
 lish the fact that it is desirable; because we con- 
 stantly meet objections which assume that it is better 
 to restrict production of goods in the interest of the 
 wage-earners. If the case were simple, as when 
 three brothers are farming their own land as part- 
 ners, there would not be a shadow of doubt as to 
 the desirability of getting as large a crop as the soil 
 could yield to their common labor. The larger 
 the product, the larger each individual share. 
 
 Nor does the case seem more difficult to interpret 
 in the case of national wealth and production; for 
 surely a product of two billion will, if equitably 
 divided, give each citizen more means of enjoyment 
 than a product of one billion; that is a problem of 
 simple division which any schoolgirl can solve with 
 pencil and paper. But skepticism arises because the 
 product of national industry does not appear to be 
 equitably divided. Many men work hard, help in- 
 crease national wealth, and enjoy little of the prod- 
 uct. Frequently they are crippled in the process and 
 abandoned by their brothers and partners in the 
 midst of a mighty harvest. It is this actual experi- 
 ence which makes many workers skeptical about 
 "efficiency," for it seems to them to increase the 
 strain, often to leave them unemployed, and to yield 
 no larger wages. 
 
 51 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 The trade-union rules which forbid an exception 
 man to speed up, to set a pace, to double the prodi: 
 of his machine each day, are not altogether fooli 
 and wicked. There is a measure of reason in the 
 resistance. It will not do to dismiss their objectio 
 with the assertion of "ignorance of economic laws 
 for their leaders are often very keen students 
 economics and they learn in the hard school < 
 experience. 
 
 If we desire to win "organized labor" to enthu 
 astic support of our campaign for increased el 
 ciency, we must make it clear to them, not mere 
 by argument but by practical measures, that tl 
 wages will be increased, that employment will 1 
 more regular and reliable, and that they will n 
 be physically ruined by the new methods. Mai 
 of the wiser advocates of efficiency understand tl: 
 situation and they are taking measures to set tl 
 doubts at rest. These methods will be critically e 
 amined in this and subsequent chapters ; and first i 
 all we seek a scientific guarantee that the worke 
 shall be improved in vitality and not be used up 
 their toil. 
 
 Even when corporal punishment or dietary di 
 cipline becomes necessary in prison the doctor stam 
 by to see that the pain or deprivation is not carri( 
 so far as to affect bodily integrity. Surely hone 
 workingmen are entitled to at least as much scie 
 tific supervision as convicts while they produce tl 
 comforts of existence for us all by painful toil ar 
 frequent peril of life and limb; the physician mu 
 
 52 
 
Health and Efficiency 
 
 give scientific precision to standards of health and 
 apply them to measures recommended by engineers. 
 
 The "captain of industry" cannot escape the re- 
 sponsibility of an officer in command. He represents 
 dominion, and inside the shop he is king. Therefore 
 it is not charity, but justice which requires him to so 
 control the conditions of the work-place that citizens 
 of the Republic shall receive no damage. In foreign 
 lands, the nation protects its citizens with the sacred 
 folds of its flag; it proposes to do as much for its 
 citizens in shops. 
 
 It would transcend the limits and plan of this 
 book to reprint here the details of measures and 
 arrangements of individual employers to protect 
 physical integrity and vigor.^ They can all be con- 
 veniently, if only provisionally, classified in three 
 groups: measures for safety, health and comfort. 
 Of course this or any other division must be some- 
 what arbitrary, because the devices may have for 
 their purpose two, or even all, of these ends. 
 
 It is true that we are considering here only the 
 voluntary activities of employers; while many of 
 these devices are either already matters of legal 
 obligation or are certain to be included by law in 
 the near future. Yet it is proper to consider these 
 measures in this connection because the welfare 
 work of the more advanced and thoughtful employ- 
 ers pioneers the way for laws, shows what is advis- 
 able and practicable, technically and financially, and 
 creates public opinion in favor of requiring the in- 
 
 ^ See W. H. Tolman : Safety, chap. III. 
 
 53 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 ferior managers to come up to the level of tl 
 superior. 
 
 There is always a difference of quality in the u 
 of safety devices, even when legally required, in : 
 establishment inspired by a humane spirit and 
 another where nothing but pecuniary profit is co 
 sidered. There is always opportunity for goodw 
 and quick intelligence even under the most advana 
 legislation. Law can never do the work of kin 
 ness and honest desire to benefit our fellow-men; 
 can never go beyond the average and the necessa 
 standard; it can never be equal to the best possib] 
 It is not so much a question of expenditure of mon 
 on costly protective devices, but more a question 
 competent, alert and sincere direction by the ma 
 agers. In some large corporations certain repr 
 sentatlves of the directors, with special training f 
 their duties, are set apart for the administration 
 these measures.^ 
 
 SAFETY DEVICES 
 
 The capitaHst managers of manufacturing esta 
 lishments are as a rule ready to protect the physic 
 integrity of the employees; it is fair to say that t 
 deliberately neghgent or cruel employer is rai 
 Nevertheless the statistics of accidents and diseas 
 
 i-E. G. In the famous Krupp plant at Essen, Germai 
 which employs about 60,000 men, about one-fourth of t 
 whole board of directors give all their time to the welfs 
 institutions. — Mr. Parker, National Civic Federation, Ter 
 Annual Meeting, 1909. 
 
 54 
 
Health and Efficiency 
 
 due to occupation reveal an appalling number of 
 injuries and deaths which might be prevented by the 
 use of measures already approved by trial. The 
 chief difficulty seems to be that hitherto stockholders 
 and managers have never in this country tried to set 
 before themselves a modern standard of protective 
 and preventive measures, and no adequate means 
 exist for their education; although organization to 
 this end is being rapidly developed. 
 
 It is true that the employers' liability laws have 
 done something to remind managers that they might 
 be obliged to pay heavily for an injury or a death 
 due to their own negligence. But the law contained 
 no definite standard in itself, and the judicial inter- 
 pretations have been vague, contradictory and exas- 
 perating to workmen; the awards have been uncer- 
 tain, the litigation costly and tedious; while the 
 workman had little chance, pitted against company 
 physicians and lawyers or the claim agents of power- 
 ful casualty companies, to make his claim appear 
 just. The influence of such a law on the prevention 
 of accidents and sickness has been real, but by no 
 means satisfactory; in many situations it has been 
 imperceptible in the presence of multiplied disasters. 
 
 Responsible organizations of manufacturers have 
 recently admitted and sincerely advocated the prin- 
 ciple that a business which injures men should pay at 
 least part of the cost of human wreckage which it 
 produces and not load the charity funds of the com- 
 munity with this burden. This principle has been 
 generally accepted and has already been embodied 
 
 55 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 in "compensation" laws and "accident insuranc 
 laws of several states of the Union; and these n« 
 laws require the employers to pay indemnities 
 injured workmen even when negligence of the ei 
 ployer could not be proved, as it seldom can 
 proved. 
 
 Still more effective is the "factory legislatioi 
 which prescribes a standard of safety and healt 
 provides for inspectors, and penalizes managers wl 
 refuse or neglect to use the protective measures i 
 quired in the law. These laws are continually i 
 vised and improved, medical inspectors are son: 
 times added to the force, and the degree of securi 
 is enhanced. 
 
 Where industrial insurance is required to guara 
 tee the compensation, and the premium rates a 
 raised or lowered with the number of the injure 
 the interest of the employer in preventing accider 
 and sickness is increased, and he is more eager 
 avoid such losses by using suitable modern app 
 ances. 
 
 Not only do employers need education in tt 
 noble art of human conservation, but the workme 
 themselves, require information and training, 
 the last analysis no devices can take the place < 
 personal intelligence, watchfulness and care. Eve 
 shop should provide thoroughly and systematical 
 for the instruction and drill of the force, so th 
 at any moment any workman would know what 
 do In case of fire, or Injury from any cause, to app 
 "first aid to the sick and injured," and how to u 
 
 56 
 
Health and Efficiency 
 
 the costly appliances introduced for the comfort, 
 safety and health of the employees. 
 
 The clear duty and real interest of the capitalist 
 manager in relation to the law is to see that it is 
 enforced in good faith, that its working is carefully 
 watched for results, and that when it fails to work 
 well it should be studied by some Impartial and com- 
 petent association with a view to Its amendment.^ 
 
 Here is a program of obligations drawn up by a 
 competent authority on occupational hygiene.^ 
 
 Responsibility of Employers 
 
 1. Mental and physical fitness of employees. Physical 
 
 examination prior to employment and periodically 
 thereafter. 
 
 2. Wages 
 
 a. Adequate to maintain the employees as to (i) 
 
 proper food (2) clothing (3) hours for rest and 
 recreation, and thereby maintain an efficient and 
 healthy mind and body 
 
 b. Increase or promotions according to length of serv- 
 
 ice to provide for family and increase in family 
 
 c. Adequate to save for an old age or pay for old-age 
 
 pension 
 
 3. Place of Employment 
 
 a. General sanitary conditions (i) proper heating (2) 
 proper humidity (3) proper lighting (4) no 
 
 ^ In this connection the Wisconsin system is specially 
 worthy of study. See J. R. Commons : Labor and Adminis- 
 tration, and the publications of the Wisconsin Industrial 
 Commission. 
 
 2 Dr. B. S. Warren: "United States Public Health Ser- 
 vice," in Public Health Reports, May 29, 1914. 
 
 57 
 
citizens in Industry 
 
 overcrowding (5) proper ventilation (6) prope 
 cleaning (7) clean w^ater supply 
 
 b. Special dangers ( i ) substitute harmless or least dan 
 
 gerous material for use of dangerous materia 
 whenever practicable (2) safe handling of dan 
 gerous material by mechanical devices, etc. 
 
 c. Removal of dust, gases, fumes 
 
 d. Safeguarding against accidents 
 
 e. Equipment necessary for personal hygiene ( i ) wash 
 
 ing facilities (2) toilets (3) rest-rooms (4) lock 
 ers, etc. 
 
 4. Mental and physical energy expended 
 
 a. Hours of labor (i) length of work day (2) over 
 
 time (3) night work 
 
 b. Fatigue ( I ) rest, recreation and sleep necessary t( 
 
 eliminate waste and restore body cells prior t( 
 beginning day's work (2) posture, speed of worl 
 or attention required which causes unusual straii 
 to be eliminated when practicable, or adequat 
 rest periods to be allowed (3) monotony of occu 
 pation as cause of fatigue 
 
 5. Age and sex of employees 
 
 a. No child labor under fourteen years 
 
 b. No night work for women, young people, or chil 
 
 dren 
 
 6. Compensation for sickness and accident incident t( 
 
 employment 
 
 7. Regular employment in so far as practicable 
 
 8. Medical supervision by company physicians 
 
 a. Prompt medical and surgical aid 
 
 b. Sanitary inspections 
 
 c. Elimination in an equitable manner of the mentall; 
 
 and physically unfit 
 
 58 
 
Health and Efficiency 
 
 9. Contributor to sick insurance fund 
 10. Education of employees 
 
 a. Prevention of disease 
 
 b. Prevention of accidents 
 
 c. Special rules for dangerous processes 
 
 He also shows that employees themselves have 
 their duties as to : home environment, places of sur- 
 gical relief, contribution to sick-insurance fund, edu- 
 cation. The State responsibility relates to housing, 
 hours of labor, minimum wage scale, medical super- 
 vision, pure food regulations, pure water supply, 
 special measures to prevent disease, regulation of 
 social insurance or compulsory sick and old-age 
 insurance, and education. 
 
 "safety first" 
 
 Naturally attention was first directed to the pre- 
 vention of so-called "accidents," that is injuries 
 caused by some external object, as hammer, wheel, 
 or a current of electricity of high voltage; because 
 these injuries produce visible mutilations and spec- 
 tacular sufferings which are directly and obviously 
 due to the employment; while the connection of occu- 
 pation with disease may not be clear without pro- 
 longed and skillful medical investigation. 
 
 Teaching Safety. — A good illustration of the ne- 
 cessity for intervention of managers in the conduct 
 of employees is found in the perils to physical in- 
 tegrity from the ignorance and carelessness of men 
 
 59 
 
citizens in Industry 
 
 in hazardous ^ occupations. It is all very well t( 
 say that men are capable of taking care of them 
 selves; but multitudes of our laborers are slmpl 
 peasants from European agriculture, and they kno\ 
 nothing of the perils of a coal mine, a steel mill, o 
 a machine shop; nor have they any means of findinj 
 out ways of safety. It has been said that men lov 
 life and freedom from pain; but they are forgetfu 
 and must be reminded constantly and warned o 
 points of danger. Brave men are ashamed to sho\ 
 timidity in the presence of their fellows ; and this ver 
 good quality of courage is their peril. It is the mar 
 ager who has the right to give the warning and m 
 one else, and he is primarily responsible for neglecl 
 
 Men are organized into groups, with the motti 
 "Safety First." If a member of the group notice 
 that a fellow-worker Is carelessly risking life or limt 
 he reports him, and a fine or suspension compels hir 
 to consider more carefully the next time he walk 
 on the railway tracks, or swings on a footboard cov 
 ered with ice, or leaves a loose board to trip th 
 next brakeman on the top of a freight car. 
 
 The superintendent in a steel works posts nc 
 tices in the Polish, Croatian, Roumanian, Sloval 
 and Hungarian languages : "Wear goggles whe 
 working around circular saws, chipping, handlin 
 acids, cutting cables, working at emery wheels." 
 
 The Industrial Commission of Wisconsin has ii 
 sued this circular of warning and instructions : 
 
 ^ Any occupation is "hazardous" in which workmen ai 
 hurt. 
 
 60 
 
Health and Efficiency 
 
 "The Industrial Commission [of Wisconsin] has 
 recently investigated the experience of a number of 
 manufacturing concerns which have made reductions 
 of from fifty to seventy-five per cent, in accidents. 
 Below is given a brief outline of the ways and 
 means which these companies have found to be the 
 most effective in getting results. 
 
 "Guards 1-3 — Inspection and Education 2-j 
 
 "All of these companies have found that not more 
 than one-third of the reductions which have been 
 made, have been accomphshed by means of mechan- 
 ical guards or any mechanical equipment, while two- 
 thirds have been accomplished by education, inspec- 
 tion and cooperation of the workmen. 
 
 "Begin at the Top — Officers Must Do Their Share 
 
 "The first step in safety organization is for the 
 owners of the business to recognize safety work and 
 to give it a legitimate place in the organization, and 
 then to prove their interest by appropriating the 
 money and equipping their plant with proper safe- 
 guards. Unless the officers do their part, the fore- 
 men and workmen will not take safety seriously and 
 will not do their part. An attitude of absolute 
 frankness should be assumed by the employers and 
 their superintendents, and the whole problem of 
 accidents, their cause and prevention, should be 
 discussed with the workmen and both should as- 
 
 61 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 sume their responsibility. When the superintendents 
 or foremen are responsible for an accident it should 
 be frankly admitted, and when the workxnen are to 
 blame It should be stated with equal frankness. By 
 far the most Important factor in reducing accidents 
 is to get the real intelligent interest and cooperation 
 of the workmen, and without frankness this is im- 
 possible.^ 
 
 "Instruct Every Man 
 
 "It is indispensable for safety that every work- 
 man, especially every new man and every non-Eng- 
 lish speaking man, should be carefully instructed by 
 his foreman with regard to the dangers of his job. 
 This should be done in a frank and kindly manner, 
 and he should be made to appreciate the part which 
 the company is doing and the larger part which he 
 alone can do In protecting himself and his fellows. 
 Books of rules, bulletins and signs have been found 
 useful in instructing the men and keeping before 
 them the subject of safety. 
 
 "Workmen Are the Best Inspectors 
 
 "In practically all of the companies which have 
 accomplished the largest reductions in accidents, the 
 plan has been adopted of appointing committees of 
 
 ^ It should be remembered that under the old employers' 
 liability law, when negligence must be proved by the work- 
 man, frankness was heavily fined and the most powerful 
 moves to concealment and deception were at work on both 
 sides. Accident-insurance laws remove this temptation. 
 
 62 
 
Health and Efficiency 
 
 rank-and-file workmen as inspectors. One to three 
 men are appointed in each large department to serve 
 one or two months and are given an opportunity 
 once a week, or once a month, to make inspections 
 and to report their findings and recommendations to 
 the superintendent. This has served four valuable 
 purposes: first, when the men are recognized and 
 given responsibility, they at once take a new interest 
 in safety and take pride in making a good record; 
 second, through their new interest in accidents the 
 men acquire much valuable information regarding 
 the cause and prevention of accidents; third, it has 
 been found that these workmen's committees dis- 
 cover hundreds of small points of danger which 
 arise even in the best-guarded shops and which can 
 only be ferreted out by men who are on the job 
 and near the work; fourth, these inspectors become 
 "boosters for safety" and do much to interest their 
 fellow-workmen and induce them to do their part. 
 In several companies ninety-five per cent, of the 
 recommendations of the workmen have been ac- 
 cepted and have actually been carried out. It goes 
 without saying that every foreman should carefully 
 inspect his department day by day in order to elimi- 
 nate weaknesses which arise or recur from time to 
 time. 
 
 "Safety Inspector Needed 
 
 "It has been found that even in the smallest plants 
 it is advisable to appoint some one man who will be 
 responsible for looking after safety. ' In the smaller 
 
 63 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 shops this man may spend only one hour a day.b 
 he should be the spokesman and make it his bui 
 ness to see that proper reports of accidents are mad 
 that guards which have been ordered are installe 
 that the inspection work is carried on promptly, el 
 
 " 'Boost for Safety' Meetings 
 
 "In many companies foremen's meetings are he 
 once a month, at which meetings the subject of safe 
 is discussed, accidents which have occurred are cai 
 fully gone over and ways and means of preventi( 
 are worked out. These meetings are invaluable 
 enable the superintendents to keep the foremen lim 
 up and to keep alive the interest and enthusiasm 
 safety work. Meetings of workmen have been foui 
 equally valuable. At these meetings the whole pro 
 lem of accidents, their cause and prevention, shou 
 be openly discussed, the officers of the compaj 
 should squarely face their responsibility and tl 
 large part which the workmen must do should 1 
 carefully pointed out. 
 
 "Get Your Men With You 
 
 "The companies which have had the longest e 
 perience in safety work more and more emphasi 
 one point, namely, that only poor results can be i 
 tained unless the employer is able to reach his m 
 and to win their confidence and cooperation so th 
 they will feel that he is doing his full part and w 
 appreciate the part which they must do in ord 
 to secure safety for all." 
 
 64 
 
Health and Efficiency 
 
 By eternal vigilance, fatalities and injuries are 
 reduced in number; the method of constant warn- 
 ing, under instructions from the authorities, bears 
 good fruit. Night meetings are held; the men dis- 
 cuss the causes of recent accidents and how they 
 might have been averted; the stereopticon is used 
 to set the situations accurately and vividly before 
 their eyes as they talk. 
 
 The National Council for Industrial Safety in 
 calling its Second Safety Congress (Sept., 19 13) 
 declared that federal records show: "Every hour 1 
 232 workmen killed or injured; every 15 minutes a 
 workman killed; every 16 seconds a workman in- 
 jured; every year 2,035,000 workmen killed or in- ' 
 jured;" and that nearly one-half this tragical loss 
 might be prevented. On their letterhead is a strong 
 figure of Humanity looking at an advertisement of 
 an ocean-going vessel, in which it was boasted that 
 this line excelled in luxury, elegance, speed, grandeur 
 and magnitude ; and the wise and gentle woman holds 
 before them all the word "Safety." ^ 
 
 Great ingenuity and pedagogic skill have been 
 shown in this new campaign of "safety first." The 
 officer of the Santa Fe Railroad wrote: "We are 
 just closing a three and one-half months' trip with 
 a moving-picture and stereopticon lesson which we 
 have already shown to 30,000 of our employees, en- 
 deavoring to point out by these pictures defective 
 conditions and irregular practices which have caused 
 personal injuries in the past." It is believed that 
 
 I First Cooperative Safety Congress, Milwaukee, 1912. 
 
 65 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 the vivid and melodramatic pictures will impress tl 
 lectures as merely written or spoken words cou 
 not do. 
 
 Eyes. — Defective vision lowers industrial el 
 ciency; sound eyes are a social asset, which it pa 
 well to conserve. Judging by examples of advanci 
 action, it would seem that before long oculists w 
 be regularly employed and paid to make periodic 
 inspections of all employees and to prevent loss 
 sight by prescribing glasses and giving instructi( 
 in hygiene of the eyes. In a very large corporati( 
 it may be possible to have the entire service of i 
 oculist; but it would not be difficult to form a circ 
 of cooperating firms for the purpose when each 
 too small to afford an oculist of its own. 
 
 Safeguards. — A great corporation announced i 
 ideal and purpose to be this: "Every gear, eve 
 belting, every set screw, every wood-working m 
 chine, every metal-working machine, spinners 
 twine mills, elevator landings, and, in fact, eve 
 place where liability to accident may possibly exii 
 we propose to surround with a safeguard." Th 
 employ inspectors and expend vast sums of mon 
 to realize this ideal. 
 
 Reporting Injuries. — In the better establishmer 
 it is a rule to require the workmen to report ev 
 the slightest accidents at once, so that remedies m 
 be applied and the cause of danger be removed. T 
 men are encouraged to suggest protective devices 
 reduce the number of accidents. 
 
 Shop Committees on Safety and Health, — On 
 
 66 
 
Health and Efficiency 
 
 after the state inspectors had approved of the safety 
 devices employed, the company appointed a special 
 committee consisting of representatives from each 
 department of the factory, and within a year after 
 the recommendations of this committee had gone 
 into effect it was found that the number of accidents 
 in proportion to the number of employees had been 
 reduced more than 73 per cent. 
 
 This story from actual experience illustrates the 
 principle insisted on throughout this discussipn, that 
 industry and business can be improved only by taking 
 the operatives into confidence, showing respect for 
 their judgment and giving them more influence in 
 management as rapidly as they show capacity and 
 cooperative spirit. In these social relations slavery 
 and despotism do not pay. 
 
 One railway company, startled by the appalling 
 increase in accidents, in spite of costly devices for 
 preventing them, sought the counsel and cooperation 
 of the employees In cultivating the "safety habit." 
 Safety committees were formed at convenient points 
 along the line and they were "recruited from the 
 masses rather than from the classes." It was an- 
 nounced that every man was expected to consider 
 himself an inspector for the Bureau of Safety; that 
 if safety required time, that time would be paid for; 
 that each one must regard It his personal duty to 
 help malce the operation safe; "no man has a right 
 to take a chance, for it too often happens that some- 
 one else takes the consequences." 
 
 First Aid to Injured or Sick, — In well-managed 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 shops the "first-aid boxes," containing rolls of ba 
 dages, lint, wrappings, stimulants, etc., are kept 
 convenient places, and the employees are instruct! 
 in the use of them. When serious accidents fi 
 quently happen an emergency hospital very near t 
 works is found indispensable. An automobile ai 
 bulance is desirable when the works are at a distan 
 from the hospitals. In many hazardous occup 
 tions, especially railways, hospital accommodatio 
 are provided, and the expense met partly by t' 
 company and partly by regular contributions tak 
 out of the wages. This method will of course 
 superseded In the future by regular accident-insi 
 ance organization. 
 
 Large corporations in the United States colic 
 photographs and models of devices illustrating th( 
 method of preventing accident and disease. The 
 museums ought to be established by the state c 
 partments of labor in each great Industrial cente: 
 Only the best recent devices should be exhibited, l 
 cause an antiquated model does harm. It is c 
 sirable to have expert lecturers in charge of the 
 exhibits so as to demonstrate their value and us( 
 At times the machines should be kept running 
 show their action and the methods of using the pi 
 tective devices. A museum without lectures ai 
 
 ^ Museums of Safety are found in Amsterdam, Barceloi 
 Berlin, Brussels, Budapest, Copenhagen, Dresden, Frankfo 
 on-Main, Gratz, Helsingfors, London, Milan, Montreal, M( 
 cow, Munich, New York, Paris, Stockholm, Vienna, Wm 
 burg, Zurich. — W. H. Tolman. 
 
 68 
 
Health and Efficiency 
 
 demonstrators is dead capital, for inanimate objects 
 are dumb and they need the interpretation of an 
 intelligent human teacher. Many of the devices 
 and pictures can be sent from place to place when 
 workmen reside in smaller towns, in order to fur- 
 nish illustrations of lectures and class studies. 
 
 DISEASE 
 
 The prevention of disease does not attract atten- 
 tion so early or so frequently as "accidental inju- 
 ries," because disease is insidious, unseen, not spec- 
 tacular, and arises from obscure causes which only 
 trained physicians can discern and explain. But 
 disease is vastly more important as a cause of indus- 
 trial inefficiency than accidents, and most business 
 laymen have yet to learn this truth. 
 
 Here we offer some illustrations of the response 
 of employers to the demands of modern medical 
 science, to show that their eyes are open to the need. 
 
 Cleanliness. — The microscopic vision of the bac- 
 teriologist and the uncompromising tidiness of a 
 good housekeeper are required to keep a work-place 
 clean; for here esthetic standards and science hap- 
 pily agree in their demands. Long before bacteria 
 were seen through lenses, women were unconsciously 
 at war with them, urged by their esthetic standards. 
 It is doubtful whether even a medical inspector would 
 be more useful in a tannery or any dirty business 
 than a woman who knows how to clean house, if she 
 were given power to do her will. 
 
 69 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 The maintenance and protection of bodily inte 
 rity and efficiency depend on observance of the pri 
 ciples of occupational hygiene in the widest sense 
 the word.^ 
 
 The primary condition of success in conservati( 
 of vitality is to bring the whole system of indust 
 under the supervision and control of medical expei 
 in shop hygiene. Pioneer examples, far in advan 
 of our present social legislation, are found in son 
 establishments which are owned by enlightened caj 
 talist managers and corporations whose enterpri 
 and foresight deserve all praise. Medical servic 
 with physicians, nurses, pharmacy, first-aid app 
 ances and hospital, has been voluntarily introduci 
 with excellent and paying results. Such a service 
 an essential factor in social insurance against aci 
 dent and sickness, whether this insurance is intr 
 duced through a benefit association or by legal r 
 quirement. The prompt care of wounds or acu 
 
 ■■ For the particulars of this vast field of modern medic 
 science we refer to : 
 
 R. Abel: Handbuch der praktischen Hygiene. 
 
 Albrecht: Handbuch der Socialen Wohlfahrt. 
 
 W. Ewald: Soziale Medizin. 
 
 C. H. Harbaugh: Causes of Disability. 
 
 C. Harrington: Practical Hygiene. 
 
 Kober and Hanson, and Thompson's works on Occup 
 tional Hygiene. 
 
 Oliver : Dangerous Trades, and Occupational Diseases. 
 
 Rambousek: Occupational Diseases. 
 
 M. J. Rosenau; Preventive Medicine and Hygiene. 
 
 Weyl, etc. 
 
 70 
 
Health and Efficiency 
 
 attacks of pain and illness may save life; early 
 action multiplies the chances of successful treat- 
 ment. 
 
 The medical examination at the time of employ- 
 ment, and periodically thereafter, has for its pri- 
 mary object protection against communicable dis- 
 ease and improvement of energy and vitality. But 
 medical inspection may also be utilized in the selec- 
 tion and assignment of tasks. The physician's pro- 
 fessional advice is an important factor in measuring 
 the amount of strain which any particular workman 
 can endure. With the socialization of preventive 
 medicine and the extension of social insurance to 
 sickness and invalidity this medical control will be- 
 come a regular and obligatory factor in the assign- 
 ment of tasks. It is already so In the best prison 
 systems, and individual industrial firms have adopted 
 the measure; but it is capable of vastly greater ex- 
 tension. 
 
 The psychological laboratory ^ is already in po- 
 sition to make the guesses of foreman and superin- 
 tendents more reliable and exact. It is true that a 
 "boss" of experience and skill can rapidly pick out 
 in a crowd the men who seem to be best adapted 
 to their particular work. But many gross blunders 
 
 ■■ Incidentally to his main work Dr. Healy, in his "Indi- 
 vidual Delinquent," has presented methods of studying per- 
 sons with the purpose of discovering what they can do best. 
 His discussion will be valuable for industrial tests in shops; 
 but the measures require well-trained directors to use them 
 effectively. 
 
 71 
 
Citizens in Industry- 
 
 are made; time, material and capital are lost; heal 
 breaks down; and the productive process is hi 
 dered by mistakes which accurate examinations wi 
 instruments of precision would reduce in number. 
 
 The whole movement to furnish vocational trai 
 ing and guidance to youth is an important cont: 
 bution in this direction, and one which intellige 
 employers are beginning to appreciate. It is 
 the experimental stage, but already fulfills a gre 
 part of its promise. It involves medical counsi 
 Indeed the physical inspection and training mi: 
 begin in the schools and the home, and at this poi 
 our subject runs far out into other fields of inves 
 gation and action. 
 
 Medical Examinations and Treatment of E', 
 ployees, Especially for Tuberculosis: An Up-i 
 date System in Actual Operation. — The prima 
 object of medical examination of employees is 
 discover all cases of tuberculosis and to beg 
 proper treatment as early as possible, and n 
 merely to reject those who would make the si 
 benefit premiums too high for solvency of a fun 
 No sooner is the physician at work than he disco 
 ers other diseases which require prompt treatmei 
 and as he passes through the shops and writes i 
 the occupational biography of each employee, 1 
 trained eye detects conditions which are manifest 
 responsible for disease and must be corrected. Eve 
 prospective employee is inspected; an annual insp< 
 tion is given to all the workers ; and all those foui 
 below normal are reexamined during the year, T 
 
 72 
 
Health and Efficiency 
 
 physical examinations are thorough; the blood, urine 
 and sputum being subjected to laboratory tests, if 
 need is indicated. The inspections are directed to 
 weight, temperature, blood pressure, pulse, general 
 appearance, and history. The shop conditions are 
 improved by the Introduction of an improved ven- 
 tilation system, dust-removing apparatus, sanitary 
 drinking fountains, wash-basins, toilets and shower 
 baths. Not only the shop workers but the office 
 people require careful examination and treatment. 
 The employees are readily convinced that this 
 method is for their own benefit and they submit 
 willingly to the examinations. When a person is 
 found to have tuberculosis In an active stage, 
 he is urged to go to a sanatorium, and the 
 expense Is met by the benefit or insurance asso- 
 ciation to which both company and employees con- 
 tribute. 
 
 The advantages of the system include the early 
 discovery of disease and more certain cure; the re- 
 duction of contagion and therefore of the number 
 disabled; the location of the causes or aggravating 
 conditions of disease. If the employees felt that the 
 arrangements were simply designed to weed out the 
 feeble, they would not be cordial toward the system ; 
 but when they are convinced that the measures are 
 necessary for themselves and for the community, 
 they accept it as reasonable. 
 
 Not only tuberculosis but heart disease, nephritis 
 and diabetes have been discovered, in cases where 
 the afflicted employees were ignorant of their dan- 
 
 73 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 ger. Various contagious diseases are revealed ai 
 the community protected.^ 
 
 VARIOUS HYGIENIC MEASURES IN THE WORK-PLACE 
 
 Among the matters which receive attention wl 
 firms having modern Ideals are : vacuum cleanei 
 where floors must be swept; sanitary spittoons, whe 
 the deplorable tobacco habits of men make them u 
 happily necessary. Barber shops are under contr 
 and antiseptic measures are enforced. Walters 
 the restaurant and dining-room are required to 
 clean and keep their dress in neat condition. Com 
 and brushes must not be used Indiscriminately, ai 
 must be daily cleansed and sterilized. A towel 
 presumably unclean when once used or even exposi 
 to the air. Aprons and sleevelets supplied to cler 
 and saleswomen save the dress and help malnta 
 freedom from dust and dirt. 
 
 Dust Removal. — ^What the medical authorltl 
 and shop engineers require are found already 
 
 ^ Statements of Drs. James A. Britton, Harry E. Mo 
 and Theodore B. Sachs (Chicago Tuberculosis Institute). 
 
 Reports of Metropolitan Insurance Company's work f 
 employees. Reports of Chicago Tuberculosis Institute, 19: 
 and Bulletin, The Survey, Oct. 21, 191 1, Apr. 20, 1912, Ju 
 I, 1913. Transactions of the Eighth Annual Meeting (191 
 of the National Association for the Study and Prevention 
 Tuberculosis. 
 
 Transactions of the Fifteenth International Congress 
 Hygiene and Demography (1912). 
 
 Illinois Medical Journal, Feb., 1913. 
 
 74 
 
Health and Efficiency 
 
 those establishments which lead the march of prog- 
 ress. No way has yet been found to remove all 
 dust in certain processes. In such situations respi- 
 rators are furnished and the exposed men are re- 
 quired to use them. Patterns are selected which give 
 as little annoyance and distress as possible, so that 
 men will not be tempted overmuch to throw them 
 aside and take the risk. 
 
 Drinking Water. — ^We may draw upon our stock 
 of illustrations for hints as to supply of water. 
 When scientific principles are followed, the drink- 
 ing water is tested chemically and bacteriologically 
 by experts from time to time; either a pure source 
 is found or the water is distilled or boiled and 
 cooled, or otherwise made safe and palatable; drink- 
 ing fountains are so constructed as to avoid com- 
 munication of disease; water bottles and their stop- 
 pers are carefully sterilized; and no ice comes in 
 contact with the drinking water. 
 
 Exercise. — Nothing is more certain than that un- 
 broken labor in shops will gradually stiffen or wear 
 out the members of the office force. In cities it is 
 difficult to find space for outdoor exercise or gym- 
 nasium facilities. The constantly shifting and scat- 
 tered employees cannot form an association to own 
 property, even if they could command the means. 
 Under such conditions the intervention of the em- 
 ploying firm may be advisable, if not indispensable. 
 In response to this demand of a hygienic standard, 
 some firms have supplied grounds, buildings, gym- 
 nasiums and apparatus for employees. They have 
 
 75 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 even provided for horseback riding, country clul: 
 golf links, gun clubs and hunting, and playground 
 and they have defended themselves against t 
 charge of sentimentality by affirming that It : 
 "pays." 
 
 Dining-rooms. — Our model employers no long 
 ignore the demand for a decent and clean place 
 eat. Attractive and tidy service enhances the val 
 of food. When employees go home for lunche( 
 this Is not necessary, and luncheon stations for sh 
 pie refreshments are sufficient. But where the d 
 tance from the work-place to the homes is gre 
 the journey both ways for a tired person Is exhaui 
 ing. 
 
 It is pitiful to see men at the noon-hour eatii 
 their cold food out of a tin pail, with dirty fingei 
 in the very place where they work, the air full - 
 dust, perhaps of poison. And it is refreshing to s 
 the tired work-people enter a well-ordered dinin 
 room, after using the lavatory and clean towel, ai 
 sit down to a tidy table, with a napkin, to eat foe 
 which comes fresh from the model kitchen and cos 
 no more than If made with pain and toil by the wi 
 at home. Certainly the people go back to the bem 
 or lathe with better heart and force, with more se] 
 respect and with kindlier feeling to all the worl 
 The opportunity for relaxation and social inte 
 course is appreciated and valuable, and the food 
 digested and assimilated. 
 
 While the employees are at their noon-day mej 
 the windows of the workrooms may be opened 
 
 76 
 
Health and Efficiency 
 
 that fresh air pours through, and the conditions are 
 made more favorable for exertion. Experience has 
 revealed the importance of many details where food 
 is served: a cold-storage plant for preservation of 
 materials, inspection and testing of foodstuffs; mod- 
 ern machinery in the kitchen for sanitary handling 
 of food; incineration of garbage and refuse. There 
 are some advantages in very large establishments of 
 having not only a service dining-room with its slightly 
 higher prices for those who desire its comforts, but 
 also a luncheon stand where hot food is served, or 
 where the lunch brought from home may be eaten 
 with some hot drink, and a special counter for the 
 men who prefer celerity to refinement. When the 
 firm has a garden the vegetables are more likely to 
 be fresh. 
 
 The cost of food is kept low because no profit is 
 sought; the materials are purchased in large quan- 
 tities at wholesale rates; and the cooking is done 
 with minimum expense for fuel and personnel. Some 
 reports show that the noon lunch is furnished with- 
 out pay in order to increase the working capacity 
 of persons who have low wages and are in danger 
 of saving on food to the detriment of energy. The 
 officers and heads of departments may require sepa- 
 rate accommodations. 
 
 Care of Clothing. — In the work-place suitable gar- 
 ments must be worn; often coarse and rough. The 
 outer clothing comes in contact with dust, oil, rust, 
 and becomes torn, untidy and dirty. The undercloth- 
 ing is saturated with sweat. It is a hardship and 
 
 77 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 often a danger to health to be obliged to wear this 
 clothing through the streets a long distance to the 
 home. A man loses self-respect in such a garb and 
 the odor is offensive in the crowded and close street 
 Cars. In shops with high standards every employee 
 has a locker in which the street clothing is placed 
 during working hours. The locker is in a place pro- 
 tected from smoke, dust and grime; it is well venti- 
 lated and secure against theft, and is kept scrupu- 
 lously clean by factory inspection. The work gar- 
 ments should also be frequently washed at the ex- 
 pense of the company; this is a necessary factor in 
 shop hygiene. 
 
 Toilet-rooms are found on every floor in stand- 
 ardized establishments; they are kept clean and in 
 decent condition by constant inspection ; water is sup- 
 plied for the hands, and paper napkins or towels are 
 supplied to avoid the danger of infection which is 
 always present in such places. The toilet-rooms for 
 women and girls must be separate from those of 
 men and the hall leading to them should be separate, 
 to avoid meeting. 
 
 Lighting. — In the standardized work-place the 
 architect's skill is taxed to supply the greatest amount 
 of natural light. Some establishments boast of hav- 
 ing devoted 75 per cent, to 90 per cent, of the wall 
 space to windows. Various schemes are mentioned 
 for supplying abundant light from the roof which 
 is constructed with this purpose in mind. When 
 practicable, especially when the operation is delicate 
 and taxes the eyes, the benches are at right angles 
 
 78 
 
Health and Efficiency 
 
 to the windows so that the illumination is at the 
 side and the rays do not strike the eye itself directly 
 but rather the object. Where artificial light is nec- 
 essary the electric lamps are shaded and the rays 
 are focused as far as possible on the points where 
 light is most needed. 
 
 Distance of the bench from the window must be 
 considered, because the degree of illumination rap- 
 idly diminishes with each foot traversed by light 
 beams. It is often forgotten that while good win- 
 dow-glass is transparent the dirt which gathers on 
 its surface arrests the rays; regular washing and 
 polishing of window-panes is part of the best sys- 
 tems. 
 
 Ventilation. — In shops where wood dust is created 
 in the process it must be constantly removed because 
 It is In the way of the workers, Increases the dan- 
 ger from fire, lacerates the mucous membrane of the 
 nose and throat and Irritates the lungs. The dust 
 and shavings are removed by suction apparatus with 
 openings near the point where the particles of wood 
 are broken off by the machine. This operation sets 
 up a circulation of air throughout the work-place, be- 
 cause for every cubic foot of air removed an equal 
 volume must enter. So a double purpose is served. 
 In foundries, core-rooms, polishlng-rooms, work- 
 places where irritating gases and vapors are pro- 
 duced or steam arises, a system of exhaust pipes 
 purifies the atmosphere, improves the vision and for- 
 tifies the health. 
 
 Change of Occupations. — Thoughtful employers 
 
 79 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 have occasionally noticed that a person inclined to 
 tuberculosis could be saved if he were taken from 
 the shop and given light occupation in a garden or in 
 care of horses. It is especially necessary to watch 
 over men when they are recovering from a wasting 
 disease like typhoid fever. Many a man has lost 
 all the benefit of hospital treatment by returning to 
 labor before convalescence was complete and the 
 , tissues were restored by rest, food and sleep. 
 
 Alcoholism. — In the present state of public igno- 
 rance of the real facts about alcohol, while even 
 some physicians cling to lax and antiquated notions 
 on the subject, the workmen naturally share ancient 
 superstitions as to the value of intoxicants. They 
 believe that beer will quench thirst, stimulate the 
 nerves, strengthen the muscles, enable them to endure 
 heat in summer and cold in winter, keep them awake 
 in the daytime, and put them to sleep at night. The 
 brewers, wine merchants, distillers and dram sellers 
 spend vast sums of money in corrupting the judgment 
 of men for their mercenary ends, until some of them 
 come to believe in their own contradictory theory. 
 In this situation the temperance movement must be 
 pushed by employers with tact and wisdom, because 
 the men are sensitive to dictation on a subject which 
 seems to them a purely private affair. 
 
 Indirectly a great deal can be done. The craving 
 for alcohol is allayed by recreations which exalt the 
 feelings without poison or reaction. Even watching 
 rapid ball games enables a man to take part in the 
 sport vicariously, so that he shares through sympa- 
 
 80 
 
Health and Efficiency 
 
 thy the excitement of the participants. When the 
 daily work is exhausting this proxy sport may be ad- 
 visable. A bountiful and convenient supply of pure 
 drinking water, with individual cups to prevent in- 
 fection at the lips, will in some measure reduce the 
 demand for expensive and depressing beer. Where 
 there is a need of nourishment at certain hours, coffee 
 and milk stations provide wholesome substitutes for 
 the treacherous and deceptive alcoholic beverages. 
 The director of welfare work on an important rail- 
 way line claims that he reduced the consumption of 
 alcohol by selling sugar and chocolate in a variety of 
 attractive forms. He believed that if a man would 
 eat enough candy to supply heat and force he would 
 not yearn for fire-water. Circulars and posters giv- 
 ing information as to the effects of alcoholic bev- 
 erages can be used with great advantage in and 
 near work-places. 
 
 Tuberculosis. — Tuberculosis is not inherited; is 
 communicable, curable and preventable; but the ap- 
 propriate measures of prevention must be pushed 
 with energy and intelligence in a standard shop. All 
 employees are inspected by a physician, and the rec- 
 ommendations of the medical staff are carried out, 
 either in sanitariums or at home. It is not every 
 corporation which can afford by itself to provide a 
 sanitarium in the mountains for its sick employees, an 
 institution described as one which "embodies all mod- 
 ern ideas and improvements approved by experts. 
 ... In arrangement, the wards combine the com- 
 forts, the independence and the homelike attractive- 
 Si 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 ness of the cottage, with the grouping and economies 
 of the shack system. The construction is fire- 
 proof throughout, and the approach up the moun- 
 tain for two miles Is over a finely macadamized 
 road." 
 
 Instruction in Hygiene. — Every year a new throng 
 of young people and Immigrants pours into the great 
 mills, factories and mercantile houses, with all the 
 heedlessness of youth and Ignorance. Many of them 
 never learned how to take care of their bodies. 
 When parents and schools have failed, then em- 
 ployers find a duty, and there are numerous In- 
 stances where they have called in medical men 
 to lecture on personal hygiene: care of eyes, ears, 
 nose, lungs and all organs. It is not enough 
 to provide safety devices; the workmen must be 
 taught how to use them and the reasons for their 
 use. 
 
 ShadwelP describes the magnificent installation of 
 down-draft tubes connected with forges which carry 
 away smoke and leave the atmosphere perfectly 
 clear. He tells how the workers looked upon these 
 contrivances with disdain. "We ain't accustomed to 
 these 'ere fires." The Inertia of habit, custom and 
 ignorance must be overcome by tactful and persist- 
 ent education. In one place In England he found 
 extensive lavatories. A few seconds after the clos- 
 ing bell rang, "the floor below was already black 
 with the hurrying crowds rushing for the door and 
 pulling on their coats as they went. In a moment 
 
 1 Industrial Efficiency, ii, 56. 
 
 82 
 
Health and Efficiency 
 
 they were gone. In one of the lavatories we found 
 a solitary workman washing himself with great rel- 
 ish. That was all out of 3,000 or 4,000." He adds : 
 "English workmen love to be dirty all the week; 
 they seem to take a pride in presenting a ruffianly 
 appearance. It is the mark of their calling, the hon- 
 orable badge of toil, the privilege of the 'horny- 
 handed 1' " Men cannot be treated like machines; 
 they must be consulted; not even health, comfort 
 and decency can be forced on them. The teacher is 
 as necessary as the boss; and when fashion is ar- 
 rayed against civilization the teacher's task is not 
 a sinecure. 
 
 Instruction. — Some topics of lectures, bulletins, 
 posters and illustrations, gathered from various 
 sources, may be mentioned: general principles of per- 
 sonal and public hygiene, digestion, circulation, res- 
 piration, narcotics, alcohol, housing conditions, mu- 
 nicipal house-cleaning, tuberculosis, venereal dis- 
 eases, flies and other insect carriers of germs. 
 
 Rest. — Nothing is gained by too prolonged effort; 
 periodical daily, weekly, and yearly rest, and for 
 women monthly rest, is a condition of maximum out- 
 put. The annual vacation is a necessity for opera- 
 tives in the shop and for clerks in offices. The pe- 
 riod may be prolonged somewhat for regularity and 
 punctuality throughout the year or shortened to re- 
 buke defects in these requirements of industry. 
 There are firms who find it possible and profitable 
 to continue wages during the vacation. Employees 
 who have been long In the service and begin to feel 
 
 83 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 the creaking of joints and weight of shoulders are 
 occasionally indulged in some extra days of release 
 from strain.^ 
 
 Overtime. — The occasions for prolonging the or- 
 dinary hours of labor are : the necessity of repairing 
 machinery during the night or on Sunday, or of han- 
 dling perishable goods in transit. It is generally 
 agreed that overtime should be restricted to the ac- 
 tually necessary; that it should be paid at higher 
 rates, since it costs the laborer relatively greater 
 strain and injury; that definite holidays in slack sea- 
 sons should compensate for the extra labor. In 
 all matters relating to overtime, medical inspections 
 would help establish standards on a scientific basis. 
 One English firm expressed this conviction as a re- 
 sult of shortening the hours of labor: "We believe 
 that increased intelligence and efficiency follow upon 
 limiting the hours of labor to eight, because oppor- 
 tunities are thus afforded for intellectual and physi- 
 cal development and recreation. We believe that 
 
 ^ "Vacations : Switzerland." Sosiale Praxis, Feb. 27, 1913, 
 xxii, 653. In 1910, of 7,900 factories, 949, about yi {12 per 
 cent.), allowed vacations to workers, foremen, etc. Of 
 328,000 employees of factories, 26,158, about 1/12 (8 per 
 cent.), were allowed vacations. 2,611 of them (10 per cent.) 
 were given 3 days or less; 12,255 (47 per cent.) 3 days to 
 one week; 2,027 (8 per cent.) i week to 2 weeks; 269 (i 
 per cent.) over 2 weeks; for 8,996 (34 per cent.), informa- 
 tion lacking. Amount of vacation wages, 1910 — 782,857 Frk. 
 791 workers (in 38 plants) were given only part wages. 
 Ninety-six per cent, of all plants gave full wages, an excep- 
 tionally favorable showing 
 
 84 
 
Health and Efficiency 
 
 the proper employment of such opportunities tends 
 to elevate the general tone of life, to improve the 
 health, and to cultivate a taste for good society, and 
 precludes that excessive fatigue which demands un- 
 natural stimulant and vicious pleasures." ^ 
 
 Continuous Process. — In some industries, as smelt- 
 ing ores, manufacture of alkali and soda, etc., it is 
 not possible to shut down the operation. There is a 
 choice between the twelve-hour shift and the eight- 
 hour shift, and the latter, with its physical and moral 
 advantages, has been introduced without loss in cer- 
 tain situations.^ 
 
 Shorter Day. — Fortunately this competition of 
 employers in the field of quasl-philanthropy offers the 
 world fruits of experimentation which has an almost 
 scientific character and value. Naturally there is 
 a wide difference of opinion on both sides of the At- 
 lantic in regard to the practicability of a shorter day, 
 as of eight hours or less. Much depends on the 
 technique of the trade and the margin of profit in the 
 business.* It seems to have been proved that the 
 hours of labor may, under certain conditions, be 
 shortened without diminishing the quantity or qual- 
 ity of the product or the rate of wages. But rash 
 generalizations from particular industries to all in- 
 
 ^ Burroughs, Wellcome and Co., London. ^. 
 
 2 Webb and Cox : The Eight Hours Day, 256 ff. 1 
 
 3 Webb and Cox : Describes a considerable number of ex- 
 periments in Europe. 
 
 F. L McVey: "Social Effects of the Eight-Hour Day."^ 
 American Journal of Sociology, Jan., 1903, viii, 521-530. 
 
 85 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 dustries do not help solve the problem. If increased 
 intensity, speed and accuracy can be evoked, there 
 may be actual profit in shortening the hours. If it 
 can be shown that men break down with long hours, 
 a legal way must be found to give rest even with in- 
 creased cost; the consumers being required to pay 
 the increase. 
 
 Among the considerations which usually deter- 
 mine whether the shorter day is practicable is com- 
 petition with firms which work a longer time. When 
 the product is diminished the loss may be too great 
 to permit the change. Either common agreement, 
 pressure of trade unions or a general law will re- 
 move this obstacle from competition. The individ- 
 ual employer's power is limited. 
 
 Fixing the hours of labor is not absolutely within 
 the power and range of responsibility of Individual 
 employers or even of powerful corporations. Com- 
 petition, actual or potential, must be considered; 
 not only competition within the national territory 
 but also between peoples. Only when profitable con- 
 duct of a business is consistent with conditions of the 
 trade would legal intervention be safe. In some 
 circumstances the shortening of hours so increases ef- 
 ficiency of labor that the pi'oduct is larger; but this 
 is not always true, and the process of abbreviating 
 the day of toil cannot be carried on indefinitely. We 
 shall never come to a zero day, and if honest work 
 is wholesome the race would suffer from entire ab- 
 sence of strain and toil. The whole question is one 
 of honest and competent experimentation, and dur- 
 
 86 
 
Health and Efficiency 
 
 ing the trial outsiders should form judgments with 
 extreme caution. 
 
 A committee of stockholders of the United States 
 Steel Corporation, which recommended that steps 
 be taken to alleviate the trying conditions in its 
 mills in this fashion, had this to say: "We are of the 
 opinion that a twelve-hour day of labor, followed 
 continuously by any group of men for any consid- 
 erable number of years, means a decreasing of the 
 efficiency and lessening of the vigor and virility of 
 such men. The question should be considered from 
 a social as well as a physical point of view. When 
 it is remembered that twelve hours a day to the man 
 in the mills means approximately thirteen hours 
 away from his home and family — not for one day, 
 but for all working days — it leaves but scant time 
 for self-improvement, for companionship with his 
 family, for recreation and leisure. 
 
 "That steps should be taken now that shall have 
 for their purpose and end a reasonable and just ar- 
 rangement to all concerned of the problem involved 
 in this question — that of reducing the long hours of 
 labor — we would respectfully recommend to the in- 
 telligent and thoughtful consideration of the proper 
 officers of the Corporation. At a meeting of the 
 Corporation, the finance committee objected because 
 of the practical difficulties of putting the eight-hour 
 plan in operation. Nobody denies that there are 
 difficulties in the way. But the experiment — if such 
 it still is — has been tried with success. It is not to 
 be forgotten, for instance, that the Commonwealth 
 
 87 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 Steel Company of Granite City, Illinois, divided the 
 twenty-four hours of its working day in its open- 
 hearth furnaces into three instead of two parts; 
 and the Company has fully recouped itself through 
 an increased output for the increased item of 
 wages. 
 
 "Abroad, also, it has been proved that, in some oc- 
 cupations, added efficiency gained through the short 
 hours more than offsets the extra cost. John Hodge 
 tells in The Survey of a concern in Britain which 
 made the change. The higher paid workmen not 
 only voluntarily divided their earnings, based on the 
 tonnage of twenty-four hours, by three instead of by 
 two, but gave a percentage from their earnings to 
 make the wages of gas-producer men and charge 
 wheelers the same for eight as for twelve hours. 
 The firm gave the tonnage men a bonus on any in- 
 creased output. The success of the eight-hour shift 
 is emphasized by the fact that the bonus has more 
 than recouped the men for making up any possible 
 loss of wages for the lower paid men. 
 
 "The United States Bureau of Labor has estimated 
 after thoughtful study that changing from twelve 
 to eight hours in this continuous industry, even 
 though the same wages were paid for the fewer 
 hours, would involve an added cost in the production 
 of a ton of pig iron of only 2.6 per cent., while the 
 cost of producing the principal products of the steel 
 and rolling mills would be increased only 6 per cent. 
 This estimate considers no increase in efficiency 
 contingent upon shorter hours. There seems to be 
 
 88 
 
Health and Efficiency 
 
 no well-founded reason why this humane change 
 should not be made." 
 
 A general statement like the following cannot be 
 accepted without caution and consideration of cir- 
 cumstances: "The universal testimony of manufac- 
 turing countries tends to prove that the regulation 
 of the working day acts favorably upon output. 
 Production is not only increased, but improved in 
 quality." ^ 
 
 Comfort. — Recreation rooms are provided for 
 men, women and young people, with the purpose 
 of restoring energy of muscle and brain. In Japan, 
 halls in connection with factories provide for all sorts 
 of desirable entertainments, including dramatic per- 
 formances. 
 
 Rest-rooms for women are hygienically desirable; 
 and their use should be permitted without question- 
 ing. A woman should be in charge. 
 
 Bathing facilities are sometimes provided by the 
 company voluntarily; under advanced legislation 
 they are required. A wise and humane employer 
 will always be able, with some thought, to do better 
 than any law will compel. 
 
 A laundry for women's aprons, janitor's suits, 
 towels, linen, etc., is convenient and often economi- 
 cal. Aprons and sleevelets may well be supplied 
 gratis when the work requires dainty touch and ha- 
 bitual tidiness in handhng fine goods or delicate 
 wares. 
 
 Alpaca coats for office employees in hot weather 
 
 ^ Brandeis : Women in Industry. 
 
 89 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 not only improve appearances, but conserve energy. 
 
 Elevator service economizes strength which would 
 be used up in climbing stairs. Bicycle sheds, with 
 compressed air tanks for inflating tires, are some- 
 times provided where these useful means of locomo- 
 tion are popular. 
 
 Esthetic Surroundings. — Gardens, flowers, tress, 
 arbors, walks, minister not only to the esthetic de- 
 sires, but have a positive value in relation to health, 
 buoyancy of spirits, cheerfulness, contentment in a 
 place. 
 
 When a circus comes to town an extra holiday 
 may be given without serious financial loss ; for clean 
 recreation Is a hygienic measure. 
 
 The serving of meals is a vital matter from the 
 standpoint of health and cultivated manners. Ex- 
 cellent models of dining-halls and restaurants reveal 
 the taste and character of the directors. Too gen- 
 erally the workmen are left to find a place to devour 
 their food; under a dusty bridge, on the curbstone by 
 the hot paved highway, In the disorder of a scrap- 
 iron heap, in the shop Itself with Its grime and mo- 
 notony, sometimes with poison and filth everywhere. 
 
 Sports and Games. — ^Among the measures actu- 
 ally In use in one or many establishments these ex- 
 amples may be cited: 
 
 Country Club. — Employers and office people find 
 that a few hours at golf or other sports in the coun- 
 try restore energy, steadiness of nerves and endur- 
 ance. It has been found possible by the gift of the 
 company or by subsidies to associations of employ- 
 
 90 
 
Health and Efficiency 
 
 ees to provide playgrounds and restful club-houses 
 outside the cities for large numbers of wage-earners. 
 
 Baseball teams of employees are easily organ- 
 ized, with match games between different establish- 
 ments, to heighten the zest of the sports by emula- 
 tion. Tennis tournaments are the climax of long 
 practice during the season. 
 
 Baths and change of clothing in suitable dressing- 
 rooms provided with lockers form an essential part 
 of this program. 
 
 Gymnastic exercises are regarded in some estab- 
 lishments as so necessary to maximum working abil- 
 ity that they are obligatory on all employees under 
 eighteen years of age. Notable improvement in 
 strength and endurance is reported as a result of 
 systematic, carefully directed gymnastic exercises. 
 President Wilson's recommendation of military ex- 
 ercises may be seriously considered from the hygienic 
 and patriotic points of view. 
 
 A first-class business man, if he does undertake to 
 do a thing, likes to have it complete, the best of 
 its kind. A gymnasium under these conditions has 
 all the mechanical apparatus advised by experts, 
 even to the Swedish movement and vibratory ma- 
 chines, and competent physical directors to see that 
 the exercises are adapted to individual needs. 
 
 The Protection of Girls and Women. — It is well 
 known that the finer nervous organization of women, 
 the delicacy and tenderness of wife and mother, the 
 intuition of moral discernment, the deep racial in- 
 stincts which preserve the national vigor, are quali- 
 
 91 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 ties which go with the peculiar constitution of wom- 
 en; and these precious qualities cannot be suppressed 
 for economic reasons without permanent and irrep- 
 arable loss to the character of the nation. In pro- 
 tecting girls and women against exploitation and 
 coarseness of fiber we are fighting for all humanity 
 in ages yet to come. 
 
 Mr. Brandeis, who has devoted splendid legal 
 ability to this great cause, starts with this 
 plea : ^ 
 
 "Besides these anatomical and physiological dif- 
 ferences, physicians are agreed that women are fun- 
 damentally weaker than men in all that makes for 
 endurance; in muscular strength, in nervous energy, 
 in the powers of persistent attention and applica- 
 tion. Overwork, therefore, which strains endurance 
 to the utmost, is more disastrous to the health of 
 women than of men, and entails upon them more 
 lasting injury. 
 
 "The fatigue which follows long hours of labor 
 becomes chronic and results in general deterioration 
 of health. Often ignored, since it does not result 
 in immediate disease, this weakness and anemia un- 
 dermine the whole system; it destroys the nervous 
 energy most necessary for steady work, and effectu- 
 ally predisposes to other illnesses. The long hours 
 of standing, which are required in many industries, 
 are universally denounced by physicians as the cause 
 of pelvic disorders.^ 
 
 ■■ Brandeis : Women in Industry, p. i8. 
 'Ibid., p. 28. Goldmark: "Fatigue." 
 
 92 
 
Health and Efficiency 
 
 "The need of protecting the health of working 
 women by limiting their working hours is empha- 
 sized by statistics of the relative morbidity of men 
 and women. In all countries where such statistics 
 have been kept by sickness-insurance societies, the 
 morbidity of women has been found to be higher than 
 that of men." ^ 
 
 "The morbidity of women, measured by the num- 
 ber of days lost through illness, is greater than that 
 of men. That is, women suffer from illness of 
 longer average duration than men do, and conse- 
 quently are more disastrously affected by exhaustion 
 from overlong working hours.^ 
 
 "Women suffering from minor illnesses continue 
 at work more commonly than men. That is, women 
 have fewer illnesses involving complete loss of earn- 
 ing capacity, more illnesses during which they con- 
 tinue to remain at some form of work. Hence ex- 
 cessive hours of labor are doubly injurious to them, 
 because often performed when health is already im- 
 paired.^ 
 
 "The evil effect of overwork before, as well as 
 after, marriage upon childbirth is marked and disas- 
 trous. 
 
 "Accidents to working women occur most fre- 
 quently at the close of the day, or after a long pe- 
 riod of uninterrupted work. The coincidence of cas- 
 ualties and fatigue due to long hours is thus made 
 manifest. 
 
 ' Brandeis: The Ten Hour Law for Women (111.), p. 35. 
 2 Ihid., p. 40. ^ Ibid., p. 46. 
 
 93 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 "The effect of overwork on morals is closely re- 
 lated to the injury to health. Laxity of moral fiber 
 follows physical debility. Where the working day 
 is so long that no time whatever is left for a mini- 
 mum of leisure or home life, rehef from the strain 
 of work is sought in alcoholic stimulants and other 
 excesses. 
 
 "The experience of manufacturing countries has 
 illustrated the evil effect of overwork upon the gen- 
 eral welfare. Deterioration of any large portion 
 of the population inevitably lowers the entire com- 
 munity physically, mentally, and morally. When the 
 health of women has been injured by long hours, not 
 only is the working efficiency of the community im- 
 paired, but the deterioration is handed down to suc- 
 ceeding generations. Infant mortality rises, while 
 the children of married working women, who sur- 
 vive, are injured by inevitable neglect. The over- 
 work of future mothers thus indirectly attacks the 
 welfare of the nation. 
 
 "This needed protection to women can be afforded 
 only through shortening the hours of labor. A de- 
 crease of the intensity of exertion is not feasible. 
 [This statement requires modification, for strain can 
 be reduced in several ways in some industries.] 
 
 "Experience shows how the demands of customers 
 yield, to the requirements of a fixed working day. 
 When customers are obliged to place orders suffi- 
 ciently in advance to enable them to be filled without 
 necessitating overtime work, compliance with this 
 habit becomes automatic. 
 
 94 
 
Health and E fficiency 
 
 "The regulation of the working day has acted 
 as a stimulus to improvement in processes of manu- 
 facture. Invention of new machinery and perfection 
 of old methods have followed the introduction of 
 shorter hours. 
 
 "The establishment of a legal limit to the hours 
 of woman's labor does not result in contracting the 
 sphere of her work. 
 
 "History, which has illustrated the deterioration 
 due to long hours, bears witness no less clearly to 
 the regeneration due to the shorter working day. 
 To the individual and to society alike, shorter hours 
 have been a benefit wherever introduced. The mar- 
 ried and unmarried working woman is enabled to 
 obtain the decencies of life outside of working hours. 
 With the improvement in home life, the tone of the 
 entire community is raised. Wherever sufficient 
 time has elapsed since the establishment of the 
 shorter working day, the succeeding generation has 
 shown extraordinary improvement in physique and 
 morals. 
 
 "Wherever the employment of women has been f 
 prohibited for more than ten hours in one day, a > 
 more equal distribution of work throughout the ( 
 year has followed. The supposed need of danger- ; 
 ously long and irregular hours in the seasonal trades 1 
 is shown to be unnecessary. In place of alternat- \ 
 ing periods of intense overwork with periods of idle- 
 ness, employers have found it possible to avoid sucly*/ 
 irregularities by foresight and management. / / 
 
 "The arguments in favor of allowing overtime in 
 
 95 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 seasonal trade or in cases of supposed emergency 
 have gradually yielded to the dictates of experience 
 which show that uniformity of restriction is essen- 
 tial to carrying out the purposes of the act. 
 
 "In order to establish enforceable restrictions 
 upon working hours of women, the law must fix a 
 maximum working day. Without a fixed limit of 
 hours, beyond which employment is prohibited, regu- 
 lation is practically nullified. Exemptions of spe- 
 cial trades from the restriction of hours not only 
 subject the workers in such industries to injurious 
 overwork, but go far to destroy the whole intent 
 of the law. The difficulties of inspection become in- 
 superable. 
 
 "To grant exceptions from the restriction of 
 hours to certain industries places a premium upon 
 irregularity and the evasion of law. When restric- 
 tions are uniform the law operates without favor 
 and without injury to individuals. Few employers 
 are able to grant their employees a reduction of 
 hours, even if they are convinced of its advantages, 
 when their competitors are under no such obliga- 
 tion. Justice to the employers as well as to the em- 
 ployees therefore requires that the law set a fixed 
 limit of hours for working women and a limit for 
 all alike." 
 
 Care of Health of Women Workers. — The dan- 
 ger of fatigue has been studied on a wide scale 
 by physiologists and the discoveries of science 
 have already influenced legislation ^ and decisions 
 
 ^Goldmark: "Fatigue.'' 
 
 96 
 
Health and Efficiency 
 
 of the supreme court supporting laws for shorter 
 hours. 
 
 This mass of reports gathered from Europe and 
 America reveals growing intelligence of employers 
 and their appreciation of the need of paying atten- 
 tion, under medical guidance, to the requirements of 
 girls and women. The eyes, the brain, the muscu- 
 lar system are capable of doing their best work only 
 when tissues have had time to rebuild themselves 
 after waste by prolonged effort, and alternations of 
 rest and activity raise efficiency to the highest point 
 at which energy can be maintained. 
 
 This discovery it is which accounts for the intro- 
 duction of rest-rooms adjacent to shops or sales- 
 rooms. In large establishments a thoughtful and 
 high-minded matron Is employed to have oversight 
 of these rest-rooms In order to prevent abuse, pre- 
 serve order and offer needed counsel. The rooms 
 are furnished with comfortable chairs, couches, read- 
 ing-matter and sometimes a piano is appreciated. 
 The business world has yet to learn the restoring 
 and exhilarating power of music.^ 
 
 In the best establishments night work of women 
 is unknown, in this conforming to advanced protec- 
 tive legislation. By careful observation, with medi- 
 cal advice, it is found possible to give girls a brief 
 recess in the forenoon and again In the afternoon, 
 before fatigue Impairs speed and quahty, and this 
 with economic advantage which may be approxi- 
 mately measured. 
 
 ^ K. Buecher : Arbeit und Rhythmus. 
 
 97 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 That is a chivalrous and thoughtful act when a 
 firm lends overshoes and umbrellas to poor girls 
 who might risk pneumonia by going home in a cold 
 rain and who either forget or cannot afford to buy 
 an umbrella. 
 
 A visiting nurse is part of the equipment of any 
 complete system of protection of health. A trained 
 woman helps care for the sick and injured, in shops 
 and mercantile establishments, under medical direc- 
 tion; instructs mothers in the care of their children 
 and hygiene of the home; and arranges for the 
 needs of convalescents. 
 
 COST AND GAIN OF SAFETY AND HEALTH MEASURES 
 
 It is evident that the cost of introducing and main- 
 taining devices for promoting safety, health and 
 comfort is a matter for serious consideration. If 
 the accounts of an establishment are properly kept 
 they will show the absolute amount spent for the 
 various forms of betterment, the relative amount as 
 compared with other costs of production, and the 
 inroads made on net profits and dividends. Such 
 accounts should also show, as accurately as possible, 
 the net gain from this expenditure, regarded as in- 
 vestment in a going concern, as reduction of loss 
 of time from disability and sickness, increased out- 
 put per man and per machine, reduced cost of each 
 article put on the market. Less tangible and cal- 
 culable, but just as real is the gain in goodwill and 
 contentment, indicated by greater continuity in em- 
 
 98 
 
Health and Efficiency 
 
 ployment, diminution of restlessness and inclination 
 to change on slight provocation, and, possibly, more 
 consideration and reflection under temptation to 
 strike.^ 
 
 The books of a firm may well show the special 
 investment for such arrangements as heating and 
 ventilation, sanitation, drainage, water supply, light- 
 ing, cleanliness, drinking water (filtration, refrigera- 
 tion and distribution), lavatories, locker-rooms and 
 lockers, emergency rooms and equipment, apparatus 
 for removal of dust and fumes, safety appliances 
 on dangerous machinery, bicycle sheds, and even 
 rest-rooms, reading-rooms, recreation grounds, libra- 
 ries, games. ^ 
 
 It certainly "pays to be good" — in some circum- 
 stances. In a well-ventilated and well-lighted tailor 
 shop there is less waste of cloth in cutting garments, 
 the vision is clearer, the brain is more active, atten- 
 tion is more alert; a better class of workers select 
 shops where the conditions and pay are more attrac- 
 tive; and where combustible dust and shavings are 
 cleaned up the insurance rate is enough lower to 
 pay the cost of tidiness. 
 
 We have as yet rather imperfect estimates of 
 these expenses, but present-day methods of account- 
 ing will not leave us long in the realm of guesswork. 
 We may cite a few attempts to analyze this cost 
 factor. 
 
 '^See Yale & Towne Mfg. Co.: "Prevention vs. Cure in 
 Industrial Operations." National Civic Federation, Tenth 
 Annual Meetings, 1909, p. 170. 
 
 99 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 In one important establishment the investmen 
 cost figured up about $ioo per employee. The ar 
 nual operating expenses for the same features wer 
 about $20 per employee. According to the Intel 
 national Harvester Company's Annual Report fo 
 19 1 2, the amounts expended by the Company dur 
 ing the year for welfare features affecting workinj 
 conditions, comfort, health, and lives of employee 
 ' were : 
 
 Compensation for industrial accidents $135,298.9 
 
 Contribution to Employees' Benefit Association. 68,186.2 
 
 Pensions to aged or disabled employees 31,765.01 
 
 Accident prevention 82,988.4! 
 
 Medical, including anti-tuberculosis campaign.. 55,080.2: 
 
 Sanitation and ventilation 66,224.11 
 
 Education, clubs, matrons, lunch-rooms, etc. . . . 55,891.3. 
 
 $495.4344: 
 
 The United States Steel Corporation, with 200, 
 000 employees, was expending in 19 12 as follows 
 
 Relief for men injured (accident insurance) . .$2,ooo,ooo.a 
 
 Accident prevention system 750,ooo.a 
 
 Sanitation, comfort, etc i,250,ooo.a 
 
 Pension fund (annual payments) 200,000.0( 
 
 Creation of permanent fund (13 years) 50o,ooo.O( 
 
 $4,7oo,ooo.a 
 In all about $5,000,000 annually.^ 
 
 1 Mr. R. C. Boiling, in Annals of American Academy, July 
 1912, 38 ff. 
 
 100 
 
Health and Efficiency 
 
 "The Germania Insurance Company of New 
 York, in 1910, had 80 clerks in one office. Previous 
 to the proper ventilation thereof, 10 per cent, were 
 absent on account of illness all the while. Since 
 then, absenteeism has been reduced practically to 
 nothing." ^ 
 
 The Manhattan Trust Company of New York by 
 proper ventilation increased the efficiency of the 
 force so much that they could reduce the number of 
 employees 4 per cent. 
 
 Records show that the United States Pension Bu- 
 reau, by going into well-ventilated and lighted rooms, 
 reduced the days of illness of employees from 18,736 
 to 10,114 days a year, even with a much larger 
 working force. 
 
 In the printing establishment of Mr. C. J. O'Brien, 
 a new ventilation system was introduced by the in- 
 sistence of the State Department of Labor, but it 
 is willingly retained. "Whereas, formerly, the 
 men had left work on busy days in an exhausted 
 condition and sickness was common, now the men 
 left work on all days in an entirely different con- 
 dition and sickness has been very much re- 
 duced. The errors in typesetting and the time re- 
 quired for making corrections were greatly re- 
 duced." 
 
 In a similar way we shall before long have accu- 
 rate statements as to the pecuniary profit of hygienic 
 measures. 
 
 ^ Mr. D. D. Kimball in Bui. of American Museum of 
 Safety, June, 1914, 
 
 lOI 
 
Citizens in Industry- 
 
 One firm ^ • employing about 3,000 workmen has 
 made a statement which indicates their line of rea- 
 soning as to net advantages. When the Illinois law 
 of compensation was passed in 191 1, the casualty 
 companies raised the rate of liability insurance from 
 30 cents to $3.35. That awakened attention. 
 Something mtist be done. By introducing medical 
 examinations and "safety first" regulations and in- 
 structions, they secured a rate of 85 cents, a saving 
 of $2.50 on a payroll of $290,000 from May i to 
 October i. And they noted these results: 
 
 "Personal interest means closer contact; closer 
 contact brings quicker response ; quicker response in- 
 sures better care; better care secures more content- 
 ment; more contentment produces better work; bet- 
 ter work yields more profits. More safety means 
 fewer accidents; fewer accidents result in less lost 
 time; less lost time brings more steady work; more 
 steady work produces increased efficiency; increased 
 efficiency causes greater output; greater output yields 
 more profits. 
 
 "Company insurance permits personal settlement; 
 personal settlement eliminates friction ; friction elim- 
 inated avoids disputes; avoided disputes require no 
 arbitration; compensation is easily settled; litigation 
 prevented: this means more profits." 
 
 Reports for the first year of the plan showed 
 a marked increase of shipments and a decreased 
 payroll — due to the selection and protection of em- 
 ployees. 
 
 ^ Avery Co., Peoria, 111. 
 
 102 
 
Health and Efficiency 
 
 ORGANIZATION OF CAPITALIST MANAGERS TO PROMOTE 
 SAFETY AND HEALTH 
 
 The National Council for Industrial Safety. — 
 The organization of a national organ for the reduc- 
 tion of occupational injuries is significant enough 
 for special notice in this connection. The follow- 
 ing statement was made by the president, Mr. Robert 
 W. Campbell :i 
 
 "We have been passing through several distinct 
 epochs in our industrial and economic life. These 
 might be classed as, first, the feudal or paternalistic 
 period; secondly, the individualistic; and lastly, the 
 one in which we are now living — the cooperative 
 epoch. 
 
 "All forms of social activity to-day are taking a 
 trend toward cooperation. In none of these move- 
 ments is there more need for cooperation than in the 
 movement for the prevention of accident. . . . 
 
 "To meet these causes what must the industrial 
 concern do? It must provide proper working con- 
 ditions; it must provide proper and efficient safe- 
 guards upon dangerous machines and appliances, and 
 secondly, it must educate its men and inculcate in 
 them habits of caution. . . . 
 
 "Experience has shown that this can only be ef- 
 fected by some comprehensive organization, an or- 
 ganization which will include both the employer and 
 the men. . . . 
 
 ^ Safety Engineering, Oct., 1913, 240 ff. The City Club 
 Bulletin, June 15, 1914. 
 
 103 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 "A large number of industrial and transportation 
 concerns have been engaged for many years past 
 in organized effort to reduce accidents. The Inter- 
 national Harvester Company, the General Electric 
 Company, the Chicago & Northwestern Railway 
 Company, the United States Steel Corporation and 
 its subsidiary companies, the Middle West Utility 
 Company, the Commonwealth Edison Company, 
 and a number of large and small industries, many 
 of which are well known to all of you, have been 
 actively at work for many years. 
 
 "They have approached their work first through 
 plant organization. In working that out, they have 
 found some five or six essential elements. The 
 first is to have a safety engineer or a safety inspector 
 who inspects the plants for the dangerous places 
 and dangerous conditions and sees to it that they 
 are made safe. This is usually supplemented by a 
 central committee of safety at each plant, com- 
 posed, possibly, of the general superintendent or his 
 assistant, acting as chairman, the safety inspector, 
 acting as secretary, and from three to five other re- 
 sponsible superintendents or foremen acting with 
 them. This committee has charge of the organized 
 effort in that particular plant. The work of this 
 committee and of the safety inspector is supple- 
 mented by the work of the foremen themselves, who 
 in the performance of their daily task are required 
 to inspect their plants and at least once a week to 
 make written reports upon conditions. These fore- 
 men are brought together in monthly meetings, which 
 
 104 
 
Health and Efficiency 
 
 have been productive of excellent results. The work- 
 men themselves are brought into the scheme by the 
 formation of workmen's committees, appointed in 
 each department. From time to time the member- 
 ship of these committees is changed so that after a 
 while every man in the plant will, at some time or 
 other, have served upon the safety committee. These 
 men Inspect their departments for dangerous con- 
 ditions or practices, make recommendations in writ- 
 ing, investigate accidents, and make their report as 
 to where the cause may be, and what discipline should 
 be meted out to the guilty party if It is due to care- 
 lessness. 
 
 "Safety Devices 
 
 "The organization must first take up the task of 
 safeguarding. This is generally under the direct 
 supervision of the safety Inspector. . . . The safety 
 inspector is a possibility even in the smaller indus- 
 try, for he does not need to give all of his time to 
 this work, but may perform other duties if the plant 
 is too small to permit of the employment of a man 
 specially for that purpose. This safeguarding al- 
 ways requires a certain standardization of the re- 
 quirements of that particular plant. This is done 
 under the direction of the central committee. The 
 safety inspector must see to the proper installation 
 of the safety devices, their proper use and their 
 maintenance. No new piece of machinery in a well- 
 organized plant Is purchased nowadays without speci- 
 fications for safety devices upon it. And the day Is 
 
 105 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 coming when the manufacturer of machine tools 
 will not permit to go out from his shop a lathe or 
 other machine that is not properly and effectively 
 safeguarded to ehminate the hazards in connection 
 with its use. 
 
 "But the most important function of this organi- 
 zation is that of education. The men are the hard- 
 est to reach. Many an old employee has a contempt 
 for the new idea and the new-fangled devices, and 
 will not use them. The new men do not know about 
 them and so educational work is an imperative ne- 
 cessity. 
 
 "Educating the Men 
 
 "This takes many forms. First comes the adop- 
 tion of operating rules with respect to the special 
 hazards of that plant. These rules are put in the 
 hands of all employees, particularly in the hands of 
 new men, who are instructed by their foremen and 
 by the plant preacher. These are required to read 
 the books themselves, and ultimately, in any well- 
 organized plant, to pass an examination upon them. 
 
 "Danger signs are posted about the plant for the 
 guidance and instruction of the men. 
 
 "But you can't get very far until the men are in- 
 terested. All sorts of schemes are adopted to ac- 
 complish that end. Among these are the giving oi 
 Safety First buttons of one form or another, with 
 the monogram of the company upon them, to all who 
 pass a satisfactory examination in safety rules oi 
 that company. Then there are prizes given to Indi 
 
 io6 
 
Health and EfRcIency 
 
 viduals for meritorious service or for valuable sug- 
 gestions, and this [scheme] can be carried out into 
 almost all sorts of details. Cash bonuses are put up 
 in some organizations which go to foremen of de- 
 partments which have been able to keep their acci- 
 dent records under a certain 'bogey.' Monthly bul- 
 letins are issued; companies with several plants is- 
 sue monthly bulletins containing items relating to 
 safety and safety devices and rules of conduct. Bul- 
 letin boards are placed throughout the plant, upon 
 which interesting information, instructive and edu- 
 cational, is placed for the purpose of educating and 
 interesting the men in that way. Then there are 
 safety mottoes and slogans placed upon pay en- 
 velopes, shop tickets and other stationery that is 
 used throughout the plant; sometimes stenciled on 
 the doorways or other places where they are likely 
 to be seen. Some plants have an illuminated sign at 
 their gates. So that by use of the slogan, sign and 
 danger sign will the matter of safety be constantly 
 kept in the minds of the men themselves. 
 
 "Meetings of foremen are also held. Some plants 
 have gone so far as to have dinners at which all of 
 their principal foremen are invited, and there safety 
 talks are had. Lectures have also been provided, 
 and moving pictures are brought to the attention of 
 the men in meetings called for that purpose. It does 
 not necessarily follow, either, that this moving-pic- 
 ture method of interesting the men is not available 
 to the small concern, because in many communities 
 a number of concerns join together and bring their 
 
 107 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 workmen together at a meeting where pictures of 
 this kind and talks on safety are given to them. 
 
 "Interesting the Children 
 
 "One of the most effective means adopted has been 
 that of bringing the matter to the attention of the 
 children of the men. One plant I know of has en- 
 tered into quite a campaign among the children. In 
 conjunction with the street-railway company that 
 concern has caused to be shown to all the school chil- 
 dren in the city moving-picture reels and stereopticon 
 slides. Safety talks are given to them. The echo 
 of that has reached the plant time and time again, 
 the children at home bringing the subject up with 
 their parents. Sometimes dinners are given to the 
 clergy and to the principal men in the community to 
 get them all interested. 
 
 "Possibly the most effective means, however, are 
 proper disciplinary measures taken where men have 
 been careless and where through the fault of one of 
 them a serious accident has occurred. 
 
 "Widespread Cooperation 
 
 "The insurance companies have likewise been very 
 active, and through their inspectors and through edu- 
 cational campaigns have brought the attention of 
 their insured to the matter of accident prevention. 
 The merit rating system which is going into effect in 
 many of the accident-insurance companies is a pO' 
 
 io8 
 
Health and Efficiency 
 
 tent element in bringing the matter of safety work 
 to the attention of the insured, for when a man can 
 get a lo per cent, or a 20 per cent, reduction in his 
 premium rate by safeguarding his plant and estab- 
 lishing an organization within it, he is pretty likely 
 to do it. 
 
 "The federal and state bureaus of labor have 
 become very active in recent years and we find some 
 very constructive work going forward in a number 
 of the states, particularly in Wisconsin, Pennsylva- 
 nia, New York, Ohio, California and Minnesota, 
 where some very excellent legislation has been 
 adopted. 
 
 "Striking Results 
 
 . . . "Wherever an organized accident-preven- 
 tion campaign has been carried through intelligently 
 there has been a marked decrease in accidents. The 
 various industries report from 35 to 75 per cent, in 
 reduction of accidents in their plants. . . . 
 
 "Again, it is a work of economy, actual fiscal econ- 
 omy. When you have prevented a man from being 
 killed or injured, you have saved just that much 
 money in compensation, especially in a state like 
 Illinois, where we have a compensation law to-day. 
 Likewise there is a saving in product. No accident 
 occurs without some damage to product and some 
 damage to machinery, all of which is an economic 
 waste and loss. So if you can cut down your acci- 
 dents from 25 to 75 per cent, you are just that much 
 ahead in economy of operation. There is also, of 
 
 109 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 course, the social economy, the saving to the com- 
 munity, because every time a man is injured, some 
 part of the burden falls upon the community as well. 
 
 "One might also point out the increase in effi- 
 ciency that results from preventing accidents. When 
 a man is injured in your plant there is of necessity a 
 disintegration of your working force for ten, fifteen, 
 twenty minutes, possibly the whole day; the force is 
 all wrought up over the accident and the men do not 
 do as good work as they otherwise would. In some 
 industries, when a man is killed they lay off for the 
 rest . of the day. In others they lay off until the 
 man is buried. That is not efficiency. Furthermore, 
 when an old hand is injured or killed a green hand 
 has to be installed in his place. The new man can- 
 not perform the work as efficiently as the man whose 
 place he takes. Every time you put in a green man 
 you slow up the whole process, particularly if it is in 
 a plant where each man's work depends a little bit 
 upon that of his fellow. 
 
 "I don't need to mention, I am sure, that it is a 
 work of humanity; a life saved or a limb saved is 
 surely a humanitarian effort, whatever the motives 
 involved. 
 
 "Recognizing this fact, there was organized some 
 six months ago the National Council for Industrial 
 Safety. . . . The need was felt for some organiza- 
 tion which could stimulate accident-prevention work 
 throughout the country and provide a means for 
 exchanging ideas between employers themselves. 
 
 no 
 
Health and Efficiency 
 
 This organization was the gradual outgrowth of the 
 effort of a number of men covering a period of sev- 
 eral years, particularly within the membership of 
 the Association of Iron and Steel and Electrical En- 
 gineers, which organization was really the father of 
 the coordinated effort that is now being made to-day 
 through the National Council. 
 
 "The organization endeavors through its bureau 
 of information to supply its members with safety 
 data respecting safeguards, educational methods 
 and schemes and organization ideas. It has lists of 
 experts, lecturers and speakers, moving-picture reels 
 and stereopticon slides, and all sorts of data of that 
 kind, available to anyone who wants it; it provides 
 a weekly distribution of material calculated to in- 
 terest the boss himself as well as the men, and in 
 general provides a clearing-house for all sorts of 
 safety information. Through its standardization 
 committee it has effected standard safeguards for 
 general and special hazards. It has sections, which 
 are groups of industries whose hazards are particu- 
 lar or peculiar unto themselves, such as the tanner- 
 ies, foundries, iron and steel, etc., and at its annual 
 congresses it provides a means for the safety men of 
 the country getting together to spend three or four 
 days in discussing safety matters, and listening to 
 papers and reports, and entering into discussions 
 with respect to them. It is putting forth a publicity 
 and educational propaganda throughout the country, 
 and from the clippings that we see we believe that 
 the doctrine of safety is reaching from one end of 
 
 III 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 the country to the other, not alone through our ef- 
 forts, but through the efforts of others as well. 
 
 "One of the important features, however, of the 
 National Council's work Is Its work through local 
 councils. In any community where It has five or 
 more members those members are privileged to get 
 themselves into a local organization, where at 
 monthly meetings they may get together and dis- 
 cuss the problems that are common to the industries 
 of that particular community, and may, If the field 
 is not already preempted by a public safety organiza- 
 tion, undertake the task of inaugurating a public 
 safety campaign." 
 
 The National Association of Manufacturers is 
 another powerful organization which has committed 
 itself to a policy of prevention of Injuries by educa- 
 tional lectures and by various publications. 
 
 All this vigorous activity Is in contrast with the 
 apathy of only too many employers, who must be 
 forced by legislation to do their duty. "The regret- 
 table thing to me is, that, barring a few notable ex- 
 ceptions, our employers throughout the United 
 States did not get busy on this Important matter of 
 accident prevention and safeguarding until they 
 were forced by legislation. What they might have 
 done voluntarily years ago, with the applause of the 
 masses, they neglected to do until the legislation 
 made it necessary, and not often for any humane 
 consideration." ^ 
 
 ^ M. W. Alexander (General Electric Co., Lynn, Mass.) : 
 First Cooperative Safety Congress, p. 2io. 
 
 112 
 
Health and Efficiency 
 
 A distinguished authority in preventive medicine 
 has commented on these efforts of the more advanced 
 employers to promote national health. 
 
 "The insurance companies complain of the toll 
 due to unnecessary and preventable disease. In 
 former years the medical officers would occasionally 
 discuss this economic loss from preventable disease, 
 but beyond that stage there was nothing done. Now 
 many of the insurance companies are providing some 
 form of welfare service for their insured and some 
 of them are most efficient agencies for the conserva- 
 tion of human efficiency. 
 
 "Insurance companies show a disposition to be 
 something more than brokers selling death certifi- 
 cates to the few and getting the cost plus brokerage 
 fees from the many. The brainiest men in insurance 
 clearly see that it is good business policy to work for 
 human conservation. 
 
 "The employers of labor are most active health 
 departments at the present time. The above phrase- 
 ology was intentionally employed. The brainiest 
 and most farseeing employers are doing as much 
 for the conservation of the health of their employees 
 as is being done in well-developed municipal health 
 departments. Their per capita expenditure for 
 health is greater than the per capita expenditure of 
 the average health department and the effort ex- 
 pended goes straighter to the Individual who needs it. 
 
 "The labor unions are doing much. Some, like 
 the cigar-makers, are most active health agencies; 
 others lag as much as do certain employers of labor. 
 
 113 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 "All of this means that the organized medical pro- 
 fession is no longer the great agency for the promo- 
 tion of health work. Theirs was the voice that cried 
 out in the wilderness. They were the John the 
 Baptists who prepared the way. But the cry now 
 is, and from now on will be, from other quarters. 
 
 "Nothing has so promoted the health activities of 
 employers as workingmen's compensation acts. The 
 immediate result was 'safety first' work, but the ef- 
 fect has spread far beyond. The next step is a 
 health insurance act. When this becomes operative 
 it will be as much of a stimulus to general health 
 conservation as the workingmen's compensation act 
 has been to employers' interest in the conservation 
 of the health of their employees. All of which 
 means that the way to promote the cause is to de- 
 velop its economic side, to demonstrate the money 
 waste of inefficiency. The effort stimulated neces- 
 sarily will take care of the life loss." ^ 
 
 NEW PROBLEMS FOR THE NATION TO FACE 
 
 What will be done with those who are rejected 
 by the new and higher industrial standards? What 
 will become of those laborers who cannot pass the 
 medical examinations, who are unprofitable and un- 
 insurable? It is already evident that compensation 
 and insurance laws will compel not only employers 
 but the nation to face the results, to care for the 
 unemployables thrown out by the improved stand- 
 * Dr. W. A. Evans in Chicago Tribune, June 21, 1914. 
 
 114 
 
Health and Efficiency 
 
 ards and inspections. Charitable funds in some in- 
 dustrial cities are already beginning to feel the pres- 
 sure from this cause. But public and private char- 
 ity, however liberal, will not meet the demand, and 
 society cannot carry the burden. The state will be 
 driven quickly to adopt a policy of placing the physi- 
 cally unfit, cast out by industry, under curative and 
 reconstructive treatment, so that many of them can 
 find employment under the new competitive condi- 
 tions. When the unfitness is found to be due to want 
 of training, society will establish trade schools and 
 not send these unfortunates to reformatories and 
 prisons for their first chance to learn a trade and ac- 
 quire skill. These more exacting standards and med- 
 ical examinations will rapidly convince men that al- 
 coholism, sexual vice, tobacco and drug habits, as 
 well as other unhygienic factors, do not pay and 
 cannot be tolerated. The hardships of those who 
 fail at first will be tragic and heart-rending, but they 
 are the severity of surgery and the bitter medicine 
 of a wholesome cure. It may seem undemocratic to 
 compel men to come under medical control ; but al- 
 ready society is obliged to support these incompe- 
 tents who like freedom but cannot live the life of 
 free men. When the preventive policy, along with 
 insurance of workers, and segregation of abnormals 
 in celibate colonies, has been vigorously carried for- 
 ward through three or four generations, the num- 
 ber of incompetents will be reduced to narrowlimits 
 and they will not be a great burden, especially as the 
 product of commodities per man and machine will 
 
 "5 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 steadily increase. The program of euthenics and of 
 eugenics is coming to be intelligently accepted by an 
 increasing multitude of citizens; another century 
 will see it well advanced in fulfillment. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 ECONOMIC INDUCEMENT TO SECURE EFFICIENCY OF 
 
 LABOR 
 
 Passing from the general survey of the universal 
 and permanent reasons for promoting individual 
 efficienq^ in industry, and the measures required to 
 promote physical energy, let us now consider 
 methods of realizing the purpose through economic 
 incentives. And, first of all, we may review some 
 of the devices for stimulating attention and effort by 
 offer of tangible, direct, obvious and immediate pe- 
 cuniary reward for superior efficiency. These de- 
 vices are numerous and many of them are in- 
 genious.^ 
 
 PROFIT-SHARING 
 
 Many experiments have been made with various 
 forms of so-called profit-sharing. In a precise and 
 exact sense, the term "profit-sharing" should be re- 
 stricted to schemes in which a certain percentage of 
 the net profits of the year are divided among the 
 
 ^ D. A. Schloss : Methods of Industrial Remuneration. 
 The Federal Industrial Commission is making a fresh study 
 of this problem. 
 
 117 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 operatives engaged during the year, on some definite 
 principle — as the total wages earned during the pe- 
 riod by each employee. Many economists and em- 
 ployers have believed that the distribution of a part 
 of the profits among the employees would increase 
 the output; that the wage-earners would be more 
 contented with wages and conditions, would work 
 harder and would identify their interests more 
 closely with those of the firm. But this hope has not 
 been realized, save under rare and peculiar circum- 
 stances. In some cases the speed was already as 
 high as could be sustained, and the prospect of an 
 uncertain payment at the end of the year was not 
 an adequate motive to drive the workers to more in- 
 / tense endeavors. It was also felt that if the profits 
 were augmented by their sacrifice, the laborers 
 should have all the increase and not part of it; that 
 no grat-uity should be accepted on terms which would 
 weaken the solidarity of workingmen or their loy- 
 alty to the trade union. In general the wage-earn- 
 ers felt that the inducement was too remote and 
 uncertain; that even if they did their share and 
 made their sacrifice the profits might fail because of 
 the mismanagement of the firm or from other causes 
 beyond their control and without any connection 
 with individual zeal and skill. 
 
 On the other hand, many employers refused to 
 consider a proposition to divide profits without the 
 possibility in bad years of sharing inevitable losses. 
 Thus this device has never become widely popular 
 with either party, although it has often been tried 
 
 Il8 
 
Economic Inducement to Efficiency 
 
 on a large scale, in all civilized countries and by 
 enthusiasts. 
 
 In order to influence the activity of a wage-earner 
 the advantage to him of greater speed, tension or 
 care must be immediately apparent, must be mani- 
 festly connected with his own personal conduct, and 
 must not be merely a vague share in the results of 
 the improved management of the employers and 
 general effort of the whole body of workers. In 
 other words, increased income should be paid for 
 specific and measurable acts of individual effort and 
 efficiency, and not be made to depend on many fac- 
 tors over which the workman has no control. Piece- 
 wages, bonus or reward for increased output and 
 other methods seem better adapted to this end than 
 profit-sharing. 
 
 Profit-sharing in itself does not touch the deepest ^ 
 demand of the modern workman; a share in control 
 of the conditions of labor, of wages, of all that 
 affects his life. It is not merely a larger share in 
 the product but a voice in the direction of the 
 process, which will satisfy the man who is taught 
 by his political experience the lesson of democracy. 
 
 The experience of success and failure, of vitality 
 and mortality of profit-sharing schemes is reflected 
 in the following data : ^ In the last decade 299 
 firms introduced profit-sharing; only 133 of these 
 retain it. From 188 1 to 1900, 168 firms introduced 
 the scheme and 121 gave it up. Experiment usually 
 
 ^ "Profit-sharing in Great Britain.'' Soziale Praxis, Feb, 
 27, 1913- xxii, 264. 
 
 119 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 lasts seven to eight years. In two-thirds of the 
 cases the reason adduced for giving it up was that 
 expected results did not materialize. Eighty-seven 
 of the 133 firms introduced profit-sharing since 
 1900. Twenty-nine firms have retained it for 
 thirty years or more. To judge from the number 
 of industries represented, profit-sharing seems to be 
 most practicable with gas companies (33 firms) ; 
 then follow glass companies, potteries, chemical 
 plants (14), provision firms, and tobacco firms 
 (13), book printing and binding (11) ; others not 
 more than one each. Mines and quarries which 
 tried the plan in six cases have none now. In Au- 
 gust, 1912, a total of 106,189 employees shared in 
 profits, an average for ten years of 5^^ per cent, of 
 wages. In the British Cooperative Stores we find 
 that in 19 10, the last year for which information is 
 available, the system was in use in 195 ( 14 per cent.) 
 of the leagues of the great commercial companies. 
 The Scotch stores have paid out in profit-sharing 
 since 1870, £197,000. 
 
 The article here cited declares that profit-sharing 
 is usually employed as a means of reducing the 
 workmen's freedom of movement. With the in- 
 creasing strength of the trade union, therefore, 
 profit-sharing is likely to become more and more 
 rare. 
 
 The experience in France is similar to that in 
 Great Britain. Only 114 profit-sharing firms exist; 
 neither employers nor employees show much interest 
 in the system. Recently the miners of Epinac-les- 
 
 120 
 
Economic Inducement to Efficiency 
 
 Mines demanded replacing profit-sharing with a 
 corresponding wage increase. 
 
 Further particulars are given in a report of the 
 London board of trade, which has issued a report 
 on profit-sharing and labor copartnership abroad.^ 
 
 Each of the countries included in the report has 
 followed its own line of development, and they ac- 
 cordingly present notable divergences. France has 
 a far larger number of schemes than any of the 
 other countries included, and many are of very long 
 standing. The French schemes differ in many re- 
 spects from the English schemes. In the United 
 Kingdom the class of business in which profit-shar- 
 ing and copartnership have chiefly flourished is 
 that of gas companies. About half of the gas pro- 
 duced in that country is made under profit-sharing 
 conditions. French people have only two instances 
 of profit-sharing gas companies, but many insurance 
 companies and banks, a group that has only one 
 profit-sharing representative in the United King- 
 dom. Profit-sharing mines and quarries, railways 
 and tramways, and metal, engineering and shipbuild- 
 ing firms are also represented in France, either ex- 
 clusively or much more largely than in the United 
 Kingdom, while the clothing trades, food and to- 
 bacco trades and chemical trades are more largely 
 represented in the United Kingdom. 
 
 In the United Kingdom many schemes provide 
 for the payment of the bonus in cash. More re- 
 cently the plan of giving the work-people facilities 
 
 ^ Cited in an article in The Chicago Evening News, 1914. 
 
 121 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 for the purchase of shares in the undertaking has 
 been largely adopted. The typical French system 
 is that of capitalizing the bonus. Of the various 
 methods employed the most favored is that of con- 
 verting the accumulated bonuses into a patrimoine, 
 a capital sum sufficient to provide a pension for the 
 employee after his retirement and to leave some- 
 thing for his family after his death. 
 
 In Germany profit-sharing has made little prog- 
 ress. Of fifty-four schemes recorded by Professor 
 Boehmert, an enthusiastic advocate, in 1878, only 
 nine remained in existence in 190 1. At present only 
 about thirty schemes are known to be in existence. 
 The twenty-one undertakings for which particulars 
 are available employ only 15,000 or 16,000 persons, 
 about one-seventh of the number similarly employed 
 in the United Kingdom. 
 
 The profit-sharing undertakings in Holland are 
 mostly very small, the largest firm practicing the 
 system being the Dutch Engine and Railway Ma- 
 terial Works, at Amsterdam, which has upward of 
 2,000 work-people. 
 
 The only profit-sharing schemes in Italy of which 
 particulars have been received are those in force in 
 two groups of mines in Sardinia. 
 
 In Switzerland there appear to be only eight or 
 ten profit-sharing schemes in existence, and most of 
 these are in small undertakings. It is, however, 
 interesting to observe that profit-sharing was tried 
 in the federal postal service as long ago as 1869. 
 It was abandoned in 1873, owing to an anticipated 
 
 122 
 
Economic Inducement to Efficiency 
 
 diminution of profits, and also owing to the exces- 
 sive accounting involved. 
 
 In the United States only about twenty-five or / 
 thirty firms have been reported as practicing profit- 
 sharing and copartnership, and most of these only 
 started their schemes within the last ten or twelve 
 years. The number of work-people employed In 
 the United States under conditions of profit-shar- 
 ing and copartnership Is relatively large, as many of 
 the firms or companies which practice profit-sharing 
 are vast corporations employing thousands of 
 workers. The most conspicuous example of these 
 great profit-sharing undertakings is the United 
 States Steel Corporation, which in 19 12 allotted 
 more than 60,000 shares to nearly 37,000 of its 
 work-people. The United States Rubber Company, 
 another profit-sharing undertaking, has about 
 25,000 workers; but here the scheme Is restricted 
 to employees with salaries or wages of $1,350 a 
 year and upward. , 
 
 The dominant type of profit-sharing in the United , 
 States is that of issuing shares to employees on spe- 
 cially advantageous terms: it is the type adopted 
 by the United States Steel Corporation and by most 
 of the other very large companies practicing profit- 
 sharing. 
 
 The report says that profit-sharing Is not re-) 
 garded with very great favor in the United States, 
 either by manufacturers 'and business men, or by 
 economists; the principal reasons being, first, the 
 attitude of the trade unions, and secondly, the.pref- 
 
 123 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 erence of employers for other means of Improving 
 the position of their work-people, such as "welfare" 
 institutions (sick, accident and pension funds, ath- 
 letic or social clubs, swimming baths, reading-rooms, 
 etc.) — movements which have been taken up with 
 enthusiasm by many employers In the United States. 
 
 It cannot be truthfully said that the profit-sharing 
 plan Is universally abandoned. Thus a competent 
 authority ^ declares : "A thoroughly effective 
 method of remuneration Includes both principles, 
 the differential Incentive, which acts on the Individual 
 as such, and profit-sharing which acts on him In his 
 collective capacity as a member of a body bound 
 together by common Interests and working for a 
 common end. By Increasing the efficiency of labor 
 they diminish its cost and so Increase profits, al- 
 though wages rise. I admit that the practical appli- 
 cation of these principles — and particularly that of 
 profit-sharing — presents difficulties; but they are not 
 insuperable. If the problem be approached with un- 
 derstanding and goodwill." It Is entirely possible 
 that some future leader may develop a method of 
 profit-sharing which will escape the rocks and shoals 
 on which previous plans have so often been wrecked. 
 
 Again, Shadwell, in his "Industrial Efficiency," 
 volume II, page 145, says: "If profit-sharing is re- 
 garded as an act of paternal, and therefore arbi- 
 trary, benevolence, or as a weapon against trade 
 
 ^ Shadwell : Industrial Efficiency, ii, 141. 
 For further facts see Soziale Praxis, Feb. 27, 1913, xxii, 
 654- 
 
 124 
 
Economic Inducement to Efficiency- 
 
 unions, or a means to any other ulterior end, it is 
 sure to fail and to excite distrust and hostility. The 
 only sound basis is the economic one, which I have 
 endeavored to explain. On that basis it becomes 
 mutually advantageous, because it gives effect to the 
 real relations of employers and employed who are 
 actually partners in production. The term 'profit- 
 sharing' is in itself a great st-umbling-block ; if 'prod- 
 uct-sharing' were used half the difficulty would van- 
 ish." 
 
 Mr. Melville E. Ingalls, Chairman, Board of 
 Directors, Big Four Railroad, in "A Plea for Profit- 
 Sharing," National Civic Federation, Ninth Annual 
 Meeting, 1908, said: 
 
 "There is but one thing to my mind that will 
 produce harmony In the future and do justice to all 
 people, and that is profit-sharing. I believe if every 
 railroad in this country were run on that basis we 
 would have no strikes. I believe every large manu- 
 facturing company ought to be put upon that basis. 
 Something should be put aside for the subsistence of 
 the employees, something for the pay of capital, 
 and then the balance should be divided. Make every 
 man your partner. We will then have, just as near 
 as it is possible to have on this earth, the good times 
 when the laborer shall have his fair share and do 
 his fair amount of work." 
 
 Another important industrial manager says: 
 "The changes that have taken place in modern in- 
 dustry, as contrasted with twenty years ago, give 
 the worker far less chance to become economically 
 
 125 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 independent. The chances for rising have lessened 
 as specialization has increased. Hence the man who 
 goes into any industry which is largely depending 
 on labor is entitled to a share of the profits of that 
 industry. And where that principle has been ap- 
 plied it has not been found to fail. And it has 
 never cost ^ anything, but, in addition to paying for 
 itself, has produced a dividend for the employer." ^ 
 
 Profit-sharing Should Follow Welfare Work.^ — 
 That welfare work should be started before the 
 inauguration of a profit-sharing scheme is the opin- 
 ion embodied in a research report presented to the 
 members of the Western Efficiency Society, Chi- 
 cago, July 24, 19 14. On this point the committee 
 says: 
 
 "This committee believes that a firm contem- 
 plating profit-sharing or welfare, or both, would do 
 well to install welfare first. It Is the logical prepara- 
 tion for the responsibilities of proprietorship. This 
 committee has not lost faith In profit-sharing as an 
 agency for good, but It believes in welfare as a 
 necessary forerunner. It further believes that had 
 the concerns now old In the practice of profit-shar- 
 ing inaugurated welfare first, their profit-sharing 
 
 ^ "Never cost anything" — that is, to the corporation. But 
 the question still arises how much the increased strain cost 
 the workmen in length of life, in vigor, in leisure, in spir- 
 itual opportunity. This is an element in the calculation 
 which is too often ignored in the discussion. 
 
 2 Mr. Arthur Williams, 1914. 
 
 2 Cited from the magazine "loofc," Aug., 1914. 
 126 
 
Economic Induc ement to Efficiency 
 
 plans would have worked out to a smoother conclu- 
 sion and would now be more nearly perfect." 
 
 The substance of the committee's report follows: 
 
 In the face of a careful study of practically every 
 known profit-sharing scheme in this country, this 
 committee is less settled in its belief that profit-shar- 
 ing is the most logical and practical relief from in- 
 harmonious relations or lack of cooperation. In its 
 first report this committee was inclined to advocate 
 profit-sharing as an insurance against the unreason- 
 able demands of labor; as a method of stimulating 
 workmen to greater enthusiasm and effort in ex- 
 change for an increased income and a share in the 
 business, as well as a means of compelling more 
 open and frank dealing between men and manage- 
 ment. Granting, still, that profit-sharing may accom- 
 plish these things to a degree, so many disadvantages 
 to the general plan of copartnership have presented 
 themselves that this committee does not feel justi- 
 fied in urging it upon employers without certain 
 reservations. 
 
 Not all of us, perhaps, have taken notice of the 
 fact that profit-sharing has been practiced by many 
 of our largest concerns for the past twenty-five years. 
 This, alone, would seem to be convincing evidence 
 of its worth. 
 
 Without the slightest intention to reflect on the 
 undoubted merits of profit-sharing, but rather with 
 a desire to get closer to the truth, this committee 
 ventures to say that such may or may not be the 
 case. It is possible that concerns having put in a 
 
 127 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 method of profit-sharing are continuing it rather 
 than disturb a peaceful relationship by taking it out; 
 or, it may be that it is the best thing for the organi- 
 zation. 
 
 Profit-sharing has accomplished remarkable re- 
 sults in some places; in others it has been discon- 
 tinued, not all for the same reason, and while it 
 would be obviously unfair to judge profit-sharing by 
 its failures alone, this committee is actuated by these 
 examples to question its general applicability, at 
 least until more thought is given to the foundation 
 upon which it rests. 
 
 Profit-sharing, when correctly installed, is un- 
 questionably a binding influence for good, but the 
 chief trouble seems to have been that during the 
 period of adjusting it to meet local conditions, preju- 
 dices have arisen among the workmen and never 
 entirely been overcome, even in the face of what ap- 
 peared to be an ultimate success. Suspicion has re- 
 mained, and suspicion in any degree is the greatest 
 ,enemy of profit-sharing. It is the opinion of this 
 committee that all failures and the disturbances at- 
 tendant upon the installation of profit-sharing have 
 been directly chargeable to prematurity; and further- 
 more that those plans now considered successful In 
 every essential detail cquld have been made immeas- 
 urably stronger. 
 
 The committee finds that in proportion to the 
 number of concerns able to support profit-sharing, 
 comparatively few are doing so. There are not 
 over thirty plants in the United States maintaining 
 
 128 
 
Economic Inducement to EfSciency 
 
 a system of profit-sharing in the strict interpreta- 
 tion of the term. While this may be variously attrib- 
 uted, this committee favors the belief that welfare, 
 while not necessarily taking the place of profit-shar- 
 ing, is delaying its day, and that the era of profit- 
 sharing is only dawning. A possible dozen firms of 
 note have taken employees into partnership, and 
 later dissolved, but not without considerable harm 
 to the business. 
 
 This committee does not fully agree with the 
 statement made by the Employers' Welfare Depart- 
 ment of the National Civic Federation, as follows: 
 "It is perfectly safe to say that it would be hard 
 to find a profit-sharing plan operating successfully 
 in this country in the eyes of the employees." 
 
 By this same token this committee believes It 
 equally safe to say that it would be hard to find a 
 profit-sharing employer who regarded his plan, at 
 least, as unsuccessful. The fact of the matter Is 
 that it has proved extremely difficult to get at what 
 we consider the true facts and, without the aid of 
 unbiased opinions based on actual knowledge, the 
 real situation must remain, In a measure, a matter 
 of conjecture. 
 
 The conclusions of the committee at this time 
 would be that there are two main reasons why profit- 
 sharing is not generally popular among employers, 
 and not more universally adopted. They are ( i ) 
 the opposition of the labor unions, which, with or 
 without cause, regard it as a substitute for high 
 wages and a safeguard against strikes, and (2) the 
 
 129 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 increasing popularity of the welfare and betterment 
 department. 
 
 The chief objection to profit-sharing was found 
 to be the inability of the great majority of work- 
 men to invest. Others have been the tendency of 
 foremen to keep down the wages of the rank and 
 file in order that their own dividends may be higher; 
 the purchase of the stock at a low price and the 
 sale of it as soon as the price went up, and the like- 
 lihood of the gambling instinct being developed 
 among investors. 
 
 From its study the committee has deduced two 
 main complaints against the annual distribution of 
 cash. They are ( i ) the failure to pay market 
 wages where such cash distributions are made, and 
 (2) the obligation which the men, receiving such 
 cash distributions, feel toward the company, plac- 
 ing them in a position where they cannot or do not 
 feel justified in demanding an increase in salary 
 or wages even though they are justly entitled to 
 it. 
 
 The general impression seems to prevail among 
 both employers and employees that the welfare and 
 betterment department is serving most of the pur- 
 poses of profit-sharing. From the employer's point 
 of view, the advantages of welfare work over profit- 
 sharing may be outlined as follows : 
 
 1. It is more easily installed; 
 
 2. Its results are more quickly felt; 
 
 3. There Is, by comparison, practically no risk 
 involved ; 
 
 130 
 
Economic Inducement to Efficiency 
 
 4. The better class of workmen are, as a rule, 
 more easily convinced of its benefits; 
 
 5. The attitude of the labor unions is less arbi- 
 trary, since the workmen are not bound by any money 
 consideration; 
 
 6. Although the workmen may share in the 
 profits, their general health and the conditions 
 under which they work may be such as to minimize 
 their contribution to that profit, while through the 
 activities of the welfare department in the improve- 
 ment of working conditions, and the medical depart- 
 ment in the betterment of physical health, these same 
 workmen might be able to earn as much if not more 
 by reason of increased output than they could get 
 from dividends. 
 
 The sum of these six advantages is a healthier 
 and more wholesome working force ; a better grade 
 of work, and an automatic increase in wages with- 
 out the risk and responsibility of any considerable 
 investment. 
 
 On the other hand it has developed, primarily, 
 that workmen are more inclined to depend upon 
 their own ability to earn higher wages than they 
 are upon the management to deal justly with them at 
 the time of the annual distribution. This sentiment 
 is due to a few concrete and well-advertised 
 examples of dishonesty, which, however, are the 
 exceptions, rather than the rule, and an effec- 
 tive campaign of agitation on the part of labor 
 unions. 
 
 This committee does not subscribe itself to the 
 131 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 belief that welfare work is paternalistic. This 
 prejudice is being rapidly overcome. 
 
 Employees, unable to invest money in a share of 
 stock, would rather see an agency installed by which 
 they can profit, than one which eliminates them be- 
 cause of financial circumstances over which they may 
 have no control. On this point, Mr. R. T. Crane 
 is quoted as saying: 
 
 "When a stockholder in the shops is doing an 
 honest day's work, he is likely to be criticized as 
 setting the pace for the other workmen just be- 
 cause he is a stockholder. When strikes have come 
 I have been sorely disappointed to find that the 
 stockholder employee loses influence with the other 
 workmen; he will be suspected of leaning more 
 strongly toward his stockholding than toward his 
 laboring side." 
 
 Spectacular divisions of profits to wage-earners 
 occasionally astonish the world. There are brief 
 periods of extraordinary prosperity in particular 
 lines of business, due to the possession of a patent, 
 or to a lucky combination of circumstances, or mo- 
 nopoly, or to some unusual talent of the managers. 
 In a few years of real competition these extraor- 
 dinary profits sink to a lower level, being divided be- 
 tween the consuming public in lower prices and bet- 
 ter commodities, and the wage-earners themselves. 
 No general progress can be expected to come from 
 these rare instances of wage payments far above the 
 going rates of the labor market; they have very little 
 significance in the general process of evolution, al- 
 
 132 
 
Economic Inducement to Efficiency 
 
 though they may reveal a generous intention, wholly 
 praiseworthy, in the motives of the managers. They 
 are not harbingers of a universal Utopia. 
 
 One objection urged against paying a definite per 
 cent, of profits is that it divulges the financial con- 
 dition of the firm. This may to some extent be 
 avoided by a scheme occasionally adopted in which 
 the amount of the dividend to labor is not less than 
 six, and not more than ten, per cent, of the semi- 
 annual dividend paid to the stockholders, or some 
 similar scale. With the growing tendency to re- 
 quire publicity of accounts, the grounds of this ob- 
 jection will be removed, and this will be in the inter- 
 est of stockholders, the public and the workmen. 
 
 Annual Distribution of Profits Based on Per- 
 centage of Earnings of Each Man. — This method of 
 encouraging eflliciency of employees is somewhat 
 more direct than the earlier schemes of profit-shar- 
 ing. It does correspond in an approximate way with 
 the efficiency of the individual, since earnings indi- 
 cate the employer's valuation of the services of the 
 man for the year. Apparently the effect is whole- 
 some; it is a moral bond in the establishment; it 
 tends to increase goodwill; it holds out hope; and 
 at critical times gives a considerable lump sum which 
 may be profitably invested. 
 
 One type is based on the principle of an addition 
 to wages equal to the dividends on stock of the 
 same amount. Thus if the dividend is 1 2 per cent, 
 a stockholder who owns $500 in shares will receive 
 $60 a year and a workman earning $500 will receive 
 
 133 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 the same amount in addition to his wages. This 
 evidently tends to identify the interests of capitalists 
 and operatives. 
 
 Another type is that of a company which pays 
 the workmen a part of the profits, partly in cash 
 when dividends are declared, and partly in stock of 
 the company. This plan is said to give every work- 
 man a direct interest in improving the earning ca- 
 pacity of the company. "It leads them to discourage 
 waste and to check dawdling and generally to in- 
 crease the efficiency of their labor." It has been 
 asserted that, in one instance at least, the efficiency 
 of the workmen has more than compensated for the 
 money paid out in bonuses. 
 
 Piece-price. — A familiar device for stimulating 
 labor to highest speed Is payment by the piece, with 
 strict inspection of the product to Insure quality. 
 This method is so common as to require little com- 
 ment; it is evident that a person will put forth his 
 best powers If he knows that he is to be paid imme- 
 diately for every increment of effort. 
 
 The piece-price wage is not applicable in many 
 forms and processes of industry, and, therefore, in 
 these situations, some other method of enlisting the 
 self-interest of the workman must be found. 
 
 The workmen often complain that after they are 
 speeded up by the Inducement of piece-rates the em- 
 ployer cuts down the price per piece and leaves them 
 worse off than before, working harder with no in- 
 crease of income. To obviate this objection in part 
 some firms have adopted the method of paying by 
 
 134 
 
Economic Inducement to Efficiency 
 
 the piece as far as practicable, with an assured 
 minimum weekly wage and a bonus for extra output. 
 There can be no doubt that the piece-price payment 
 of wages has many substantial advantages. The 
 individual workman is certainly stimulated to put 
 forth his utmost energy by the immediate and visible 
 reward for his superior service; and hence the out- 
 put for each unit of capital, plant and machinery is 
 increased; the wages received are larger and the 
 payment is in the ratio of efficiency. 
 
 But over against these well-known advantages 
 there are serious disadvantages of a system which 
 enables employers to speed up the machinery, which 
 may already be too rapid for security and health; 
 to take the most rapid and strong workman as a 
 standard for the average, and give him an unfair 
 position; to encourage foremen and superintendents 
 to "nibble" at the piece-rate until the actual sum re- 
 ceived is finally no larger than it was before the 
 speeding process was introduced. The chief objec- 
 tion is that payment by the piece urges workmen to 
 excessive strain; and some shops where this system 
 prevails are scenes of frightful and feverish haste 
 ending at night in exhaustion. There is no guaran- 
 tee in the system itself that the employee shall not 
 be worn out, cast upon the scrap-heap and replaced 
 by some vigorous immigrant peasant, fresh from the 
 open fields, who in his turn will be used up and 
 rejected. 
 
 It is possible to retain the principle of payment 
 by the piece, which unquestionably promotes indi- 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 vidual efficiency and larger production, on certain 
 conditions. Medical control must give assurance 
 by examinations at regular intervals and whenever 
 needed, that the employees are not deteriorating 
 under the pressure. In the labor contract there must 
 be a guaranty that the wages will not be cut down 
 by the insidious process notorious under the name 
 of "nibbling." Such a contract, however, is not 
 likely to become customary without the sanc- 
 tion of collective bargaining or minimum-wage 
 laws. 
 
 Premium Plan: The Halsey Method. — A certain 
 wage is guaranteed and a premium is paid to work- 
 men for increased productivity. The advantages 
 claimed for this device are that the men are encour- 
 aged to produce more by being rewarded in pro- 
 portion to what they do; the reward is immediate 
 and substantial; the employer does not cut the rate 
 arbitrarily and the workman does not fear that his 
 wages will be capriciously reduced.^ 
 
 Time and Mode of Paying Wages. — The wage- 
 earner lives ever close to the edge of want; his daily 
 work calls for his daily bread; he has little credit 
 and he has urgent demands ; borrowing is at ruinous 
 rates of usury, and repayment is difficult. Payments, 
 especially for low-paid employees, should be at 
 weekly intervals. The employer may be put to a 
 slight increase of trouble and expense in order to pay 
 the wages frequently and in convenient ways; but 
 
 ^ Duncan : The Principles of Industrial Management, pp. 
 221-223. 
 
 136 
 
Economic Inducement to Efficiency 
 
 the advantage to the employee deserves considera- 
 tion. 
 
 Payments should, as a rule, be paid in money; 
 for the workingman has no bank account and must 
 sometimes pay for cashing checks. He may be 
 driven to the saloon-keeper for the purpose, and is 
 at once in the sphere of a dangerous influence. 
 Without knowing it, an employee may be subsidizing 
 an agency which undermines industrial efficiency. 
 
 Reward for Fidelity. — Permanence and reliability 
 of employees are elements in efficiency and many 
 firms have devised methods of offering inducements 
 to secure the stability of their trained force. From 
 our stock of examples we select a few typical illus- 
 trations. 
 
 A substantial premium is paid to each employee at 
 the conclusion of a definite period of service. The 
 premium starts with a modest sum and rises each 
 year afterward up to the twenty-fourth year or some 
 similar period, when it continues at a level rate. 
 In certain cases the premium varies with the average 
 wage rates. In some German cities the same method 
 has been introduced to secure stability in the corps 
 of municipal servants. The officers of an American 
 corporation say that these premiums are "simply a 
 special recognition for good service." They are 
 this, without doubt, but they are also an incentive for 
 the future and an inducement to continue in their 
 employment where frequent changes interrupt the 
 service. 
 
 Premiums for Fidelity. — A variation on the theme 
 
 137 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 is found where the basis for rate of premium takes 
 into account not only the length of service and rate 
 of wages, but also zeal and devotion to work, and 
 quality of service. In the lowest rank there may 
 be no addition to wages, and in the higher classes 
 the rate of premium ranges from 2 to 20 per cent. 
 An additional premium for good "team work" is 
 also occasionally seen. 
 
 In addition to pecuniary reward, it has been 
 found that badges of social distinction are some- 
 times valued. Thus J. C. VanMarken, Holland, 
 offers a gold cross decoration, to be presented at the 
 anniversary festival to every employee who has com- 
 pleted twenty-five years in the service of the firm. 
 Names are inscribed in a Golden Book, which has 
 large pages mounted on a winged frame. There 
 are situations in America where such an appeal 
 would provoke envy and hostility, if not ridicule. 
 
 A certain percentage of the profits may be set 
 aside each year for distribution among the employees 
 on the basis of their efficiency. The men in the sales 
 department are rewarded for increase of sales and 
 reduction of selling expenses. The fund is distrib- 
 uted in the shops as a reward for increased produc- 
 tion or decreased cost, or both. Employees, in any 
 branch, who show marked ability are entitled to 
 participate. 
 
 A certain well-known corporation sent a social ex- 
 pert, who had been in the employ of the federal gov- 
 ernment, to go about among their women employees 
 and make recommendations. As a woman, she 
 
 138 
 
Economic Inducement to Efficiency 
 
 could secure information which no officer of the 
 company could discover. She recommended that 
 night work should be abolished and a minimum wage 
 of $8 a week be established. Both recommendations 
 were carefully considered and adopted, without 
 pressure from legal requirements. 
 
 Purchase of Stock by Employees. — The wage- 
 earners may themselves become "capitalists" on a 
 small scale by ownership of stock in the company 
 which employs them. Of course they might buy 
 stocks in any corporation whose stock is for sale, 
 if they chose; but the difficulty would be to command 
 sufficient money at one time to purchase a share, and 
 to select with wisdom where the chances of loss are 
 so great. Even when employees buy stock of their 
 employers they must risk loss. The objection is 
 also urged that ownership with the employers weak- 
 ens the tie to the trade union and increases depend- 
 ence on the master. 
 
 The method of selling stock on the installment 
 plan has been frequently introduced, with varying 
 motives and results. On the surface it means that 
 the employees are offered an opportunity of shar- 
 ing in the prosperity of the company by becoming 
 capitalists on easy conditions. They buy a limited 
 amount of stock and pay for it out of wages — a form 
 of savings and investment. The employees must, of 
 course, share the risks of all capitalists and may lose 
 all they have invested. The motives of the man- 
 agers are sometimes questioned, and the trade-union 
 leaders declare that it is merely one more device for 
 
 139 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 weakening their organizations. Indeed many man- 
 agers have openly recommended this scheme for this 
 very reason. 
 
 Promoting Efficiency by Improved Management. 
 — There is a growing conviction among both stu- 
 dents and men of administrative experience that the 
 managers of industry and of mercantile establish- 
 ments can and should increase the social product by 
 more exact methods. Mr. F. W. Taylor, a specialist 
 in methods of increasing efficiency, has summarized 
 his contribution to the subject as follows: ^ 
 
 "The aim in each establishment should be: (a) 
 That each workman should be given, as far as pos- 
 sible, the highest grade of work for which his ability 
 and physique fit him; (b) that each workman should 
 be called upon to turn out the maximum amount of 
 work which a first-rate man of his class can do and 
 thrive; (c) that each workman, when he works at 
 the best pace of a first-class man, should be paid 
 from 30 per cent, to 100 per cent., according to the 
 nature of the work which he does, beyond the aver- 
 age of his class." These Improvements can be intro- 
 duced by the employers and by them alone; in such 
 matters the employees have no power. 
 
 The object stated is to unite high wages with 
 low labor cost — cost, I. e., to the employer; and 
 this object Is promoted by the application of the fol- 
 lowing principles : (a) "A large dally task. Each 
 man in the establishment, high or low, should daily 
 
 ^ Shop Management (1911) : "Principles of Scientific 
 Management." Copyright, 191 1, by Frederick W. Taylor. 
 
 140 
 
Economic Inducement to Efficiency 
 
 have a clearly defined task laid out before him. 
 This task should not in the least degree be vague nor 
 indefinite, but should be circumscribed carefully and 
 completely, and should not be easy to accomplish, 
 (b) Standard conditions. Each man's task should 
 call for a full day's work, and at the same time the 
 workman should be given such standardized condi- 
 tions and appliances as will enable him to accom- 
 plish his task with certainty, (c) High pay for 
 success. He should be sure of large pay when he 
 accomplishes his task, (d) Loss in case of failure. 
 When he fails, he should be sure that sooner or later 
 he will be the loser by it. When an estabhshment 
 has reached an advanced state of organization in 
 many cases a fifth element should be added, namely: 
 the task should be made so difiicult that it can only 
 be accomplished by a first-class man." 
 
 Mr. Taylor recommends his plan on the ground 
 that it tends to prevent strikes and induces the best 
 men to leave the trade unions.^ It is evident that 
 this argument was not expressly aimed to conciliate 
 the American Federation of Labor! 
 
 The whole scheme may be vitiated, from the large 
 national standpoint, by its failure to make provision 
 for the second- and third-class workmen, for the 
 physical integrity of the best men, and for any other 
 interest than high wages and low labor cost (to the 
 manager). This is not an objection to the method 
 within its range of appHcation; it is an indication 
 that it is but a fragment of the whole social problem. 
 
 * Shop Management, pp. 68, 69. 
 
 141 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 Industrial efficiency is only one aspect of human 
 efficiency; and while it includes within limits finer 
 intellectual and social qualities, the higher ends can 
 be achieved only when other provisions are made, 
 as by systematic medical inspection and control, 
 for maximum health, and for leisure with cul- 
 ture. The industrial ideal of civilization is vastly 
 higher than the military and feudal; but, after 
 all, as Carlyle said, it is only a "preliminary 
 item." 
 
 Training in Methods.^ — Mr. Emerson, whose 
 name is conspicuous in this attempt to increase the 
 efficiency of labor, has summarized in his own way 
 the main principles of procedure: clearly defined 
 ideals, common-sense, competent counsel, discipline, 
 the fair deal, reliable records, the best mode of dis- 
 patching, the making of standards and schedules, 
 standardizing conditions, standardizing operations, 
 standard practice instructions, and efficiency reward. 
 He insists that all these principles must be combined 
 in a closely knit system in which each finds expres- 
 sion. He explains the principle of "the fair deal" 
 as including a decimal wage rate per hour, which 
 varies with local conditions, and is fixed by negotia- 
 tion and agreement between the parties. A bonus is 
 paid for work which extends beyond the hours per 
 day, the normal day being nine hours. A time 
 equivalent is determined for every operation, but 
 no worker is required to attain this time equivalent; 
 
 ^Emerson in Engineering Magazine, June, 1910; Sept., 
 1911. 
 
 142 
 
Economic Inducement to Efficiency 
 
 his wages do not depend on It but on the time he is 
 under orders. These time equivalents are subject to 
 revision up and down, as conditions change, but 
 never because of high individual skill. Revision is 
 made by competent disinterested specialists, and 
 both parties know all the reasons. 
 
 The principle of reliable, immediate, adequate and 
 permanent records is thus interpreted. Records 
 should show every operation; the standard quantity 
 of material; the efficiency of material used; the 
 standard price of material unit; the efficiency of 
 price; the standard quantity of time units required; 
 the efficiency of time; the standard rate of wages 
 for work of the kind; the efficiency of wage rate; 
 the standard quantity of time for equipment; the 
 efficiency of time use of equipment; the standard 
 equipment rate per hour ; the efficiency of equipment 
 use. The principle of efficiency reward is analyzed, 
 and said to include: guaranteed hourly rate; lower 
 limit of efficiency which, if not attained, indicates 
 that the worker is a misfit and requires special train- 
 ing or change of occupation; progressive efficiency 
 reward; efficiency standard established after care- 
 ful time studies have been made ; time standard that 
 is joyful and exhilarating [mocking laughter from 
 workmen!]; variation in standards with different 
 machines and conditions; determination for each 
 worker of an average efficiency for all jobs over a 
 long period. 
 
 It is evident that the application of these princi- 
 ples requires a high degree of self-discipline in super- 
 
 143 
 
Citizens In Industry 
 
 intendents and overseers, and the service of very 
 capable directors at every step. 
 
 In the higher degree of specialization which char- 
 acterizes the increased productivity of the great In- 
 dustry is found the opportunity for readjustment of 
 shop direction details. Taylor ^ uses the expression 
 "functional foremanship," which means that work 
 formerly done by a single gang boss is now sub- 
 divided among eight men or groups of men: "(i) 
 route clerks, (2) instruction card clerks, (3) cost 
 and time clerks, who place and give directions from 
 the planning-room, (4) gang bosses, (5) speed 
 bosses, (6) inspectors, (7) repair bosses, who show 
 the men how to carry out their instructions and see 
 that the work is done at the proper speed, (8) the 
 shop disciplinarian, who performs this function for 
 the entire establishment." 
 
 Under the new system, much of the responsibility 
 for direction which belonged to the operative is 
 transferred to the office of management. The men 
 are selected and trained for their particular tasks on 
 a plan accurately mapped out in advance. Nothing 
 is left to chance or caprice, and there is continuous 
 cooperation between the managers and the work- 
 men. 
 
 It is claimed for this system that It raises the 
 wages and shortens the hours of the operatives, 
 while Increasing the quantity and Improving the 
 quality of the product. 
 
 The objections of trade-union leaders to "scientific 
 
 ^ Shop Management, p. 104. 
 144 
 
Economic Inducement to Efficiency 
 
 management" were thus stated by Mr. John P. Frey 
 in the American Federationist} He quotes from 
 a representative manager who had said that he had 
 "absolutely no regard for machinery or men" ; that 
 both were worked to the limit and rejected as soon 
 as they were not fit for the highest degree of pro- 
 duction. He affirmed that the representatives of 
 "scientific management" recommended it to capital- 
 ists as a means of breaking down collective bargain- 
 ing by the unions. Furthermore, he claimed that 
 the scheme is unscientific because it does not include 
 an adequate system for the education of apprentices 
 and competent mechanics; nor for the workman's 
 progress in knowledge of mechanics. Its tendency 
 is toward production of quantity rather than quality. 
 It has failed to understand the human factor and 
 the spirit of American institutions, for it makes of 
 one man a taskmaster without the consent of the 
 other. 
 
 Encouragement of Invention. — The improvement 
 of industrial and commercial methods depends in 
 great measure on the inventiveness and alertness of 
 the persons who actually perform the work and con- 
 stantly observe the action of machines and methods. 
 Since we must count on the inertia of habit and cus- 
 tom, a specific motive must be offered to overcome 
 the weight of wont and use and to stimulate creative 
 activity. Only with exceptional men can we be sure 
 that the mind will always be alert to find new ways 
 and the will prompt to use them. Furthermore, 
 
 ^ Mr. John P. Frey in American Federationist, Mar., 1913. 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 the operative Is more or less conscious that he is 
 under orders and expected to obey instructions with- 
 out argument. It is easier to follow closely the direc- 
 tions of a stupid gang boss, himself slave of routine, 
 than to cross him, dispute with him, and risk danger 
 of discharge by him. To secure invention the sys- 
 tem must offer rewards, provide for impartial con- 
 sideration, and be directed by men who themselves 
 are eager to makfe progress. Leisure also is a con- 
 dition of escape from routine and slavish Imitation. 
 A group of workmen who are driven to the limit of 
 strength are generally Incapable of invention. 
 
 The patent office is a device which has stimulated 
 invention, because It protects the Inventor of an 
 improved machine or process In his property rights 
 and enjoyment of royalty. But experience has re- 
 vealed defects In the working of patent laws. The 
 inventor is often more of a poet than a business 
 man; he Is easily deceived by more astute and some- 
 times unscrupulous managers. He cannot utilize his 
 patent without capital for construction and adver- 
 tisement. Frequently the patent is useless unless 
 connected In a series already covered and which he 
 cannot control; he must sell to those who own the 
 rights in the previous devices. The most numerous 
 inventions are very slight, and the changes cannot 
 be covered by a patent. 
 
 To meet these and other related difficulties, many 
 employers have sought to obtain suggestions from 
 their operatives and clerks. Some have set up boxes 
 in the establishment and invited the workers to drop 
 
 146 
 
Economic Inducement to Efficiency 
 
 into them hints, drawings, and descriptions of pos- 
 sible improvements in the process. These sugges- 
 tions are carefully studied by competent persons in 
 some impartial way, and if they are found to have 
 merit, the author is rewarded and honored. "Praise 
 and price" are motives everywhere reliable. The 
 shop people are asked for suggestions in regard to 
 the construction and placing of machinery or parts 
 of machines, the improvement of physical conditions 
 of light, heat, moisture and ventilation affecting the 
 working energy of the employees, record-keeping, 
 printed forms, circulars, processes, designs, finish, 
 boxing. The salesmen are invited to offer hints de- 
 rived from criticisms of the product by customers, 
 suggestions as to advertising and new fields for 
 enterprise. 
 
 These arrangements tend to bring the entire corps 
 into spiritual relations of confidence and coopera- 
 tion, awaken faculties, add to social wealth of ideas 
 and production; but their true and full success de- 
 pends on absolute good faith and a degree of unsel- 
 fishness on the part of the employer. In all these 
 schemes no provision is made for securing to the 
 inventor in a shop an income from those occasional 
 discoveries which are patented and become the 
 source of a monopoly gain to the corporation. In- 
 stances of robbery could be cited — robbery under 
 legal forms, but all the more irritating as causes of 
 social revolt. This whole problem of proprietary 
 rights in invention is one that public authority must 
 solve; justice here is rarely assured by a conflict of 
 
 147 
 
Citizens in Industry- 
 
 individual interests. Selfisliness never promoted the 
 common welfare nearly so well as public control. 
 
 THRIFT MEASURES ENCOURAGED BY MANAGERS 
 
 I. Savings. — Thrift is an old-fashioned virtue 
 which will never become obsolete, but which costs 
 sacrifice and needs encouragement. Most wage- 
 eafners have little experience in investments; the 
 failures and scandals of a few savings banks have 
 made many persons suspicious and timid; the spend- 
 ing impulse and appetites for immediate gratifica- 
 tions listen only too readily to plausible excuses for 
 extravagance. Great corporations, for example, in- 
 surance companies, may be in a position to collect 
 and invest the savings of their employees to their 
 advantage in rate of interest and ample security. 
 
 When the facilities of savings banks are brought 
 close to the workmen there may be little if any rea- 
 son for action by the employer. The post-office 
 savings bank, with its numerous local branches, may 
 be all that is needed. But thrift is a virtue whose 
 merit is denied by certain radicals and hard to cul- 
 tivate under the best conditions. In America the 
 saving habit is rare, feeble, and unpopular. The 
 vaunted statistics of deposits, when analyzed and 
 studied in the light of budgets, have not much sig- 
 nificance. From the top down Americans are notori- 
 ously wasteful, and fashionable "Society" has no 
 right to offer advice on this subject, for its wastes 
 are colossal. 
 
 148 
 
Economic Inducement to Efficiency 
 
 In any land, but especially in our country, not only 
 facilities but inducements and persuasion are neces- 
 sary to promote thrift — assuming that it is a socially 
 desirable habit and custom. The 3 per cent, interest 
 bait will catch a few who are hungry and alert; and 
 occasionally a prosperous firm using credit can afford 
 to offer 5 per cent., which is still more alluring. 
 
 Savings in Mercantile Establishments. — The sav- 
 ings of shop girls are often so small that they would 
 be almost ashamed to offer them for deposit in a 
 bank, even if the hours of work were such as made 
 it possible; "but when the kind little old lady with 
 the big brown bag and the little account book arrives 
 at the store, the girls do not hesitate to give into her 
 keeping even a few pennies." ^ 
 
 Obligatory Savings Banks for Minors. — It is gen- 
 erally agreed that with adults the manager cannot 
 go beyond inviting and attracting voluntary deposits. 
 Something can be said for obligatory measures with 
 young persons. The lad of sixteen to twenty has all 
 the appetites and wants of an adult, and, in unskilled 
 occupations, he may have maximum earning power 
 at eighteen. He is not responsible for wife and 
 child, and feels only limited obligation to his par- 
 ents who may still feed him at their table. It is a 
 situation full of peril. The desire for happiness is 
 keen; the judgment of consequences is immature; 
 the temptations to indulgence are satanic in subtlety; 
 not even Hercules' choice may be offered, but only 
 one broad and slippery descending way. Under 
 
 ^ Mary K. Maule. 
 
 149 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 these conditions many employers have sought to con- 
 trol a part of the earnings of minors. A contract is 
 made when employment is given by which the man- 
 ager requires the adolescents in his works to deposit 
 on interest a part of their wages or premiums in 
 the savings fund until they marry or have reached 
 maturity. 
 
 Consumers' Associations: Cooperative Stores. — 
 These are frequently found in Germany. In some 
 places, notably at Krupp's famous village, near 
 Essen, the company fosters the enterprise. All kinds 
 of commodities desired by the employees are kept 
 in stock; sales are for cash; profits are returned to 
 buyers at the end of the year in the ratio of pur- 
 chases, which are recorded in a book during the year. 
 The Cooperative movement is an exotic in the 
 United States and has not deep roots. But the 
 "high cost of living" is now keenly and severely felt, 
 and recent investigations have shown, even more 
 clearly than before, that a serious part of the in- 
 creased cost arises in connection with the retail dis- 
 tribution of staple commodities. European experi- 
 ence points out a way of substantial relief as soon 
 as our people develop a cooperative spirit and 
 have a taste of its pecuniary advantages. At this 
 point, and without any hint of the "truck system," 
 employers could aid their employees to combine on 
 principles thoroughly established by the Rochdale 
 Pioneers in England and by the Consumption Socie- 
 ties (Konsumvereine) in Germany. The need of 
 rigid economy has never been accepted in America 
 
Economic Inducement to Efficiency 
 
 where there was so much food to waste; but there 
 are indications that the era of reckless, childish ex- 
 ploitation and prodigality is near its end, and we 
 must learn to husband our resources and the means 
 of subsistence as older peoples have learned to do.^ 
 
 Loans. — There are circumstances when the cor- 
 poration finds it expedient to lend money to tested 
 employees to buy homes, the property furnishing 
 security after some payments have been made. The 
 interest is low. When the loan is made, a life-insur- 
 ance policy is taken out to protect the widow and 
 children in case of the death of the borrowing 
 employee. 
 
 Loans for consumption, in times of sickness and 
 other unexpected and extraordinary trouble, are 
 often made by employers without other material se- 
 curity than the right to deduct repayments by in- 
 stallments from wages. Knowledge of the charac- 
 ter of the employee may make it reasonable to 
 capitalize his honesty, and lend to him at a rate 
 which a stranger could not safely grant, and which 
 the pawnbroker or "loan shark" would contemptu- 
 ously reject. 
 
 Accident Insurance. — Up to a recent date the 
 workmen in hazardous employments had no legal 
 protection in case of accident resulting in disability 
 or death, except that paid under the employers' lia- 
 bility laws. No indemnity whatever could be col- 
 lected in the courts unless it could be proved that 
 the employer was negligent; a fact which was rare 
 
 ^ Fay : Cooperation at Home and Abroad. 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 and difficult to prove. Litigation was costly and ate 
 up the indemnity which occasionally was paid, and 
 it gave annoyance and loss to employers. 
 
 To bring relief in this situation many employers 
 voluntarily continued the wages or part of them, 
 during illness ; but this depended on the kindness of 
 the employer and payments were irregular and un- 
 certain. In case of violent death, when there was 
 no legal claim, the employers would contribute along 
 with others on a charity basis which was humiliating 
 and unreliable. 
 
 An advance step was taken when employing com- 
 panies drew up an accident-insurance contract, agreed 
 to pay the expenses of administration, guaranteed 
 the fund, and deducted the premiums from the 
 wages. This was called "welfare work" ; but stren- 
 uous objections were urged against it, the most seri- 
 ous being that the men were obliged to pay for a 
 risk which belonged to the hazards of the business. 
 If a man left the company his insurance ceased, un- 
 less he could find employment with another corpora- 
 tion which had established a similar scheme. Great 
 antagonism was aroused by a clause in some of the 
 contracts which required the employee to waive his 
 right to sue the employer; he had no legal claim on a 
 fund which his payments had helped to create. 
 Some of the contracts omitted this objectionable 
 condition. 
 
 After long agitation and discussion the legislatures 
 of several states have attempted to make indemnities 
 obligatory, on the principle that each trade, in pro- 
 
Economic Inducement to Efficiency 
 
 portion to its hazard, must pay for the risk and 
 charge the cost of premiums of insurance in the 
 price of the product as sold. The example of Ger- 
 many, France, England and other European coun- 
 tries stimulated this movement; and it now seems 
 probable that obligatory accident insurance in some 
 form will become common in the United States. 
 
 COMPENSATION IS SATISFACTORY 
 
 From virtually every point of view workmen's 
 compensation, as it operates in this country, has 
 proved satisfactory. This, at least, has been the 
 conclusion reached by a commission representing the 
 American Federation of Labor and the National 
 Civic Federation. Members of the commission vis- 
 ited cities in eight of the twenty-three states which 
 have adopted compensation laws. They conferred 
 with state commissions or accident boards and pur- 
 sued correspondence with states that could not be 
 reached otherwise. To quote its own words in its 
 published report: "The commission found a grow- 
 ing satisfaction with compensation laws among both 
 employers and workmen. All suggestion for 
 changes related to improvements in the compensa- 
 tion law, no one seriously thinking of repealing it or 
 going back to the old liability system. Persons at- 
 tended the conferences who had originally opposed 
 the compensation plan, but who, after experience 
 under it, expressed their warm approval of its prin- 
 ciples." 
 
 153 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 Here are some of the commission's general con- 
 clusions : 
 
 "The commission found that workmen's compen- 
 sation acts, either compulsory or elective, have in a 
 large part of the country, become the prevailing 
 method of adjusting the financial losses inflicted 
 upon workmen by industrial accidents, and that not 
 only are more than 5,000,000 workmen now operat- 
 ing under compensation laws, but that laws going 
 into effect during the coming year will bring several 
 million more workmen under this system. Even 
 elective acts have been so generally accepted by em- 
 ployers and employees in states where they are in 
 force that in those instances a vast majority of in- 
 dustrial accidents are covered. In these states that 
 have had experience under the law general satis- 
 faction is given both to employer and employee, and 
 the opinion is generally expressed by those whom 
 the commission met that such principles will soon be 
 the ruling doctrine throughout the country. 
 
 "The laws have improved the relation existing 
 between the employer and the employee; they have 
 had a marked effect on accident prevention by calling 
 attention to the subject and exciting interest in safe- 
 guarding machinery and in the organization of safety 
 committees, and they have created a general cam- 
 paign for accident prevention. 
 
 "In the states where there are industrial-accident 
 boards having power to pass upon settlement agree- 
 ments, to make rules and regulations, to require the 
 filing of receipts showing the actual payments of 
 
 154 
 
Economic Inducement to Efficiency 
 
 compensation to the men and having arbitrations and 
 hearings before them in cases of dispute, there was 
 found no danger from fraud or deception on the 
 part either of the employer or the workman. In 
 these states the law is being fairly administered and 
 employees are receiving promptly their full compen- 
 sation under the law. It is evident that the law 
 cannot be well administered except through a board 
 or officials charged with powers and duties similar 
 to those of the existing state boards." 
 
 These compensation laws are received with favor 
 by the more farseeing employers who know that 
 such a world movement is inevitable. As one of 
 them has said: "We believe that this tendency to 
 place the burden where it belongs is a great step in 
 industrial betterment, that it will tend to maintain 
 peace in industrial pursuits, and eliminate the feel- 
 ings of hostility and hatred engendered by the old 
 system of the damage suit based on negligence." ^ 
 
 Sickness Insurance.' — Loss of Income is more fre- 
 
 1 Robert Wurst: Article on the "National Metal Trades 
 Association," The Annals of the American Academy of 
 Political and Social Science, Nov., 1912. 
 
 ^ C. R. Henderson : Industrial Insurance in the United 
 States (list). Bureau of Labor Reports. 
 
 I. M. Rubinow: Social Insurance. 
 
 Reports of the American Association of Labor Legisla- 
 tion, and of the National Civic Federation. 
 
 A striking illustration of the relative importance of sick 
 benefits and accident indemnity is found in the report of the 
 International Harvester Co., Sept. i, 1908, to May 31, 1913. 
 $543>987-50 were paid in cases of 699 deaths, and $14,059.80 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 quently due to illness than to accident, yet the need 
 of provision for this emergency has not yet been so 
 generally recognized. The trade unions, mutual 
 benefit societies and fraternal associations have 
 fallen far short of adequacy. Corporations have 
 occasionally made provision for sickness Indemnity 
 through the shop clubs or mutual benefit associations 
 organized among the employees and subsidized by 
 the employing company. 
 
 When sickness insurance becomes legally compul- 
 sory in the United States, as it has already become in 
 great European nations, this form of welfare work 
 will pass away, although there will always be oppor- 
 tunity for supplementary helps by wise and benevo- 
 lent employers. Here is a field where pioneers in 
 philanthropy may render valuable service to the next 
 generation. 
 
 Pensions. — In the absence of a universal, federal, 
 obligatory system of social Insurance In the United 
 States, various strong corporations have undertaken 
 to provide old-age and invalidity pensions for their 
 employees. The wisdom and permanence of these 
 schemes are still in question. Certainly private ar- 
 rangements, however beneficial, must in the light of 
 
 for 26 "special benefits"; 23,739 disability claims were paid: 
 sickness, $442,309.73; accident, $114,328.26. Membership 
 May 31, 1913, 31,769. Average number of employees during 
 1912, 42,979. April 30, 1914: 878 deaths, $682,119.17; 29 
 special benefits, $14,755.97; 27,327 disability claims paid; 
 sickness, $565,589.62; accident, $127,139.27; total, $1,389,- 
 604.00. Membership, April 30, 1914, 26,297. 
 
 156 
 
Economic Inducement to Efficiency 
 
 the world movement be regarded as transitional.^ 
 Without attempting a description of these schemes 
 we may call attention to their essential aims and 
 principles so far as these have been developed in 
 practice. In establishing a particular scheme the 
 services of an actuary are indispensable. In the ab- 
 sence of legal obligation and uniform regulation the 
 scope of experiment and speculation Is at this stage 
 very wide, and no common principle of interest or 
 duty, public or private, has been accepted in Amer- 
 ica ; while Germany and Great Britain have formu- 
 lated their national purpose and embodied It in a 
 system on an actuarial basis. 
 
 It is claimed by some critics that the employee 
 suffers a loss of wages In accepting a pension scheme, 
 but gains no contractual right In the fund. This 
 criticism requires examination. In those schemes in 
 which the employee pays no premium, the corpora- 
 tion providing the entire fund, the former does not 
 suffer a loss of wages. In certain schemes where 
 the employee is a contributor he Is repaid with inter- 
 est all he has paid or the greater part thereof In 
 case he leaves the position for any cause; and In 
 this situation he suffers no deduction from his wages. 
 In the schemes where the employee is compelled to 
 pay part of the premium and does not acquire any 
 
 ^ C. R. Henderson : Industrial Insurance in tke United 
 States, and literature there cited. Bureau of Labor Report. 
 
 Seager: Social Insurance. 
 
 1. Rubinow; American Economic Review, June, 1913, pp. 
 287-295. 
 
citizens in Industry- 
 
 contractual claim on the fund which he has helped 
 to create there is manifest injustice which demands 
 legal correction.^ 
 
 A satisfactory system must not lower wages, and 
 must guarantee to each employee all to which he 
 is in equity entitled. The fund should be based on 
 actuarial calculations, should be independent of the 
 financial fortunes of the company and should be 
 adequate each year for the claims of the year. If 
 the employee dies or leaves the service before the 
 age when he is entitled to full pension, his just expec- 
 tations should be met by such partial payments as 
 may be reasonable; and all the provisions should be 
 known and published from the beginning. 
 
 ^Benefit Funds. — W. L. Chandler: "The Use of Benefit 
 Funds Among Factory Employees." The Dodge Idea, Mar., 
 1913. P- 1070. 
 
 Statistics "compiled from over five hundred benefit funds 
 in the United States and a few in Canada." 
 
 Thirty per cent, of funds receive regular contributions 
 from the establishments, "but this seemingly has only the 
 effect of lowering the cost to members, as no reasons are 
 apparent why they cannot all be self-sustaining." Member- 
 ship of all funds averaged 48 per cent, of total number of 
 employees. Ninety-three per cent, of funds provide benefits 
 for temporary disability due to sickness. Of all funds (com- 
 prising about 350,000 members) the average cost per mem- 
 ber for one year for temporary disability due to sickness 
 and accidents combined (sickness and accident cases not 
 reported separately) was $3.42. Ninety per cent, of funds 
 pay benefits for temporary disability due to accidents. 
 Twelve per cent, of all funds pay benefits for permanent 
 disability, and one-third of these apply the benefits to cases 
 
 158 
 
Economic Inducement to Efficiency 
 
 But at least during this transition from private to 
 public systems we cannot ignore the value of the 
 principle "that an employee who has given faithful 
 and long service to his employers, has given a kind 
 of service for which he has not been fully compen- 
 
 due to sickness as well as accidents. Of the funds paying 
 benefits for permanent disability J4 per cent, of members 
 received such benefits in one year. Average cost per mem- 
 ber covering' both sickness and accident for the year was 
 48 cents. 
 
 Twelve per cent, of funds give benefits for permanent 
 disability due to accident. Eighty-three per cent, of funds 
 provide benefit for death of a member, due to sickness. 
 Amount varies from $10 to $1,000. Average, $209.76. 
 Ninety per cent, of funds provide benefit for death of a 
 member due to accident. Twenty-two per cent, have bene- 
 fits for death of members' wives. Ten per cent, have bene- 
 fits for death of other dependents. Very few funds make 
 any distinction between salaried employees and day work- 
 ers. All funds provide different classes of membership based 
 on sex. Of total membership of all funds, 10 per cent, are 
 females. Of members of funds reporting female members, 
 II per cent, are females. Of funds managed by employees 
 only 30 per cent, of employees were members. Of those 
 managed by establishment, 75 per cent, were enrolled. Of 
 those managed jointly, 66 per cent, were enrolled. Fifteen 
 per cent, had more or less compulsory membership. 
 
 W. L. Chandler : Views and Questions in Benefit Fund 
 Discussion. The Dodge Idea, June, 1913, p. 1154. Eighty 
 per cent, of funds managed by employees have entrance 
 fees. Forty per cent, of funds under joint management have 
 entrance fees. One under establishment rule has entrance 
 fee. Fees range from 5 cents to $10.00; $1.00 the most 
 common, 50 cents next. Two-thirds have assessments. 
 
 159 
 
Citizens In Industry 
 
 sated in his weekly or his monthly pay envelope." ^ 
 Why should not pay for this unpaid service be added 
 to the regular wages? It cannot be added there for 
 the simple reason that you cannot know whether a 
 man renders "long and faithful" service until he has 
 done it. All know that "long and faithful" service 
 is worth more than brief, uncertain and disloyal 
 service; but the pay of the extra value ought not 
 to be given until the time is past and the test 
 endured. 
 
 It may be objected to this reasoning that invalid 
 and old-age pensions should be required by law of 
 all employers and not be dependent on a workman's 
 continuance all his life with the same employer. 
 Granting this as sound, we yet hold to the "service 
 annuity" idea expressed above; something should be 
 voluntarily added to the legal pension, since it is 
 earned In a special and personal relation. Here Is 
 another exariiple where, even under compulsory old- 
 age pension laws, there will be room for voluntary 
 and special acts of equity and philanthropy. 
 
 But if, as men approach the age when the pen- 
 sion is expected, they are discharged for weakness, 
 or on some other pretext, the whole system will be 
 defeated; for its value as an incentive to fidelity and 
 loyalty depends on the general belief in the sincerity 
 of the managers. Doubt might be set at rest in 
 part by guaranteeing at least an equitable pension 
 after a certain long period of service, even if weak- 
 
 ^ Mr. Arthur Williams in Bui. 6, National Assopation of 
 Corporation Schools. 
 
 1 60 
 
Economic Inducement to Efficiency 
 
 ness or unfaithfulness made it necessary to discharge 
 the person at the stage where strength begins to 
 fail. The complaints on this subject are so numer- 
 ous and well founded that they cannot be ignored. 
 Perhaps the evil cannot be corrected without legis- 
 lation. 
 
 In Germany, where social insurance is obligatory 
 (compulsory), it would seem that no further provi- 
 sion need be made by employers for disasters to 
 workmen and their families. But an imperial or 
 federal law must be based on averages and cannot 
 take into account individual and special require- 
 ments. The proprietor, having direct relations with 
 a group of workers whose local and even domestic 
 condition is known to him, can always find some 
 local defect in the working of a general law which 
 he can correct. It may be the pension is too small 
 for certain large families, or homes where there has 
 been prolonged sickness with heavy e!xpenses; or 
 mechanical appliances recommended by the physi- 
 cian may be too costly for the family means, as 
 trusses or spectacles ; or a period in the mountain or 
 by the sea may be desirable for convalescents ; or a 
 faithful employee may become disabled before the 
 age when pension begins; or a widow and her chil- 
 dren may not have claim on a pension for a similar 
 reason. In these and similar situations room is left 
 for personal generosity beyond the bare letter of 
 the law. Doubtless when obligatory insurance is 
 general in the United States there will still be many 
 opportunities to manifest a human interest. 
 
 i6i 
 
Citizens in Industry- 
 
 Concerning old-age annuities Louis Brandeis sug- 
 gests another aspect of an argument: "Economic- 
 ally, the superantluation provision may be consid- 
 ered as a depreciation charge. Every prudent manu- 
 facturer makes an annual charge for the deprecia- 
 tion of his machines, recognizing not merely phys- 
 ical depreciation, but lessened value through obsoles- 
 cence. He looks forward to the time when the 
 machine, though still in existence, and in perfect re- 
 pair, will be unprofitable, and hence must be aban- 
 doned. This annual charge for depreciation he 
 treats as a necessary expense of the business." Old 
 age and invalidity must ever be regarded as neces- 
 sary elements in the upkeep of the human instru- 
 ments of production. 
 
 Life Insurance {death benefits). — One device Is 
 worth recording: the employing corporation makes a 
 contract with a reputable life-insurance company; 
 asks the employees to authorize the deduction from 
 the wages at each payment sufficient to cover the 
 premium; and thus the policy Is kept alive. The 
 Insurance Is quite independent of any reverses of 
 the employers. 
 
 Fines. — It Is generally believed by employers and 
 accepted by employees, at least in many branches of 
 manufacture and trade, that disciplinary measures 
 are necessary. Under the ancient apprenticeship 
 system the young workman could be punished with 
 the rod; that Is no longer possible, unless the father 
 chooses to resort to this method at home to cure a 
 lazy son. The fine Is the only disciplinary measure 
 
 162 
 
Economic Inducement t o Efficiency 
 
 available, and, as it touches the Income, it is keenly 
 and quickly felt. 
 
 At the same time, if fines are paid to the employer 
 he has a manifest and direct interest in making them 
 as high as possible; and even if he is impartial he is 
 sure to be suspected. If the fine is levied and col- 
 lected promptly, a careful record kept, and the 
 amounts received are put into a fund for sickness 
 and accident insurance, the benefits of which all em- 
 ployees share, the sense of justice is not offended, 
 the employer is not hated or suspected, and the 
 desirable disciplinary effect is fully secured without 
 waste of friction and ill-will. 
 
 Security of Position; Rights of Employees in the 
 Business. — For many years wage-earners have 
 groped for some expression of their feeling that men 
 who have spent years in learning a trade and in 
 serving a certain firm or corporation acquire some 
 sort of a claim to security of tenure. In public em- 
 ployment this principle is openly avowed; the 
 "spoils system" with its arbitrary methods of select- 
 ing and discharging employees has gradually suc- 
 cumbed to the "merit system" which selects, retains 
 and promotes public servants on examination, proba- 
 tion and continued evidence of efficiency in the posi- 
 tions. It was natural that the same principle should 
 be applied to the service of private parties, espe- 
 cially of corporations created by charter of the 
 commonwealth — hence the frequently recurring 
 phrase, "a man's right to his job," and the intense 
 hatred of the "scab" and the "strike-breaker." Gen- 
 
 163 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 erally employers, still under the influence of the in- 
 dividualistic theory of liberalism and laissez-faire 
 policies, have resolutely and vigorously fought this 
 idea and contended that they had the absolute right 
 to discharge without notice and without giving any 
 explanation, just as employees may quit the employ- 
 ers. It must be confessed that if the right of wage- 
 earners to their job is recognized there must be a 
 corresponding recognition of duties, and men gen- 
 erally see their rights before they discover their 
 duties. 
 
 At any rate, many capitalist managers have been 
 turning over the subject in their minds, have them- 
 selves felt the hardships of insecure tenure of places, 
 the wastes of anxiety, the perils of suspense and the 
 atmosphere of suspicion, and have themselves 
 groped for a remedy. The various pension schemes 
 are substantial. If only partial, evidence of this feel- 
 ing. The sale of stock shares to employees on 
 favorable terms is another sign. The system of 
 unemployment insurance, already in operation in 
 Great Britain, will be one of the methods of giving 
 to this new claim legal force and precise definition. 
 
 The Honorable Seth Low, distinguished repre- 
 sentative of the best political and commercial ten- 
 dencies, has given this almost instinctive feeling an 
 articulate expression in prophetic words : 
 
 "There has grown up very widely among em- 
 ployees the feeling that the men who put labor into 
 a railroad system, or Into any other vast industrial 
 plant, help to create that system just as truly as the 
 
 164 
 
Economic Inducement to Efficiency 
 
 men who put their money into it; and out of this 
 belief there has grown and is growing a constantly 
 strengthening conviction that those who work for 
 such an enterprise acquire a property right in it just 
 as real as the property right of those who embark 
 capital in it. The problem of modern industry, so 
 far as it relates to the relation of the employer and 
 employee, seems to be to discover the just, and 
 equitable, and practical way of reconciling these two 
 claims to property right in modern industry. As 
 long as business enterprises were under individual 
 management, it was not unnatural for a man, whose 
 energy built up the enterprise and whose entire for- 
 tune had been at risk in developing it, to feel that 
 it was his business. Neither was this claim seriously 
 disputed by labor under old conditions. But the 
 situation, evidently, is entirely changed when an 
 enterprise is financed by tens of thousands of stock- 
 holders who give no time or thought whatever to 
 its conduct, and when its affairs are administered not 
 by the people who finance it, but by salaried 
 officials." 1 
 
 It is perfectly clear that an absolute denial of any 
 claim to permanency of employment on the part of 
 employers will increase the momentum of Socialism, 
 because the workmen can see that under Socialism 
 their tenure_ of office would be as secure as that of 
 government officials is now under a good merit 
 
 ^ Annals of American Academy, Nov., 1912, 100 fif. Cf. 
 article by Prof. A. W. Small, American Journal of Sociol- 
 ogy, May, 1914, xix, 721 fif. 
 
 165 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 system. Perhaps they do not so easily appreciate 
 the fact that any system which guarantees security 
 of employment must involve a severity and rigor of 
 social control of individual action now unknown; 
 there .is always a conflict between personal liberty 
 and comfort or ease. The extent of that disad- 
 vantage is subject to the speculations of prophecy 
 and cannot be scientifically calculated from any data 
 yet available. Meantime the most sagacious man- 
 agers will discover by experiment practical methods 
 of diminishing the terrors of insecurity, of making 
 men feel that only for imperative reasons need the 
 workmen fear discharge. This experimentation will 
 lead ultimately to a great system of cooperation be- 
 tween employers, on a national scale, and through 
 federal organization, to diminish these heartbreak- 
 ing and demoralizing periods of unemployment, and 
 when this is impossible to provide unbroken income 
 until employment can be furnished. 
 
 Private pension plans, however generously con- 
 ceived, have disadvantages. They are created only 
 in a few cases, and there is no legal assurance of 
 their extension. Usually the entire cost is borne 
 by the employers and this gives them the right to 
 fix the terms of enjoyment. Whatever may be the 
 intention, the necessary practical effect is subordina- 
 tion, even subjection, of the employee to the cor- 
 poration. One conspicuous instance is reported: 
 "In order to enjoy its benefits, the men must have 
 served twenty years continuously in the employ of 
 the corporation or of one of its subsidiaries. This 
 
 1 66 
 
Economic Inducement to Efficiency 
 
 effectively prevents any stoppage of work as a pro- 
 test against anything considered unjust by the work- 
 men, if they would keep their record such as to 
 enable them to draw the pension in their old age. 
 There is nothing in it to protect a man excepting his 
 subservience to his superior officers, and the nearer 
 he approaches toward twenty years of continuous 
 service, the greater his subservience may conceivably 
 be, for he might be discharged at the end of nineteen 
 years and eleven months and his right to the pension 
 would be forieited." ^ 
 
 In some so-called "profit-sharing" schemes the 
 bonus on stock is not received as a right but is paid 
 only to those whom the executive officials of the 
 company consider loyal. 
 
 In the German system the pension does not de- 
 pend upon private favors but upon a well-defined 
 legal right, a right which may be transferred from 
 one place of employment to another. Under a mo- 
 narchical form of government free and independent 
 citizenship is in this matter better protected than in 
 this "land of the free." 
 
 ^John A. Fitch: Article in Annals of American Acad- 
 emy, July, 1912, 10 ff. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 METHODS OF IMPROVING THE CONDITIONS OF HOME 
 LIFE OF EMPLOYEES 
 
 Family and Home of Employees. — "A man's 
 house is his castle" is a proverb which expresses the 
 ethical and legal independence of a citizen's home. 
 It would seem that any hint of interference with 
 domestic affairs would array against the most benev- 
 olent employer the hostility of those who are af- ' 
 fected. Generally this would be true, and the em- 
 ployers have felt that they had no right to invade 
 this sanctuary for any purpose. In large cities 
 where the work-people are scattered in all directions 
 and may come from any quarter the employers can 
 have little influence on the domestic conditions of 
 their employees. 
 
 But there are situations where the company prac- 
 tically controls the dwellings of the workers, and 
 here they have a duty and cannot evade a respon- 
 sibility. Frequently a great firm will buy a large 
 tract of land on which to establish a manufacturing 
 establishment, yet there will be no accessible houses 
 for the families. To leave the construction and 
 arrangement of homes, streets, parks and public 
 spaces to the unorganized throng of strangers would 
 
 l68 
 
Improving the Home Life 
 
 be to invite disaster. The possession of power, 
 resources and talent involves a corresponding obliga- 
 tion. There is also a definite personal and pecuniary 
 interest at stake on the part of the managers, direc- 
 tors and stockholders, for the health, morality, con- 
 tentment and good-feeling of the people are an 
 asset of appreciable importance. 
 
 The impulse of humanity, the pride of the master, 
 the incentive of security for property and gain, blend 
 in the amalgam motive that inspires the charming 
 industrial towns which have been created by strong 
 captains of industry both in Europe and America. 
 
 Should the dwellings be rented or owned by the 
 workingmen? On this question there is dispute 
 both in Europe and America. The problem varies 
 with the situation and with the group. 
 
 When there is probability of permanent employ- 
 ment there are great advantages in encouraging 
 ownership. The habit of thrift is stimulated by the 
 hope of securing a home. Men are more likely to 
 be sober, steady, industrious and faithful if they own 
 visible property. 
 
 Unfortunately multitudes of wage-earners have 
 no assurance of permanent employment, and if they 
 buy a dwelling and place a mortgage on it to cover 
 the debt incurred by purchase they may lose all. If 
 they move away the property must sometimes be put 
 on the market at forced, sale and disposed of at a 
 sacrifice. If the owners do not occupy the house it 
 may be ruined by careless tenants. Furthermore, a 
 man who owns his house has given a hostage to his 
 
 169 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 employer and is not so Independent in the assertion 
 of his claims in case of strikes. 
 
 From the standpoint of the employing corpora- 
 tion, objections to individual ownership are raised. 
 It may be impossible to plan the area of building 
 so as to secure proper recreation grounds, play 
 spaces, public baths and laundries, gardens and cor- 
 rect style of architecture. Each owner will follow 
 his own taste and be governed by the amount he 
 can invest, and the result is ugliness, disorder, incon- 
 venience and insanitary arrangements. The work- 
 man who is trying to pay off the debt on his house 
 by installments is sorely tempted to crowd his best 
 rooms with lodgers, a constant menace to the health 
 and morals of the family. 
 
 The Dwelling a Primary Necessity of Life} — 
 Next to food the primary necessity of life Is the 
 dwelling. Those who are seeking the conditions of 
 highest efficiency in the shop will find some of the 
 most Important of them In the home. If the money- 
 maker has an ambition to be a good citizen he will 
 give as serious attention to the habitations of his 
 employees as to the roof of his mill. The capitalist 
 manager has intelligence and influence, and he Is 
 under obligation to use his power as a citizen for 
 the benefit of those who make his capital productive. 
 If a corporation discovers that its employees are 
 living in houses which are condemned by the stand- 
 ards of physiology, by the esthetic standards of re- 
 
 ^ See Mrs. Albion Fellows Bacon : What Bad Housing 
 Means to a Community, and Beauty for Ashes. 
 
 170 
 
Improving the Home Life 
 
 fined people, and by the moral standard .of the 
 decent, It should secure legislation and administra- 
 tion which win correct abuses and compel landlords 
 to conform to the requirements of modern science. 
 There would be less need of "professional refori^- 
 ers" and less need of abusing them for Impertinent 
 interference, If those who control property had a 
 more enlightened conscience In regard to their civic 
 responsibilities. In some cases the companies own 
 the houses in which their miners or other laborers 
 are compelled to reside ; and then their responsibility 
 is all the more direct. 
 
 If any unscrupulous owner of uninhabitable 
 houses wishes to sleep of nights he is hereby faith- 
 fully warned to place on his expurgated list of books 
 "The Peril and the Preservation of the Home," by 
 Jacob Riis, humorist, reformer, optimist, saint, of 
 blessed memory. It was he who thought the chief 
 interest in a habitation Is the kind of character It 
 produces. "A pigsty, in time, will make a pig even 
 of man who Is made in the image of God. You 
 can degrade him to that level, if you try hard enough 
 and are willing to pay the price." He will tell us 
 what to think of men who send agents to collect 
 40 per cent, profits from hovels and spend the money 
 on European travel, costly pictures, and endless 
 luxuries. 
 
 Correction of these housing evils is a matter of 
 conscience and will. 
 
 Benefits of Improved Housing. — The experience 
 of Liverpool, England, is a striking proof of the 
 
 171 
 
Citizens In Industry 
 
 spiritual value of improving the outward conditions 
 of domestic life. During the earlier years of the 
 last century, under a social philosophy of negligence, 
 that city, which was growing in wealth and fame, 
 permitted its dock laborers to Inhabit dwellings 
 which were repulsive to sight, dangerous to health, 
 destructive of morals. Landlords reaped fortunes 
 while humanity decayed, and only the most vigorous 
 agitation aroused the authorities to action. The 
 owners and employers would do nothing of their 
 own motion, and the municipality was compelled to 
 take possession of a large district. It built decent 
 little cottages in rows, with play spaces between, 
 and transferred the inhabitants of the deadly shacks 
 to more decent quarters. In 1864 there were 
 22,000 insanitary dwellings in the city. After the 
 new policy was carried out for some time the death 
 rate declined from 50 to 27 per 1,000; deaths from 
 tuberculosis from 4 to 1.9; typhus fever, once preva- 
 lent, disappeared entirely; typhoid fever from 1,300 
 cases in 1896 to 200 cases in 191 1. The police 
 prosecutions fell 50 per cent.^ 
 
 A Suburban Plan. — In 19 10 the Liverpool Suburb 
 Tenants, Limited, was organized. It leased 180 
 acres on the Marquis of Salisbury estate for 999 
 years. One acre In every ten was reserved for 
 open spaces; eleven houses were built per acre; 
 1,800 houses for 7,000 persons. The streets, thirty- 
 six to eighty feet wide, were lined with trees. Lawns 
 for tennis players, and bowling greens, children's 
 ^ The American City, Apr., 1913, pp. 429-430. 
 172 
 
Improving the Home Life 
 
 playground with swings and other apparatus were 
 included in the plan. 
 
 Conditions of Successful Plans. — Certain condi- 
 tions must be observed by all those who attempt to 
 provide "model" dwellings for working people. 
 The rental must be low enough for the members of 
 the group to pay, since the cost of shelter must not 
 exceed a definite part of the income. The studies 
 of family budgets thus far do not enable us to fix 
 this ratio with exactness. A second condition of 
 keeping the dwellings in sanitary condition is some 
 provision for constant supervision and control. 
 Furthermore, when decent habitations have been 
 built the well-paid artisans are inclined to take them, 
 fresh and clean, and crowd out the poor laborers for 
 whom they were provided. Many schemes have 
 come to grief at this point. 
 
 Standard for Dwellings. — Requirements for shel- 
 ter cannot be so exactly stated as those for food. 
 
 Dr. Chapin ^ reaches the conclusion that a family 
 requires at least one room to every one and a half 
 persons. But the arrangements for light, ventilation, 
 exclusion of lodgers, sanitary appliances, care of 
 courts, proximity of playgrounds and other factors 
 must also be studied in connection with a standard. 
 
 In the Port Sunlight village ^ no house has less 
 
 ^ R. C. Chapin : The Standard of Living, p. 18. 
 
 S. Nearing: Financing the Wage Earner's Family, p. 73. 
 
 " W. L. George : Laborer and Housing at Port Sunlight 
 (1909), 72 ff. This book contains many technical descrip- 
 tions of arrangements. 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 than five rooms, three of which are bedrooms. Mr. 
 George says: "If the Port Sunlight system is to 
 solve the housing problem, it will be because it has 
 accepted and exceeded the four-room standard, with- 
 out which it is difficult for a family to be brought 
 up, I do not say under good sanitary conditions 
 . . . but in such a manner as to fit its members to 
 take their place among those that are clean in mind 
 and soul." And after describing the depraving con- 
 ditions of crowding in London and other cities he 
 adds: "Their fate is to be subjected from their 
 childhood upward to the foulest temptations and 
 examples, to be herded together irrespective of age 
 or sex, untaught and unshepherded, to be taunted in 
 after years with their moral degradation by the 
 middle-class authors of their misery. We know or 
 should realize that at the root of all forms of vice, 
 particularly drunkenness, lies the problem of hous- 
 ing; evil conditions mean depression, and, for the 
 slag of a social system, the only resource, fleeting 
 but efficacious, is the public-house, and its costly 
 hospitality." ^ The claim is made for the Port 
 Sunlight experiment that it has reduced intemper- 
 ance. One of the first effects of twenty years of 
 good housing has been a deep and probably radical 
 transformation of habits said to be hereditary, but 
 due in reality to an apparently hopeless combina- 
 tion of evils. Cleanliness accompanies sobriety; 
 illegitimacy is rare; no drunkenness, no deserted 
 wives and children, no wife beating, no immorality; 
 ^ See Charles Kingsley : Yeast. 
 
Improving the Home Life 
 
 increased deposits in the savings banks; low rate of 
 infant mortality, which is the best indication of 
 wholesome conditions and habits; regular school 
 attendance of the children. 
 
 In the celebrated town built up by the Krupp 
 Company near Essen, Germany,^ the corporation 
 laid out the area, planned the buildings, and ar- 
 ranged the common services. In this case the firm 
 could command sufficient capital to make plans on 
 a grand scale, to build many dwellings at the lowest 
 cost per room, and to command the services of the 
 best architects. The houses are rented under con- 
 tracts which permit control by supervisors, in order 
 to keep out persons and families which are disagree- 
 able, disorderly, immoral, or where children are 
 not under efficient domestic discipline. Sanitary con- 
 ditions are supervised and evils promptly corrected. 
 These regulations may be felt as an unwarranted 
 invasion of personal liberty; but those who do not 
 like order and cleanliness are at liberty to go fur- 
 ther and do worse, outside. As a matter of fact 
 the demand is said to go before the supply 
 and only families who have worked some years 
 for the firm can be accommodated. The work- 
 men are near to their work and are not ex- 
 hausted by long tramps between their homes and 
 the mill. 
 
 Legal Obstacles. — The laws relating to corpora- 
 tions are occasionally found in conflict with the plans 
 
 ' W. Kley : Bei Krupp, eine socialpolitische Reiseskizze 
 ,(1899).. 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 to provide dwellings for employees through coop- 
 erative arrangements. 
 
 Thus in Illinois the Pullman Company, formed 
 primarily for the purpose of manufacturing cars, 
 built a model town for the residence of the work- 
 men's families. After many years, upon trial of a 
 test case, the Supreme Court of the state compelled 
 the company to dispose of its ownership and control 
 of this property, on the ground that it had not been 
 given the right in its articles of incorporation to 
 engage in the business.^ 
 
 Another legal obstacle has been raised by the 
 fear in America lest latifundia or "bonanza" tracts 
 shall be owned by capitalists, perhaps by foreigners, 
 and thus a race of serfs be created and have no 
 power to purchase homesteads near where they must 
 work. In consequence of this fear, there are laws 
 which forbid the acquisition of land for the erection 
 of garden villages on even a philanthropic or coop- 
 erative basis. In making plans these legal difficulties 
 must be carefully considered in advance, as the Pull- 
 man case shows. 
 
 Cooperation with Municipalities. — In the crowded 
 quarters of manufacturing towns the effort to im- 
 prove dwellings cannot be made a separate issue. 
 Nevertheless all rational motives impel wise man- 
 agers to cooperate in the general plans of better- 
 ment made by the municipality or state. The capi- 
 talists as a permanent class have a common interest 
 in the rearing of generations of laborers under 
 
 ^ People ex rel. Maloney's Pullman Co.. 175 111. 125. 
 176 
 
Improving the Home Life 
 
 wholesome conditions, and their influential coopera- 
 tion with public authorities is in the highest degree 
 socially desirable. 
 
 One method of providing homes is that of form- 
 ing a real-estate company which lays out a tract of 
 land under the direction of landscape artists, engi- 
 neers and architects, builds cottages with pleasing 
 and varied architecture, plants trees, and then sells 
 to the workmen on easy terms. In such cases the 
 purchaser must have assurance that if he leaves the 
 service of the company his investment and tenure 
 will not be placed In jeopardy. An intelligent man 
 does not like to feel that his ownership may involve 
 him in a degree of servile dependence. 
 
 Perhaps welfare work shines nowhere else with 
 brighter luster than In those industrial villages 
 where families can have a little space of their own, 
 a garden for congenial occupation and enjoyment 
 of the fruits of family cooperation, and access to the 
 refined pleasures of a decent and rational existence. 
 
 Experience has shown that many families, even 
 when accustomed to the excitement of the crowded 
 city, are willing to escape from the smoke, grime 
 and friction of the tenements if they can be sure of 
 a suburban home where the children have elbow- 
 room without fighting for it with each other and 
 with the policemen. The denizen of the metropolis 
 rarely likes the solitude and deadly quiet of an iso- 
 lated farm; but he may be enticed halfway to the 
 land, If he does not thereby lose touch with his 
 fellows, 
 
 177 
 
Citizens In Industry 
 
 The tenement house is, for economic reasons, a 
 necessity in cities, and yet it cannot be made a normal 
 habitation for a family,^ even with the aid of a brief 
 summer outing in the country. The improvement In 
 physique and in all that depends on this must be 
 sought chiefly in rearrangement of suburban and 
 small town industries so as to give more space for 
 homes, and a little opportunity for the primitive 
 industry of gardening. 
 
 When a town Is built to order and on separate 
 territory It must be complete ; nothing can be left to 
 chance. The dwellings must be protected against 
 the encroachment of work-places with their smoking 
 chimneys, their masses of raw materials, their utili- 
 tarian lines of structure, their insistent suggestions 
 of painful toll. The mills and factories must be 
 restricted to the areas set apart for them at a proper 
 distance from homes. The streets are not ready for 
 use without planting of trees, breadths of green 
 sward and neat pavements and walks. A little space 
 for flowers, shrubs and gardens must be in the plans. 
 At intervals playgrounds for the children are re- 
 served and equipped. "No child to be more than 
 five minutes' walk from a playground," is an English 
 rule worth following everywhere; it gives definite 
 expression to a concrete moral standard. Reading- 
 rooms, libraries, bowling alleys, swimming pools, 
 schools, halls for entertainment, open-air amphithe- 
 aters for drama and music, and properly equipped 
 theater with stage for winter, recreation grounds for 
 
 1 De Forest and Veiller : The Tenement House Problem. 
 178 
 
Improving the Home Life 
 
 men, women and children, are modern necessities, 
 and nearness to home adds to their value. The rent 
 must be low enough to attract working people from 
 the insanitary tenements of cities. 
 
 In these suburban quarters, and also in the "gar- 
 den cities," skillful teachers of gardening make the 
 little patches of soil far more prolific than they would 
 be without professional guidance. 
 
 Significant Is the garden in connection with the 
 home. It is a sure and important source of income.^ 
 The yield of a small plot of ground, carefully culti- 
 vated, is incredible to an ordinary farmer accus- 
 tomed to superficial exploitation by extensive meth- 
 ods. With a little care we might learn from the 
 Chinese and Japanese how the waste and refuse of 
 the household enter by the cycle of transformations 
 into materials for new life and solve the problem 
 of sewage and garbage removal. The older chil- 
 dren and the wife can, without the dangers of fac- 
 tory labor, add to the material resources of the 
 home. 
 
 The garden becomes in hours of leisure and Sun- 
 days a playground where parents and children enjoy 
 most satisfactory recreation out of a profitable en- 
 terprise, as can be seen In the open spaces near Lelp- 
 sic and other German cities. 
 
 The fruitful, responsive garden is a rival of the 
 
 ^ Kropotkin : The Conquest of Bread. 
 F. H. King: Farmers of Forty Centuries. 
 Bolton Hall: Three Acres and Liberty; A Little Land 
 and a Living. 
 
 179 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 saloon, and gives the man a share in the creation of 
 beautiful flowers and shrubs which awaken his es- 
 thetic nature and give insight into biology, and an 
 interest in all science which can be stimulated and 
 deepened by lectures and exhibits. 
 
 The offer of prizes for the best vegetables, flow- 
 ers and fruits furnishes a motive for beginning, as 
 the county fair has long since made clear. It is not 
 the pecuniary value of the premium alone which in- 
 spires action, but chiefly the social distinction, which 
 is emphasized by publication of the honors won, in 
 local newspapers. 
 
 It is said that many miners are of a roving dispo- 
 sition, which is in part caused by irregularity of em- 
 ployment, with intervals of idleness; and that the 
 cultivation of a garden tends to keep them at home, 
 and so to favor steady habits. One does not like 
 in midsummer to go off on a spree and leave two 
 hundred dollars' worth of vegetables to weeds and 
 thieves. 
 
 Inspection and Control of Dwellings. — The Ford 
 Company (automobile manufacturers) has intro- 
 duced startling and even spectacular changes in their 
 shops, offering wages which few competing firms 
 could offer without facing early bankruptcy. It is 
 too early to foresee the outcome in this exceptional 
 instance, but it is worth while to point out the fact 
 that this increase of wages is accompanied by drastic 
 and even despotic measures to increase efficiency — ' 
 measures which extend to inspection and control of 
 the personfll habits and domestic life of the employ- 
 
 j8o 
 
Improving the Home Life 
 
 ees. People who are rather critical may have con- 
 demned Mr. Ford's plan of dividing the profits of 
 his automobile business with his men, providing a 
 $5 minimum wage and thus bestowing on many what 
 must appear to them to be sudden wealth. It seems, 
 however, that he had given full thought to the effects 
 and consequences of the step before it was taken. 
 He hopes that the Increased wages will be well spent, 
 if a considerable amount of friendly espionage — ^if 
 it may be called so — can effect that result. 
 
 "The man who finds himself blessed with an in- 
 come such as he had never hoped to attain," writes 
 Len G. Shaw for the Detroit Free Press, "is not go- 
 ing to be left to work out his own salvation, accord- 
 ing to the light he may possess. He must give an 
 accounting of his stewardship along more rigid lines 
 than were ever before attempted in profit-sharing; 
 but It Is equally true that as administrator of his own 
 destiny he is to receive assistance such as was never 
 before rendered by a manufacturing corporation or 
 any other agency, for that matter." 
 
 Mr. Shaw continues : 
 
 "The public had not recovered from Its surprise 
 when a staff of Investigators started forth, charged 
 with most unusual duties. Straight Into the homes of 
 employees these men went. They set about the task 
 as methodically as they make automobiles In the 
 plant where this revolution had taken place. 
 
 "Each man carried with him a list of names of 
 employees. There was the most astonishing impar- 
 tiality in this respect. Tony Catallna, laborer, whp 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 at night crawled into a dirty bed in a third-class lodg- 
 ing house, and the foreman of a department who 
 had been with the company for years, might appear 
 on one list. And each would come in for as search- 
 ing an investigation as the other. The information 
 thus gained is going to play an important part in 
 the future welfare of Tony Catalina and the fore- 
 man. Upon their worth as citizens and the manner 
 in which they improve their opportunities will be de- 
 pendent the increased remuneration they receive, for 
 it is here as elsewhere a survival of the fittest. 
 
 "It is often the case that a man of extraordinary 
 efficiency in the plant has no appreciation of his duty 
 to the community at large, no regard for home life. 
 His conduct outside working hours may be such 
 that he is a menace to the morals of the neighbor- 
 hood. He may live amid unspeakable conditions. 
 If such a state of affairs is unearthed, the man is in- 
 formed that he must turn over a new leaf — and keep 
 it turned. He must better his own manner of living 
 and that of those dependent upon him, if such there 
 are, or he cannot continue to share in the benefits to 
 be distributed. He will be given every encourage- 
 ment and afforded all the assistance possible if he 
 evinces a willingness to make good. If after a fair 
 trial no improvement is shown he is down and out, 
 and again it makes no difference whether it is hum- 
 ble Tony Catalina, laborer, or a high-salaried fore- 
 man. 
 
 "On the other hand, it is very often the case that 
 a man of mediocre capabilities owns or is paying 
 
 l82 
 
Improving the Home Life 
 
 for his home and is bringing his family up in com- 
 parative luxury. This will be taken note of and 
 serve as a credit in striking the balance it is intended 
 to maintain for all time. 
 
 "It is the determination of the company that all 
 money disbursed in the form of increased wages shall 
 be devoted to some useful purpose. 
 
 "Where such a course is justified, there will be in- 
 sistence upon housing conditions undergoing a 
 change. This demand will be made reasonable be- 
 cause of the increased compensation a man will re- 
 ceive, and his ability to thus provide more comfort- 
 able quarters. 
 
 "Employees will be urged to invest in land con- 
 tracts, or start savings accounts. What is more, they 
 will from time to time be required to render an ac- 
 counting of what has been accomplished. And the 
 more favorable the showing, all things taken into 
 consideration, the greater will be the reward. Fac- 
 tory efficiency will be reckoned in this connection, 
 thus silencing the criticism of those who asserted that 
 a wholesale raising of wages tended to throttle am- 
 bition and kill off individualism. 
 
 "Every beneficiary is placed on his individual 
 honor, but a complete record of his conduct will be 
 constantly available — shop and home progress, what 
 becomes of the money he receives — and woe betide 
 the one who attempts misrepresentation. 
 
 "This system of registration is unique in an un- 
 dertaking of this nature. By reference to it there 
 can be determined in an instant the habits of every 
 
 183 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 employee, age, family relations, whether single or 
 married, how many are dependent upon him, etc. 
 Nothing is taken for granted. Armed with what in- 
 formation can be obtained from the man himself, 
 the investigator calls at the home or the boarding 
 house and ascertains conditions there. The quest 
 for facts is carried even further. The seeker after 
 light visits the haunts of individuals, becomes ac- 
 quainted with their associates, and thus learns what 
 he wants to know from presumably reliable sources. 
 On these findings he bases his report, and this to a 
 large extent determines the disposition of the case, 
 unless an appeal is taken. 
 
 "It will be ascertained whether the foreign la- 
 borers plan to bring their families to this country 
 in the near future, or whether they are saving up 
 so they can go back to their native land. They will 
 be encouraged to bank their money, instead of trust- 
 ing it to the keeping of their fellow-boarders or 
 hoarding it away in hiding-places that are not always 
 secret. The question of better housing for this class 
 must soon or late come up for solution, and it is 
 more than likely that municipal cooperation will be 
 invited along this line." 
 
 Results are already apparent. Efficiency in the 
 works has increased. Mr. Ford is quoted by John 
 A. Fitch in The Survey as saying that "our men are 
 doing as much work now in eight hours as they did 
 before in nine." From the same source it is learned 
 that already there has been a remarkable epidemic 
 of howsecleaning. 
 
 184 
 
Improving the Home Life 
 
 This remarkable experiment forces upon us the 
 question whether a method which produces such ex- 
 cellent results under private and unauthorized direc- 
 tion should not be made the duty of authorized pub- 
 lic officials; if such surveillance is desirable on a small 
 scale and with the corps of a single firm why is it not 
 desirable for all men, in all industrial centers? 
 Would it not be well to improve the quality and ex- 
 tend the functions of municipal health departments, 
 and provide them adequate means for enforcing the 
 regulations demanded by modern hygienic science? 
 It may be well to remember that the deliverance of 
 the Philippines and of the Panama Canal Zone from 
 the ancient plagues of tropical regions was not due 
 chiefly to the special knowledge of the surgeons in 
 charge, but to the fact that modern medical men were 
 there for the first time clothed with sufficient power 
 to drill and discipline negligent and uninstructed lay- 
 men until the very sources of infection were removed. 
 This lesson of private enterprise and of public 
 achievement should not be lost upon the adminis- 
 trators of our cities. The best service of a vigorous 
 and inventive manager is to set the pace for the gov- 
 ernments which are the organs of all the people. 
 
 Octavia Hill Methods. — Not only must dwellings 
 be inspected to prevent filth and disease, but there 
 are whole communities which require visitors, armed 
 with the rights and authority of rent collectors, to 
 make friends with the occupants and use their influ- 
 ence to improve habits and character. This is a les- 
 son which the famous and honored Octavia Hill, as- 
 
 185 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 sisted by John Ruskin, has taught the world. The 
 eminent economist, Professor Karl Buecher, praised 
 her work and declared that human kindness has a 
 high pecuniary value. ^ 
 
 1 For a list of works on housing and town planning, see 
 A Guide to Reading in Social Ethics and Allied Subjects, by 
 teachers in Harvard University, 8i £f. The National 
 Housing Association, 105 East 22d street, New York City, 
 will furnish information. The Russell Sage Foundation, 
 New York City, is making experiments with modest suburban 
 homes which deserve attention. See Grosvenor Atterbury: 
 Model Towns in America. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 NEGLECTED AND HOMELESS YOUTHFUL EMPLOYEES 
 
 Responsibility. — The great industries are magnets 
 which annually attract a vast number of girls and 
 boys to the towns and cities from the farms where 
 there is not enough employment for all. It is true 
 that many of these minors live at home with their 
 parents and are under their care ; but multitudes are 
 exposed to all the vicissitudes and temptations of city 
 life, without mentors, and with their earnings free 
 from control. The problem of securing a decent 
 boarding place is difficult, and a mistake may mean 
 moral perdition. Employers of such minors must 
 recognize that they have here a duty to perform, 
 even if they refuse to admit such obligation in re- 
 gard to adults. 
 
 The capitalist managers as a class have a pecu- 
 niary interest in all the groups of the population 
 which furnish the supply of labor; but this is only 
 one consideration. The capitalist managers control 
 not only wealth but men, and they have influence 
 with officials and legislators. Through their clubs 
 and associations they can wield a mighty force in 
 directing law-makers and executive actions. The 
 managers of business enterprise are also citizens, 
 
 187 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 and a growing number of them have the worthy 
 ambition to make themselves felt for good in the 
 government of cities, states and nation. It is to 
 such motives appeal Is made here on behalf of neg- 
 lected and exploited children and youth in our indus- 
 trial and commercial centers who, If they survive the 
 diseases of early life, enter the productive processes 
 crippled, mutilated, diseased, demoralized. The 
 theme is too large for a chapter, yet too important 
 to pass over In a discussion designed to indicate some 
 of the responsibilities and opportunities of em- 
 ployers. 
 
 First of all, in spite of many Improvements and 
 reforms, we permit children to work at street trades, 
 and It has been difficult or impossible to secure the 
 cooperation of many of the great newspapers in at- 
 tracting public attention to this evil. It is pitiful how 
 a mistaken notion of financial interest will blind the 
 eyes of keen and intelligent men to the physical and , 
 moral perils of children engaged in selling papers on 
 the streets, especially young girls. The evils are so 
 little understood by the general public that generous 
 persons make a virtue of buying papers of the mis- 
 erable and ragged creature who shivers and sobs on 
 the street of a wintry night and begs the men to buy. 
 There have been those who through sheer ignorance 
 of the consequences of street trades actually defend 
 them on the ground that these "Httle merchants" are 
 acquiring experience in "business"; and thus public 
 opinion not only tolerates but fosters these "blind 
 alley" occupations out of which the youth emerges 
 
 X88 
 
Neglected Youthful Employees 
 
 with the loss of the best years of his life for train- 
 ing in a really useful trade. The waste of hu- 
 manity in these street trades without a future is 
 something tragic. Among the worst offenders have 
 been the telegraph and express companies, who, 
 when permitted by public apathy, blindness and 
 defective law, have sent lads at night into saloons 
 and houses of ill fame. What kind of citizens 
 can come out of such unclean experiences? There 
 are enough crippled men and aged persons to do 
 all such errands without spoiling life in the 
 bud. 
 
 In a single chapter Mrs. Bowen,^ who has directed 
 wealth, work, and talent to the protection of children 
 and youth, recites some of the further measures of 
 protection which ought to be adopted. She com- 
 plains, and justly, that when women's clubs had at 
 their own cost and by their own patient labor and 
 sacrifice established nurses in the public schools, and 
 probation officers in the juvenile courts, and gathered 
 facts about the exploitation of children and women in 
 factories, they were excluded from all control of 
 the Institutions thus created and men with a "pull" 
 reigned supreme! For many years women have 
 pleaded for a birth registration law; for an act 
 raising the "age of consent," for municipal control 
 of the milk supply, for social service in public out- 
 door relief, for an efficient child labor law, for an 
 effective method of protecting unmarried mothers 
 and their babes, for a more sane marriage license 
 ^ "Safeguards for City Youth at Work and Play." 
 189 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 system, for obligatory asylum treatment of irrespon- 
 sible girls. In a great measure their wise, sane, per- 
 sistent, and patriotic efforts have resulted in securing 
 the enactment of laws by legislatures which resisted 
 to the last hour — and then ? The politicians gave the 
 offices to other politicians of a lower class and the 
 women were compelled to toil on to make the law 
 accomplish something in spite of the "Machine." 
 If the busy men of this country really wish to improve 
 the condition of life for children they must give a 
 larger legal and political power to those who have 
 leisure to inquire and the maternal instincts and ex- 
 perience, that is to women. He who really and sin- 
 cerely wills an end must also will the necessary means 
 for accomplishing the end. 
 
 Typical homes for working boys are found in 
 various German industrial centers. One is described 
 as a stately house built on a sunny slope. The 
 ground floor contains a large dining-room and two 
 living-rooms provided with newspapers and games. 
 The dwelling of the manager of the house, with its 
 servants' rooms and housekeeping rooms, is separate 
 and has a separate entrance. The first and second 
 stories contain 1 1 rooms with a total of 30 beds, a 
 washroom and toilet. Each boy has a bed, a table, 
 a mirror, and a clothespress containing several 
 drawers fitted with locks. The bedrooms are used 
 only for sleeping and are not heated. All other 
 rooms, including the hall, are heated by a central 
 heating system. Hot and cold water is furnished in 
 the washroom, and a cupboard is set apart for every 
 
 190 
 
Neglected Youthful Employees 
 
 lad in which he can keep a towel and necessary uten- 
 sils. The house furnishes bed linen, night-shirt and 
 towels.^ The basement contains the heating plant, 
 housekeeping rooms, store-room and lockers. For 
 board and lodging each boy pays 96 cents a week, 
 which barely covers cost. The firm offers the house 
 free and pays for management. A cultured woman 
 manages the house and cares for the boys like a 
 mother. The establishment is not only a boarding 
 house but the nearest possible substitute for a home 
 and school. 
 
 "It has been estimated that if a girl does not live 
 at home she cannot live on less than $8.00 per week, 
 for she must pay $1.50 to $2.00 a week for her 
 room, $3.00 for her board, 60 cents for her carfare 
 and 90 cents for luncheons; this leaves her only 
 $1.50 or $2.00 for clothes, doctors, dentists, litera- 
 ture and recreation." A study of 200 girls in de- 
 partment stores in Chicago showed that the wages 
 ran from $2.50 to $1 i.oo a week, the majority under 
 $8.00. The report of the Commissioner of Labor 
 on "Conditions of Women and Child Wage Earners 
 In the United States" shows that in 8 of the leading 
 department stores of Chicago, out of 13,160 women 
 and girls, over one-half, or 7,033, earned less than 
 $8.00 a week; rriany less than $5.00 a week; 13 per 
 cent, in retail stores, 29 per cent, in clothing trades, 
 27 per cent, in candy trades, 17 per cent, in box fac- 
 tories, 5 per cent, in corset factories, 29 per cent, in 
 
 ^ Kiibler und Niethammer : in Albrecht ; Handb. der Soz. 
 Wohlf., i, 134 ff. 
 
 191 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 stockyards less than $5.00 per week. Even if 
 the girls live at home 8 1 per cent, of factory women 
 in Chicago and 78 per cent, of those working in de- 
 partment stores contribute of their earnings to the 
 family exchequer. 
 
 There are 5,000,000 working women in the 
 United States, one-half of them under 24 years of 
 age; one-fifth of them earn less than $200 a year 
 or $4 a week; 3.5 per cent, earn less than $325 a 
 year or about $6 a week. 
 
 "The girl who lives at home and who gives her 
 wages to her mother, is of course protected in that 
 she is sheltered and fed, but the girl who is not living 
 at home is obliged to rent the cheapest room she can 
 find from a landlady who is utilizing every possible 
 inch of space for lodgers; the girl is able to rent 
 only a small hall bedroom, badly lighted, inade- 
 quately ventilated and poorly furnished, and it is 
 only a short time before impure air and improperly 
 cooked food produce an anemic condition which 
 offers a fertile field for disease." ^ 
 
 The facts made known by such investigations re- 
 veal gross neglect and serious responsibility of man- 
 agers of hotels, restaurants, department stores and 
 factories. Under such conditions health is broken 
 down, women are rendered unfit for maternal func- 
 
 ^ Mrs. Louise de Koven Bowen : Safeguards for City 
 Youth, pp. 55-56 — a book full of information on the condi- 
 tions surrounding young people in cities. 
 
 Cf. Jane Addams: The Spirit of Youth and the City 
 Streets. 
 
 192 
 
Neglected Youthful Employees 
 
 tions, life Is joyless, monotonous, and the path beset 
 by temptations. The only wonder is that more 
 girls are not driven into the ways of the prostitute. 
 Mrs. Bowen, while insisting upon these dangers to 
 character, urges that we should not suspect the hon- 
 esty of the majority of these working girls and 
 women. "I cannot but deplore the general inference 
 that is being made at the present time that large num- 
 bers of girls are being driven into a disreputable life 
 because they receive an Insufficient wage. While it 
 Is true that girls who are inadequately fed, badly 
 housed and poorly clothed sometimes do yield to 
 temptation In order that they may live more comfort- 
 ably, yet on the other hand, there is an enormous 
 number and of course by far the larger part of them 
 who not only resist temptation, but, true to their 
 traditions and innate convictions, turn indignantly 
 from It." 1 
 
 The excuse offered by many employers is that they 
 cannot afford to provide better quarters and pay 
 higher wages because competition fixes these condi- 
 tions of the labor market, and that any attempt to 
 provide decent income and accommodations would 
 mean bankruptcy. There is a grain of truth In this 
 explanation and apology, but there Is a way out, if 
 the managers are in earnest; they can encourage col- 
 lective bargaining and minimum-wage laws, the only 
 means ever yet found effective for raising the level 
 of competition to a plane where the intelligent con- 
 sumer can enjoy commodities and services without 
 
 1 Op. cit. 
 
 193 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 the pangs of remorse. Only too often the employ- 
 ers have combined to resist these efforts, and in that 
 case they must bear as a class the full responsibility 
 for the continuance of abuses which ought to shock 
 the moral nature of every citizen. 
 
 Even short of these general measures it is possible 
 to provide social secretaries in hotels, restaurants, 
 factories and mercantile establishments who can hear 
 complaints, give wise counsel to ignorant young girls, 
 and bring immoral brutes of foremen, guests or cus- 
 tomers to punishment for luring their inexperienced 
 victims into places of evil repute. 
 
 Working Girls' Homes. — These are in all essen- 
 tial particulars similar to those for boys; only that 
 girls can do more in the way of caring for their own 
 rooms, washing and even cooking for themselves. 
 Instruction in household arts is for its own sake very 
 desirable. 
 
 In Germany the managers sometimes invite the 
 cooperation of orders of Catholic or Protestant re- 
 ligious sisters or brothers to have the care of the 
 young people; this reduces the cost and improves 
 the quality of the service. 
 
 In Osaka, Japan, some of the boarding establish- 
 ments for girls observed by the writer are very elab- 
 orate, and beautiful though simple. The customs 
 and climate permit the use of dormitories almost 
 without furniture, but clean, tidy and comfortable. 
 The employees of the vast textile mills are not 
 obliged to leave the grounds for their entertainment, 
 and any excursions about the city would be ruin to 
 
 194 
 
Neglected Youthful Employees 
 
 their character and reputation. Within the ample 
 grounds are cooperative bazaars where purchases can 
 be made at cost. A theater furnishes amusement 
 and recreation. The ceremonial feminine etiquette 
 of the nation is taught by competent instructors. 
 Medical advice and hospital care are ever ready at 
 hand. 
 
 At Madras, India, a British company employing 
 young women from the rural regions, has established 
 a considerable village of different buildings for dor- 
 mitories, recreation, schools, hospital and all the es- 
 sentials of complete living. The temporary transfer 
 from clay floors of mud huts, with their insanitary 
 and ugly surroundings, to these superior dwellings, 
 must breed a discontent with the customary condi- 
 tions which will bring pain, but also, we may hope, 
 improvement at last In the native homes. This has 
 certainly been the Influence of similar experience at 
 Hampton, Virginia, and Tuskegee, Alabama, in the 
 case of the negro girls. If satisfied happiness with 
 filth is better than the misery which accompanies 
 struggle for a higher level, of course this experiment 
 is open to severe criticism. 
 
 In a laudable desire to protect young women from 
 temptation It is easy to adopt regulations totally for- 
 eign to the spirit of the best American life. Lib- 
 erty and self-direction have their perils, and occa- 
 sionally lapses from virtue will make even adven- 
 turous spirits almost skeptical of freedom. Yet 
 there is no permanent security for character except 
 in self-control. Walls and bars will never trans- 
 
 i9Si 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 form a feeble-minded person into a strong woman 
 who not only protects herself from insult by her mod- 
 esty and dignity, but even arouses in men a respect 
 for womankind which makes boys and men purer 
 and stronger. When the manager has used all rea- 
 sonable measures for warding off temptation and 
 providing means for rational living he must trust 
 the forces of social idealism for the rest. Those 
 who fail should be sent to a celibate colony of the 
 feeble-minded for custodial treatment; they will be 
 comparatively few, if educational and religious in- 
 fluences of the right quality are offered. 
 
 Homes for working girls must be free from pat- 
 ronage, petty espionage and harsh rules. "To a 
 self-respecting young woman who is working hard 
 to earn her own way in the world, the attitude of 
 patronage and the feehng that she is being partially 
 supported by charity are intolerable. The endless 
 rules and regulations, the apparent assumption that 
 she is by nature immoral and can be prevented from 
 going straight to ruin only by being hedged about by 
 all sorts of ironclad restrictions, are insulting and 
 humiliating to her, and make the inmates of the 
 'home' (God save the mark!) both rebellious and 
 unhappy." ^ 
 
 Closely related to these boarding homes for 
 minors and other unmarried persons away from 
 home are the self-supporting clubs which provide 
 similar wholesome surroundings for employees in cit- 
 ies, without direct connection with particular estab- 
 
 ^Mary K. Maule. 
 
 196 
 
Neglected Youthful Employees 
 
 lishments. Experiments have shown that an associa- 
 tion of wise and capable philanthropists can organ- 
 ize such clubs in a way to maintain self-respect; the 
 founders securing the capital and credit necessary 
 for renting the buildings and furnishing equipment, 
 and assuring an economic management, while the 
 weekly payments cover all expenses and reimburse 
 the founders for the original outlay. 
 
 "A model dwelling for girls employed in the gov- 
 ernment post-office and telegraph and telephone of- 
 fices has been established in Paris. As in other cit- 
 ies many of these young women live in the poorer 
 quarters of the city, are improperly cared for and 
 are exposed to many privations and temptations; 
 many are homeless or far from parental influences. 
 A company was formed with a capital of $80,000. 
 A house was built, seven stories in height. In the 
 basement Is the kitchen; on the ground floor the hall, 
 drawing-room, dining-room, and parlor. The walls 
 are largely of glass for 'of all flowers, the human 
 requires the most sun.' The floors are of marble. 
 On the ground floor is a beautiful 'Jardin Fran- 
 gais' decorated with flowers and shrubs. On each 
 floor are eighteen separate rooms, including sleep- 
 ing-rooms, pantries, bathrooms, telephone booths. 
 The rooms are attractively decorated, and everything 
 is washable, even to curtains and walls. The rooms 
 are lighted by electricity and heated by steam, and 
 each one opens upon a balcony. During the summer 
 months the girls are expected to cultivate balcony 
 gardens. The largest room rents for $7 per month 
 
 197 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 and a dinner of four courses costs i6 cents. The 
 building has become a civic center for working girls 
 of Paris. Women's clubs are formed for discus- 
 sions, and there are classes in dressmaking and lan- 
 guage study." ^ 
 
 The Young Men's Christian Association and the 
 Young Women's Christian Association, and similar 
 organizations of Catholics, Jews and others, have un- 
 dertaken to provide a certain number of good board- 
 ing places accessible to factories and mercantile es- 
 tablishments where large numbers of homeless young 
 people are employed. They are frequently encour- 
 aged and subsidized by managers of firms because of 
 their excellent influence. The rent received for the 
 rooms and privileges of the house not only pays ex- 
 penses but supplies a revenue to the associations. 
 
 The "Eleanor clubs" of Chicago, established by 
 the capital and enterprise of a thoughtful and gen- 
 erous woman, are self-supporting homes so economi- 
 cally managed as to afford board and rooms at a cost 
 within the means of girls of meager income, close to 
 the minimum. A clubroom downtown, with rest- 
 rooms and restaurant, enables the girls to have a 
 comfortable hour at noon without paying carfare. 
 The genial life of these clubs makes them very at- 
 tractive, and the fact that they are not dependent on 
 outside subsidies recommends them to brave and 
 honest young women who are fighting their own 
 battle in a city far from their own homes. They 
 do not ask nor would they receive help from their 
 
 * American Review of Reviews, xxxv, 579-580. 
 198 
 
Neglected Youthful Employees 
 
 employers; but business men could well afford to 
 promote such efforts by lending the initial capital 
 and by selecting skillful managers. After that, in- 
 terference would ruin the whole movement. 
 
 The cityward drift of youth from the country is 
 very strong and it bears on its current many an in- 
 dependent lad and girl, who, in the whirl of new 
 and dazzling surroundings, away from the customary 
 inhibitions of their former domestic life, may lose 
 their footing. Their boarding and rooming houses 
 are not always suitable places for the formation of 
 character ; although it is amazing how few relatively 
 make shipwreck and how many hew their way 
 through the rocky obstacles to success. Men who 
 control property and require the services of an army 
 of clerks and manual workers might well combine 
 to supply wholesome dwellings for these young 
 people, without those petty annoyances and humil- 
 iating conditions which exasperate generous and 
 high-spirited young people who are trying to make 
 their own way and measure their strength against 
 wind and wave. The Eleanor clubs show how this 
 can be done. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 EDUCATION AND CULTURE 
 
 The human needs are not completely met by 
 improvement of income, food and physical com- 
 fort. The working people have a right to all 
 the heritage of our common civilization as far 
 as each person Is capable of assimilating its quali- 
 ties. The richest man is the greatest debtor to past 
 generations and most dependent on the toilers of the 
 present for his food and raiment. All men have 
 the same essential faculties, although in ability and 
 advantages they are of all degrees of inequality. 
 The Declaration of Independencfe says that all men 
 are created free and equal, though the assertion has 
 been ridiculed on the ground that men are not alike 
 in strength and capacity. Probably the signers of 
 the Declaration were quite as well aware of the pe- 
 culiar differences in men, as their recent critics; but 
 they were looking deeper than the aristocrats and 
 worshipers of the Superman ; they saw that all men 
 are of one essence, of one blood, and need the same 
 spiritual food. The progress of the people since 
 they wrote this classic of democracy vindicates their 
 prophecy. There Is not a single form of higher 
 values for which there is not heart-hunger in the 
 
 200 
 
Education and Culture 
 
 homes of the wage-earners; and from cottages 
 emerge scholars, inventors, artists, orators, rulers; 
 and this source of talent and genius still awaits full 
 exploitation by universal education and partial re- 
 lease from exhausting toil.^ Welfare work must 
 count with these higher aspirations of the rising 
 democracy. The men who perform the most dis- 
 agreeable, monotonous, depressing labor for society 
 have the first claim on beauty, truth and liberty. 
 Americans are said by foreign cities to be worshipers 
 of the almighty dollar; but it was an American, the 
 poet Lanier, who sang of the rights of toilers to 
 music and joy in "The Symphony." No philosophers 
 ever saw more clearly than our Emerson, Channing 
 and Lincoln the divine possibilities of our common 
 human nature and of daily toil. We must confess 
 that we have many Philistines who care little for 
 Matthew Arnold's "sweetness and light" for all, and 
 who cynically mock at the Declaration of Independ- 
 ence, the Beatitudes of Jesus, and who never read 
 Emerson's essay on "Compensation." If they read 
 Lincoln's speeches it is to yawn or sneer. But their 
 insolence is not American ; it is atavistic snobbery or 
 childish imitation of inferior foreign examples, and 
 will grow ashamed of itself in time when it is dis- 
 covered how little money can buy, how much frater- 
 nal cooperation can produce. 
 
 The facts recited In this chapter indicate the move- 
 ment among the better class of capitalist managers 
 
 ^ See for expansion of this statement, L. F. Ward: Ap- 
 plied Sociology. 
 
 201 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 toward sincere respect for the best elements in human 
 life, while they also painfully show how tardy, slow 
 and uncertain this movement is; the story awakens 
 hope but calls for deeper insight, greater vigor, and 
 more directed service. 
 
 Mr. Arthur Williams has recognized the claim of 
 the toiler in saying that education "gives a man a 
 chance with his fellow who has had the opportunity 
 of spending more years out of industry and in an edu- 
 cational institution, the man who had a university 
 education. His chances for becoming economically 
 independent in life are four to one against the other 
 man." The removal of obstacles to self-realization 
 is an act of justice and a duty of patriotism. 
 
 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION 
 
 Many managers of industry and commerce find 
 fault with the public schools for their failure to teach 
 and train competent workmen in shops and clerical 
 employees in offices. Defects in spelling, in draw- 
 ing, in general intelligence and alertness are charged 
 against the schools. On the basis of this discontent 
 with the ordinary institutions of education, 200 cor- 
 porations, employing over 500,000 persons and rep- 
 resenting $2,500,000,000 capital,^ and many employ- 
 ers of less note, have themselves entered the field 
 of education. No doubt the experiment will ulti- 
 mately show how to improve the curriculum and 
 methods of the public schools, and a way of coop- 
 ^ F. C. Henderschott in New York Press, Feb. 15, 1914. 
 202 
 
Education and Culture 
 
 eration seems already to have been discovered in 
 many places. All life activities may be given an edu- 
 cational value. 
 
 In the campaign for the introduction of indus- 
 trial and commercial training the amazing success 
 of Germany is frequently cited : its continuation, vo- 
 cational and commercial schools are praised, stud- 
 ied and copied. But there is danger of our imitating 
 a part of the German program while overlooking 
 some of its higher elements, and of copying features 
 not adapted to American conditions. The wonder- 
 ful progress of Germany in industry and trade is 
 not due primarily or chiefly to technical and profes- 
 sional training, but to fundamental scientific disci- 
 pline in universities, to the general intelligence of the 
 people, to the national campaign for physical cul- 
 ture continued through more than a century, to the 
 application of artistic form in life and in industry, 
 and to the effects of compulsory education on the 
 population. The German people have not only 
 many clerks and salesmen who are cunning with the 
 tricks of the counting-room, but also men in large 
 numbers who are in all fields specialists and masters 
 of all that the world has learned in their particular 
 lines. 
 
 So long as the majority of our American working 
 people are restricted to the monotonous, narrow, and 
 coarse processes of manufacture of crude products 
 we shall be servile dependents on the nations like 
 France and Italy who breed and develop artists and 
 artisans everywhere. So long as our highest achieve- 
 
 203 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 merits are in the production and export of grain, coal, 
 ore, wool, cotton, rails and even locomotives, we 
 must rank third or fourth among the progressive na- 
 tions. A Philistine ideal of vocational education 
 must in the end defeat itself. The specialist may be 
 so trained as to be deformed. 
 
 The writer has inspected reform schools in Italy 
 where the teachers were following American meth- 
 ods in manual training, but adding a fine and gracious 
 finish to the articles made by the boys which made 
 them genuinely artistic beyond what can be seen in 
 similar schools in the United States. 
 
 "There are a thousand instances in which parents 
 are at their wits' ends what to do with their boys 
 when the school days end, and lads drift into blind- 
 alley situations that give no scope for their bent or 
 talent. The fate of others is even more deplorable, 
 for they may shuffle through half a dozen different 
 jobs as small wage-earners, and be discharged with 
 no career at all. Some of our greatest industrial un- 
 dertakings have been built up by the humblest, and 
 with establishment of a system of choice of employ- 
 ment, and employers on the lookout for the most 
 likely youths for introduction to their workshops 
 and drawing offices, an increase of originality may 
 be expected in production." 
 
 We Americans are just beginning to realize that 
 beauty has a rapidly growing commercial value. We 
 may export raw cotton, materials for paints and oil, 
 and then import the same materials which gave us 
 only a few cents, as a painting worth hundreds or 
 
 204 
 
Education and Culture 
 
 thousands of dollars. The Japanese pottery manu- 
 facturers take a worthless lump of clay and so manip- 
 ulate it that they can sell to us a beautiful dish or 
 vase. It is art's magical touch which makes all the 
 difference. It makes one ashamed to suggest this 
 argument from the pecuniary selling price of good 
 taste, but it is the only one the "practical" Philistine 
 can understand, and we need his money for art 
 classes ; perhaps his children will discern that beauti- 
 ful objects have a value quite independent of the 
 price they bring in the market. By whatever route 
 we travel we must soon come to admit that artistic 
 education is an economic necessity; that in a progres- 
 sive world crude products of coarse labor must wait 
 outside for lucrative custom. 
 
 It was natural that employers of labor should be- 
 gin with what they call "practical education," or 
 training for trade skill. While the old apprentice- 
 ship system has become obsolete and has been aban- 
 doned, the world of the trades Is looking for a sub- 
 stitute and making numerous experiments. Here 
 again the patriarchal system is not altogether anti- 
 quated, though it must assume new forms. Educa- 
 tion cannot be divorced from actual practice. The 
 manual training school, independent of all shops, 
 rendered a great service to general culture and 
 gave a preliminary discipline in the use of tools and 
 materials ; but experience revealed a wide chasm be- 
 tween even the manual training school and the actual 
 shop. Managers and teachers are now building a 
 bridge over this chasm. There are four parties di- 
 
 205 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 rectly interested : the family of the boy and girl, the 
 employer, the trade union, and the public; in the 
 best system all four unite in counsel and plan, and 
 a reasonable compromise is reached by negotiation. 
 This assumes that the right to collective bargaining 
 exists, and that it should be guarded against indirect 
 attacks from some other and conflicting interests. 
 
 If trades could be fully taught in schools no such 
 combination of forces would be necessary; but the 
 final touch of practice must be given in the place 
 where the process is carried on regularly and for 
 profit. Only in this relation is the lad's work tested 
 as it must be when he is an independent workman 
 and must stand or fall as he meets the requirements 
 fixed by a competitive world. Another fact is that 
 many boys cannot continue their education long 
 enough to become proficient unless they receive at 
 least some pay. The solution of the problem of 
 technical education is approached from various di- 
 rections. 
 
 The "continuation school" has been adapted to 
 German industrial conditions for many years with 
 highly satisfactory results. In this system a part of 
 the day Is devoted by the apprentice to the service of 
 his employer; the other part Is given to the public 
 school where instruction is directed to improve work- 
 manship. Thus the boy is kept longer under cultural 
 influence, his earning power for life Is enhanced, and 
 he has less idle time for the formation of immoral 
 habits. If provision is made for recreation and so- 
 ciability this is a desirable discipline. The period 
 
 206 
 
Education and Culture 
 
 for the "continuation school" is from the fourteenth 
 to the eighteenth year, a time least valuable for 
 earning income but most valuable for forming good 
 habits and adding to knowledge. 
 
 In the best system attendance is obligatory dur- 
 ing this whole period. Instruction is given in the 
 evening or at certain hours of the day. If instruc- 
 tion is given in the evening care must be taken that 
 the pupil is not too fatigued to profit by his instruc- 
 tion. The purpose of the school is in part to review 
 what has been learned in the elementary school; be- 
 cause youth often forgets what childhood has been 
 taught, unless the knowledge is kept alive by use. 
 Talents are discovered. An artist may be developed 
 ; by the teacher of drawing and decoration; and a way 
 may be opened by a scholarship to attend classes in 
 a school of painting or sculpture. Among the cul- 
 ture studies pursued are: the language of the coun- 
 try, with practice in talking, reading and writing; 
 mathematics, according to the needs of the calling 
 and the capacity of the apprentice ; singing, and play- 
 ing on some musical instrument, if there is talent; 
 elementary political economy, civics, morals and 
 manners, and law. The progress of the pupils is 
 tested by examinations and inspection of the quality 
 of work done, and is sometimes stimulated artifi- 
 cially by prizes and distinctions. A gift of a set of 
 tools at the end of the first year to a proficient youth 
 is a distinct encouragement and substantial help. 
 
 The thrift habit is cultivated by the present of a 
 savings bank book, with a "nest egg" credited, and 
 
 207 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 a requirement that part of the wages be set down 
 every pay day, and this is deducted from what is due. 
 
 Physical culture is assured by athletic societies, 
 and helpful direction of exercise in the gymnasium 
 and games. This is an element which ought never 
 to be neglected with growing adolescents. 
 
 The continuation school may be organized and 
 supported by the corporation or by the town, with 
 a subsidy from the corporation. 
 
 American conditions are in many respects unlike 
 those in Germany, and our methods of vocational 
 training must take account of these differences. 
 
 One difficulty in working the plan of cooperation 
 between the school and the shop is to secure the 
 proper facilities for practice. Only very large con- 
 cerns can afford to set apart rooms, machinery and 
 instructors for training apprentices. The firm which 
 trains may not receive the benefit of the skilled serv- 
 ice it has helped to develop. 
 
 Since the general public has a pecuniary interest 
 and duty it would seem logical to distribute the bur- 
 den of cost between local schools, employers and 
 the commonwealth. And this principle is actually 
 recognized, as at Beverley, Massachusetts.^ 
 
 The Illinois State Federation of Labor cites with 
 approval a passage from the writings of the distin- 
 guished educational philosopher. Professor John 
 Dewey: "No question under discussion in education 
 is so fraught with consequences for the future of 
 democracy as the question of industrial education. 
 
 ^ United Shoe Machinery Co. 
 208 
 
Education and Culture 
 
 Its right development will do more to make public 
 education truly democratic than any other one agency 
 now under consideration. Its wrong treatment will 
 as surely accentuate all undemocratic tendencies in 
 our present situation, by fostering and strengthen- 
 ing class divisions in school and out. It is better to 
 suffer for a while longer from the Ills of our present 
 lack of system till the truly democratic lines of ad- 
 vance become apparent, than to separate industrial 
 education sharply from general education, and there- 
 by use it to mark off in the interests of employees a 
 separate class of laborers." 
 
 On the basis of the principles thus stated the Fed- 
 eration declares: "We disapprove the setting-up of 
 any separate state or distinct board of administra- 
 tion to have charge of vocational education. We 
 believe that the vocational school courses should at 
 all times be under the guidance and control of the 
 school authorities having direction of general educa- 
 tion, as the system best adapted to educate properly 
 our children for their future activities as citizens, as 
 workers, and as men and women capable of partici- 
 pating In all the benefits and enjoyments of a higher 
 civilization." 
 
 Strong objections are urged against various Euro- 
 pean school systems on the ground that the tuition 
 fees are a barrier to education when the income is 
 small; that the social position of a child Is practically 
 fixed at the age of ten years ; that only the children 
 of rich people have a chance at higher education; 
 that specialization In industry begins too early and 
 
 209 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 tends to reduce the apprentice to a mere piece of 
 animated machinery. 
 
 In the United States many schools have been 
 maintained in great mercantile establishments em- 
 ploying hundreds and thousands of boys and girls 
 who have been compelled to leave school to earn a 
 living and whose education should be continued. 
 Where a system of public continuation schools is al- 
 ready well established these shop schools would not 
 be necessary, except for the technical training; but 
 during the transition stage they may render a valu- 
 able service. 
 
 Where a brief school period Is used by the employ- 
 ing firm to evade the compulsory school law require- 
 ments there is sometimes bad faith and poor instruc- 
 tion; a school Is not likely to be an advantage under 
 such conditions; the motive must be genuine, and the 
 educational Ideals must not be debased. The curric- 
 ulum may be like that of a continuation school, with 
 classes In reading, writing, arithmetic, English, spell- 
 ing, stenography, commercial geography, law and 
 business methods. To this systematic instruction In 
 elementary subjects may be added measures of rec- 
 reation and general culture : military exercises, band, 
 bugle corps, glee clubs,' orchestra, chorus singing, 
 mandolin clubs, dramatic performances, concerts, va- 
 cation camps, boat excursions, library, reading-room, 
 gymnasium, swimming pool. 
 
 It is affirmed by those who have tried the experi- 
 ment that such schools Improve the health, vigor 
 and endurance of the young people, the methods of 
 
 210 
 
Education and Culture 
 
 work, character, morality and outlook of the person- 
 nel. "Unintelligent and wasteful labor has lessened. 
 The wisdom of cooperation and mutual helpfulness 
 has been recognized. Knowledge of merchandise, 
 its production, distribution, and uses has been in- 
 creased. Principles of control, government and or- 
 ganization have developed." 
 
 Union of Employing Companies. — The National 
 Metal Trades Association is an illustration of a sig- 
 nificant tendency. This society has for its declared 
 purpose "to secure and preserve equitable conditions 
 in the workshops of members for the protection of 
 both employer and employee," and "investigation 
 and adjustment of questions arising between mem- 
 bers and their employers." They have promoted the 
 movement to improve industrial education by equip- 
 ping a technical institute in one city; by securing 
 scholarships for apprentice pupils in such schools; 
 by cooperating with the school directors in manage- 
 ment; by opening their shops for practice to students 
 of the engineering department of the University of 
 Cincinnati ; by inducing the Y. M. C. A. in Cleveland 
 to provide instruction to boys whom the society aided 
 and gave opportunity to attend classes ; by cooperat- 
 ing with the National Association for the Promotion 
 of Industrial Education; by stimulating and aiding 
 technical schools in several cities to instruct their 
 apprentices. This union of efforts concentrates re- 
 sources and at the same time diffuses the ideas of the 
 foremost leaders and speclahsts. Profit-sharing and 
 bonus schemes are carefully studied; safety appli- 
 
 211 
 
citizens in Industry 
 
 ances, shop hygiene and instruction of workmen in 
 methods of preventing injuries, and compensation 
 laws, have all been made the subject of discussion 
 and action.^ 
 
 The National Association of Manufacturers is a 
 strong ally of the movements for continuation 
 schools, a modern apprenticeship system, trade 
 schools and compulsory education during adoles- 
 cence, more effective truancy laws, training of teach- 
 ers for Industrial practice, shop and part-time 
 schools and centers of vocational guidance. 
 
 The Association of Cooperative Schools aims to 
 Improve the instruction in schools for the employees 
 of corporations. It has been asserted that already 
 the movement has secured the cooperation of com- 
 panies representing a capital of more than two bil- 
 lion dollars, and employing 230,000 persons.^ The 
 corporations have discovered that they cannot find 
 mechanics, clerks and salesmen ready-made, and that 
 all can be Improved by education. They welcome the 
 disposition of public high schools, colleges, techni- 
 cal schools and universities to cooperate with the 
 business world; but they see that if they are 
 to receive returns for their investments they must 
 have some direct control of the methods em- 
 ployed. 
 
 The commercial bias Is not seldom seen in the 
 tendency to emphasize the purely technical training 
 
 ^ Robert Wuest : Article, Annals of American Academy, 
 Nov., 1912, 76 £f. 
 " The Dodge Idea, July, 1913. 
 213 
 
Education and Culture 
 
 required by the process of the particular establish- 
 ment. 
 
 But it is interesting to notice in the curriculum of 
 a salesmen's school such topics as the value of right 
 thinking, courtesy, what to learn, hygiene, elements 
 of psychology, policies and organizations of the 
 company. 
 
 Advocates of "Scientific Management" seek to 
 demonstrate the value of their methods in relation 
 to that .education which leads to advancement in the 
 craft. The word "education" is used, apparently, 
 as a synonym for vocational training, and sometimes 
 connotes a rather narrow conception of education. 
 This would do little harm if the other and larger 
 elements were not ignored or kept in the distant back- 
 ground. The zealous advocates of the recently an- 
 nounced "science" of management owe it to the 
 world to make clear that they use the word in a very 
 limited meaning; and this they have not always been 
 careful to do. This criticism does not touch the 
 really valuable service rendered by the new and 
 brilliant school which has, within its sphere, already 
 accomplished marvelous results. It has made the 
 world its debtor by applying the precise and exact 
 methods of scientific minds to the shop, by provid- 
 ing textbooks and instruction cards which substitute 
 measured and clear descriptions for guesswork, and 
 by sending into the factories and mills teachers rather 
 than bosses. They deserve all praise (and good 
 pay) for transforming the work-place from a slave 
 pen into a school, where self-respecting workers take 
 
 213 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 part in the intellectual life and help to apply the 
 principles of chemistry, physics and biology to the 
 manufacture of desirable commodities. As one has 
 said:^ the workman "finds that the engineer in 
 charge is wholly ready to talk and explain the work 
 that is going on, glad to receive and use suggestions 
 and wholly ready to recognize the practical value 
 of the thought of men who have been working on a 
 given type of work for years. He finds, moreover, 
 that these engineers are proceeding on certain basic 
 principles, that they are working to apply to industry 
 the best that science has accomplished, and that they 
 use the best modern scientific methods in discovering 
 the unknown in industry. There, generally for the 
 first time, the worker meets the open mind of sci- 
 ence, which refers all questions primarily to col- 
 lected, correlated and recorded fact instead of to 
 any man's guess or theory." The entire procedure 
 IS educational in form and spirit. Clear instructions, 
 illustrated by photographs, blue-prints, drawings, 
 take the place of hasty and noisy commands of an 
 untaught foreman, who is sometimes too vociferous 
 to be understood. "The old foreman was a com- 
 mander and a driver. The functional foreman of 
 scientific management is a teacher and cooperator. 
 The old foreman ordered. The new functional fore- 
 man teaches, clears the path, and shows the way. 
 Many qualities are desirable in a functional fore- 
 man, but these things are absolutely essential : power 
 
 1 Hollis Godfrey, Sc.D., Consulting Engineer, in Annals 
 Atnerican Academy, Nov., 1912, 59 ff. 
 
 214 
 
Education and Culture 
 
 to do and do well any task or lesson given to a 
 worker ; power to express to the worker the best way 
 of doing a task; and willingness to cooperate with 
 the worker in working out the accomplishment of a 
 task." 
 
 Testing Vocational Ability in Actual Practice. — 
 It has been found that the psychological tests of the 
 laboratory, even in expert hands, are inadequate 
 and must be supplemented by study of the home, the 
 associations, the activities of the subject in all rela- 
 tions and situations. A precocious boy may fail in 
 the handling of tools, while an apparently dull child 
 may be mentally awakened when he turns from 
 books and the passive conditions of a schoolroom to 
 the occupations of garden or forge. Furthermore, 
 success depends on many factors which cannot be 
 measured with instruments of precision but are re- 
 vealed in prolonged observation of conduct. Perse- 
 verance, fidelity, willingness to take orders, punctu- 
 ahty and honesty are not easily discovered. Staying 
 power, the long breath of the distance runner, can be 
 found out with certainty only at the end of months 
 of trial ; and the boy who is victor in a short run may 
 be defeated in a race which requires prolonged exer- 
 tion. 
 
 How Young Workers Change Tasks. — Miss 
 Anne Herkner of the Maryland bureau of labor hit 
 upon one essential weakness of the existing system 
 of labor as applied to juveniles. She observed In 
 her testimony before the federal industrial relations 
 commission that 1,400 children had changed their 
 
 215 
 
Citizens in Industry- 
 
 positions in Maryland since January, of whom only 
 200 had found new places within a week. A great 
 many, of course, found work again only after several 
 weeks or several months. This is typical of the con- 
 ditions in which untrained children of fourteen to 
 eighteen years find themselves. Instability marks 
 their every move. They are not contented long 
 in any work. Their interest is not in it. They are 
 moved chiefly by the possibility of getting a dollar 
 or two a week more in some other job. Permanency 
 has no place in their thoughts. They are following 
 no definite plan or aim. Life becomes for them 
 merely a hunt for jobs interspersed by an occasional 
 period of work in some more or less uncongenial 
 occupation. As Miss Herkner remarked, juvenile 
 employment must be steady if children are not to 
 lose their respect for work and if they are to ac- 
 quire steadiness of character. The prospects for 
 this shifting population of juvenile workers, then, 
 are not bright. Evidently, lest their numbers be 
 added to materially each year, a system of voca- 
 tional education must be generally adopted. Only 
 in this way is the interest of the young worker to 
 be gained and his efforts turned in a definite, pur- 
 poseful direction that promotes useful services and 
 good citizenship. 
 
 One of the advantages of the best plans of trade 
 training under broadminded instructors in shops is 
 personal adaptation to the inevitable fluctuations in 
 demand for specific kinds of labor, fluctuations 
 which increase enormously the amount of involun- 
 
 2l6 
 
Education and Culture 
 
 tary seasonal unemployment in the land. The point 
 is clearly stated by Dr. Godfrey : "One of the great- 
 est barriers to permanency of employment is the un- 
 evenness of work in different departments of a fac- 
 tory at different periods of the year, a condition es- 
 pecially evident in those factories dealing with a 
 seasonal trade. One month departments A and B 
 are rushed and the men in departments C and D are 
 laid off. The next month the case is reversed and 
 the men are laid off in departments A and B, while 
 the work is rushed in departments C and D. The 
 science of management by its studies of the relation 
 of sales to types of product, by its increase of pro- 
 duction and by its general advances in the conduct of 
 industry, tends to do away with this condition, but 
 it also works specifically against this state of affairs 
 by offering education along the lines of work in de- 
 partments C and D and vice versa, enabling them to 
 gain such mastery of different parts of their trade 
 as shall give them permanent employment in differ- 
 ent departments and paying them higher wages for 
 each educational advance." 
 
 If to this is added a bureau of registration of 
 employees, so that numbers of the regular staff are 
 first chosen for the vacant places when demand is 
 greatest, the security of employment is greatly en- 
 hanced. 
 
 LIBERAL CULTURE 
 
 It is reasonable to expect that when the more di- 
 rectly technical training has been imparted and be- 
 
 217 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 come a matter of routine, habit, and automatic cere- 
 bration, a demand will be felt for liberal cul- 
 ture in the sciences and humanities. Even if atten- 
 tion must be focused on efficiency and profits in the 
 narrow sense, the springs of deeper human needs 
 will assert themselves, and corporation managers 
 will see it to their advantage to satisfy the hunger 
 of the better nature. It is impossible to foretell, 
 in advance of experience, what is "practical" and 
 what will best promote "efficiency." One psycho- 
 logical fact ought to be clear by this time that a 
 wooden puppet cannot do the work of a man who 
 is alive to his finger-tips and whose entire mental 
 and moral power is creatively asserted in all he does. 
 The philosophy of the "One-Hoss Shay" is not obso- 
 lete : "the weakest spot must stand the strain" ; and 
 we must "make that spot as strong as the rest." 
 
 Instruction in Housekeeping. — The public schools 
 do not always give training to girls in the art of 
 home-making, and girls who have gone into factories 
 to earn a living are not by that experience prepared 
 for their duties as wives and mothers. The imme- 
 diate pecuniary interest of the employers in giving 
 this form of instruction is not very obvious at first 
 sight; but thoughtful managers, in Europe and 
 America, have discovered that there is a close con- 
 nection between well-ordered homes and the effi- 
 ciency of the men., Employed girls of sixteen will in 
 two or three years be home-makers for the young 
 men of the works. By taking a large view of the 
 permanent and community interests they have been 
 
 2i8. 
 
Education and Culture 
 
 led to maintain housekeeping schools of various 
 forms. In the better schools the instruction of the 
 girls is given during working hours and without de- 
 ductions from wages. Instruction is free. In other 
 situations the classes are held in the evening. Among 
 the subjects taught are : mending and crocheting, sew- 
 ing, cutting garments, cooking, making beds. The 
 care of infants and young children ought to be taught 
 the older girls and a technique has already been 
 worked out for this vital branch of Instruction. 
 
 Boys' Gardens. — The art of gardening Is inter- 
 esting to many boys, but In cities they cannot provide 
 land, tools and Instruction. Manufacturers have no 
 direct Interest, as manufacturers. In providing and 
 maintaining schools for communicating this art, but 
 as citizens caring for the wholesome conditions about 
 their works they are often willing to contribute for 
 the purpose. The lads under a good leader are dis- 
 ciplined In promptness, industry, neatness, workman- 
 ship, courtesy, cooperation, and the material earn- 
 ings may become a motive to perseverance. With 
 the right kind of a teacher the Industry becomes an 
 introduction to the principles of the science of life. 
 Not infrequently acquaintance with gardening opens 
 a congenial and lucrative profession under the whole- 
 some conditions of rural residence. 
 
 Perhaps, since manufacturers live literally In glass 
 houses, they may find their reward In giving the boys 
 something better to do than break windows, and 
 destroy property. When each boy Is allotted his own 
 plot of ground and given the product he learns to 
 
 219 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 respect private property; any latent communistic 
 quitch in him is weeded out by the practice of gar- 
 dening. If the boys are taught to form a stock 
 company, "with limited liability," they elect their 
 own directors and officers and thus are initiated into 
 the mysteries of the great business. With the gar- 
 dens may be connected shops for making window- 
 boxes, repairing tools, etc. Useful occupation is 
 even better than games to keep young people out of 
 mischief, and turn them from hooliganism to good 
 citizenship. 
 
 Landscape Gardening. — ^The cultivation of flow- 
 ers, vines, shrubs, trees, and vegetables develops the 
 esthetic capacities of human beings. Certain heads 
 of industrial establishments have not only set a good 
 example by beautifying the grounds of the work- 
 place, but have stimulated and guided the efforts of 
 neighbors and employees by giving out seeds and 
 bulbs with directions for planting and care, and by 
 offering prizes for those who succeed best. 
 
 Culture for Adults. — It is sometimes claimed that 
 workmen want wages, not entertainments and cul- 
 ture; that they prefer to find their own ways of 
 happiness. But there are numerous situations in 
 which workmen cannot organize their own cultural 
 opportunities and must live a starved mental life or 
 be content with cheap and mean entertainments fur- 
 nished on a mercenary basis. There are employers 
 who recognize their responsibility as permanent and 
 influential personages in the community, and who see 
 that intellectual alertness and joyful disposition of 
 
 220 
 
Education and Culture 
 
 the employees are assets. Under such conditions a 
 reasonable provision for spiritual satisfactions may 
 be not only a community duty but a paying invest- 
 ment. While the coming democracy is on the way 
 the masters on the ground must do their duty. The 
 patriarchal element of civilization which we have 
 inherited through no fault of our own has not yet 
 evaporated and as yet no complete substitute has 
 been found. 
 
 Culture: An Illustration. — Van Marken in Hol- 
 land began by building lOO picturesque cottages with 
 small gardens attached, because otherwise no proper 
 shelter was available near the works. Kindergar- 
 tens and schools were needed and supplied, and the 
 children were encouraged by prizes to do good work. 
 The people needed a hall for assemblies and one ac- 
 commodating 1200 persons was built. The cultiva- 
 tion of flowers, one of the most economical and sat- 
 isfactory forms of esthetic enjoyment, was promoted 
 by flower shows in summer. Band concerts were 
 heard three times a week in winter. Dances, lec- 
 tures, social gatherings, games, stereopticon lan- 
 terns and slides added to the gayety of the community 
 and helped to keep alive friendship and neighborli- 
 ness. In the gymnasium, which was thoroughly 
 equipped, the young people were trained for the 
 sports and contests which furnished delight in the 
 village festivals, with exhibitions of skill in archery, 
 bowls, skating and fencing. The playgrounds, ad- 
 joining the community house, furnished with swings, 
 teeters, merry-go-rounds and sand piles made the 
 
 221 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 children happy. Even in rainy weather they could 
 play in the wholesome open air under a pavilion. 
 
 Art for Money's Sake. — The advantages of train- 
 ing young people for industrial life are thus out- 
 lined in the British Trade Review: 
 
 "In view of the foreign competition and the dci 
 termination of capitalists abroad to extend their 
 manufactures, it is of the utmost importance that 
 British producers should do all they can to perfect 
 their industries in every way, to be in a position to 
 place the best and the most useful goods on the mar- 
 ket. Experts in the cotton industry are realizing 
 that special attention should be given to the highest 
 branches of production, especially to the printing, 
 dyeing and weaving of fancy fabrics, which command 
 very extensive markets. It is recognized that if we 
 are to keep our trade in these departments both man- 
 ufacturers and workers must be qualified to send out 
 from the mills and weaving sheds fabrics of the most 
 original design, beautiful in texture and sterling in 
 workmanship. The need for continual progress in 
 output does not, of course, apply to the cotton in- 
 dustry alone. It is conspicuous daily in engineering 
 and numerous other branches, and the question of 
 training in these various trades has become para- 
 mount. 
 
 "It is, therefore, gratifying to note that manufac- 
 turers are beginning to take an interest in the young 
 before they enter the works, and suggesting that 
 the brightest and most intellectual should be sifted 
 out from the army of school children, for industrial 
 
 222 
 
Education and Culture 
 
 training. Many scholars show their inclination for 
 particular work before they leave school, and also 
 ambition to succeed in special occupations ; and if they 
 were given opportunity to get into the right groove, 
 production and trade would undoubtedly benefit. 
 The shop surroundings may be made beautiful. . . . 
 The President of the Bethlehem steel works was 
 jokingly asked by a visitor who was delighted with 
 the gardens, whether they were making steel or rais- 
 ing flowers, and he answered: 'We are primarily 
 engaged in making steel; but we make better steel 
 and more of it by also raising flowers and having 
 them in our yard.' The love for beautiful spaces 
 adorned with color, once awakened, extends to the 
 homes of the men. The production of commodities 
 depends on energy and endurance; energy is sup- 
 plied by digested food ; digestion is promoted by at- 
 tractive surroundings; therefore the planting of 
 flowers is a factor in ef&clency, even in the making of 
 coarse wares." 
 
 It is easy to assert that wage-earners do not want 
 such facilities supplied and will not use them; but 
 the assertion is not in all circumstances true. 
 
 Reading-rooms. — Men to whom reading is a dif- 
 ficult art, with meager returns in satisfaction, must 
 be helped to find pleasure in it; then they have dis- 
 covered a gold-mine of happiness. The lower class 
 of newspapers appeal to the tired, jaded, half-illiter- 
 ate crowd, with strong sensations, grotesque pic- 
 tures, stories of murders, divorce scandals, wrongs 
 of the rich, pink paper and great staring black head- 
 
 223 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 lines suggesting explosions and catastrophes. These 
 journals have a pedagogic theory and a social pur- 
 pose which they are ready to explain: men of few 
 and primitive desires are intellectually asleep ; noth- 
 ing short of thunder, lightning and earthquake will 
 rouse them; and so the sensational journal becomes 
 "yellow"; its odor and taste remind us of cheese 
 which is disgusting to refined organs but gives a sen- 
 sation of being alive to the dull and sordid. There 
 is just enough of sound psychology and pedagogy in 
 this plea to make it plausible; of course the real mo- 
 tive is profit; it pays. If ever these weary and dull 
 men are actually improved and enriched in the higher 
 life, redeemed from mere animalism, sensational 
 journalism will not lift them high nor carry them 
 far. 
 
 The better principle is this : good literature, mu- 
 sic, pictures must be brought near to the untaught 
 workers, must be attractive and enticing to them, 
 not merely to us. Books and magazines will appeal 
 to a few; moving pictures are alluring to all of us. 
 
 We do not want histories of art works, dull com- 
 mentaries in hard technical cant, but the works of 
 imagination themselves presented to eye or ear by 
 intelligent and living interpreters. In the great 
 dramatists and novelists there are vast treasures of 
 imaginative wealth which arc concealed in forbidding 
 books, and await the genial interpretation of read- 
 ers whose pleasant voices, distinct articulation, play 
 of mobile features and occasional gesture enable the 
 common man to sit at the banquet prepared by ge- 
 
 224 
 
Education and Culture 
 
 nius. We do not need costly singers and actors so 
 much as many cultivated readers who really enjoy 
 the works of genius. 
 
 A motto of the reading-rooms of the Santa Fe 
 Railway is worth quoting: "Give a man a bath, a 
 book and an entertainment that appeals to his mind, 
 and you have enlarged, extended and advanced his 
 life; and, as he becomes more faithful to himself, he 
 is more valuable to the company." "It is not a char- 
 ity concern, but a business proposition." Generally 
 the reading-rooms of this corporation are at points 
 where the men must wait long turns in Idleness; in 
 a few cities, "on the theory that, the better the 
 people in any Santa Fe town, the safer was our 
 property, and more business for the line would be 
 developed. Garnishment for gambling debts is a 
 thing of the past. One general superintendent re- 
 ports that the reading-rooms constitute the best pro- 
 hibitory system of temperance In the world, beating 
 Kansas and Maine." 
 
 Settlements In the neighborhood of a great mill 
 or factory frequently minister to the scientific and 
 esthetic desires of the employees, and for a modest 
 subsidy from managers furnish valuable services at 
 low cost. But It is better to let them starve than 
 to bribe the residents to be mummies, mere pets of 
 the corporation and dull lackeys without sympathy 
 with the aspirations of the wage-earners. 
 
 Neighborhood improvement associations, in which 
 educated men and women unite in democratic fash- 
 ion with the people, may justly claim support on the 
 
 225 
 
Citizens in Industry- 
 
 principles already accepted. In these cases it is npt 
 a question of philanthropy in any narrow and sinis- 
 ter sense, but of good citizenship and obligation to 
 the whole community. Not seldom a wealthy cor- 
 poration will accept the self-denying and unpaid 
 service of persons of public spirit and be reluctant 
 to give them the slightest recognition, or assistance, 
 even grumbling at times under breath at their "so- 
 cialism" or "anarchistic fads" and "academic theo- 
 ries." This makes bad blood. 
 
 Revival of University Extension, with Better 
 Methods. — If business men desire to assist the more 
 intelligent employees to gratify their intellectual am- 
 bitions in the fields of history, literature and science, 
 their most natural alliance is with the universities. 
 Here is a highly organized system of instruction, 
 conducted by specialists, with the best professional 
 standards, with which no other agencies can compete. 
 These universities are either endowed or are con- 
 ducted by the states. The present regular profes- 
 sors could rarely do personally much of the actual 
 work of classes and lectures ; their strength is already 
 mortgaged to their special duties, and most of them 
 have had no special preparation for popular instruc- 
 tion. They have, however, under this instruction a 
 large number of graduate students, some of whom, 
 with proper native gifts, could be selected and trained 
 for this popular work of education. The lecture 
 method alone is not satisfactory. In teaching nat- 
 ural science there must be small laboratory classes. 
 Historical, literary and artistic subjects require the 
 
 226 
 
Education and Culture 
 
 aid of lantern slides and other means of visualizing 
 the subject. Music at the meetings should give zest 
 and rest to the spirit. 
 
 The universities have very inadequate funds for 
 this new and yet undeveloped department of "exten- 
 sion" and many of the schemes have broken down 
 for this reason. By an alliance with benefit associa- 
 tions and generous employers, instruction and even 
 recreation could be furnished at lowest cost and 
 with highest standards. Gradually teachers would 
 be selected who have the natural genius for this 
 kind of educational service. A word of caution and 
 warning is in place. The votaries of science are 
 accustomed to pursue truth without regard to special 
 interests, and to present all aspects in the spirit of 
 the investigator. Such men are apt to say things 
 which arouse the ire of those who are unwilling 
 to have anything said with which they do not agree. 
 They would not object to lectures interpreting 
 Browning's "Ring and the Book," but they might 
 explode if the principle of collective bargaining 
 were explained with historical illustrations. We 
 have known of teachers of social science being 
 "fired" under these circumstances In a way not cred- 
 itable to those who imagine that a money payment 
 for salary or lecture fee means the purchase of a 
 soul. 
 
 This caution should be heeded also by the teacher, 
 whose function Is not that of the advocate who holds 
 a brief for a litigant and Is hired to present only 
 one side of the case, but he ought to reveal the 
 
 227 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 whole situation as fully and fairly as he can do it 
 and leave the judgment to the public. 
 
 The object of "university extension" is not pro- 
 fessional learning, as preparation for law, medicine, 
 or bridge-building; nor, on the other side, is it 
 merely momentary entertainment; for these legiti- 
 mate ends other means ought to be provided. The 
 object of the university extension method is to make 
 it possible for busy people in various callings to 
 gain an educated man's view of the world, of life, 
 of science, of history, of evolution, of art, of phil- 
 osophy, and religion. 
 
 Naturally the number of clerks and workingmen 
 at present who would care for this kind of culture 
 at first will be small; but it would grow. Here is a 
 case where supply calls forth demand. Thomas' 
 Orchestra started with a small audience, but after a 
 lifetime of faithful adherence to a lofty standard of 
 noble music the great leader awakened a sense of 
 appreciation of the best compositions in hundreds of 
 thousands of people. 
 
 We must not give superficial instruction; it can 
 be made fundamental and profound. Who can ex- 
 plain the popular and genuine interest in Darwinism 
 and Marxism on the theory that workmen are stupid 
 and narrow? One of the best masters of Herbert 
 Spencer in the writer's acquaintance was a machinist, 
 who also bought a telescope and pursued astronom- 
 ical studies after he was seventy years of age. Back 
 of the fragmentary and disconnected news items of 
 the daily papers the workingmen need to have a 
 
 228 
 
Education and Culture 
 
 general view of the evolution of human society, the 
 principles of ethics and economics, the essentials of 
 educational aims and methods. 
 
 If we are to have wise and upright local govern- 
 ment, we must have at least cultivated leaders 
 among the workmen in our shops and mines. 
 
 An alHance of welfare associations with the uni- 
 versities would be fruitful for good citizenship; the 
 entire community would have the benefit; and the 
 professors would profit most of all by the contact 
 with the life of the people. The young teacher of 
 economics who gets a chance to lecture on his sub- 
 ject before a trade union may have a surprise in 
 store for him; he will find that whatever kind of 
 coat or academic gown he wears he must be pre- 
 pared to answer keen and generally caustic ques- 
 tions. 
 
 Indeed the discussion which a lecture provokes 
 has more educational value than the learned "pre- 
 liminary item." 
 
 The agricultural schools have shown that plain 
 farmers can understand the principles of biology 
 and apply them with inteUigence. A similar work 
 for mechanics carried out persistently by strong 
 teachers with a popular gift of exposition would 
 discover equal ability and appreciation among them. 
 Sir Humphry Davy and Huxley were not ashamed 
 to give popular lectures on science. 
 
 Dramatic Entertainment. — The life of any indi- 
 vidual has a good deal of monotonous routine and 
 repetition and therefore becomes stale. It is not 
 
 229 
 
Citizens in Industry- 
 
 surprising that many youths take to the changeful 
 ways of the tramp, hard as his lot is when the winter 
 pinches'. Josiah Flynt's "Tramping with Tramps" 
 discloses the attractions of the road, the green fields, 
 the campfire, the constant change of scene, and even 
 an occasional risk of danger and taste of hunger. 
 Responsible family men, rooted to a place by the 
 care of the household and the claims of children, 
 sometimes feel this call of the wide, wide world and 
 desire to travel. But travel costs money and time 
 beyond the means of wage-earners, and so the crav- 
 ing for new scenes and experiences must be denied 
 satisfaction.^ 
 
 It is the merit of the drama that it enables a 
 person to live imaginatively and sympathetically a 
 thousand lives, one after the other. The genius of 
 Shakespeare and many inferior artists have staged 
 the careers of kings and poets, of fools and philoso- 
 phers, of common folk and great personages, and 
 the actors interpret these representations until we 
 seem to enter into the lives of other men thus exhib- 
 ited in action. The great popularity of the moving- 
 picture shows is a revelation of this deep universal 
 need of variety; but taste is not yet standardized, 
 commercial interests dominate, and the educational 
 values are low. 
 
 When a large body of employees live closely to- 
 gether and isolated from the city, the managers 
 alone may be able to organize dramatic entertain- 
 ments. In Osaka, Japan, the proprietors of a great 
 
 ^See Prof, Natorp; Die Erziehung des Volkes, p. 8. 
 230 
 
Education and Culture 
 
 textile mill have built a theater on their grounds and 
 furnish plays which afford refined and ennobling 
 recreation.^ 
 
 Music. — The people are capable of enjoying good 
 music. Masterpieces have utilized the songs of the 
 common folk as foundations for noblest classic mel- 
 odies and harmonies. The workmen in Wales, in 
 English and German cities, have not only listened 
 with appreciation to oratorios but they have inter- 
 preted them worthily in chorus singing. It is true 
 that much popular music is debasing and that very 
 complex compositions are wearisome to the multi- 
 tude; but there is a rich collection of classic com- 
 positions which give repose without enervation, 
 which inspire and unite, and raise the spirits of men 
 to a finer world. A celebrated and competent critic, 
 Professor Stumpf of Berlin, mentions here works 
 of Bach, Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, 
 Schubert, Weber, Mendelssohn, Max Bruch, Schu- 
 mann, Franz, Loewe, Brahms and even a few of 
 Richard Wagner's pieces (Ride of the Valkuries, 
 
 ' Read Goethe's Conversations with Eckermann, cited by 
 von Ebart in Die Erziehung des Volkes, p. 104: 
 
 "Stande ich noch an der Spitze der Theaterleitung, ich 
 wiirde jetzt zum Besten der Kasse noch einen Schritt waiter 
 gehen, und Ihr solltet erfahren, dass wir das notige Geld 
 nicht ansbliebe. Ich wiirde auch die Sonntage spielen lassen. 
 Die grosse arbeitende Klasse die an den Wochentagen 
 gewohnlich bis spat in die Nacht beschaftigt ist, hat den 
 Sonntag als einzigen Erholungstag, wo sie dann das edlere 
 Vergniigen des Schauspiels dem Tanz und Bier in einer 
 Dorfschenke sicher vorziehen wiirdp '' 
 
 231. 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 the Entrance of the Gods into Valhalla) as making 
 an appeal to the workers. 
 
 Stumpf urges, as a practical measure, that the 
 tickets to such concerts must be very low in price 
 (8 to lo cents), that the arrangements should be 
 made by a committee of workmen and artists to- 
 gether, that the tickets should be offered and sold 
 by the employees and not sold in public offices, so 
 that the audience will be made up of genuine wage- 
 earners, and not of parsimonious persons who want 
 to buy fine music at low cost. 
 
 Experience has shown that workmen have the 
 desire to cultivate their inborn capacity for esthetic 
 enjoyment, and that they will welcome and appre- 
 ciate honest efforts to smooth their way into the 
 magic world of beauty. There is no essential dif- 
 ference in the capacity for impressions, and there- 
 fore the selection of examples of art must not be 
 made on the theory that we are dealing with per- 
 sons of inferior nature. The power to enjoy art is 
 most surely awakened and cultivated by original 
 works, as those of great painters and sculptors; 
 copies and models are to be used with lectures only 
 in a secondary way. The history of art is not attrac- 
 tive until the esthetic sense has first been quickened 
 by contact with art works. A competent and enthusi- 
 astic teacher will induce habits of observation and 
 direct the judgment; and for this purpose a few 
 examples carefully studied are better than a great 
 number. In the United States the subjects of pic- 
 tures may well be chosen in such a way as to meet 
 
 232 
 
Education and Culture 
 
 the needs of our mixed population. Parties may be 
 formed to visit, under a capable guide, the munici- 
 pal collections which are being formed in all cities 
 of any pretension to progress and enterprise. Pho- 
 tographs and plastic casts may be used when origi- 
 nals are not available. Beautiful objects in nature 
 should be studied — flowers, trees, clouds, landscapes, 
 insects, birds ; amateur photography may be encour- 
 aged, and drawing, especially painting in color.^ 
 
 ^ See Dr. Lichtwart in Die Erziehung des Volkes. 
 
 John Ruskin's works have interpreted this world of beauty 
 to the English-speaking peoples. 
 
 Valuable hints are given by Benjamin Ives Oilman, Sec. 
 of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Mass., in Report of 
 the Commissioner of Education, 1913, 277 fif. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 EXPERIMENTS IN INDUSTRIAL DEMOCRACY 
 
 During the nineteenth century, in Europe, Amer- 
 ica, and even in Asia, the wage-earning opera- 
 tives have gradually won greater legal rights of 
 security, protection and comfort. They have 
 also gained recognition of their right to vote 
 and hold office, until now it is quite certain 
 that under constitutional governments each man's 
 vote must count for one, without regard to title, 
 rank or wealth. This right has been won with 
 great difficulty, by persistent and sometimes fierce 
 agitation, or even through revolution and blood- 
 shed; but it is now embodied in constitutions and 
 judicial decisions, beyond recall or revision. An- 
 tagonism lingers only in the form of senile grum- 
 bling of toothless privileged persons about the 
 "good old days." The fundamental reason which 
 has been decisive in this victory of popular suffrage 
 has been that no class of men could be trusted to 
 protect the interests of another class. This is 
 the verdict of history. Benevolent despotism is 
 still despotism, and is always subject to suspicion. 
 
 It was inevitable that this argument drawn from 
 political experience should some day be used in re- 
 
 234 
 
Experiments in Democracy 
 
 gard to the relation of employer and employees; 
 and it has been used with convincing effect and ex- 
 plains a great deal which would otherwise seem 
 unreasonable in certain rules and actions of trade 
 unions. Socialism has had a wonderful growth in 
 all modern countries, and its fundamental demand is 
 that the operatives should have something to say in 
 regard to those matters which affect their health, 
 their livelihood, and all their hopes of advance. 
 Their plea has been successful with millions of vot- 
 ers, because anyone can see that the ballot opens a 
 way to securing a voice in business affairs which 
 the ordinary shop organization excludes. 
 
 The trade unions are concerned about labor con- 
 tracts which raise wages, shorten hours and improve 
 shop conditions; but this is not the deepest motive 
 in their desire to promote collective bargaining; 
 they want more than all else a voice in the direction 
 of the business because it affects them in every way; 
 and because they know or instinctively feel that self- 
 government is the only just government. 
 
 This is not the place to repeat the familiar argu- 
 ments for and against this tendency of modern work- 
 ing people, both men and women. It seems revo- 
 lutionary to men who are not ready to introduce 
 democracy into the industrial order because they 
 do not understand the modern movement. The dif- 
 ficulties in the way of public management of indus- 
 try and commerce are certainly very serious; and 
 it would be difficult to imagine what would happen 
 at present if great corporations or even small indus- 
 
 235 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 tries were at once managed by committees repre- 
 senting the employees and the public as well as the 
 owners of capital. The complete realization of the 
 democratic aspiration in industry must wait on more 
 general education, self-control, skill and ability than 
 are at present visible. If the workingmen were now 
 to select the managers of industry by vote they would 
 elect the same men who are now directors, or they 
 would ruin the industries. Selection by competition 
 would in either case be necessary to place the man- 
 agement in the most competent hands. 
 
 But meantime this aspiration is a social fact to be 
 counted with, and any fair-minded person must ad- 
 mit that it is not wholly unworthy and foolish; it is 
 the natural result of progress. Indeed one will find 
 that already many able capitalist managers have at 
 least dimly recognized the inherent justice of the 
 reasoning and taken pains to foster a better under- 
 standing. The acceptance of boards of conciliation 
 and arbitration in different countries is one example 
 of a tendency the logic and final issue of which will 
 go further than anyone can now foresee. The social 
 insurance committees, in which representatives of 
 employers and operatives come together to discuss 
 and decide questions of common interest, not only 
 partly satisfy the democratic aspirations of working 
 people but contain a prophetic element of great sig- 
 nificance. They also serve to give wage-earners 
 some experience in financial matters which prepares 
 them for understanding the perplexing problems of 
 the directors' room, the bank, and the boards of 
 
 236 
 
Experiments In Democracy 
 
 trade. The cooperative movement in Europe is 
 still more helpful in training the multitudes in busi- 
 ness principles. 
 
 This conclusion is occasionally recognized by 
 leaders of commerce. Thus Mr. Frank Vanderlip, 
 in an address to the New York Bankers' Associa- 
 tion (1914), said: 
 
 "Legislation in accordance with sound economic 
 principles, formulated with justice and sincere sym- 
 pathy, is what we should all be striving for. I be- 
 lieve if business men will get themselves into a state 
 of mind where they view conditions broadly, with an 
 historical and social sense rather than only from 
 their individual point of view, they will apprehend 
 better the direction in which the whole current of 
 political thought is flowing, and will feel less impa- 
 tience with this legislative movement and vastly less 
 pessimism concerning its results. It seems to me 
 time that we recognized and caught step with this 
 wider spirit, and then endeavor to direct the move- 
 ments which it has set in motion rather than to ob- 
 struct its expression, which finds a form in new or 
 proposed legislation." 
 
 Under universal suffrage there can be no doubt 
 of the power of the wage-earners to secure control, 
 or at least a voice in the management of business; 
 they may decide some day to exercise this political 
 power. The chief social problem is that of educa- 
 tional preparation for this perilous opportunity. All 
 those methods of establishments which involve dis- 
 cussion of business matters are therefore part of 
 
 237 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 this preparation on which the very existence of the 
 nation may some day depend. The policy of silence, 
 secret bribery, concealment and confusion cannot in 
 the long run be the wisest and safest. Democracy 
 wills to be taken into the confidence of those who 
 manipulate the forces of industry and commerce. 
 
 Representation in Management. — Beginnings of 
 experiments of admitting employees to voice and 
 practice in management have already attracted 
 attention. 
 
 An interesting type is the following:^ In 1875 ^ 
 "labor chamber" was organized, in which engineers, 
 chief clerks and foremen formed a consultative 
 body. The plan was modified in 1895 and became a 
 "labor parliament" with three houses: (i) twelve 
 members from the managers, engineers and chief 
 clerks; (2) eight members from the foremen and 
 clerks; (3) sixteen of lower rank. The first house 
 meets quarterly, the second monthly, and the third 
 semi-monthly. A united committee is formed, with 
 four branches, for recreation, education, finance and 
 furtherance of material interests. The branch on 
 material interests attends to provision for foodstuffs 
 and clothing of good quality and low price, through 
 the village cooperative stores; acts as a council on 
 the best use of thrift funds; explains the regula- 
 tions to prevent accidents in the factory, and gives 
 advice about hygiene and sanitation in homes. The 
 recreative branch has subcommittees on musical edu- 
 
 ^W. H. Tolman: Description of J. C. Van Marken, 
 Agenta Park, Holland. World's Work, Mar., 1902, 
 
 238 
 
Experiments In Democracy 
 
 cation and concerts, choral society, gymnastics, skat- 
 ing and rowing, bicycling, stereopticon entertain- 
 ments, lectures, dancing, home recreation, recep- 
 tions, factory holidays, skittles, archery, billiards, 
 Agenta Park and travel clubs. It is true that none 
 of -these elements involves the essential control of 
 the capital invested or the direction of the tech- 
 nical and commercial sides of the business; but they 
 are matters which closely touch the personal inter- 
 ests of the employees and the organization recog- 
 nizes the dignity and self-respect of the workmen. 
 
 The building and loan associations of the United 
 States, so far as they represent genuine organiza- 
 tions of wage-earners, are among the most signifi- 
 cant business enterprises based on the cooperative 
 principle. They have trained men to think in terms 
 of large figures and long terms, to comprehend the 
 phenomena of capital, interest and profit, to feel 
 personally the value of mental labor in direction and 
 management. Their very mistakes and losses have 
 been instructive and helped men to see that the busi- 
 ness man has not a bed of roses. Wherever success- 
 ful managers of industry have stimulated and encour- 
 aged these associations, without too much of inter- 
 ference, they have promoted the education of the 
 people for a share in government. 
 
 The Cooperative: The Rochdale Plan, and Its 
 Value for Training in Citizenship.^ — In connection 
 with some large corporations "societies of consum- 
 ers" have been formed for the purchase of supplies 
 
 ^ Fay: Co-operation at Home and Abroad. 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 for the households. Some of the essential condi- 
 tions of success are that sales shall be for cash and 
 the losses of credit be eliminated; usually the con- 
 sumer calls for the goods and carries them home, 
 to cut out the cost of delivery; the prices paid are 
 those of the market; the profits are divided among 
 the purchasers in the ratio of the amount bought 
 during the year; capital invested is paid only a low 
 rate of Interest. The educational and political value 
 of the association lies In the experience it gives of 
 the principles of business and the conditions of suc- 
 cessful self-government. If ever the people are to 
 be prepared for a larger direct control of business 
 it will be In some such way as this, and not merely 
 by listening to lectures of teachers and to the pas- 
 sionate and disjointed harangues of demagogues. 
 
 Education in Political Science. — True science is 
 Impersonal and Impartial; it knows no partisan In- 
 terest; It Includes all the pertinent and significant 
 facts. Already employers have established numer- 
 ous schools on both sides of the Atlantic. Natu- 
 rally, as we have already seen, the Industrial effi- 
 ciency motive has given character to those organiza- 
 tions, because that Is the primary object for both 
 partners In the process of production. But it is not 
 enough. 
 
 More than once In recent years bankers and other 
 business leaders have been alarmed by the preva- 
 lence of what they regarded as dangerous popular 
 heresies In relation to money, banking, currency and 
 tariff. They could readily see that it was a vital 
 
 240 
 
Experiments In Democracy 
 
 concern of business to turn. the minds of the voters 
 in the right direction. In other words, they were 
 compelled to go back of legislators, congressmen, 
 senators and even newspapers to appeal to the 
 farmers, retail dealers and mechanics. And they 
 found that these plain people could understand 
 when a great statesman like Carl Schurz addressed 
 them in the clear style of exposition of which he 
 was master. 
 
 It is probably true that workingmen have given 
 heed to falsehoods and have been deceived in regard 
 to high tariffs and taxation schemes. But that is 
 also true of men of highest educational advantages ; 
 it is one of the most insidious perils of popular 
 government. Stuffing ballot boxes is a rude and 
 clumsy device as compared with the cunning argu- 
 ment which persuades a wage-earner to vote for a 
 scheme which will inevitably cut his loaf in half and 
 compel him to wear a seedy overcoat two more 
 winters. 
 
 Mistakes will happen; but they grow rarer with 
 discussion. Running water will at last purify itself. 
 Continue the give-and-take process long enough and 
 the truth emerges out of the clouds, and the shrewd- 
 est deceivers are dragged into light and pilloried, 
 stripped of masks. Lincoln's confidence in the good 
 sense of an instructed people was justified by history. 
 When Gladstone went wrong, the textile workers of 
 English cities, though starving, saw and defended 
 the truth, in regard to our cause in the Civil War. 
 
 The history of our economical and governmental 
 241 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 institutions is a matter of fact, and popular knowl- 
 edge of this history helps plain men to see how our 
 modes of conduct have been shaped and what they 
 mean. It is possible for a good teacher to help 
 mechanics to understand all the phenomena of our 
 industrial life, the reciprocal connections between 
 the different industries and the specialized branches 
 of each industry, and the function or service of each 
 agent in the whole system. It is possible for a 
 master of the science of administration to teach 
 voters the essential principles of our federal and 
 state constitutions, the fundamental rights of citi- 
 zens and the methods of enforcing these rights. 
 
 If the present responsible masters of society sin- 
 cerely wish to help men to realize their personal dig- 
 nity and take their places as citizens, they may find 
 in these fields the opportunity for a patriotic service. 
 Of course this teaching must be scientific and not 
 partisan ; the teacher must be free to speak his mind 
 and give his reasons; and the men in the classes 
 must be free to express their own views in open 
 discussion. Lecturing alone is not educating; and 
 if workingmen learn of books and instructors they 
 must have a chance to take the initiative in discus- 
 sion. Otherwise they will either absent themselves 
 or they will resist the effort to treat them as mere 
 passive automatons to be moved from the outside. 
 
 Neighborhood Centers. — The modern city has 
 destroyed real democracy and substituted the boss, 
 partly because the government was too far away 
 from the people, so distant that its inner workings 
 
 242 
 
Experiments in Democracy 
 
 could not be seen.^ Industrial villages, even when 
 founded by capitalists, may be made schools of 
 practical training in politics in the best sense, the 
 science and art of community action for the general 
 welfare. 
 
 Industrial towns have been built at enormous cost 
 and, surely in part at least, with unselfish intention ; 
 neat, tidy, attractive, hygienic, and with moderate 
 rents; and yet have sometimes brought the builder 
 dislike, hatred and revolt where he expected grati- 
 tude and contentment. There was one fatal mis- 
 take — it was a benevolent despotism, it did not rec- 
 ognize democracy, it ignored the spirit of the mod- 
 ern man, it assumed that wage-earners are still at 
 heart serfs. It is better to have some dirt and dis- 
 ease, with community responsibility for the suffering, 
 than sanitary houses governed by an absolute even if 
 benevolent czar, and benevolent autocrats have been 
 rare in history; absolutism hardens the conscience. 
 
 The public schoolhouse is becoming a social cen- 
 ter of genuine democracy; the common meeting- 
 place where all have the same rights ; where recrea- 
 tion, rest, and learning have a natural home. Igno- 
 rant people can be taught to want clean houses, alleys, 
 and underclothing, and they can be persuaded to 
 change their habits; but it must be their own act 
 or it is of no moral or practical value. 
 
 The neighborhood about a schoolhouse is a fine 
 field for the practice of democratic self-government ; 
 and ought to be made far more significant than it 
 
 ^See Kales: Unpopular Government. 
 243 
 
Citizens in Industry- 
 
 is. For practice in the privileges of citizensiilp 
 propositions relating to local concerns might be sub- 
 mitted to votes of initiative and referendum, and the 
 results sent up as memorials or petitions to the city 
 council or administrative commission with the argu- 
 ments used in discussion. Later on some direct 
 weight might be given to such local declarations. 
 
 The difficulty with the present custom of trusting 
 all to the elected ward councilman is that very fre- 
 quently the real wishes of the people never get to 
 the city hall In their purity; they are adulterated in 
 the committees. An ordinary ward election is no 
 adequate means of educating citizens; for the dis- 
 trict is too large and the interests too diversified 
 for direct discussion. There is no school of civic 
 virtue. One can teach while the class is small; he 
 must lecture if there is an audience ; he must harangue 
 if he has a mob. 
 
 In the school district a man of business may be a 
 real power; an employer can exercise his influence 
 if he will come to the meeting with a soft hat and 
 not forget his good manners and his patriotism. The 
 employer, or the representatives of a corporation, 
 must learn to regard their mills in relation to the 
 neighborhood, and the people of the neighborhood 
 as citizens, not subjects. It Is a bitter lesson for a 
 proud spirit to learn, but it is wholesome and neces- 
 sary. It cost a bloody war and countless treasures 
 to realize Lincoln's prophetic utterance: a nation 
 cannot endure half slave and half free. If he were 
 among us now he would say a neighborhood cannot 
 
 244 
 
Experiments in Democracy 
 
 live in peace under a lord, an exile on the soil it 
 occupies with homes. Property is safe and respected 
 only as people own it, and authority is honored only 
 when the people share it. 
 
 Already the people have the supreme power in 
 the ballot and universal suffrage; it is a question of 
 whether Demos can be educated in time to use his 
 power wisely when he becomes fully conscious of it. 
 Neither a man nor a people is fitted quickly for 
 the responsibility of political control; nor is educa- 
 tion a miracle : it Is a process and a growth, and is ac- 
 quired in the interaction of instruction and personal 
 experience. This is what gives the neighborhood 
 its national significance. 
 
 ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION OF BETTERMENT 
 
 METHODS WITHIN AN ESTABLISHMENT OR IN A 
 
 TRADE ON A VOLUNTARY BASIS 
 
 The fundamental principles of such organization 
 taught by experience have already been discussed: 
 recognition of the personal worth of the employees, 
 and of their right to a hearing in all matters which 
 deeply concern their happiness and well-being; free- 
 dom from all assertion of superiority and arbitrary 
 domination on the part of the firm; open and sin- 
 cere dealings without concealment of facts essential 
 to a fair judgment; manifest purpose of the firm to 
 be guided by a comprehensive recognition of all in- 
 terests affected, even of the surrounding community 
 
 245 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 of which the establishment and all its members are 
 organic parts. 
 
 There is in some very large corporations an ad- 
 visory board which is composed of superintendents 
 of the various plants, which may be situated in dif- 
 ferent cities at a distance from each other; although 
 all are dependent on one corporation. 
 
 The evils to be combated are : ^ continual irrita- 
 tion and frequent strikes on many pretexts, with loss 
 of time, wages, profits, social product. In the 
 sweated industries, without organization, or control, 
 the conditions become chaotic; humane employers 
 cannot raise wages because they are in close and 
 sharp competition with others who are quick to take 
 advantage of the necessities of the ignorant immi- 
 grants whose extreme poverty compels them to earn 
 what they can. 
 
 The employees themselves, in such circumstances, 
 are naturally suspicious, on the watch for causes of 
 offense, reckless in fighting back blindly against any- 
 one who represents "capital." Their animosity is 
 made all the more bitter because they are sometimes 
 under the influence of a class of Socialists who preach 
 "class consciousness" and sometimes even violence. 
 To the economic evils are added, especially in the 
 "sweated" industries, unhygienic conditions, as 
 crowding, bad ventilation, filth, danger from fire, 
 improper sanitary arrangements, dangerous proxim- 
 
 ^ See Gertrude Barnum : "How Industrial Peace Has 
 Been Brought About in the Clothing Trade." Independent, 
 Oct. 3, 1912. 
 
 246 
 
Experiments in Democracy 
 
 ity and exposure of the sexes to contacts and tempta- 
 tion. 
 
 Experience has shown that in very difficult situa- 
 tions at least some improvements are made possible 
 by wise organization, in which the following princi- 
 ples are observed: 
 
 1. The primary organization includes represent- 
 atives of capitalist managers and the employees, on 
 equal and honorable terms. 
 
 2. The unions of the employees are recognized, 
 without wasting time over the disputed theory of 
 "closed shop" versus "open shop," about which 
 agreement seems at present impossible. The unions 
 of the employees are recognized and respected, and 
 their members have the preference when employees 
 are taken on; hence the expression, "the preferen- 
 tial shop rule." Union hours and prices are ac- 
 cepted, and so the results of collective bargaining 
 are assured. 
 
 3. The spirit and something of the form of ju- 
 dicial procedure are seen in the constitution of the 
 lower and higher "courts," in which questions in 
 dispute are carefully weighed, evidence adduced, and 
 decisions reached by a rational process in which all 
 parties interested may be heard in calmness and 
 quiet. 
 
 The board on grievances meets at frequent and 
 regular intervals, and goes over a formal calendar 
 of cases as If in a civil court. If this court fails to 
 agree, or there is a desire to appeal, a higher court, 
 meeting only in exceptional cases on demand, is con- 
 
 247 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 stituted to make final settlement. While these 
 "courts" have no public authority to enforce their 
 decisions, their judgment is usually accepted by all 
 parties and open conflict is averted. 
 
 4. A joint board of sanitary control, composed 
 of members representing employers, employees and 
 the public, has been able to lay bare gross viola- 
 tions of laws and ordinances, vicious conditions af- 
 fecting health, comfort and morality, and to correct 
 these evils by influence or by appeal to legal au- 
 thority. 
 
 Fire protection has been improved, after a fright- 
 ful holocaust due to lawless neglect of plain legal 
 requirements. Basement shops, ill lighted and ill 
 ventilated, have been closed. Shops in rear rooms 
 or on attic floors have been forbidden, without spe- 
 cial permission, on a showing that they are not dan- 
 gerous. ' 
 
 A standard of 400 cubic feet of space per person 
 has been required and enforced. The rule has been 
 established that the workroom must be thoroughly 
 aired before and after work hours, and during lunch 
 hours, by opening windows and doors. Floors of 
 shops and of water-closets are scrubbed weekly, 
 swept daily and kept clean and tidy all the time. A 
 separate water-closet apartment must be provided 
 for each sex, with soHd partitions extending from 
 floor to ceiling, and with separate vestibules and 
 doors. Wash-basins, with sufficient supply of water, 
 in convenient and well-lighted locations, are fur- 
 nished in each shop. Lockers for hanging street 
 
 248 
 
Experiments in Democracy 
 
 clothing must be provided, and separate dressing- 
 rooms wherever women are working. All seats 
 must have backs. ^ 
 
 The plan adopted by the firm of Hart, Schaffner 
 and Marx has worked so well in preventing friction 
 that it may be used to illustrate a desirable tendency. 
 The essential features of th« arrangements are these: 
 a kind of court was created by joint action of em- 
 ployers and employees, to hear all complaints and 
 redress grievances. In case of disagreement a board 
 of arbitration would hear appeals. No person was 
 to be discharged for belonging to a trade union and 
 in employment union members were preferred in 
 branches where there was an effective organization. 
 "Briefly expressed, it is simply the natural and 
 healthy relation which usually exists between the 
 small employer and his half-dozen workmen, artifi- 
 cially restored, as far as possible, in a large-scale 
 business where the real employer is a considerable 
 group of executives managing thousands of workers 
 according to certain established principles and poli- 
 cies. . . . The successful result of these develop- 
 ments has depended much less upon the formal and 
 external features than upon the spirit with which it 
 has been worked out." Of Mr. Hillman, the leadef 
 of the workers, Mr. Schaffner said: "He devel- 
 oped a wonderful influence over all people who came 
 in contact with him, on account of his high ideals, his 
 
 ^ For further details see article by H. Moskowitz, Ph.D., 
 in Annals of the American Academy, Nov., 1912, 39 ff., and 
 Bui. U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, No. 144, Mar. 19, 1914. 
 
 249 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 patience under trying circumstances, his indomitable 
 faith in the ultimate success of right methods." Mr. 
 Schaffner himself said: "I believe that the officers 
 of a corporation are trustees of the interests of all 
 connected with the institution." But, fully aware 
 of the necessity of full representation of conflicting 
 interests, he added: "Decisions affecting the inter- 
 ests of any group should not be made until such in- 
 terests have the opportunity to present their case. 
 When there is any doubt as to the fairness of any 
 decision or policy there should be a disinterested 
 tribunal to review the decision." 
 
 Seeking for a Basic Principle of Agreement. — The 
 evidence taken by the Federal Industrial Comhiission 
 in 1 9 14 revealed absolute and irreconcilable antag- 
 onism between the views of employers and leaders of 
 organized labor. They could not agree either as to 
 facts, standards of living, theory of wages, .or 
 measures of relief. Under such circumstances if 
 men do not fight to the bitter end it is because they 
 have not the power. If they come to agreement it 
 is a truce in battle to bury the dead. Men who be- 
 lieve the doctrine that all the product of industry be- 
 longs of right to manual wage-earners and none to 
 capitalist managers will struggle to get it all, just 
 because they sincerely believe it belongs to them, and 
 that capitaHst managers are robbers; those who 
 recognize the right of managers to wages of super- 
 intendence will grant a certain limited concession 
 for salaries; those who recognize the justice of inter- 
 est on capital will concede the current rate out of the 
 
 250 
 
Experiments in Democracy 
 
 product; but at "profits" they balk, and multitudes 
 have been persuaded that "labor" only is the cause 
 of the product and ought to own it all. 
 
 On the other hand, the statements of many em- 
 ployers showed that they sincerely believe the doc- 
 trine that when market wages have been paid, and 
 the work has been done under decent conditions, and 
 the expenses of taxes, insurance, etc., have been paid, 
 all the remainder of the product belongs beyond 
 question to the capitalist managers. They revealed 
 their belief that any interference from trade unions 
 or from the public authorities was contrary to jus- 
 tice, an impertinence and an evil; that they were to 
 be trusted to do what was right and with no inter- 
 ference or coercion from any outside power. 
 
 Economic Wages. — One enlightened leader of a 
 great corporation said, in discussing welfare meth- 
 ods of his corporation: 
 
 "Nor have we attempted to pass upon the ques- 
 tion of wages, other than to express the belief that 
 in the same locality they should be fully equal to 
 those paid by any other employer engaged in similar 
 work. Wages are a local and independent question." 
 Here is no explanation of how the "other employ- 
 ers" calculate what they ought to pay. The competi- 
 tive rate is implied, not expressed. 
 
 In another place a minimum limit is suggested — 
 "in all instances being enough to insure good health 
 and efficiency." Here is at least the beginning of 
 an objective and scientific standard of wages; but 
 beyond the immediate capitalistic Interest in a large 
 
 2JI 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 product from "efficiency" no hint is given tliat the 
 workman has other needs to be satisfied if he is to 
 be a worthy father, husband, citizen — human. It is 
 this evasion of fundamental requirements of man- 
 kind which vitiates a good deal of the economic dis- 
 cussion of wages. Not to pass upon the question of 
 wages in considering schemes of welfare work is to 
 neglect the supreme economic question in which the 
 wage-earner is interested; for his whole life de- 
 pends on wages. If others neglect that problem he 
 cannot and will not consent to regard it as a sec- 
 ondary issue. Hitherto even these public commis- 
 sions for the settlement of disputes have had no well- 
 defined and generally accepted economic or ethical 
 principle upon which all agreed. A compromise is 
 not a rational method ; it is merely a temporary de- 
 vice for avoiding civil war and is a test of physical 
 endurance. 
 
 It must be plain to well-informed persons that 
 agreements satisfactory to all parties in interest 
 must be based on some standard or principle ac- 
 cepted by all. The alternative is a continued war 
 of interests, with occasional truces for the combat- 
 ants to get their fighting breath and renew their 
 energies for conflict; or, what is worse, resort to 
 brute force and suppression of all discussion and 
 agitation. This last condition is that of unorganized 
 and ignorant laborers whose quiet submission is pub- 
 lished abroad as proof that they are satisfied, con- 
 tented and happy — frequently a very superficial and 
 false judgment. The president of a corporation 
 
 252 
 
Experiments In Democracy 
 
 may know really very little of what is going on in 
 the minds of the workmen in the shops or mines ; he 
 may be living over a volcano and not suspect it. 
 
 One basis of agreement is affirmed by some econo- 
 mists of distinction and accepted by many capitalist 
 managers: the theory that competition, supply and 
 demand, fix the rate of wages on a just level; a rate 
 which is ethically justified because it is declared to be 
 practically equivalent to the value of the products 
 created by the Individual wage-earner. It is some- 
 times asserted that this rate, being fixed by "eco- 
 nomic laws," cannot be changed by collective bar- 
 gaining, by legislation nor by humanitarian impulses ; 
 or, if this "natural rate" is modified by such arbi- 
 trary and artificial methods the settlement cannot 
 last, or the increase must be paid by the consumers 
 of the product. It is not generally conceded that any 
 increase of wages can be taken from the profit ele- 
 ment of the product, although the persistent effort 
 of the capitalist managers to resist the rise of wages 
 might indicate their real belief that the profits would 
 be affected by all that was added to wages. To this 
 interpretation is added the affirmation that if wage- 
 earners would improve their methods and be more 
 effective and industrious they would increase the 
 product and so automatically secure higher wages. 
 A practical deduction from this line of reasoning is 
 that any attempt to raise wages by collective bargain- 
 ing, legislation or any other conscious and concerted 
 effort must fail. 
 
 The "sliding-scale" method of adjusting wages to 
 253 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 the rise and fall of the commodity produced was 
 based on some such theory; wages were to be fixed by 
 considerations of the market. 
 
 The trade unions and their axivocates have put 
 forward a more or less vague theory of "a living- 
 wage standard" as the starting-point for discussion 
 of the rate of wages. Persons of this school of 
 thought affirm that industry owes to workmen a sup- 
 port for themselves and their families, and a meas- 
 ure of support which will enable all to live a genu- 
 ine human life ; and that all calculations should start 
 with this foundation. This theory requires an analy- 
 sis, not only of market prices but also of family 
 budgets; the assumption being that the community 
 of consumers must pay all the cost involved in this 
 estimate when they purchase the product. 
 
 From the standpoint of a particular union the 
 standard will be that of the families of their own 
 group. But this is a sectional and partisan stand- 
 ard. It does not meet ethical requirements. Only 
 a minority of wage-earners are organized in unions. 
 Those who are outside of unions have the same fun- 
 damental human rights as the members of such as- 
 sociations, without their protection. 
 
 Therefore If we start with a standard of living 
 It must include all operatives; and, logically, this 
 standard should be discovered by scientific investiga- 
 tion and enforced by the State and not left to the 
 caprice and struggles of voluntary associations. 
 
 This conclusion is enforced by the consideration 
 that many times where organized workmen secure 
 
 254 
 
Experiments in Democracy 
 
 favorable agreements with organized employers the 
 public is victimized by being compelled to pay exor- 
 bitant rates for buildings, for plumbing and for other 
 products of the industries included in the combina- 
 tion. This burden is felt in the "high cost of liv- 
 ing," and often falls heavily on unorganized labor. 
 
 We shall never even begin to have an accurate, 
 scientific and general standard without analysis of 
 human needs, estimates of costs of commodities, and 
 inspection of human beings to see whether they are 
 actually well fed, clothed, housed, and educated; 
 and this survey must include the unorganized and un- 
 skilled workers. 
 
 Pioneer beginnings have already been made 
 toward the erection of such standards and their ap- 
 plication in inspection. Examples are found In pe- 
 riodical medical examinations of workmen in shops, 
 mills, factories, mines and on lines of transportation. 
 Other illustrations are found in municipal building 
 codes which fix and enforce standards of habitations; 
 in the inspection of lodging houses ; in the medical in- 
 spection of school children, and In the very system 
 of free public schools from kindergarten to state 
 university. 
 
 State public standards of living, although still 
 vaguely defined, have a real influence on employers 
 themselves who are gradually applying them in their 
 dealings with operatives under their control. Evi- 
 dences of this are found In all the chapters of this 
 volume. 
 
 May not society have some interest in the dispute? 
 255 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 If disorder arises from a feeling of injustice and 
 oppression; if life, property, and order are imper- 
 iled; if the cost of destruction, waste, and unem- 
 ployment must at last be shared by the whole people 
 of the nation — should irreconcilable citizens be left 
 to fight it out, or one party be whipped or starved 
 into submission? Is it true that any group possessed 
 of power can be trusted to use it without criticism 
 or regulation? Is it not a humiliating position for 
 the President of the United States to be obliged to 
 beg the miners and operators of Colorado to keep 
 the peace? Is that a dignified attitude for the fed- 
 eral authority to be obliged to take? 
 
 Mankind has a vast and prolonged experience 
 which seems to some of us to point the way to a so- 
 lution. From the dawn of time society has found it 
 reasonable and necessary to make laws and set up 
 courts to decide disputes of many kinds between in- 
 terested private parties. In no civilized country 
 have men been left to settle their wrongs- in their 
 own way. The most honest man will not ask another 
 man to decide what is just when there is a difference 
 of judgment. Even the simple community of early 
 Christians provided for arbitrators to avoid going 
 to law before pagan judges. For most disputes be- 
 tween individuals the la^w and the courts speak the 
 final word. 
 
 If anything is clear from history it is that no 
 class, no private association, no group can be trusted 
 with absolute power; it is sure to be abused. The 
 French Revolution, tragic and savage as it was, de- 
 
 256 
 
Experiments in Democracy 
 
 cided that kings, nobles and ecclesiastics must be 
 brought under the sovereign control of the nation 
 itself. The Declaration of Independence and our 
 Constitution are classic declarations of the behef 
 that, in the last analysis, no section of the people can 
 arbitrarily rule another. The abolition of slavery 
 brought the excluded race finally and forever under 
 the shield of the national Constitution. The arro- 
 gance and unreason of men accustomed to unques- 
 tioned obedience are proverbial. This does not im- 
 ply that "men are villains a'," but only that 
 
 When self the wavering balance shakes, 
 'Tis rarely right adjusted. 
 
 It is the State and not the grocers' association which 
 is trusted to test the scales used in retail markets. 
 
 The attitude of the most progressive and open- 
 minded corporation managers is illustrated in an in- 
 terview with a celebrated magnate. This gentleman 
 declares that capitalistic leaders have advanced be- 
 yond their positions of twenty years ago, and he said: 
 "As far as I am concerned It is largely traceable to 
 Roosevelt. ... I know him well. I have consid- 
 ered every suggestion for improving business con- 
 ditions that he has ever made. I have tried to adopt 
 many of them. . . . Whenever a newspaper or a 
 magazine makes a fair and honest suggestion, I al- 
 ways adopt it; but we have made a great many 
 changes without suggestions from the public at all." 
 When one superintendent said his own labor policy 
 
 257 
 
Citizens in Industry- 
 
 was "Hit the first kicker over the head with the 
 nearest shovel and throw him outl" this chief of a 
 trust replied: "That will never be the policy of 
 this corporation while I am its president. . . . We 
 must make it certain that the men in our employ are 
 treated as well as, if not a little better than, those 
 who are working for people who deal and contract 
 with unions." That is the dead point! This man- 
 ager of fabulous concentration of wealth and power 
 will not tolerate a strong and effective organization 
 of employees ; he will not wait for public action nor 
 permit it if he can help ; he will be divine providence 
 to his subject. In the present state of trade unions 
 and of politics we must admit that the practical 
 man's suspicion of both is largely justified; but it 
 would be to despair of the Republic, to believe that 
 we must remain subject to oligarchies of self-selected 
 rulers because we are unable to secure honest and 
 competent government officials. 
 
 We have already noted the fact that there is an- 
 tagonism between the contemporary "efficiency" 
 movement and the trade unions; and this conflict 
 deserves further consideration in this connection. It 
 is evident that no devices of checks, stop-watch es- 
 pionage and cost records will secure the highest de- 
 gree of industry, skill and attention so long as the 
 rank and file of the workmen believe that increased 
 production will mean larger profits but smaller wages 
 with greater strain. Increase of profits goes at once 
 into the legal ownership of the masters and remains 
 in their control. The workmen know many instances 
 
 258 
 
Experiments in Democracy 
 
 where harder and more faithful work has increased 
 the product but not their share of it. There is no 
 necessary and automatic connection between labor 
 efforts and higher wages and shorter hours. The 
 workmen have reasons drawn from experience to 
 show that the mysterious "law of supply and de- 
 mand" is a deity which has no particular interest in 
 them; and that to depend on the generosity of the 
 employer is not "business." Hence the intelligent 
 workmen of all modern countries, with an unanimity 
 explained only by universal experience, are looking 
 either to collective bargaining or to the definition of 
 rights which can be legally enforced in courts. 
 
 The psychologist, the engineer, and perhaps the 
 economist as such, have nothing directly to do with 
 the ethical question of the division of the product 
 which is increased by efficiency. The technical spe- 
 cialist knows how he ought to build a bridge or how 
 to pierce a tunnel, presupposing that the bridge or 
 tunnel is desired. Whether these are desirable does 
 not concern the technical scientist. The physician 
 presupposes that the patient should be made well, 
 and it is his professional task to adopt suitable means 
 to this accepted end. So the psychologist assumes 
 that goods should be manufactured at least cost 
 and says to manufacturers, "If you want this end, 
 then you must proceed in this way." ^ While this 
 reasoning is sound it compels practical people as 
 well as students of social ethics to go down deeper 
 
 ^ See Hugo Munsterberg: Psychology and Industrial Effi- 
 ciency. 
 
 259 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 to examine the very assumptions of the psychotech- 
 nical specialists. They assume that increased pro- 
 duction by more efficient methods is desirable; but 
 this is precisely what the average workingman either 
 denies or regards with paralyzing skepticism; and 
 until his hesitation is removed the professors of psy- 
 chotechnics are trying to sail a ship without wind 
 or steam. 
 
 An absolute despot may be conscientious and re- 
 ligious. He may sincerely believe that God has di- 
 rectly made him ruler by divine right, and that crit- 
 icism of him is treason. While the divine right of 
 kings has been cast to the rubbish heap of obsolete 
 ideas, that of employers has been reasserted within 
 a few years. 
 
 The modern spirit of popular government, vaguely 
 designated "democracy," has a memory. It will have 
 no star chambers, no secret procedure of trials, no 
 lettres de cachet, no legislatures representing a single 
 class. 
 
 What means the Interstate Commerce Commis- 
 sion but the declaration of the sovereignty of the 
 nation over the powerful organization of railway 
 corporations with their own interests to distort their 
 moral vision? What is the significance of the fed- 
 eral and state inspection of banks and life-insurance 
 companies, two vast systems of business where a 
 narrow clique interest has led millions into waste, 
 loss and misery? The regulation and control of all 
 corporations by supreme authority through recent 
 legislation indicate the direction we are traveling, and 
 
 260 
 
Experiments in Democracy- 
 history demonstrates the necessity of public protec- 
 tion of public welfare. 
 
 The healthy part of the nation is sick of the hor- 
 rors of the inhuman strife in coal mines, the sabo- 
 tage of murderous unions, the neglect of life-saving 
 legislation by operators. "A plague on both your 
 houses!" The next step will be the development, 
 slowly and cautiously, of a tribunal to decide dis- 
 putes between employers and workmen: a tribunal 
 representing a nation and not a clique or a class; a 
 tribunal which will lay bare the whole case, in all its 
 aspects; a tribunal before which may appear the 
 humblest laborer, discharged unjustly by a brutal 
 foreman, and have his case heard with impartiality 
 and without cost; and by means of which urban com- 
 munities may be saved from submission to striking 
 employees of gas works, water works, street rail- 
 ways and electric-light plants. 
 
 Knowing the history of human weakness, and of 
 frailty of judgment when selfish interests are at 
 stake, honest men ought not to desire arbitrary 
 power, and they ought actively to seek to be relieved 
 of a responsibility which they cannot discharge and 
 which makes them perpetual objects of suspicion and 
 hatred. 
 
 The Erdmann Act, the Newlands Act, and re- 
 lated legislation are but the crude and experimental 
 form of an institution which is capable of being per- 
 fected by the cooperative efforts of all who value 
 peace with justice, order with humanity, and fair 
 dealing with fraternity, above all absolute power 
 
 261 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 over the lives and fortunes of competitors and an- 
 tagonists. 
 
 The Newlands Act (July 15, 1913), which suc- 
 ceeded the Erdmann Act, provides for the repre- 
 sentation of corporations and their employees in a 
 national Board of Mediation and Conciliation. This 
 board is independent of other governmental depart- 
 ments and is responsible directly to the President of 
 the United States. It has legal authority to tender 
 its good ofEces, whether asked to do so or not by 
 one or the other party to a controversy. The arbi- 
 tration board consists of six members unless, in a 
 specific case, the parties concerned agree upon them. 
 The limits of time within which a decision must be 
 reached are fixed, and the exact question to be arbi- 
 trated must be defined in advance. Witnesses are 
 heard under oath and the board has large powers 
 for securing the information it may need. 
 
 Attitude of the American Federation of Labor To- 
 ward Arbitration. — Mr. Gompers says: "There are 
 even some workmen who with us seek to avoid the 
 stress and strain of a strike, who are loud to advo- 
 cate statutory compulsory investigation, state media- 
 tion, and arbitration, and the pronunciamento of an 
 award, with a supposed voluntary acceptance of such 
 an award. They do not know that wherever these 
 systems have been introduced they have led either 
 to compulsory arbitration with compulsory award, 
 compulsory obedience to the terms of the award, or 
 else have resulted in a reaction demanding the repeal 
 of the so-called state compulsory investigation and 
 
 262 
 
Experiments in Democracy 
 
 voluntary state mediation and award. . . . The 
 American labor movement aims to avoid the stress 
 and strain of strikes, but we are not led by glittering 
 generalities or vain hopes. . . . The toilers, real- 
 izing that their constant material improvement is 
 necessary for the welfare and progress of the hu- 
 man race, will protest or strike, law or no law, in the 
 effort to accomplish their justifiable purpose. Any 
 attempt by law to curb the right of the workers to 
 sever their relations with their employers, to strike, 
 will be resented, as it should be resented. . . . We 
 want peace in industry, but we want peace with 
 honor, progress and freedom. So-called peace, pur- 
 chased at the price which would shackle the minds 
 and the actions of the workers, is no real peace at 
 all; it is the beginning of slavery."^ Surely this 
 declaration cannot be the final word, however much 
 provocation there may be to utter it. Law is not 
 yet the exact and complete expression of the common 
 welfare, but it ought to be and can be made a far 
 more perfect agency of the universal good than the 
 decisions of some limited voluntary organization. 
 The trade unions have never yet, in any responsible 
 way, announced their purpose to be anarchistic and 
 disloyal. Any scheme of arbitration which leaves 
 the wage-earners without defense must of course fall 
 to the ground; and any law which interferes with 
 the mobility of labor, the freedom of contract or 
 the right of collective bargaining and striking can- 
 
 ^ Proceedings of American Federation of Labor, Dec, 
 
 1913. P- 30- 
 
 263 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 not endure criticism. We must, therefore, confi- 
 dently hope that reason and a profound respect for 
 the common welfare will bring employers and unions 
 upon a common platform of justice and fair deal- 
 ing; and the most enlightened representatives of 
 both parties can promote all measures which help to 
 formulate justice defined as the requirement of na- 
 tional well-being. In no country has private volun- 
 tary organization alone ever been able to protect chil- 
 dren, women and the unskilled against exploitation, 
 to estabhsh a universal and equitable system of acci- 
 dent, sickness, invahd and old-age insurance, to pro- 
 vide a system of occupational hygiene, to maintain 
 standards of control over public utility corporations 
 for the protection of stockholders, wage-earners and 
 all consumers. Collective bargaining has a wide 
 and honorable field, a necessary social function, but 
 it ought never to be regarded as a substitute for good 
 government. 
 
 Nothing more radical in principle has been pre- 
 sented in this discussion than the statement of Mr. 
 John D. Rockefeller, Jr., before the United States 
 Commission on Industrial Relations, January 25, 
 19 1 5. It is revolutionary in tendency as it is frank 
 and courageous in spirit : 
 
 "In conclusion, Mr. Chairman," said Mr. Rocke- 
 feller, "quite apart from any particular situation 
 may I express in utter frankness the view which as 
 an individual and a citizen I hold toward the prob- 
 lems into which your commission has been appointed 
 to inquire? 
 
 264 
 
Experiments in Democracy 
 
 "I believe that the ultimate object of all activities 
 in a republic should be the development of the man- 
 hood of Its citizens; that such manhood can be devel- 
 oped to the fullest degree only under conditions of 
 freedom for the individual and that industrial enter- 
 prises can and should be conducted in accordance 
 with these principles. I believe that a corporation 
 should be deemed to consist of its stockholders, di- 
 rectors, officers and employees ; that the real interests 
 of all are one, and that neither labor nor capital can 
 permanently prosper unless the just rights of both are 
 conserved. If, with the responsibilities I have and 
 the opportunities given me I am able to contribute 
 toward promoting the well-being of my fellow-men, 
 through the lessening of Injustice and the alleviation 
 of human sufferings, I shall feel that It has been pos- 
 sible to realize the highest purpose of my life." 
 
 The world moves and moves upward. The impli- 
 cations of free and representative government have 
 been discovered and restated In economic adminis- 
 tration. When rulers of society take democracy into 
 their confidence they do not abdicate a throne ; rather 
 they ascend to the dignity, security and honor of men 
 of faith in humanity and In the divine order of the 
 world. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 ADMINISTRATION OF WELFARE WORK AND THE 
 SOCIAL SECRETARY 
 
 With the increasing magnitude and complexity 
 of modern industry and business it is necessary 
 to assign special tasks to trained persons who 
 have definite duties. The capitalist manager 
 whose interests have become widely extended 
 and too varied for his personal attention, finds 
 it Imperative to employ someone to carry out 
 his Ideas in relation to his welfare work of all 
 kinds. It Is this situation which has created the of- 
 fice and profession of "social secretary." The re- 
 quests for assistance are so numerous as to require 
 not only constant clerical help, but the consideration 
 of an educated representative capable of using dis- 
 crimination and judgment.^ 
 
 I. Functions of Social Secretaries. — In a general 
 survey we may deal with four fields of activity, the 
 duties of which may be so different and complex as 
 to require in each of them a special agent or agents 
 with qualifications and education for the particular 
 
 ^W. H. Allen: Modern Philanthropy — which is full of 
 illustrations of the bewildering calls upon the sympathy of 
 a person of wealth who is known to give liberally. 
 
 266 
 
Welfare Work 
 
 tasks: (i) the shop, (2) the office, (3) the out- 
 side life of employees, (4) the general charities of 
 the employer. In smaller establishments one person 
 may be able to meet demands in all these depart- 
 ments, but in the great mills and factories several 
 persons may be necessary, each with special qualifica- 
 tions and training. 
 
 The questions of coordination of welfare agents, 
 of the division of labor between them, of testing 
 their activities by results, of their responsibility to 
 the authorities of the corporation, are important and 
 must be decided by the managers according to the 
 needs of each particular establishment. 
 
 In general, the "welfare secretaries" have influ- 
 ence rather than authority, and influence is more vital 
 than power. '" 
 
 2. The Social Secretary in Relation with the 
 Principal. — This relation is delicate on both sides. 
 Even persons who have known each other for years 
 and have rubbed elbows in congenial civic and philan- 
 thropic work, on occasions, find obstacles in the way 
 of psychical adjustment to the closer, continuous 
 association. The trend naturally is toward con- 
 fidence and intimacy. Such conditions are impos- 
 sible for prescription or delimitation in a contract 
 or even in a verbal agreement. The elusive factors 
 of congeniality, temperament, and tact are discov- 
 erable only by association, particularly in the stress 
 of business. 
 
 The principal, when the increasing volume of his 
 civic, philanthropic and welfare work requires a 
 
 267 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 division of labor to perform it with reasonable dis- 
 patch, may find difficult the surrender to another of 
 a part of the field where he has been dominant down 
 to the details. He may have a wholly natural dis- 
 trust of the judgment and decision of another per- 
 son, a salaried employee, in matters where one 
 likes to act on his own opinion and where his 
 money is at stake. There Is an old saying that it 
 Is easy to spend someone else's money. Men of 
 large means know, from observation, that this is 
 true. 
 
 The social secretary who has the initiative and 
 feels himself competent to take the bit in his teeth 
 and manage his principal's social business Is apt to 
 chafe under the restraint of the new relation, at 
 least in its initial, or probationary, stages. But he 
 must remember that spurs are not won in a day; 
 and that honest, capable work is sure to be rewarded 
 by greater trust and authority and larger return in 
 money. 
 
 Of course, in the analysis of this relation, it be- 
 comes apparent that there can be only one deciding 
 mind as the various Issues arise — the mind of the 
 principal. This is as It should be. However, In 
 modern business life, with its many specialized de- 
 partments, the executive has learned the value of 
 counsel. In this capacity the social secretary, hav- 
 ing the confidence of his principal, finds an attractive 
 field of activity aside from the zest of investigation, 
 analysis and decision. He can influence the finding 
 and the action of his employer to such degree as his 
 
 268 
 
Welfare Work 
 
 information is precise and his judgment and recom- 
 mendations are sound and timely. 
 
 The variety of subjects encountered by the so- 
 cial secretary, especially one who aids the principal in 
 his personal work, is so great and the details in each 
 are so complex and confusing that few, if any, men 
 can be found who encompass within their own capac- 
 ity a masterful knowledge of all. The experienced 
 principal does not expect this. But one who attempts 
 the work, to be successful with his superior, must 
 have a ready wit for knowing where to lay his hands 
 upon the information he lacks. For this reason 
 newspaper men, trained in resourcefulness in "get- 
 ting things" that are elusive, often make efficient 
 social secretaries, especially in the field of the per- 
 sonal philanthropies of a man of large means. Fur- 
 thermore, newspaper men, who have gathered items 
 about pretty much the whole realm of human expe- 
 rience and told them in glib detail to the public, are 
 particularly adept in knowing what matters are best 
 handled in silence. Silence regarding personal af- 
 fairs is a necessity for a successful relation between 
 a social secretary and his chief. -^^^ 
 
 3. The Personal Relation Mediated Between^ 
 Employer and Employee by the Social Secretary. — 
 In former times the master mechanic was person- 
 ally acquainted with his hired men ; he worked with 
 them and conversed with them; disputes could be 
 argued out, and the materials for a judgment were 
 all at hand. But the great industry has alienated / 
 the owners from the operatives. The stockholders 
 
 269 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 and bondholders of a railway or steel mill are scat- 
 tered over the globe. Even the directors and man- 
 agers live in a different social world afar from the 
 workmen. They do not understand each other; the 
 conflict between profit and wages is perpetual; each 
 party is watchful to protect its own interest. The 
 'immediate superintendents and foremen are only 
 too frequently petty tyrants, fond of exercising their 
 authority and eager to show returns to the officials 
 above them. Griefs fester In hidden places, and the 
 heart grows revengeful over a million annoyances, 
 each one no more in itself than the sting of a gnat. 
 The "welfare agent" has here an opportunity, on 
 condition that he has the full confidence of all con- 
 cerned. He may go about observing the points at 
 which pain enters, where resentment is aroused, 
 where personal honor is touched, where needless 
 strain Is Imposed, where harshness In word or ges- 
 ture Is manifest but cannot be met with revolt. He 
 may brood over methods of removing the cause of 
 Irritation and discuss this with the representatives of 
 administration until a remedy Is found. The moral 
 bond is restored; the severed nerve of communica- 
 tion is joined and healed; there Is a better under- 
 standing, and the spirit of concord Is once more 
 felt. 
 
 It is often asserted that there Is no philanthropy 
 in welfare work. As one writer affirms of the 
 "welfare secretary" : "Yet not in any sense is he 
 an instrument of philanthropy. His duty is to nour- 
 ish contentment simply because contentment means 
 
 270 
 
Welfare Work 
 
 efficiency, and efficiency spells bigger dividends for 
 the powers that be." Many similar statements could 
 be quoted. They rest on error. Since what era 
 has it become reasonable to be ashamed of kindness 
 to human beings? Who has dissected the motives 
 of employers and found nothing but a leather pocket 
 for profits where a heart ought to be? Who has 
 proved that wage-earners are incapable of friendship 
 with employers ? Admitting that a business must be 
 made profitable in order that it may continue, who 
 has a right to affirm that profit-making adequately 
 explains business conduct? The "economic man" is 
 an impossible abstraction, and never did exist.^ It 
 is a poor psychology which evokes the ghost of a man 
 • who cares for nothing but gain. 
 
 This cant is not only false but dangerous and de- 
 basing. It cannot remain popular without doing 
 mischief. To boast of carrying on business without 
 regard for the human operatives is shameless cyni- 
 cism, and ought to exclude the boaster from decent 
 society. Philanthropy is our common heritage from 
 the moral achievements of our spiritual ancestors and 
 it enters into all activities. Selfish disregard of 
 others does exist, but it should be hidden in shame 
 and confessed with penitence only in the ear of Him 
 who forgives the penitent; it is not to be flaunted as 
 a virtue. Dickens described Mr. Gradgrind, but 
 only as an extreme caricature of a detestable type. 
 Have we come to a time when Mr. Gradgrind is to 
 
 ^ E. T. Devine : paper, National Conference of Charities 
 and Correction (Memphis, 1914), p. 75. 
 
 271 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 be idolized? Then national ruin Is not far away 
 and business is a monster. 
 
 If Business is battle, name it so; 
 War crimes less will shame it so ; 
 And widows less will blame it so. 
 
 Lanier — The Symphony, 
 
 The welfare secretary is a personal witness that 
 men of business are first of all men. A highly edu- 
 cated and public-spirited employer voiced the domi- 
 nant purpose of the better class of the group: "I 
 believe the officers are trustees of the interests of all 
 connected with the institution." On this saying 
 labor papers have generously remarked that a "new 
 era in the relationship between capital and labor is 
 at hand, an era in which the human factor in indus- 
 try will be taken more and more into consideration." 
 
 The fundamental social function of business is not 
 personal profit but service to the people ; when that 
 purpose ceases to control we have brigandage but 
 not legitimate business. 
 
 4. Natural Qualifications of a Welfare or So- 
 cial Secretary. — Manifestly the representative of 
 the firm must have sufficient physical health and en- 
 ergy to stand up under the work required In the par- 
 ticular position, which may be more or less exacting 
 and trying. Vigor and good-feeling are very gener- 
 ally dependent upon good digestion; one who is too 
 conscious of having nerves may become Irritable and 
 communicate bad temper. 
 
 The secretary of human relations must, as a mat- 
 272 
 
Welfare Work 
 
 ter of course, have tact and common sense. It may 
 be difficult to find in the dictionaries and psychologies 
 a very exact definition of tact, but any capable man- 
 ager will soon discover its absence. The moral blun- 
 derbuss plays havoc in a position where conciliation 
 is of the essence of the function. 
 
 5. The Educational Preparation of a Social Sec- 
 retary for an Industrial Establishment. — If the re- 
 quirements are limited to a few simple activities of 
 a routine nature, a bright high-school girl, with some 
 experience in life, may give satisfaction. We have 
 in mind in this discussion an altogether different po- 
 sition, one of responsibility, with scope for inven- 
 tion and initiative. 
 
 The following paragraphs indicate the actual 
 paths by which the work of social secretary for 
 women employees has been approached and en- 
 tered : 
 
 Mrs. W. taught for a number of years in a busi- 
 ness college ; was employed by a mercantile house 
 which gave her some insight into welfare work; 
 worked six months in the adjusting department of an- 
 other retail house in order to become acquainted with 
 the system of the store. This lady considers teach- 
 ing excellent preparation for welfare work, but the 
 teacher must not be of the narrow type. 
 
 Mrs. V. was a graduate of a state university; 
 taught seven years; has done newspaper work; has 
 had much social experience. She says that persons 
 who undertake to do welfare work must know 
 people. She has had no selling experience, but knows 
 
 273 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 merchandise. She is the wife of a railway purchas- 
 ing agent. 
 
 Miss R. had a general college course; one year in 
 Y. W. C. A. Training School, New York City; has 
 had much experience with girls' clubs. She con- 
 siders a general college course better than a spe- 
 cialized one as it makes one more resourceful; does 
 not consider knowledge of factory processes help- 
 ful ; has no manual dexterity, but thinks all the proc- 
 esses could be learned in a few months. 
 
 Mrs. K. had a general education but is not a col- 
 lege graduate; took one year's work at Chicago 
 School of Civics and Philanthropy; kept house for 
 twenty years, which she considers helpful experience; 
 was active in club work and interested in civic ques- 
 tions ; is a widow, mother of three boys. 
 
 Miss Z. is a trained nurse, with two years' hospital 
 experience and two years in private homes; was em- 
 ployed by the Tuberculosis Institute for one year 
 and a half; has had' some training in a normal 
 school; taken a course of lectures at the School of 
 Civics and Philanthropy; and taught in primary 
 grades for three years. 
 
 Miss M. is a college graduate; specialized in eco- 
 nomics and sociology; from 1908- 1909 acted as spe- 
 cial agent of the U. S. Bureau of Labor, investigat- 
 ing living and working conditions of women adrift; 
 in 1 9 10 was visitor and assistant superintendent in an 
 urban C. O. S. organization; from 1911-1913 was 
 director of charities in a small city. She recommends 
 the following preparation : general college course, in- 
 
 274 
 
Welfare Work 
 
 eluding studies of sociology, general and industrial; 
 courses In hygiene and sanitation ; commercial geog- 
 raphy; a course In trade unions, with supervised vis- 
 its to industrial establishments ; and actual experience 
 as worker In Industrial establishments in order to 
 know just what are the conditions against which 
 working girls must contend, especially where they 
 work under a foreman. Three months of such work 
 is sufficient, but in a number of establishments, so 
 as to have a variety of experience. 
 
 Miss D. taught a number of years, rural, grade, 
 and high school ; paid her way through normal school 
 and nearly through a state university; had nearly 
 completed enough for a degree when she was offered 
 her present position with a great house. She had a 
 course in sociology at the normal school and one In 
 the state university, but had no work In economics. 
 She acted as adviser to students In a city high school ; 
 did some work In placing people In teaching posi- 
 tions; assisted with charities in a city one sum- 
 mer, sending children to the country for fresh air; 
 has done much Y. W. C. A. work; thinks a course 
 in a school of civics and philanthropy would be help- 
 ful. She did not prepare specifically for welfare 
 work. 
 
 Mrs. W. had no specific preparation for welfare 
 work, but was familiar with parish work. She be- 
 gan by publishing the paper of the company and 
 gradually took up welfare work. She says visiting 
 nurses are selected because of ability to get into 
 touch with people. 
 
 275 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 Many concerns emphasize the health movement in 
 their welfare work; and for this reason prefer wom- 
 en with training in nursing or medicine. In fact, this 
 department frequently is not called the welfare de- 
 partment, but the health department. A few months 
 ago the Western Electric Company decided to es- 
 tablish a welfare department but put a welfare nurse 
 in charge. There seems to be considerable diver- 
 gence of opinion as to whether actual experience in 
 the industry where the welfare work is to be done is 
 necessary. One line of experience stands out con- 
 spicuously in many cases, and that is teaching. It 
 is highly probable that at the time when many of 
 these women were beginning their life work, teaching 
 was the only remunerative work open. This is par- 
 ticularly true if they were not living in large cities. 
 All welfare workers agree that experience in get- 
 ting into touch with people is absolutely necessary 
 and teaching offers an avenue for securing such ex- 
 perience. 
 
 In addition to good health, good sense, good 
 taste, good manners, good character, a secretary of 
 the higher order should begin with at least the knowl- 
 edge and mental training indicated by a bachelor's 
 degree of a recognized college. The course of study 
 should be carefully planned for the four years, and 
 should include at least a study of English language, 
 literature and history; history of modern Europe; 
 chemistry, physics, biology, personal and public hy- 
 giene, history of industrial development and its con- 
 sequences; elementary psychology, economics, poli- 
 
 276 
 
Welfare Work 
 
 tics and sociology, with a sketch of social politics 
 (factory legislation, social insurance, etc.). A mas- 
 tery of at least German and French should be added, 
 since in our cosmopolitan population a secretary is at 
 an advantage who knows how to acquire a modern 
 language. Italian may take the place of French; 
 in some localities in the South, Spanish is desirable. 
 Some graduate schools of universities now are pre- 
 pared to offer advanced and special courses in the 
 natural and social sciences; and social secretaries find 
 it to their interest, even after some experience, to 
 return to the university for special kinds of inf orma- ' 
 tion which they need. The most speedy and econom- 
 ical method of acquiring knowledge is the systematic 
 study, under competent teachers, of the fundamental 
 sciences. The self-taught generally betray defects 
 in accuracy, thoroughness and vision, and they do 
 not know when and how to rapidly acquire informa- 
 tion and weigh the value of authorities and sources. 
 
 In close connection with this academic instruction 
 in science, the candidate for social work, during 
 the time of study, should be able to explore industrial 
 and commercial establishments where large numbers 
 of employees are gathered, and thus be able to see 
 the actual conditions under which human beings live 
 and labor. 
 
 But this exploration is not enough ; there must be 
 apprenticeship under the direction and guidance of 
 secretaries who have already gained success. It is 
 not difficult during vacations to enter into such a re- 
 lation with the consent of the firm, if the apprentice 
 
 377 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 is well recommended and is willing to assist in the 
 humblest details of the office. Such relations should 
 be arranged by the college or university which be- 
 comes responsible for the recommendation, and 
 which assures itself that the apprentice service shall 
 not be exploitation but have educational value. For 
 this purpose the institution of education must em- 
 ploy a director of exploration and of apprentice 
 training, one who is able to guarantee sound methods 
 on both sides, for both the employers and the appren- 
 tices must be protected. No student should be sent 
 to an office until there is assurance of serious pur- 
 pose, adequate preparation, and probable fitness for 
 the particular position. Employers will soon de- 
 cline to accept apprentices from an institution which 
 fails at this point, and whose selections are found to 
 be unreliable. 
 
 Health Conditions: Direction. — All that relates to 
 safety must be planned by experts and carried out 
 by persons competent to form judgments, as com- 
 mittees of foremen and workmen. These devices 
 have already been discussed. The relation of the 
 social secretary to such matters will depend upon 
 personal fitness and the needs of the situation. The 
 specific arrangements for avoiding accidental inju- 
 ries from machinery and process must be determined 
 by qualified mechanical engineers ; and thousands of 
 such devices are already familiar in museums and 
 in the literature of the subject. The secretary may 
 be useful in inducing the employers to provide proper 
 devices and in inducing the workers to use them. 
 
 278 
 
Welfare Work 
 
 In the shops which have been "Taylorlzed," the best 
 modern devices for economy of human energy are 
 carefully installed as essential factors in the scheme 
 of eificiency. Only specialists can do this. 
 
 The medical problems of protecting health against 
 poisons, defective ventilation, and other hurtful 
 conditions must be solved by expert physicians who 
 have given study to these affairs. After the system 
 has been established by authority of the employers, 
 an intelligent and tactful secretary will often be help- 
 ful in securing sympathetic cooperation of the people 
 in the shop. But constant and vigilant control by 
 medical men must be an essential part of the system. 
 No welfare secretary who has not medical education 
 can go very far In this field. 
 
 When a great firm Is about to introduce a sickness 
 and accident benefit fund it should have the counsel 
 and direction of an actuary. The establishment 
 and administration of an insurance fund to provide 
 for prolonged Invalidism, old-age pensions and ben- 
 efits for survivors of employees require still higher 
 legal and actuarial talent, because none but special- 
 ists can decide what are the conditions of a solvent 
 fund. Neglect of this precaution has already ship- 
 wrecked many schemes which raised great hopes only 
 to create bitter reproaches and disappointment when 
 the inevitable crash came. 
 
 It is evident that there can be no such profession 
 as that of a "social engineer" or "welfare secretary" 
 in any general sense. The employers must deter- 
 mine for themselves, upon the best available advice, 
 
 279 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 what they wish to do, and then they must employ 
 some one qualified person or several persons to at- 
 tend to the details. There is no one "science" or 
 "art" which can be mastered in preparation for all 
 kinds of welfare work. Quackery has already 
 brought the whole matter under suspicion ; and con- 
 fidence can be maintained only by competent leader- 
 ship. People who are thoroughly educated will not 
 undertake tasks for which they are not trained. 
 
 Women Secretaries. — Common sense demands 
 that the welfare secretary in departments where 
 many women and girls are employed should be a 
 woman. Such employees will suffer incredibly from 
 hardships and annoyances before they will carry their 
 grievances to members of the administration. In- 
 vestigations in mercantile houses have occasionally 
 revealed abuses and moral perils which shock the 
 community when published. An intelligent woman, 
 especially a widow who has brought up daughters, 
 is an angel of light where troops of inexperienced 
 girls are brought together in a telephone office, tex- 
 tile mill, or mercantile establishment. There are the 
 rest-rooms which at particular times are so necessary 
 and yet are so liable to misuse if they are not care- 
 fully supervised. A skillful housekeeper is required 
 to keep the kitchen and lunch-room under her eye. 
 The magazines, newspapers, books and pictures 
 which are provided for leisure moments may be any- 
 thing but a blessing if they are not selected by a high- 
 minded and educated woman. 
 
 Then there are the matters relating to dress and 
 380 
 
Welfare Work 
 
 good taste in manners which are at once so difficult 
 to handle and so vital to the usefulness, character 
 and happiness of the girls. It is in such situations 
 as these, of infinite complexity and delicacy, that we 
 see how the personal and human factor must come 
 in to supplement the relatively rough and clumsy 
 provisions of law and of male management. Stand- 
 ard devices for avoiding accidents and occupational 
 diseases may be introduced over the commonwealth 
 by statute; compensation, insurance and pensions 
 may be made obligatory by law; a minimum wage, 
 a maximum day of labor may be required by public 
 authority; but the personal influence of a cultivated 
 lady in a shop full of wild girls, eager for pleasure 
 and unmindful of the danger, cannot be secured by 
 the legislature. The field of philanthropy may seem 
 to be narrow, but it is precious. No device of au- 
 thority can make a wooden conscience do the work 
 of spiritual ideals. But just because this voluntary 
 method is so delicate is the element of personality 
 so vital. 
 
 A woman who attempts to give lessons in personal 
 hygiene to girls must be thoroughly prepared for her 
 task, so full of pitfalls. It is doubtful whether it 
 is wise, even for a well-educated woman, to attempt 
 to give instruction on this subject unless she is a phy- 
 sician or trained nurse. A welfare secretary should 
 at least have her instructions written out and sub- 
 mitted for criticism to a physician before she asks 
 her pupils to accept them as laws of life. 
 
 An illustration of devices may be drawn from life. 
 281 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 In one week a social secretary collected small sums 
 from the women to be deposited in the savings bank; 
 prevented a young woman from leaving the factory 
 by explaining to her the meaning of a medical order 
 which lost its offensiveness when clearly interpreted 
 to her ; gave lessons in hygiene ; settled a quarrel be- 
 tween two of the employees; advised a sick girl to 
 use milk instead of meat and persuaded another to 
 give up her tight corset; gave a list of books to some 
 who inquired about reading; taught a class in sew- 
 ing; helped to secure railway tickets for a girl so 
 that she could go home each night; aided several 
 employees to go to a hospital or to a convalescent 
 home. 
 
 "In a distinctly fashionable shop in Boston the 
 'store shoppers' who, unknown to the employers, 
 make purchases and report on the treatment re- 
 ceived, commented on the barbarous English used 
 by many of the girls, a thing naturally distasteful 
 to a fashionable class of customers. This is an ex- 
 ample of the small problems of the social secretary. 
 She was expected to bring reform, an obviously fear- 
 some thing to attempt with superstitious salesladies. 
 In this store the department heads occasionally give 
 short talks on business subjects to the employees. 
 Thus, without arousing resentment. It was possible 
 to bring in a humorous lecturer to launch the gram- 
 mar crusade. He gave a witty character monologue 
 on 'The Funny Things in Business,' dwelling par- 
 ticularly upon the grammatical errors and solecisms 
 he had frequently heard. There were many of them, 
 
 282 
 
Welfare Work 
 
 such as, 'We ain't kept them goods yet, ma'am.' 
 His hearers were convulsed with laughter, the les- 
 son had been driven home without one of them be- 
 ing offended. The way thus paved, the social sec- 
 retary presently introduced weekly half-hour les- 
 sons in simplified business phrases such as are con- 
 stantly required in department-store transactions. 
 Subsequently, the scheme was expanded to take in 
 lessons in writing, deportment, etc." ^ 
 
 The direction of "welfare" plans must be made 
 an organic part of the organization and adminis- 
 tration of the business as a whole. Someone has 
 drawn up this scheme of the services of a business en- 
 terprise: 
 
 "Good organization, prevention of trouble, in- 
 cluding industrial, audits, consultation, legislative 
 counsel, arbitration proceedings; formulating em- 
 ployees' demands and employers' demands; factory 
 and store hygiene reports; safety reports; reports 
 on employment departments and sources of labor 
 supply, on selection, training and education of work- 
 ers in factories and stores, in civil service methods 
 in factories, stores, railroads; promotion plans; re- 
 ports on living-wage plans, profit-sharing plans, pen- 
 sion and insurance plans, wages and cost of living, 
 minimum wage, welfare work; reports on costs, 
 waste management of efficiency work, inspection 
 methods, reorganization; reports on relations 
 among the personnel; installation of records of in- 
 
 1 J. S. Lopez : "The Social Secretary," Harper's Weekly, 
 Mar. 9, 1912, p. 11. 
 
 283 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 dustrial relations; reports on management-sharing 
 plans, committee systems, joint boards, trade agree- 
 ments, facilities for industrial education and training, 
 housing, surveys in connection with city and common- 
 wealth planning." 
 
 While this scheme is drawn up for an association 
 of managers, it is just such a plan as would have to 
 be considered by any wide-awake modern business 
 corporation. It shows clearly that no one "social 
 engineer" could ever master and direct such an or- 
 ganization alone; and that the general policy and 
 many details must be decided upon specialist advice 
 by persons in authority in the corporation or firm. 
 
 The Ideals of the "Capitalist Managers." — The 
 editors of Concordia ^ help us to see ourselves 
 as others, especially Germans, see us, in a critical ar- 
 ticle on the American "Taylor" system of efficiency. 
 
 "We can recognize at once the entirely sober, prac- 
 tical and business thinking of the American. The 
 special inducements of the employers are to him 
 nothing more than means of attracting the workman 
 and of stimulating him to work. In this journal we 
 need not once more represent to our readers that 
 the entire welfare system of industrial branches, at 
 least according to the German view, has a much 
 deeper meaning; that in this movement another de- 
 cisive factor is the endeavor to maintain a steady, 
 skillful stock of operatives who take satisfaction in 
 work; and that before all else the idea of community 
 in labor, mutual help, support of the weak, and, 
 * Concordia, Berlin, June i, 1914. 
 284 
 
Welfare Work 
 
 in other words, that higher ethical principles are es- 
 sential and controlling considerations. It cannot be 
 asserted that all this would disappear with the task 
 system. When we survey the entire significance of 
 this system, we should exactly here, where the most 
 intensive increase of work speed is sought, not fail to 
 urge those higher requirements, since then especially 
 man as personality must be set in apposition to the 
 American conception of man as a machine." 
 
 That is not pleasant reading for a lover of the 
 Union; it is an exceedingly unpalatable dose, and it 
 is by no means exceptional in German criticisms of 
 American industrial morality. It is not altogether a 
 fair characterization of us to say, as German writers 
 often do, that we are "worshipers of the almighty 
 Dollar," and care nothing for working people. The 
 Socialists of Germany might be quoted to show that 
 the employers there are not all as tender as St. Fran- 
 cis and as just as Solomon. But we can afford to 
 forego a stinging reply and extract from the bitter 
 fruit its wholesome lesson and try to mend our ways. 
 Just because at present the ideals of the capitalist 
 managers are backed by the greatest financial re- 
 sources and the most concentrated social and politi- 
 cal influence is it of supreme national moment that 
 they guide us as a people in the right direction. 
 
 Educating Business Managers in Social Politics. — 
 Evidently the initiation and administration of "wel- 
 fare work" lie ultimately in the hands of those who 
 control and direct capital. They cannot farm out 
 to others any, even the slightest, responsibility, ex- 
 
 285 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 cept in matters of special details. The engineering 
 schools and the higher schools of business must rec- 
 ognize that men are not educated for business simply 
 by being trained in the technique and mechanics of 
 their line of industry or commerce. In our age the 
 most vital and the most complex problems have to 
 do with the management of large groups of men 
 whose interests and ideals are facts as solid as the 
 rate of interest, the law of Gresham, or the resistance 
 quality of metal or wood. The study of "social poli- 
 tics," in the largest sense of the word, must be part 
 of the preparation of all ambitious young business 
 men. Not even a study of law will be sufficient; for 
 law expresses the judgment of men on conditions 
 which have largely passed away, while many of our 
 problems have to do with swift adjustment to new 
 situations. Many of the best devices for improving 
 physical, economic and spiritual welfare could never 
 be required by a statute. There are three principal 
 factors in successful business management: mastery 
 of the technique of the industry, mastery of the tech- 
 nique of the market and ability to get on with the 
 workmen on a basis of humanity and justice. It is 
 impossible to say which is more important. The pub- 
 lic is more sensitive than formerly to abuse? of power 
 in industry and commerce, and adjustment of busi- 
 ness to the moral demands of the nation, partly ex- 
 pressed in social legislation, becomes increasingly 
 necessary as a condition of success. But there is a 
 further consideration which weighs heavily with a 
 strong man of the highest class — they desire to be 
 
 286 
 
Welfare Work 
 
 good citizens, they have ideals of service, and wish 
 to be counted with Abu Ben Adhem "as one who 
 served his fellow-men." Fortunately for themselves 
 and the world this idealistic vision has become a dom- 
 inant factor in the lives of many of the worthiest 
 representatives of the capitalist manager group. 
 "May their tribe increase"! 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 MORAL AND RELIGIOUS INFLUENCES 
 
 The first Cooperative Safety Congress met at 
 Milwaukee in 19 12; it was called by the Associa- 
 tion of Iron and Steel Electrical Engineers and in 
 it were represented not only the state and federal 
 governments, but also great corporations, insurance 
 companies and students of social politics in the large 
 sense. The Chairman, Dr. Lucian W. Chaney, De- 
 partment of Commerce and Labor, at the first mo- 
 ment said: "I wish to impress upon those present 
 that the effort in which we have entered is distinctly 
 a phase of applied Christianity; and therefore it is 
 exceedingly appropriate that we invite Dr. Steiner, 
 Professor of Applied Christianity in Grinnell Col- 
 lege, to offer a word of prayer as we begin." In 
 this prayer these thoughts are expressed: "May 
 our consideration of the safety of labor and the 
 toiler be rewarded by a higher respect for human- 
 ity as a whole, a greater regard for law, a purer 
 and deeper and higher patriotism. May it (the 
 work) be as solemn as it is sacred, and may it be 
 as useful as we try to mgj^e it holy. We ask it all 
 in the Master's name, who gave himself for the 
 good oi men." 
 
 288 
 
Moral and Religious Influences 
 
 THE MORAL STANDARDS IN INDUSTRY AND ITS 
 ADMINISTRATION 
 
 The mental confusion of conflicting ethical stand- 
 ards is a tragical phenomenon of our times; and 
 until agreement can be reached on matters of prin- 
 ciple, the very conscience of men will induce them 
 to fight for what they believe is right, though it is 
 anti-social. Moral beliefs and judgments as to 
 rights and duties are profoundly influenced by expe- 
 rience, by contact with the hard realities of the 
 everlasting struggle for existence and for power. 
 Attention has often been called to the persistence 
 down into our own times of "tribal morality" ; that 
 is the recognition of the rights of persons who be- 
 long to a certain group or race, while all outside 
 that circle are aliens and enemies without rights. 
 
 The mischief of this "tribal morality" is that it 
 is mostly below the threshold of consciousness, a 
 submarine torpedo, a deadly floating mine in the 
 path of travel. We live in such restricted groups 
 that we know comparatively little of the inner stand- 
 ards of near neighbors until an explosion occurs. We 
 may be able to see the mote in our neighbor's eye and 
 not discern the beam in our own. We may soon look 
 down with pity or contempt upon the "class con- 
 sciousness" of a supposedly inferior class and never 
 suspect, even at church, that our own bigotry is hid- 
 ing our narrowness from ourselves. It must be a 
 shrewd father confessor, well trained in social psy- 
 chology, who can aid his penitent to discover when 
 
 289 
 
Citizens in Industry- 
 
 he has transgressed, when the very standards of right 
 and wrong are so widely apart. 
 
 There is need of patience and teaching, in rela- 
 tion to trade unions.^ "Deceit and fraud are always 
 sanctioned by the folk-custom of persecuted or op- 
 pressed groups, because it is by these means only 
 that they are fitted to survive the uncontrolled domi- 
 nation of a master race." 
 
 This same tribal morality is found in shops. 
 Among the unorganized laborers it takes the form 
 of deceit and pretense; among the organized it may 
 assume the shape of sabotage against employers and 
 of club "persuasion" of "scabs." Examples of this 
 tribal morality are given by employers. "Com- 
 plaints came from our men (non-union) that they 
 were being abused. Hot rivets were being dropped 
 on them; monkey wrenches and like objects were 
 dropped on them from above, all claiming to be 
 accidental. When they were remonstrated with a 
 fight ensued, and twelve or thirteen of our men were 
 sent to a hospital." The business agent was known 
 to be a crook, yet he was retained in office by the 
 union. Later the union broke its agreement; men 
 were called out on flimsy pretexts and the superin- 
 tendent was attacked by a riotous mob and badly in- 
 jured. The output was lowered 36 per cent.* 
 
 Is there any remedy? Making the trade unions 
 responsible in their funds by incorporation has gen- 
 
 ^ Page : Trade Morals, p. 191. 
 
 ^ Mr. Piez : Testimony before the Industrial Commission, 
 1914. 
 
 290 
 
Moral and Religious Influences 
 
 erally been proposed by employers. The trade 
 unions refuse this because they do not trust the 
 courts. This would at best be a superficial remedy, 
 of doubtful efficiency so long as the present creed of 
 unions persists. That creed has been produced by 
 their subjection to capitalistic management; they see 
 no other way to protect themselves, to survive, ex- 
 cept through deceit and sabotage, or by organizing 
 a military government over against the state. The 
 only way to change the creed is to remove its cause; 
 when working people see and feel that they have a 
 legal right to an impartial hearing, and are no 
 longer under a domination which will not tolerate 
 open discussion by their own representatives, the 
 tribal morality will slowly yield to that permitted by 
 a higher morality, that of free men in a democratic 
 nation. They cling to the union in spite of the heavy 
 dues, the severe discipline, financial burden, and im- 
 moral methods, because, in the matter of wages, they 
 have no other mode of securing quasi-public repre- 
 sentation. So long as capitalistic managers deny 
 that their own rule is absolute and arbitrary, no mat- 
 ter how philanthropic their intentions and feelings — 
 so long there will be no prospect of national morality 
 replacing tribal morality, in the hearts of the wage- 
 earners. 
 
 Mr. John H. Walker, a labor leader, explained 
 industrial unrest by what he called "the double 
 standard." "A workingman is expected to do a fair 
 day's work for a fair day's pay — to work at least 
 eight hours a day and not to demand more than is 
 
 291 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 sufficient for him to maintain himself decently. No 
 such restriction is placed upon the value of a business 
 man's or employer's services. He is expected to get 
 as much money as he can and the more he gets the 
 more credit he receives. Workers feel this either 
 consciously or unconsciously, and it gives them a 
 sense of injustice. They feel they are nonentities 
 and only so many tools, with no consideration ac- 
 corded them, and that they must submit to the ca- 
 price of the other side as to whether they shall have 
 a living at all." 
 
 Under such conditions the open shop is not a work- 
 place ; it is only a newly fortified trench for another 
 battle. 
 
 The significance of tribal morality for our discus- 
 sion lies in the fact that in and through welfare work 
 the managers of industry have a chance gradually to 
 experiment with the earlier stages of approach to a 
 real democracy in industry which alone can supply 
 tuition in the higher social morality. While men 
 wait and hesitate Socialism lurks at the door.^ 
 
 Religion: Dangers and Obstacles. — In a homoge- 
 neous community, where a state church is at least 
 passively accepted by the people of the neighbor- 
 hood, the patriarchal patron may encounter no op- 
 position in providing moral and spiritual agencies 
 for those who are in his employment. It may be 
 taken as a matter of course when he provides a 
 chapel, supports a minister and offers ethical guid- 
 ance at his own cost. But this idyllic condition is 
 
 iPage: Trade Morals, p. 211. 
 292 
 
Moral and Religious Influences 
 
 now rare in Europe and America ; and generally the 
 adult workmen resent any attempt on the part of 
 their employers to interfere with their spiritual life 
 or to direct their morals. Many urban workmen de- 
 test what they regard as the moral standards of 
 capitalists and their representatives in respect to in- 
 dustrial relations. In our American cities we have 
 a composite crowd of men of all creeds and of none : 
 families of all tongues who have at least one thing 
 in common — they cannot understand a service con- 
 ducted in English. 
 
 The antagonisms of economic strife are also likely 
 to cause men to look with a degree of suspicion on 
 any doctrine which is favored by the managers. The 
 employee is often ready to expect some doctrine 
 which teaches passive obedience while he is strug- 
 gling for his rights and interests ; and he is inclined 
 to Imagine, when he hears of the joys of Heaven, 
 that it is an attempt to divert his attention from col- 
 lective bargaining for higher income in this world. 
 
 It must be obvious that the supreme factor in ex- 
 ercising moral and religious influence with employ- 
 ees Is the character and conduct of the employer who 
 professes to hold to a high moral and religious 
 standard. It is of course essential to a wholesome in- 
 fluence that the employer give evidence of trying to 
 live up to the current moral standards; that he be 
 sober, decent, clean, just, kind and good to his fam- 
 ily and neighbors. 
 
 But of late it has become clear to many working- 
 men that an employer may exhibit all the traditional 
 
 393 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 and conventional virtues required by the church and 
 yet be to them practically a bad man. He may pay 
 "good wages," have a clean shop or mill, require no 
 more than legal hours of labor, and yet he may rep- 
 resent to them a hard tyranny, a barrier to their 
 progress, a destroyer of their hopes. The more 
 sensible, logical, and instructed among them, espe- 
 cially if they have imbibed the fundamental ideas 
 of Socialism, may not feel direct personal hatred 
 against an Individual capitalist manager; they will 
 say that he is just as much a dupe and slave of the 
 present system as they are. They know that the 
 most powerful corporation cannot at once escape 
 from complicity with conditions which wreck health 
 and reward those who do the hardest labor with a 
 pittance and then cast them Into the rubbish heap 
 when they are injured or aged. The new moral re- 
 quirement is that an employer give evidence that he 
 is not only trying to do the best he can for his em- 
 ployees under present conditions, but that he is 
 helping them change the system itself to make a 
 higher morality possible. And here, in the present 
 state of divided class opinion, agreement is prac- 
 tically hopeless, although it may be possible to secure 
 a better understanding of the exact points at issue! 
 Gratitude is not always to be expected. Misun- 
 derstandings are inevitable; and therefore the re- 
 sponsible manager of a great concern must base his 
 sense of duty on some deeper, broader and more 
 durable foundation than expectation of grateful rec- 
 ognition. Many an employer, starting with the 
 
 294 
 
Moral and Religious Influences 
 
 hope of winning the pleased appreciation of those 
 whom he sought to benefit, has been painfully dis- 
 illusioned, and has given up his high project, on 
 which he was ready to spend much money, with dis- 
 gust, and a firm determination ever after to "do 
 business on business principles" — whatever that may 
 mean — and leave philanthropy and religion to 
 dreamers. Deeper reflection may temper this harsh 
 conclusion, and the profound study of social evo- 
 lution may explain to the philosophic mind that an- 
 tagonism in social creeds arises inevitably from eco- 
 nomic class struggle for a larger share of the profits. 
 Only as we see that the spiritual values are In the 
 calm places at ocean depths below these surface 
 waves, can we retain equanimity and promote the 
 eternal interests, whatever may happen in our time. 
 
 The wisest employers know well that their duty 
 should be determined by their own convictions and 
 ability, not by the accidental element of appreciation 
 by others. Martyrs in both science and religion have 
 had bread to eat which the multitude could not dis- 
 cover; if they had waited for thanks, praise or gold, 
 the world would have been poorer. But time reveals 
 all that is genuine ; and the honest man, however mis- 
 understood, has "light in his own clear breast" and 
 does his duty whether those for whom he strives 
 praise or blame. Little as some wage-earners believe 
 it, there are rich men who are also men of conscience ; 
 neither hypocrisy nor nobility is bounded by eco- 
 nomic class lines. , 
 
 Simply on grounds of efficiency in method the offer 
 
 295 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 of spiritual service must take on democratic form 
 to be useful and acceptable. If a rich man wishes to 
 build a church or establish a lectureship it must be 
 done as a member of the community, not as a mark 
 of overlordship. Many a time the artisans have 
 left the fine church empty and assembled within bare 
 walls in order to worship with free and sincere souls. 
 
 Ability defines responsibility; control of some of 
 the conditions of physical and soul life lies with the 
 employer, whether individual capitalist or corpora- 
 tion, and with control goes corresponding duty. We 
 may note here some of the ways in which employers 
 have made an effort to meet the requirements of 
 their position. 
 
 Libraries. — The library may be made one of the 
 most attractive, popular and persuasive agencies of 
 forming good character. It occupies a considerable 
 place in many "welfare" schemes, both in Europe 
 and America. Its advantage lies in the fact that it 
 is impersonal, unobtrusive, does not demand a con- 
 fession of sin from its patrons, nor administer to 
 them a rule of penance nor require subscription to a 
 creed. Its disadvantage is that it does not offer per- 
 sonal friendship, sociable interplay of thought and 
 emotion, or any form of outward activity. A taste 
 for good reading must be acquired, and books are 
 by no means a source of joy to the primitive man. 
 In spite of their limitations "good books are the life 
 blood of master spirits" and, once invited to ac- 
 quaintanceship, they are among the noblest allies 
 of virtue and faith. 
 
 296 
 
Moral and Religious Influences 
 
 Protection of Girls in Work-places. — The protec- 
 tion of girls in shops and mercantile establishments 
 is a serious duty of employers, one which cannot well 
 be fixed by statute. In some stores women are re- 
 quired to leave the place in the evening by the front 
 door in order to avoid a dark street and start on 
 their way home in a lighted and protected highway. 
 Detectives are sometimes employed to mark, and 
 punish lewd fellows of the baser sort who are always 
 watching for a prey to their lust. 
 
 Since floor-walkers and foremen have been known 
 to make improper advances to girls the rule has been 
 announced by certain employers that the girls can 
 come directly to the head office if they have difficul- 
 ties or desire to present complaints. 
 
 An efficient woman social secretary is a good pro- 
 tector of girls, and they are more apt to lay their 
 grievances before her than before a man. Such a 
 social secretary should be a woman who has brought 
 up daughters of her own and has had wide life ex- 
 perience. 
 
 Farming Out the Task. — Some of the largest cor- 
 porations in the United States have gone about the 
 work of providing spiritual influences by subsidizing 
 the Y. M. C. A., and, in a few cases, the Y. W. C. A., 
 where girls and women were concerned. The ad- 
 vantages of this course are obvious. These associa- 
 tions have developed a marvelous organization and 
 technique; they have recruited and trained a loyal, 
 enthusiastic and able corps of agents who know 
 what to do ; they are undenominational and respect- 
 
 297 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 ful toward those who hold different creeds or none. 
 They have a genial spirit and seek to satisfy all sorts 
 of legitimate wants, whether they are labeled "re- 
 ligious" or not. They do not annoy, nor threaten, 
 nor tease patrons and members. They make the dis- 
 tinctly religious services as attractive and helpful 
 as possible, but do not make other enjoyments of 
 their privileges depend on attendance at prayer- 
 meetings; so that persons who reject their creed can 
 enjoy their tennis grounds and swimming pools. 
 
 These advantages have been discussed and ap- 
 preciated by many railway and other companies who 
 have spent the money of stockholders to establish 
 and maintain the Y. M. C. A., on the ground that 
 whatever helps character and conduct Increases In- 
 dustrial efficiency and hence enlarges dividends. 
 Very able business men believe that this is a paying 
 investment. This is not the highest motive, but it 
 answers the purpose of providing funds, and justi- 
 fying expenditures with stockholders. 
 
 Not only labor leaders but employers have often 
 entered Into friendly cooperation with the representa- 
 tives of the Association. More than 300 associa- 
 tions serve thousands of Immigrants every year; they 
 meet Immigration trains, guide men to their friends, 
 protect them from exploitation, find employment 
 for them, take them to good boarding houses and 
 attract them to ways of honesty and clean living. 
 These immigrants are gathered into naturalization 
 classes, taught the rights and obligations of citizen- 
 ship, helped to take out their papers. In one recent 
 
 298 
 
Moral and Religious Influences 
 
 ^^^— ' I— ^— ^^^^^^— — M I H I^ ■■■II I 11 IMI— ^^^^— ^ M ill I M ^^^— ^^— 
 
 year more than 1500 teachers were employed to 
 teach foreigners in 1,221 classes, and these teachers 
 were, for the most part, unpaid volunteers who were 
 ready to serve their fellow-men, their country and 
 their God. Nearly 200,000 men were brought into 
 halls, schools, vestries, social centers to listen to 
 lectures upon topics of interest to industrial work- 
 ers, such as : the discovery of America, independence, 
 naturalization, patriotism, the life of Christ, the 
 life of Lincoln, of Franklin, of Washington, or in- 
 dustries of the United States. 
 
 Colleges, universities and technical schools have 
 enlisted in this service. Probably more than 3,500 
 undergraduates are teaching 60,000 workingmen and 
 boys each week in definite constructive service, while 
 3,000 graduates are promoting the movement. "In 
 one college town through the entire winter, the son 
 of a railway magnate who has 25,000 men under 
 him, taught a group of foreign laborers in one of 
 the worst districts of the city." These students will 
 in a few years be leaders In commerce, captains of 
 industry, legal advisers, members of legislatures, of- 
 ficials of public administration, and they will be 
 prepared for intelligent sympathy with working peo- 
 ple; they will know how to manage men with less 
 friction and better mutual understanding. 
 
 Naturally these students try to help the working 
 boys and men in the line of their present needs, 
 holding educational classes in English, mathematics, 
 mechanics, drawing, plan-reading, first aid to the 
 sick and injured; but also leading in factory games 
 
 299 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 and sports; organizing and conducting boys' edu- 
 cational, social, dramatic and athletic clubs, Boy 
 Scout patrols of factory apprentices, work of Big 
 Brothers for lads with wayward tendencies, camps 
 and "hikes" in the country for Sunday outings in 
 the summer.^ 
 
 Naturally religious young men will by work and 
 deed influence the beliefs, ideals, character and con- 
 duct of these thousands of boys and men whom they 
 serve. It is difficult to see how employers desiring 
 to help the higher life of the employees can find a 
 better agency for the purpose. 
 
 Methods of Y. M. C. A.: in Camps. — Some con- 
 crete illustrations will make clear the essential char- 
 acter of this service.^ 
 
 The man who introduces welfare work for the 
 sole purpose of preventing labor disputes will prob- 
 ably be somewhat disappointed. Real welfare work 
 belongs to "love" more than to "expediency." Yet, 
 men are not wholly lacking in the industrial world 
 who are willing to spend a few hundreds of dol- 
 lars in a generous way to keep down discontent 
 that might cost them a ten per cent, increase in 
 wages. 
 
 ^ Particulars will be furnished by addressing Secretary, 
 Industrial Service Movement, Y. M. C. A., 124 East 28th 
 St., New York City. 
 
 ^ Truman S. Vance ( former Industrial Secretary, Inter- 
 national Committee, Y. M. C. A., Warrenton, Va.) : Article 
 entitled "Welfare Work as a Way to Prevent Labor Dis- 
 putes" in Annals of the American Academy, Sept., 1910, 
 127 ff. 
 
 300 
 
Moral and Religious Influences 
 
 In the case of the WInifrede Coal Company, em- 
 ploying nearly a thousand men at Winifrede, West 
 Virginia, the welfare work done by the association 
 helped the company in many ways in their dealing 
 with their employees. The fact that the company 
 officials seemed really interested in the men for their 
 own good had weight with the men in time of pend- 
 ing strikes, etc. In 1893 a serious strike was averted 
 when the men with nearly all the surrounding com- 
 panies had struck. 
 
 "The causes of labor disputes are often as imag- 
 inary as real. Without doubt there are numberless 
 cases of unfair division of profits, wages, on one 
 hand, and dividends on the other, being out of pro- 
 portion to the service rendered; or conditions and 
 surroundings of the workers may be needlessly bad. 
 But often workers waste their wages in dissipation 
 and are rendered surly and discontented by the 
 thought that years of labor have left them nothing 
 the gainer in anything. The welfare work done 
 by the Young Men's and Young Women's Christian 
 Associations in industrial fields wisely lets alone the 
 question of wages and dividends and confines their 
 work to the betterment of morals and environment. 
 While I was employed looking after some cotton- 
 mill work in the South, there came to me confidential 
 reports of a marvelous work being done in some con- 
 struction camps along the line of the Chicago, Mil- 
 waukee and St. Paul Railroad extension to Seattle. 
 . . . The first point where work was taken up was 
 at Pontis, South Dakota, where some five hundred 
 
 301 
 
Citizens In Industry 
 
 men were building a $2,000,000 bridge over the Mis- 
 souri River. Every bunkhouse was full to overflow- 
 ing and many sleeping in box cars ; but the company 
 agreed to send up an old passenger coach to be used 
 for Y. M. C. A. purposes. Allow me to quote from 
 International Secretary Day's Report: 'I found 
 there was no one In charge of mail for the camp, 
 and as a consequence it was brought from the little 
 post-ofEce at Flora, two miles away, at irregular in- 
 tervals and dumped onto the counter, where were 
 sold tobacco, overalls, etc., with the result that in 
 such a promiscuous mess It was a common occur- 
 rence to have letters lost, or the envelopes worn out 
 before they reached the owner. Then, too, it was 
 impossible for anyone to register a letter, or secure 
 a draft from the bank at Mobridge, which was the 
 only way for them to send money home, without 
 losing a half-day's work. So I suggested to Mr. 
 Morrison that he Immediately take charge of the 
 mail in the camp, build pigeon-holes for the letters 
 and provide boxes for paper, etc., and also offer to 
 register letters for the men and provide them with 
 postage or other conveniences. We also got out 
 immediately a large quantity of letterheads and 
 stocked up with pens, Ink, etc., and provided every 
 bunkhouse with suitable writing materials and urged 
 the men to write letters home, offering to mail them 
 twice a day. The effect of this was that even the 
 foreigners who could not understand our language 
 could understand our kindness, and they felt kindly 
 toward Mr. Morrison. The result of this work 
 
 302 
 
Moral and Religious Influences 
 
 was that the number of letters written home in- 
 creased threefold immediately.' 
 
 "One of the worst evils in these camps is the 
 cashing of pay checks in the saloons. This is a 
 great convenience to the men, because they cannot 
 go to town and get their checks cashed without los- 
 ing a half-day's work. The result is, that they go to 
 these places after work is over, and the saloons al- 
 ways make it a business to have money on hand for 
 cashing these checks ; they invariably get a consider- 
 able part of it back in the drinks, gambling and other 
 evils which are found in such places. I was able 
 to induce the banker to send the money to the 
 Y. M. C. A. car on the condition that the Y. M. 
 C. A. Secretary guard the money, for it is a risky 
 thing to carry money three miles in a buggy in that 
 country where every man is a law unto himself. At 
 the appointed hour Morrison appeared at the bank 
 mounted on a 'calico' broncho with a six-shooter in 
 his belt, escorted the money to the camp, where 
 he guarded it while it was being paid out ; at the same 
 time he urged each man as he received his money to 
 deposit a part of it with the banker ; and as a result 
 over $2,000 was put back into the banker's hands 
 to the credit of those hard-working men, making 
 over $8,000 which these men have been induced to 
 save or send home in three months that Morrison 
 has been there, four times as much as they would 
 have saved before. It had been customary there 
 for several months to have at least fifty drunken 
 men in the camp immediately following pajr day, 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 and it was an established rule that the cooks would 
 get drunk. The first time the checks were cashed 
 by the Y. M. C. A. there were but two drunken men 
 in the camp and none of the cooks were drunk, much 
 to the surprise of the management, and I imagine to 
 the disappointment of the saloons at Mobridge." 
 
 The Church. — The most economical and accept- 
 able assistance to church work is a contribution of 
 land, buildings or money to the religious organiza- 
 tions to which the employees and their families are 
 attached, but proselyting investments pay meager 
 dividends. 
 
 In this chapter no attempt will be made to dem- 
 onstrate the reasonable and high value of religion 
 and of the church ; the arguments and evidence have 
 often been presented in cogent and attractive form. 
 We venture to assume a degree of interest in the 
 subject for its own sake. 
 
 Religion cannot be "proved" to have value; that 
 is to say, one cannot know the subjective worth of 
 an experience except by living in that experience for 
 himself. This is true of the enjoyment of music, 
 poetry, painting, architecture and scientific pursuits, 
 of morality, as well as of religion. The only 
 "proof" of the value of any of those interests is by 
 living personally the life of the artist, amateur, or 
 investigator, and then doubt becomes impossible. 
 Some of the external and social consequences of 
 morals, art and religion, on the other hand, may be 
 observed by an indifferent outsider; and something 
 is due to the testimony of honest souls. Supersti- 
 
 304 
 
Moral and Religious Influences 
 
 tion may be mixed up with very precious, sacred and 
 noble feelings; but the man of discernment will not 
 scorn the sense of reverence and devotion to ideals 
 because It expresses Itself in symbols which to the 
 critic are meaningless. 
 
 Taking our immigrant working people as they 
 come to us, we may think them a horde of bigoted 
 aliens, and they are likely to regard our ecclesiastical 
 buildings, rites and creeds as detestable. But they 
 love the ancient church in which their ancestors lived 
 and died, the church which consecrated the infants 
 when they were born, consoled the sorrowful, sol- 
 emnized their marriages, and pierced the gloom of 
 death with illuminating hopes. Superstitions and 
 prejudices will gradually melt away in the light of 
 knowledge. Sympathies will soon broaden with en- 
 larged experience, especially if the Immigrants are 
 treated like human beings and become accustomed 
 to justice and fair dealing. But the deep roots of 
 their morality and good citizenship must not be ruth- 
 lessly torn up by proselytism, ridicule or scorn. We 
 must learn to look beneath the surface and discern 
 the reality, the spiritual essence of the faith of the 
 aliens. If we have the means to do so, we may help 
 them to build their sanctuaries and support their 
 priests and parochial schools. Time and community 
 contacts will soften the antagonisms and prejudices. 
 The newspaper, theater, conversation, political dis- 
 cussions, trade-union movements, personal acquaint- 
 ance, will open their minds to'' new Ideas. Truth 
 will make Its own way. 
 
 305 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 Men's souls are narrow; let them grow; 
 My brothers, we must wait. 
 
 The justly famous Robert Owen, with all his sa- 
 gacity and undoubted goodwill, failed to meet the 
 religious needs of his employees because he lacked 
 the historic sense and adequate imagination; he 
 thought that he could make a brand-new liturgy 
 which was better than evolution had produced; and 
 that the people would instantly see the rationality 
 of his simpler ethical creed. His plans were wrecked 
 on a conception of human nature which had no jus- 
 tification in experience. Churches are growths, not 
 manufactured articles. And the man of means who 
 wishes to help the spiritual and moral life of the 
 community must take what the ages have developed 
 and use it, rather than attempt to make a new insti- 
 tution on a pattern from his own fancy. Institutions 
 are stubborn; they have taken time to evolve and 
 they are not easily set aside. The wise leader 
 will get all the good possible out of the ancient and 
 sacred institutions and will modestly wait for the 
 slow but sure transformations wrought by the ad- 
 vance of science, criticism, and education. This is 
 not only the most effective plan but it is also the 
 cheapest, because it utihzes what the ages have of- 
 fered ready made. The ecclesiastical plant is a free 
 gift of the past; the holy influence of memory and 
 reverence for the honored dead, of forefathers and 
 country, of poetry and music, is something that can- 
 not be extemporized. There is also the problem of 
 
 306 
 
Moral and Religious Influences 
 
 recruiting, selecting, educating and disciplining the 
 pastors. Under present circumstances this requires 
 the cooperation of organized and responsible eccle- 
 siastical authorities who can vouch for the character 
 and acquired qualifications of members of the minis- 
 terial profession. The people will hardly trust free 
 lances in the intimate personal relations of soul cure. 
 For this reason it is unsafe to ignore the historic in- 
 stitutions of the land and age and set up a merely 
 local and personal establishment which must of ne- 
 cessity bear the marks of individual caprice. 
 
 Many of us would be glad to see all the churches 
 in each community consolidated into one system. 
 This would conform to the modern business tend- 
 ency to close up the little shops which do not pay 
 expenses and combine capital and labor in great es- 
 tablishments provided with the best modern machin- 
 ery and directed by the most capable superintendents. 
 Apparently the drift of ecclesiastical life is in this 
 direction, but it is a dignified and tedious glacial 
 drift. The great Protestant denominations are grad- 
 ually absorbing the smaller bodies which are akin, 
 and union churches or federations are bringing mem- 
 bers of various confessions into some kind of co- 
 operative organization for practical ends. The 
 charity organization societies, with their central reg- 
 istration, act as a clearing house for all benevolent 
 individuals and churches. The Y. M. C. A. and the 
 Y. W. C. A. serve as common instruments by which 
 all the Protestant churches serve the spiritual needs 
 of youth. The mother church of Rome is already an 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 international "trust" of religious forces, and asks 
 no advice from the "sects." He would be an auda- 
 cious prophet who would venture to predict how 
 rapidly this process of consolidation may be carried 
 during the next generation. If anyone is disposed to 
 be too optimistic about the death of sectarianism 
 his boldness may cool at the intrusion of new pes- 
 tiferous dissenters disturbing the peace in the camp 
 of the unionists. Evidently the human mind is ever 
 brooding a nest of "isms," "lest one good custom 
 should corrupt the world." At any rate we must, 
 to be practical, trust to evolution for future combina- 
 tions, while we make the best use possible of the 
 sorry mess of sectarianism which our pious ancestors 
 bequeathed to us along with religion itself. Salted 
 with saving good humor the situation is not wholly 
 bad. Theology, like politics and law, economics 
 and medicine, seems to create schools as the most 
 available method of securing progress. The only 
 entirely quiet place, where all can lie down undis- 
 turbed by differences of creed, is the last resort of 
 mortals — the graveyard. Few of us prefer that snug 
 harbor to the turbulent but iuteresting world where 
 nearly everything we value is challenged by some 
 differing soul. 
 
 A Universalist merchant of our acquaintance once 
 contributed to a rather narrowly orthodox church in 
 our town, because his wife was a member and be- 
 cause, he said, the members really seemed to feel 
 they could not be good citizens without fear of hell, 
 and he was interested in upholding morality in a 
 
 308 
 
Moral and Religious Influences 
 
 town where he had Investments. He was gracious 
 enough to admit also that they were reliable neigh- 
 bors, although not as liberal as he liked. 
 
 The Protestant manufacturer who employs many 
 Catholics is entirely logical if he assists the good 
 priest to build a beautiful sanctuary for the rites 
 which are associated in their minds with all good- 
 ness, purity and hope, although he himself agrees 
 with them only in some fundamentals of faith and 
 virtue. Observation demonstrates that men must 
 be helped In their own way, and that it is better to 
 outgrow a superstition than to have it rudely 
 snatched away by a hasty hand. A man who Is 
 large enough to be an employer of men ought to 
 be liberal enough to help men save their souls in 
 their own fashion. This is the principle actually 
 adopted by the most sagacious employers. They 
 know that the churches are necessary institutions; 
 that they have not been created by priests but have 
 grown out of human needs and experiences; and 
 that beneath the external differences a common life 
 is growing and will assert Itself some day in a 
 higher unity than anyone can now foresee. What 
 human nature has evolved to satisfy its deepest 
 needs cannot be all bad; and what is false must 
 slowly dissolve, as morning fog, before the majestic 
 sun of science and education. Plant schools and 
 churches side by side, and the teacher will control 
 superstitions and the minister will enlarge horizons 
 even to infinity. 
 
 It is a wonderful fact that the great semi-pagan, 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 humanist, modernist poet, Goethe, brings his greatest 
 work, "Faust," to its close and climax with the pic- 
 ture of the happy retrospective survey of life's 
 career by a business man. Faust had been in the 
 course of a long life a student, a traveler, a philos- 
 opher, a sensualist, a dramatist, a ruler; had made 
 experiments with every form of pleasure ; but at the 
 summit of his earthly career he crowns his days by 
 transforming a salt desert into a fertile plain where 
 for ages to come happy toilers can earn an honest 
 living by cooperative labor. He makes the very 
 devil himself serve his high purpose; commands 
 him 
 
 Collect a crowd of men with vigor, 
 Spur by indulgence, praise, or rigor, 
 Reward, allure, conscript, compel! 
 Each day report me, and correctly note 
 How grown in length the undertaken moat. 
 
 What an image of the capitalist manager summon- 
 ing the bands of workmen to realize the vision and 
 plans of the practical man of affairs 1 He cannot 
 tolerate the stagnant pool in which nothing thrives. 
 
 This stagnant pool likewise to drain 
 Even now my latest and my best achieving. 
 To millions let me furnish soil, 
 Though not secure, yet free to active toil. 
 
 He conjures up the picture of the bold, industrious 
 race which will guard and mend his dyke and till the 
 fields under its protecting wall. 
 
 310 
 
Moral and Religious Influences 
 
 Up to the brink the tide may roar without, 
 
 And though it gnaw, to burst with force the limit, 
 
 By common impulse all unite to hem it. 
 
 This aged adventurer, eager In his last days, with 
 blindness and night coming on, to complete his work, 
 knows from experience that it is not desirable to 
 bequeath sloth to a people, but only a better oppor- 
 tunity for productive work, with better appliances. 
 
 Yes! to this thought I hold with firm persistence; 
 The last result of wisdom stamps it true : 
 He only earns his freedom and existence 
 Who daily conquers them anew. 
 
 As we read this mighty song of the modern poet, in- 
 spirer of a mighty people, we think of the American 
 Capitalist Manager, the most abused of all citi- 
 zens, often a colossal sinner, sometimes a cruel 
 criminal; but always full of imagination, a true poet 
 or maker, and often the benefactor of mankind on 
 a scale granted only to the men of such vast design 
 and unbroken courage. Only think what the great 
 leaders of the business world have recently achieved 
 — the railway system from Atlantic to Pacific, the 
 tunnels through mountains, the electric cables under 
 the oceans, the cotton and grain exchanges, the bank- 
 ing systems, the telegraph and telephone systems, 
 the hated but beneficent combinations of capital in 
 manufacture. of iron, steel, agricultural Implements, 
 textiles, and food products. And these are perma- 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 nent possessions of mankind. If ever Socialism ap- 
 propriates this magnificent apparatus, as it may in 
 the unknown future, its historians will be men of 
 science, and when the bitterness of battle has become 
 a memory their historians will be just, and they will 
 recognize the genius of these powerful business men 
 of our age. Will their salaried superintendents in 
 those coming times have the same vigor, inventive- 
 ness, audacity, persistence, courage? At any rate, 
 these works will remain, will be improved, we may 
 hope may be more humanized and socialized, and en- 
 joyed by countless millions. 
 
 And such a throng I fain would see, — 
 Stand on free soil among a people free! 
 Then dared I hail the moment fleeing: 
 "Ah, still delay — thou art so fair!" 
 The traces cannot, of mine earthly being, 
 In aeons perish, — they are there! — 
 In proud fore-feeling of such lofty bliss, 
 I now enjoy the highest moment — this! 
 
 Nor should we forget the mystical hope which fol- 
 lows this vision of earthly success in usefulness, 
 voiced in th? song of the angels as they bear up 
 through the higher atmosphere the immortal part 
 of Faust: 
 
 The noble Spirit now is free, 
 And saved from evil scheming; 
 Whoe'er aspires unweariedly 
 Is not beyond redeeming. 
 312 
 
Moral and Religious Influences 
 
 And if he feels the grace of Love 
 That from on high is given, 
 The Blessed Hosts, that wait above, 
 Shall welcome him to Heaven! 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 The following list of establishments, reported to have im- 
 portant welfare work, is not complete, although an earnest 
 effort has been made to secure the addresses of a consider- 
 able number of typical institutions in the most important in- 
 dustrial nations. Some firms and corporations are men- 
 tioned in the text which are not repeated here. 
 
 ENGLAND 
 
 BouRNViLLE. George Cadbury 
 
 London. Green, McAllen & Feilden, Ltd. 
 
 S. H. Johnson & Co., Engineering Works 
 
 South Metropolitan Gas Co. 
 
 Wellcome & Co., Chemists 
 Manchester. Westinghouse Co. 
 NoRTHWiCH. Brunner, Mond & Co., Mfrs. Alkali and 
 
 Soda 
 Oldham. Piatt Bros. 
 Port Sunlight. William H. Lever 
 Sheffield. Cutlers' Co. 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS 
 
 Maggiwerke. Mills in Germany, Switzerland, France and 
 Italy. ■ 
 
 3 IS! 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 HOLLAND 
 
 Agenta Park. J. C. Van Marken, Mfrs. Yeast & Spirits 
 Delft. Netherlands Yeast and Spirit Manufactory 
 
 UNITED STATES 
 
 Akron, Ohio. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. 
 Albany, N. Y. John G. Myers Co. 
 Allegheny, Pa. J. H. Heinz Co. 
 Ambridge, Pa. American Bridge Co. 
 Baltimore, Md. Consolidated Gas, Electric Light & 
 Power Co. 
 
 Reinle Salmon Co. 
 Bayonne, N. J. Tide Water Oil Co. 
 Bethlehem, Pa. Bethlehem Steel Co. 
 Beverly, Mass. United Shoe Machinery Co. 
 Boston, Mass. Boston Elevated Railway Co. 
 
 Edison Electric Illuminating Co. 
 
 William Filene's Sons Co. 
 
 Forbes Lithograph Co. 
 
 New England Telephone & Telegraph Co. 
 
 Thomas G. Plant Co. 
 
 Simplex Electrical Co. 
 
 United Shoe Machinery Co. 
 
 Walker & Pratt Mfg. Co. 
 Braddock, Pa. Carnegie Steel Works 
 Briarcliff Manor, N. Y. Briarclifl Farms 
 Brockton, Mass. W. L. Douglas Shoe Co. 
 Brooklyn, N. Y. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle 
 
 Edison Electric Illuminating Co. 
 
 Ironclad Manufacturing Co. 
 316 
 
Appendix 
 
 The Pilgrim Steam Laundry Co. 
 
 J. H. Williams & Co. 
 Buffalo, N. Y. F. N. Burt Co. 
 Chicago, III. Armour & Co. 
 
 Central Telephone Exchange 
 
 Chicago Telephone Co. 
 
 Commonwealth Edison Co. 
 
 Crane Elevator Co. 
 
 J. V. Farwell & Co.- 
 
 First National Bank of Chicago 
 
 Hart, Schaffner & Marx 
 
 Illinois Central Railroad Co. 
 
 International Harvester Co. 
 
 B. Kuppenheimer & Co. 
 
 Libby, McNeil & Libby 
 
 Marshall Field & Co. 
 
 Metropolitan Trust & Savings Bank 
 
 Montgomery Ward & Co. 
 
 Rand McNally & Co. 
 
 Richie Paper Box Co. 
 
 Sears, Roebuck & Co. 
 
 Southern Pacific Railroad Co. 
 
 Wholesale Clothiers' Association 
 Cambridge, Mass. The Riverside Press 
 Camden, N. J. C. How^ard Hunt Pen Co. 
 
 Hovirlandcroft & Sons Co. 
 
 Keystone Leather Co. 
 
 R. S. Wood & Co. 
 Canton, Ohio. Cleveland Axle Manufacturing Co. 
 Carlton Hill, N. J. Standard Bleachery Co. 
 Chambersburg, Pa. The Chambersburg Engineering 
 
 Co. 
 Cincinnati, Ohio. Cincinnati Milling Machine Co. 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 Continuation School 
 
 Co-operative High School 
 
 The Lodge & Shipley Machine Tool Co. 
 
 The Miller, DuBrul & Peter Manufacturing Co. 
 
 Procter & Gamble 
 Cleveland, O. Cleveland Clothing Factories 
 
 Cleveland Electric Illuminating Co. 
 
 Cleveland Foundry Co. 
 
 Cleveland Hardware Co. 
 
 Cleveland Telephone Co. 
 
 Cleveland Twist Drill Co. 
 
 Consolidated Street Railway Co. 
 
 The Joseph & Feiss Co. 
 
 Kelly Island Line & Transportation Co. 
 
 National Metal Trades Ass'n. 
 
 Sherwin-Williams Paint Co. 
 
 Technical High School 
 Cold Springs, N. Y. J. B. & J. M. Cornell Co. 
 Columbus, O. Kilbourne & Jacobs Manufacturing 
 
 Co. 
 Cumberland Mills, Me. S. D. Warren & Co. 
 Dayton, O. Lowe Bros. Co. 
 
 National Cash Register Co. 
 
 Thomas Manufacturing Co. 
 Denver, Colo. The Colorado Fuel & Iron Co. 
 
 The Daniels & Fisher Stores Co. 
 
 Denver City Tramway Co. 
 
 Denver Gas & Electric Light Co. 
 
 The A. T. Lewis & Son Dry Goods Co. 
 Detroit, Mich. Acme White Lead Color Works 
 
 Anderson Electric Car Co. 
 
 Burroughs Adding Machine Co. 
 
 Ford Automobile Co. 
 
Appendix 
 
 Parke, Davis & Co. 
 
 United States Steel Co. 
 Dover, N. J. H. S. Peters 
 DuQuoiN, III. Majestic Coal & Coke Co. 
 East Aurora, N. Y. The Roycrofters 
 Easthampton, Mass. Glendale Elastic Fabric Co. 
 Elgin, III. Elgin Watch Co. 
 Elizabeth, N. J. American Swiss File & Tool Co. 
 
 Samuel L. Moon & Sons Corporation 
 Elizabethport, N. J. Hygienic Chemical Co. 
 Elmwood, R. I. Gorham Company 
 Evansville, Wis. Baker Manufacturing Co. 
 Fall River, Mass. Bourne Mills 
 
 Brown Cotton Mills 
 FiTCHBURG, Mass. Fitchburg & Leominster Street Ry. Co, 
 Florence, N. J. R. D. Wood & Co. 
 Gary, Ind. United States Steel Co. 
 Graniteville, S. C. Graniteville Manufacturing Co. 
 Greensboro, N. C. Proximity Manufacturing Co. 
 Greenville, S. C. Monaghan Mills 
 GwYNNE, Mich. Cleveland Cliffs Iron Co. 
 Harrington, N. J. Driver-Harris Wire Co. 
 Hartford, Conn. Continuation School 
 Hawthorne, III. Western Electric Co. 
 Hoboken, N. J. The Adolph Raudnitz Co. 
 
 Keuffel & Esser Co. 
 
 New York Switch & Crossing Co. 
 Homestead, Pa. Carnegie Steel Works 
 HoPEDALE, Mass. Draper Company, Loom Industry 
 Ilion, III. The Remington Typewriter Co. 
 Indianapolis, Ind. T. B. Laycock Manufacturing Co. 
 IsHPEMiNG, Mich. Cleveland Cliffs Iron Co. 
 Jersey City, N. J. Gibson Iron Works Co. 
 
 319 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 JoLiET^ III. Illinois Steel Works 
 Kansas, City, Mo. George B. Peck Dry Goods Co. 
 Lawrence, Mass. American Woolen Co. 
 Los Angeles, Cal. The Broadway Department Store 
 Ludlow, Mass. Ludlow Manufacturing Association 
 Lynchburg, Va. Lynchburg Cotton Mills 
 Mansfield, Mass. Lowney's Chocolate Co. 
 Middletown, O. American Rolling Mills Co. 
 MiLFORD, Mass. Milford Shoe Co. 
 Millville, N. J. R. D. Wood & Co. 
 Milwaukee, Wis. Hoifman & Billings Manufacturing 
 Co. * 
 
 Milwaukee Electric Light Co. 
 
 Patton Paint Co. 
 Mishawaka, Ind. Dodge Manufacturing Co. 
 MoLiNE, III. Deere & Co. 
 New Haven, Conn. Boardman School 
 New York, N. Y. American Iron & Steel Inst. 
 
 Bloomingdale Bros. Employees' Mutual Aid Society 
 
 Brewster & Co. 
 
 Colgate & Co. 
 
 Consolidated Gas Company 
 
 Greenhut-Siegel-Cooper Co. 
 
 Hotel Astor 
 
 Interborough Rapid Transit Co. 
 
 J. R. Kaiser, Inc. 
 
 R. H. Macy & Co. 
 
 The McNutt Non-explosive Manufacturing Co. 
 
 Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. 
 
 National Biscuit Co. 
 
 New York Edison Co. 
 
 New York Evening Post 
 
 New York Telephone Co. 
 320 
 
Appendix 
 
 The Suit and Skirt Industry 
 
 L. E. Waterman Co. 
 
 Werlin Quadrant Davit 
 Newark, N. J. Carter, Howe & Co. 
 
 The Ferris Bros. Co. 
 
 National Saw Co. 
 
 Weston Electrical Instrument Co. 
 Newton, N. J. The Valentine & Bently Silk Co. 
 Niagara Falls, N. Y. The Natural Food Co. 
 
 Niagara Development Co. 
 
 Niagara Falls Power Co. 
 
 Shredded Wheat Co. 
 North Plymouth, Mass. Plymouth Cordage Co. 
 NoRWALK, O. A. B. Chase Co. 
 Peacedale, R. I. Peacedale Manufacturing Co. 
 Pelzer, S. C. Pelzer Manufacturing Co. 
 Philadelphia, Pa. Baldwin Locomotive Works 
 
 Burnham, Williams & Co. 
 
 Curtis Publishing Co. 
 
 Thomas Devlin Manufacturing Co. 
 
 Fels & Co. 
 
 Gimbel Bros. 
 
 Philadelphia Electric Co. 
 
 Philadelphia Rapid Transit Co. 
 
 The Standard Roller Bearing Co. 
 
 John B. Stetson Co. 
 
 Strawbridge & Clothier 
 
 Wanamaker's 
 Pittsburgh, Pa. Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel 
 & Tin Workers 
 
 Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States 
 
 J. H. Heinz 
 
 National Safety Demonstration, Bureau of Mines 
 321 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 Pittsburgh Coal Co. 
 East Pittsburgh. Westinghouse Electric & Manufac- 
 turing Co. 
 PoMPTON, N. J. Ludlum Steel & Springs Co. 
 Portland, Ore. Eastern & Western Lumber Co. 
 Proctor, Vt. Vermont Marble Co. 
 Providence, R. I. Brown & Sharpe Manufacturing Co. 
 
 Gorham Manufacturing Co. 
 
 Providence Engineering Works 
 
 Procasset Worsted Co. 
 Pueblo, Colo. Colorado Fuel & Iron Co. 
 Pullman, III. Pullman Palace Car Co. 
 Roebling, N. J. Roebling Co. 
 Salem, N. J. Ayars Machine Co. 
 San Francisco, Cal. Hale Bros. 
 Saugerties, N. Y. Saugerties Manufacturing Co. 
 Sayreville, N. J. Sayre & Fisher Co. 
 St. Louis, Mo. Ames Shovel & Tool Co. 
 
 N. O. Nelson Manufacturing Co. 
 
 Rankin Trade School 
 Schenectady, N. Y. General Electric Co. 
 ScRANTON, Pa. Scranton Railway Co. 
 Seattle, Wash. The Seattle Electric Co. 
 Sparrows Point, Md. Maryland Steel Co. 
 Stamford, Conn. Yale & Towne Manufacturing Co. 
 Syracuse, N. Y. The Solvay Process Co. 
 Trenton, N. J. John Maddock & Sons 
 Union, N. J. The Clifton Silk Mills 
 Waltham, MaSs. American Waltham Watch Co. 
 Watertown, Mass. Walker & Pratt Manufacturing Co. 
 West Lynn, Mass. General Electric Co. 
 Westbrook, Me. S. D. Warren & Co., Cumberland Mills 
 Wheeling, Va. Wheeling Steel & Iron Co. 
 
 322 
 
Appendix 
 
 WiLMERDiNG, Pa. Westinghouse Airbrake Co. 
 Wilmington, Del. Joseph Bancroft & Sons Co. 
 
 GERMANY 
 
 Altena. Basse & Selve 
 
 Altona. C. E. Gatke, Glass Factory 
 
 Amoeneburg. Dyckerhoff & Sohne, Portlandzementfabrik 
 
 Augsburg. Augsburger Maschinenfabrik 
 
 Augsberger Kammgarnspinnerei 
 Beckingen. Kleineisenzeugfabrik — formerly Karcher & 
 
 Co. 
 Berlin. Allgemeine Elektricitats Gesellschaft 
 
 Berlin Banking House (S. Bleichroder) 
 
 Bolle, C. 
 
 Borsig, A., Machine Factory 
 
 Fresse, Heinrich 
 
 Gubener Hutfabrik 
 
 Haneburg-Berliner Jalousiefabrik 
 
 Heymann's, Carl, Verlag 
 
 Lowe, Ludwig 
 
 Maggiwerke 
 
 Resag, F. F., Zichorienfabrik 
 
 Schultheiss' Brauerei Aktiengesellschaft 
 
 F. A. Seiler 
 
 Siemens & Halske 
 
 Spindler, W., Farberei und Chemischen Waschanstalte 
 Betzdorf. Jungschen Lokomotivfabrik 
 Billefeld. Velhagen & Klasing 
 Bottingerheim. Grosz Leder Farbenfabrik— formerly 
 
 Fried. Bayer & Co. 
 Brandenburg. Metzenthin & Sohn 
 Bremen. Leopold, Engelhardt & Biermann 
 
 323' 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 Breslau. Prussian Royal Mines. 
 
 Wiskott, C. T., Fine Printing and Lithographing 
 Cassel. Wegmann & Co. 
 Clausthal. Koniglichen Obergamts 
 
 Prussian Royal Mines 
 CossKANNSDORF. Franz, Dietel & Schmitt 
 Crefeld. Krahnen & Gobbers 
 Danzig. Imperial Marine, Technical Instruction 
 Dessau. Deutschen Kontinental Gasgesellschaft 
 
 Schultheiss' Brauerei Aktiengesellschaft 
 
 F. A. Seiler 
 
 Verein Anhaltischer Arbeitgeber 
 DiETRiCHSDORF. Howaldtswerke 
 DoHREN. Wollwascherei und Kammerei 
 DoRTMURi. Prussian Royal Mines 
 Dresden. Heyden Aktiengesellschaft 
 
 Royal Saxony State Railway 
 Driesen. C. Stolz 
 DiJREN. Scholler Bucklers & Co. 
 DiJssELDORF. Bruckmann & Co. 
 EiSLEBEN. Mansfelder Kuferschienfen bauenden Geweri;- 
 
 schaft 
 Elberfeld. Farbenfabriken (formerly Fried. Bayer & 
 
 Co.) 
 Eleing. Loeser & Wolff, Zigarrenfabriken 
 
 Schichau-Werft 
 Essen. Theodore Goldschmidt 
 
 Friedrich Krupp 
 
 Emil Wolff 
 Frankfurt. Gold- und Silberscheideanstalt 
 
 Hartmann & Braun 
 
 Heinsins, Friedrich, Zigarrenfabrik 
 
 J. Pfungst, Schmirgelscheibenfabrik 
 
Appendix 
 
 Freiburg. Karl Mez 
 
 Friedrichsort. Kaiserlichen Torpedowerkstatt 
 Gerresheim. Gerresheimer Glashuttenwerke 
 Gladbach. Brandts, Fr. Mechanische Weberei 
 
 M. May & Co. 
 GoLZERN. Schroderschen Papierfabrik 
 GoTTiNGEN. Levin, Hermann, Woolengoods Factory 
 Griez. Arnold, Friedrich, Textilwarenfirma 
 GuBEN. C. G. Wilke, Hutfabrik 
 GuEDLiNBURG. Arnot Gerb 
 Halle. Prussian Royal Mines 
 Hamburg. Hamburg American Line S. S. 
 Hanover. Farbenfabrik Gunther Wagner 
 Harburg. Gummi Kamm Kompagnie 
 
 Jutefabrik 
 Heilbrunn. Bruckmann & Sons, Silvervi^are Factory 
 Itzehoe. Alsenchen Portlandzementfabrik 
 
 Chas. de Vos & Co. 
 Jena. Karl Zeiss, Optical Works 
 Karlsruh. Wolf und Sohn, Parfumerie und Toilettenar- 
 
 tikelfabrik 
 Karnax. Hugo Stinnes 
 Kiel. Technical Instruction 
 
 Werft Kaiserlichen 
 
 Imperial Marine 
 
 W. Spindler Hochster Farbwerke 
 KoLN. Demhardt & Co. 
 
 Leonhard Fietz 
 
 W. A. Hospelt, Fabriken fur Chemische Bleiprodukte 
 
 W. Lyondecker & Co. 
 
 Rottweiler Pulverfabriken Vereinigten 
 
 Van der Zypen & Charlier Co., Ltd. 
 Kqtzenau, Eis?nwerks Marienhiitte 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 Kriebstein. Kiibler & Niethammer, Papierfabrik 
 KiJCHEN. Staub & Co. 
 
 Lauchhamme. Altiengesellschaft Lauchhamme 
 Laurahutten. W. Fitzner, Boilerworks 
 Leinhausen. Koniglichen Eisenbahnhauptwerkstatt 
 Leipzig. Ernest Kirchner & Co. 
 
 Koerting & Mathusen 
 
 C. Krause, Machine Works 
 
 Mansfield, Crh. Maschinenfabrik 
 
 Leipsiger Wollkammerei 
 Lennex. John Wulfing & Sohn, Kammgarnspinnerei 
 Leverkusen. Farbenfabrik (formerly Fried. Bayer & 
 
 Co.) 
 LuDWiGSBURG. Anilinfabrik 
 
 Badischep Anilin und Sodafabrik 
 
 Heinrich Francke Sons, Zichorienfabrik 
 Luxemburg. Deutsch Luxemburgischen Bergwerks 
 Magdeburg. Dr. Eugen Poke 
 
 R. Wolf 
 Mainkur. Anilinfarbenfabrik (formerly Leopold, Cas- 
 
 sella & Co.) 
 Manneheim. Lanz 
 
 Zellstofffabrik Waldhof 
 Mettlach. Villery & Bock, Steingut und Mosaik- 
 
 fabrik 
 Mulburg. Aktienzuckerfabrik 
 MiJLHAUSEN. Schafler & Co. 
 Munchen. Brants, Friedrich 
 Nerdingen. R. Wedekind & Co., Ltd., Chemischefabrik 
 
 Weiler ter Meer Chemischen Fabriken 
 Neunkirchen. Stumm, Gerb. 
 Neusalz. J. D. Gruschwitz & Sohne, Spinnerei 
 Neviges. D. Peters & Co. 
 
 326 
 
Appendix 
 
 NiEDERWiNG. Gelsenkirchener Bergwerks 
 NuRNBERG. Elektrizitatsaktiengesellschaft (formerly 
 Schuckert & Co.) 
 
 Royal Bavarian State Railway 
 
 Siemens Schuckertwerke 
 
 Die Vereinigte Maschinenfabrik 
 Oberzell. Konig & Bauer, Maschinenfabriken 
 OcHTRUP. Laurenz, Gerb. 
 Offenbach. Collet & Engelhardt 
 OsNABRUCK. George Marienhiitte 
 Passan. Brauerei Franz Stockbauer 
 Pinneberg. Hermann Wuppermann 
 Posen. Kreise Neutomischel Herrschaft Wonson 
 Potsdam. Gebr. Soran — Schneidermiihle 
 Remscheid. Bergische Stahlindustrie 
 RoTHE Erde. Aachener Hiittenaktienverein 
 Saarbruck. Royal Prussian Mines (Koniglich Preussiche 
 
 Bergverwaltung) 
 Saarrevier. Burbacher Hiitte 
 
 Halberger Hiitte 
 ScHEFFBEK. Norddcutsche Jutespinnerei und Weberi 
 ScHLiERBACH. Wachtersbacher Steingutfabrik 
 Schonebeck. Chemischenfabrik Hermania 
 Spandan. Koniglichen Munitionsfabrik 
 Spindlersfeld. W. Spindler Farbei und Chemischen 
 Stadbach. BaumwoUspinnerei & Weberei 
 
 Spinnerei 
 Stein. A. W. Faber Bleistiftfabrik 
 
 Kohlenbergwerkes Rheinpreussen 
 Stuttgart. G. Kuhn Machine & Boiler Works 
 SucHTELN. Gebruder Rossie 
 
 Waldenburg. Fiirstlich Pless'chen Guterverwaltung 
 WiTKOWiTZ. Witkowitz Ironworks 
 
Citizens in Industry 
 
 Worms. Doerr & Reinhart, Leather Plant 
 
 Heyl, Cornelius, Lederfabriken 
 WuRTTEMBURG. Wurttembergischen Metallwaarenfabrik, 
 
 Geislingen. 
 WuRZBURG. Burgerlichen Brauhauses 
 Zalenz. G. V. Geische's Erben 
 
 FRANCE 
 
 The industrial centers of France have a large number of 
 excellent illustrations of "patronage." The influence of 
 Le Play, Leclaire, and many other magnanimous leaders has 
 been fruitful in this field. Some have been mentioned in the 
 text and others are listed in books and articles cited. 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY 
 
 Abbe, Ernst. Vortrage, Reden und Schriften. Gustav 
 
 Fischer. Jan., 1906. 
 Abbott, Edith. Women in Industry. 
 Adams, W. H., and Sumner, Helen L. Labor Problems. 
 Albrecht. Handbuch der Sozialen Woldfahrt. 
 Alexander, Magnus W. "The Apprenticeship System of 
 
 the General Electric Company, at West Lynn, 
 
 Mass." Annals American Academy. 
 Barnum, Gertrude. "How Industrial Peace Has Been 
 
 Brought About in the Clothing Trade." The Inde- 
 pendent. Oct. 3, 1912. 
 Belmont. "The Insurance Plan of the Interboro Rapid 
 
 Transit Company." National Civic Federation, 
 
 Tenth Annual Meeting, 1909. 
 Benoit-Levy, M. Georges. "Social Secretary." Review 
 
 of Reviews, xl, 90. 
 Beyor, D. S. "Safety." Scientific American, Feb., 1914. 
 Bloomfield, Meyer. "The School and the Start in Life." 
 
 U. S. Bureau of Ed. Bui. 575, 1914. 
 "Vocational Guidance." U. S. Bureau of Ed. Bui. 587, 
 
 1914. 
 BoLLiNG, Raynal C. "The U. S. Steel Corporation and 
 
 Labor Conditions." Annals American Academy, 
 
 July, 1912. 
 BoPE, H. "Welfare Work of the Steel Corporation." 
 
 Survey, Feb. 15, 191 3. 
 
 329 
 
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INDEX 
 
 Accident insurance, 151-162. 
 Addams, Jane, cited, 192. 
 Adler, Felix, on child labor, 14. 
 Alcoholism, 80-81. 
 Alexander, M. W., on safety, 
 
 112. 
 Allen, W. H., cited, 266. 
 Arbitration, 262-263. 
 Art, 222. 
 Association of Iron and Steel 
 
 and Electrical Engineers, 
 
 111-112. 
 
 Barnum, Gertrude, cited, 246. 
 Benefit funds, 158-159. 
 Boehmert, 122. 
 Bowen, cited, 189. 
 Brandeis, Louis, on charge of 
 depreciation, 162. 
 on working-women, 92-93. 
 British Cooperative Stores, 120. 
 Buecher, Karl, cited, 186. 
 Building and loan associations, 
 239. 
 
 Campbell, Robert D., cited, 
 
 103. 
 Capitalist managers, 2-6, 187. 
 Chandler, W. L., cited, 158- 
 
 159. 
 Chapin, R. C, standard for 
 
 dwellings, 173. 
 Child labor, 215-216. 
 Church, 304-306. 
 federation, 307. 
 Cleanliness, 69. 
 Contagious diseases, 73. 
 
 Continuation schools, 
 German, 206-207. 
 United States, 210. 
 
 Cooperation, Rochdale Plan, 
 239-240. 
 
 Cooperative Safety Congress, 
 288. 
 
 Cooperative schools, associa- 
 tions of, 21. 
 
 Cooperative stores, 150. 
 
 Corporations, 7. 
 
 Cotton miUs, condition in, 45, 
 46. 
 
 Crane, R. T., on employees as 
 stockholders, 132. 
 
 Culture, for adults, 220-221. | 
 
 De Forest and Veiller, cited, 
 
 178. 
 Democracy in industry, 265. 
 Devine E. T., cited, 271. 
 Dewey, John, on industrial 
 
 education, 208-209. 
 Dining-rooms, in workshops, 
 
 76-77. 
 Dramatic entertainment, 229- 
 
 230. 
 Dimcan, cited, 20. 
 
 Education, in political science, 
 
 240-241. 
 Eleanor clubs, 198. 
 Emerson, cited, 142. 
 Employees, homes of, 163. 
 
 rights of, 163. 
 
 stock ownership by, 139. 
 Erdmann Act, 261. 
 
 339 
 
Index 
 
 Evans, Dr. W. A., on working- 
 men's compensation acts, 
 114. 
 
 Factory legislation, 56. 
 Fay, on cooperation, 239. 
 Frey, John P., cited, 145 
 
 on welfare work, 27. 
 Fines, 162. 
 
 Fitch, John A., workingmen's 
 pensions, 167. 
 
 German progress, reasons for, 
 203. 
 
 Germania Insurance Company, 
 100. 
 
 Godfrey on scientific manage- 
 ment, 214^217. 
 
 Gompers, on arbitration, 262- 
 263. 
 on welfare work, 25. 
 
 Goodfellow club, 38-39. 
 
 Great industry, 2-3. 
 
 Harriman, Mrs. J. Borden, 
 
 cited, 46. 
 Hartness, cited, 21. 
 Healy, Dr., cited, 71. 
 Henderschott, F. €., cited, 202. 
 Herkner, Anne, on child labor, 
 
 215-216. 
 Holmes, J. A., on cooperation, 
 
 23. 
 Homes, for working boys in 
 
 Germany, 190. 
 for working girls, 194. 
 Hours of labor, 85-88 
 Housekeeping, instruction in, 
 
 218 
 Houses, German workingmen's, 
 
 175. 
 tenement, 178. 
 workingmen's, 171-172. 
 Housing conditions, Liverpool, 
 
 171-172. 
 
 Hygienic instruction, 82. 
 Hygienic measures in workshop, 
 
 74. 
 
 India, working girls' homes in, 
 195. 
 
 Industrial accidents, 59-60. 
 
 Industrial commission, Wiscon- 
 sin, 61. 
 
 Industrial efl&ciency, 49, 142. 
 
 Industrial Revolution, 28. 
 
 Industrial Safety, National 
 Council of, 63, 103-105. 
 
 Ingalls, Melville E., on profit- 
 sharing, 125. 
 
 Insurance companies, 113. 
 
 International Harvester Com- 
 pany, accident indemnity 
 of, 155-156. 
 report of, 100. 
 sick benefits of, 155-156. 
 
 Invention, encouragement' of, 
 145-147. 
 
 Japan, working girls' homes in, 
 194. 
 
 Kales, cited, 243. 
 
 Kley, B., on housing conditions, 
 
 175. 
 Kropotkin, cited, 179. 
 
 Labor disputes, causes of, 301. 
 
 Landscape gardening, 220. 
 
 Legislation, 237. 
 
 Library, advantages of, 296. 
 
 Life insurance, 162. 
 
 Living wage standard, 254. 
 
 Loans, 151. 
 
 Lopez, on social secretary, 283. 
 
 Low, Seth, cited, 164. 
 
 Manhattan Trust Company, 
 
 101 
 Manual training schools, 205. 
 
 340 
 
Index 
 
 Maule, Mary K., on savings of 
 shop girls, 149. 
 on working girls' homes, 196. 
 
 McCormick, C. H., on indus- 
 trial problems, 8. 
 
 Medical examination, 71. 
 
 Moral standards, 289. 
 
 Moskowitz, cited, 249. 
 
 Miinsterberg, Hugo, cited, 259. 
 
 Music, 231-232. 
 
 National Association of Manu- 
 facturers, 112, 212. 
 
 National Metal Trades Asso- 
 ciation, 211. 
 
 Natorp, cited, 230. 
 
 Neighborhood centers, 242-243. 
 
 Neighborhood irnprovement as- 
 sociations, 225. 
 
 Newlands Act, 262. 
 
 Octavia HUl method, 185. 
 Overtime, 84. 
 
 Page, on trade morals, 290. 
 Paris, working girls' homes in, 
 
 197. 
 Patten, cited, 6. 
 Patthoff, Dr. Heinze, cited, 17. 
 Pensions, 156. 
 
 private, 166. 
 
 workingmen's, 41. 
 Piece-price, 134-135. 
 Post, C. W., on welfare work, 
 
 21. 
 Premiums for fidelity, 137-138. 
 Price, C. W., cited, 13. 
 Profits, annual distribution of, 
 
 133. 
 Profit-sharing, 117fi. 
 
 Ford Automobile Co. and, 
 180-181. 
 
 Halsey method of, 136. 
 
 in France, 121. 
 
 in Germany, 122. 
 
 in Great Britain, 120. 
 
 in United States, 123. 
 
 objections to, 130. 
 
 results of, 128. 
 Protection, of girls, 297. 
 
 of women, 91-96. 
 Pullman Co., model town of, 
 176. 
 
 Ramsey, F. W., cited, 22. 
 Reading-rooms, 223-225. 
 Recreation, for employees, 90- 
 
 91. 
 Recreation rooms, 89. 
 Religion, dangers and obstacles 
 
 in, 292-295. 
 Representation in management, 
 
 238. 
 Rest, 83. 
 
 Riis, Jacob, cited, 171. 
 Rockefeller, John D., Jr., on 
 
 democracy in industry, 
 
 264-265. 
 Ruskin, John, cited, 50. 
 
 Safety, 53-54. 
 
 museums of, 68. 
 Safety devices, 105-106. 
 Safety health measures, cost of, 
 
 98. 
 Safety inspector, 63-64. 
 Savings, 148. 
 in mercantile establishments, 
 
 149. 
 Savings banks for minors, 149. 
 Schloss,D.A., 117. 
 Scientific management, 140- 
 
 141, 213. 
 Shadwell, on profit-sharing, 
 
 124. 
 Shaw, L. G., on inspection of 
 
 workingmen's dwellings, 
 
 181-184. 
 Sickness and accident benefits, 
 
 279. 
 
 341 
 
Index 
 
 Small, A. W., on modem indus- 
 try, 165. 
 Social insurance in Germany, 
 
 161. 
 Social secretary, 226ff. 
 educational preparation of a, 
 
 273. 
 natural qualifications of a, 
 272. 
 Socialism, 60, 51, 165, 235. 
 Socialists, 4. 
 Spoils system, 163. 
 Standard of living, 254r-255. 
 
 Taylor, F. W., cited, 140-141, 
 
 144. 
 Trade unions, 235. 
 Tolman, W. H., welfare work, 
 
 22. 
 Tuberculosis, 72, 73, 81. 
 
 Vance, Truman S., on Y. M. C. 
 
 A. weUare work, 300. 
 Vanderlip, Frank, on social 
 
 legislation, 237. 
 Van Marken, J. C, cited, 
 
 138. 
 Ventilation, 79. 
 Visiting nurse, 98. 
 Vocational ability, 215. 
 Vocational education, 2022. 
 
 Voluntary organization of bet- 
 terment methods, 245fE. 
 
 United States Steel Corpora- 
 tion, 100. 
 University extension, 226-228. 
 
 Wages, 251. 
 
 of working girls, 191—192. 
 Ward, L. F., cited, 201. 
 Warren, B. S., responsibility of 
 
 employers, 57-58. 
 Welfare work, 17-21. 
 advantages of, 130-131. 
 construction camps and, 301- 
 
 303. 
 German, 30-31. 
 of Illinois Steel Company, 
 
 34^1. 
 tjTJe of American, 32-33. 
 Williams, Arthur, on educa- 
 tion, 202. 
 on profit-sharing, 126. 
 WilHams, John, on the working- 
 man, 28. 
 Women secretaries, 280-282. 
 Workmen's compensation, 153. 
 Wuest, Robert, cited, 212. 
 
 Yoxmg Men's Christian Asso- 
 ciation, 297. 
 
 (i) 
 
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