THE COST OF STEEL DIVIDENDS.

Grey River Argus, 24 August 1912, Page 1

THE COST OF STEEL DIVIDENDS.

Mr Henry M. Hyde, writinj^^^ ih&^ "Technical World," gives some interesting 1 figures concerning the United States Steel Corporation. Tie ,cor-poiation y\j^> organised in lQqi, with a capital of 1,000,000,000 dollars." For -'services rendered in organising, the firm of J. P. Morgan and Co. received 70,000,000 dollars. Mr. Carnegie sold his steel interests to the trust for 420,000,000 dollars.. He says, now. that he was "a. fool to sell ' at the price. ' ' Of the billioindollars which forms the nominal capital of the .corporation it is estimated by Government officials that 600,000,---000 dollars .is .'"watex"— more tfaan. half the .total issue .of securities. Since 1911 . the steel trust has made profits equal to its nominal capital of a billion dollars. That is one -side pPthe shield. On the other side" Mr.* _ Hyde tells us " that ; in ig 10 at least 22^000, employees- of the trust worked twelve hours ' a ..day for seven days^ln every week. More' than* half of them earned, less, than £2 10s a week, and 21 per cent, earned less than £2 5s a week. Only 16 per cent. of. the emp;loyees had a ' working week of less ' than , sixty hours. The' steel industry is the' only great industry in/the United States that refuses recognition to labour unions. The 300,000 employees of the trust , are entirely without union organisation. Previous to 1892 the men were fairly well organised. Then the great -steel strike occurred; The employers:; won that fight; and haying crushed the : unions they introduced the seven-day working . week. The unions were de- ■ stayed, one b y one, the last going under two years' ago. - Mr Hyd6 concludes that it 1 is idle to rail at Mr Morgan-and Mr. Carnegie and the men who are making millions by the., sweating of th ? trust's .employees. vHe blames the social conditions . that have 'made- the. trust possible, and. prophesies that if the trust does not mend its methods an industrial revolution will attempt 'to- end ■ them; .