The Wanganui Chronicle AND RANGITIKEI ADVERTISER. THURSDAY, AUGUST 15, 1901. THE PROBLEM OF LABOUR.

Wanganui Chronicle, 15 August 1901, Page 2

The Wanganui Chronicle AND RANGITIKEI ADVERTISER. THURSDAY, AUGUST 15, 1901. THE PROBLEM OF LABOUR.

Whilk we in tins colony are apparently ! learning the unpleasant lesson that conciliation does not conciliate, and that arbitration is but a new name for industrial strife, it is refreshing to turn to what may be termed a, new movement for the solution of the old problem. The pretty picture has a,n American background. A factory with a view from every window to be pleasant fqr/the workers; with machinery painted buff to bo restful for the eyes; with baths, reoraution rooms, libraries, and luriclieon as. supplements to wages'1; rear at hand in model streets cottage homes embowered in shrubs arid trees and covered with creeperr— these are" the conditions of industrial life at the National Cash Register works at Dayton, Ohio, as sketched by the writer of an interesting article in tihe London "Daily Mail," 'a coov of which we have just received. Gadbury's and several other firms have set n splendid example in looking after the. physical, mental, and moral welfare of their working people, but some' American manufacturers have learned a lesson from their efforts in industrial betterment and aro ..carrying it further on more scientific lines. As the writer points out. it is of ■importance to British traders because it is more than a coincidence that the firms who have tried to make life more pleasant for their' workers are also firms who are prosperous at home, and formidable competitors abroad. The names of several notable frrois aro given, but it is admitted that the Cash Register Company has carried tlm system farthest. Thoro haf. been ■* no affected patronage about its methods. It has not sought to cloak its aims in the garb of a false philanthropy or posed as an apostle of a new humanitarianism. l'he Brotbfci-3 Patterson, who control the company, are notin business for their health, but to accumulate the medium which their machines are made to register. They have been considerate to their workmen because it> pays; they have voluntarily added 3 per cent to their wages budget because they get 5 per cent more back in profits. The philosophy of tfce system is worthy of" study. First of -ail must be had tithe appearance of the factory. The building is airy, exceedingly well lighted and ventilated, decorations and curtains introduced, creepers grown on the walls am', gardens laid out at the doors. The walls and ■ machinery are painted buff, and palms form parb of the internal decorations. Why? Because the workers are likely to ba' more cheerful when given .pleasant surroundings than dismal ones, and if more cheerful it is presumed they will work better. The Patterson Brothera fitted their factory with lifts to says stair-climbing, and the workers start the labours of the day in a good humour. Backs were put to the chairs which the girls use, and foot-rests added to maka them more comfortable, so that they could do their work more easily and do more of it. Forty minutes of the company's time is allowed every week to each employee for baths, which are provided in the factory, because baths are refreshing. A comfortable room is provided for the women, wlito are give nten minutes off in tha morning and afternoon for a short rest, so that they may return to theii work with more energy. A factory library has been established which is "circulating" in two senses as casefuls of books are wheeled about the building for selection. The head of the firm found that girls waimed up their morning coffee for midday. and had a very poor lunch. Ho ■ said, "If my operatives have insufficient and poorly cooked food, they are not able to do a full day's work." This reflection induced him. to present the girls with a free hot luncb which, exclusive of tho preparation, only costs fourpence a day per individual. Thie cuteness of the American is evidenced by the means taken for improving the article supplied to the public. As suggestions frequently occur to workers in making such complicated j articles as the cash register, the proprietors supply a"n autographic duplicating register in each room, where nnyone can record ideas .which occur to -him. No fewer than *-000 suggestions tire thus received during the year, and if any of their are worked out to practical effsct the originator of the suggestion is rewarded by a prize. All the hea-ds of departments com-p-jte. Mi". Patterson instituted a system Cor getting the full advantage of their brains as well. The chiefs of the firm and heads of departments lunch together, and hold conferences on the general management and development of the businvss. Tho president of the company leaves the factory in charge of a. committee when ho is a.way. So much for the internal features of tihe Dayton factory. On the social side a large number of institutions have been established through the co-operation of the employers for the well-being of the stuff, and incidentally for the good of i.iefirm. Employees are sent, to study the work in other factories, and to submit reports, so that they may enlarge their ideas. Mr. John H.-Patterson, the. president of the company, has always said that ho organised these many benefits for the workers simply because it pays. He describes the philosophy of his system as follows : —■

"What many of my business associates have characterised as sentimental—namely, baths in the factory, prizes for suggestions, landscape gardening, pleasant Sunday afternoons, lunches for

tho girls in the office, boys' gardens, and our various clubs—cost, say, about 30,000 dollars, or 3 per cent, on our annual payall of. 1,000,000 dollars. We buy physical and mental labour. If it pays to take car© of a good animal, that only returns physical labour, how much more important is it for the employer to take care of the employee, returning both physical and mental labour? We belive that people me a part of all they have met; that is, all they have seen and till they have heard ifi absorbed b ythem, and that it tnereforo pays to have good things and good surroundings folr them. We have tried ! both plans, and believe that 3 per cent, of our annual pay-all, which wo spend on irovenunts for industrial betterment, yields us approximately between 5 and 10 per cent, profit in actual dollars and cents. Tha morals, the example, and the daily lives of our employees are things that refuse to yield to statistics."

Unfortunately, 'however, and despite the j extraordinarily happy surroundings of the workers, Dayton was not immune from the curse of tho agitator. The. writer of the article was compelled, with regret to blot the beauty of the description with the admission that there had just been a strike at Dayton which paralysed the trade of tho town and shut up flic works of the National Cash Register Company. Over 2000 employees left work, and the numerous" associations were suspended. Mothers' guilds did not meet, the pleasant Sunday afternoons were stopped, the kindergartens had an enforced vacation, the deaconess had the House of Usefulness all to herself, the agencies round the Advance Hall became stationary, and all, it was said, because the company had discharged several workmen for incompetence or insubordination, and the trade union leaders came in and ordered the strike. The model community was not disturbed long by the industrial strife, and the work was resumed without the presence of the few men who were the initial cause of the interruption. Certainly the works at Dayton provide an object lesson which should, appeal to the common sense of employers .and workers alike. They point a pretty moral—mutual co-operation without compulsion, and with profit to all.