The Daily News. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 1912. PROFIT-SHARING.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 133, 23 October 1912, Page 4

The Daily News. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 1912. PROFIT-SHARING.

Speaking at Newcastle (England) a few Weeks ago, the Right Hon. T. Burt, M.P., the "father" of the House of Commons, said:—"l have always regarded co-part-nership, ultimately culminating in a real and true co-operation, as the key to the solution of the labor problem. Co-part-nership, so far as it has 'been tried, has been a success. Its success in the future depends on the captains of industry. Surely the making of men, the raising of humanity, is a greater, grander and nobler pursuit than the mere accumulation of personal riches." These are fine sentiments, justification for which is daily becoming more apparent. The world is full of industrial strife, and the antagonism between capital and labor is, in many quarters, growing more acute. As in war between nations, so in industrial war, the workers suffer most. It is a fundamental mistake made by many agitators that because- capitalists maylose in a strike the worker gains what the employer loses. Experience shows that it is quite the contrary. Broadly speaking, whilst the whole community suffers loss as the result of industrial strife, it is the working class and not the employing class which loses the most. We have only to turn to the big strikes in England recently to show that more injury can be done in one month of industrial warfare than it would take years of increased wages to make up for. Warfare between capital and labor actually lessens the total amount of wealth produced. Two men once owned an apple tree in bloom. They could not agree about the sharing of the apples when they should become ripe. They consequently agreed to strip the tree of its blossom, and so there were no apples for either of them. A man cannot verywell quarrel with himself—unless he is an extraordinary sort—and if employers and employed were the same people there would be no more strikes, a great deal more wealth produced, and consequently a greater measure of comfort conferred upon workers. Twenty years ago a woollen firm in Batley, Eng'land (Messrs J. T. and J. Taylor, Ltd.) formulated a scheme for preventing strikes and lockouts. It was a scheme of profit-sharing For the first three years the scheme was confined to the managers and foremen, hut seventeen years ago it was extended to the whole' of the employees. Tne concern pays the standard rate of wages—above the average rate for the district. At the end of the year if thore is no profit, capital receives nothing. As a matter of fact, this happened two years in succession. When there is any profit it is the turn of capital to take its wages of live per cent, out of the profits, after due allowance is made for depreciation. Capital and labor share the rest at the same rate per cent. That is to say, any percentage of profit received by capital beyond 5 per cent, is also declared on the year's total wages, and every worker who has been employed during the whole of the year is credited with a bonus at not less than that rate on his or her year's wages. Double bonus is given to those not less than 21 years of age who have been with the company at least five years and own shares equal to half a year's wages. The bonus is not given in cash, but in the form of fully-paid shares in the .company. The bonus shares entitle the owner to the same rate of dividend as any other shareholder, and, in the case of winding up, to. share at the same rate in the assets. The .shares can only be held by employees of the company; and an employee must have a holding equal to

his or her year's wages before he or she can sell any of the shares. Persons leaving the company's employment are required to sell their shares within six moiths, but to prevent employees leaving simply to get hold of the money the company do not undertake to transfer the shares until three months after the holder has left. The company has had a wonderfully successful career since 18!)9, the lowest cash dividend on shares 'being 9y a per cent., and mounting to 15 per cent., the average rate being about 13 per cent., whilst the bonus on wages given in the shape of shares was from 5 per cent, to 10 per cent. These particulars wb glean from the annual report of the firm, which has just been received from the managing director by a Taranaki manufacturer, who. itnpressed with the statements made in connection with the scheme in a paragraph appearing some time ago in the columns of this paper, .wrote Home specially for further information regarding the scheme. So satisfied is he with the results achieved at Batley that he proposes to put a similar scheme into force as soon as possible in respect to his own business. If it pans out only half as well as the Batley scheme has done he will have no reason to feel dissatisfied with the innovation, which appears to offer a cure for the ills and troubles industry even in this ''strike-free" land is heir to.