V
With reference to the situation which had unfortunately developed in Colorado, it became evident to those responsible for the management of one of the large coal companies there—the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company, in which my father and I are interested—that matters could not be allowed to remain as they were. Any situation, no matter what its cause, out of which so much bitterness could grow, clearly required amelioration.
It has always been the desire and purpose of the management of the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company that its employees should be treated liberally and fairly.
However, it became clear that there was need of some more efficient method whereby the petty frictions of daily work might be dealt with promptly and justly, and of some machinery which, without imposing financial burdens upon the workers, would protect the rights, and encourage the expression of the wants and aspirations of the men—not merely of those men who were members of some organization, but of every man on the company’s payroll.
The problem was how to promote the well-being of each employee; more than that, how to foster at the same time the interest of both the stockholders and the employees through bringing them to realize the fact of their real partnership.
Long before the Colorado strike ended, I sought advice with respect to possible methods of preventing and adjusting such a situation as that which had arisen; and in December, 1914, as soon as the strike was terminated and normal conditions were restored, the officers of the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company undertook the practical development of plans which had been under consideration.
The men in each mining camp were invited to choose, by secret ballot, representatives to meet with the executive officers of the company to discuss matters of mutual concern and consider means of more effective coöperation in maintaining fair and friendly relations.
That was the beginning, merely the germ, of a plan which has now been developed into a comprehensive “Industrial Constitution.” The scheme embodies practical operating experience, the advice and study of experts, and an earnest effort to provide a workable method of friendly consideration, by all concerned, of the daily problems which arise in the mutual relations between employer and employees.
The plan was submitted to a referendum of the employees in all the company’s coal and iron mines, and adopted by an overwhelming vote. Before this general vote was taken, it had been considered and unanimously approved by a meeting of the employees’ elected representatives. At that meeting I outlined the plan, which is described below, as well as the theory underlying it, which theory is in brief as follows:
Every corporation is composed of four parties: the stockholders, who supply the money with which to build the plant, pay the wages, and operate the business; the directors, whose duty it is to select executive officers carefully and wisely, plan the larger and more important policies, and generally see to it that the company is prudently administered; the officers, who conduct the current operations; and the employees, who contribute their skill and their work.
The interest of these four parties is a common interest, although perhaps not an equal one; and if the result of their combined work is to be most successful, each must do its share. An effort on the part of any one to advance its own interest without regard to the rights of the others, means, eventually, loss to all.
The problem which confronts every company is so to interrelate its different elements that the best interests of all will be conserved.