‘I hope to make a great deal out of it, although not exactly in the sense you mean.’
Wrentham passed his hand through his hair, as if he despaired of bringing his principal to reason.
‘What do you expect to make out of it?’
‘First of all, beginning on our small scale, we shall provide work for so many men. By the system of paying for the work done, rather than by wages whether the work is done or not, each man will be able to earn the value of what he can produce or cares to produce.’
‘You will not find half-a-dozen men willing to accept that arrangement.’
‘We must make the most of those we do find. When the advantages are made plain in practice, others will come in fast enough.’
‘The Unions will prevent them.’
‘It is a kind of Union I am proposing to form—a Union of capital and labour. Then, I propose to divide amongst the men all profits above, say, six or eight per cent. on the capital, in proportion to the work each has done. I believe we shall find plenty of workmen, who will understand and appreciate the scheme.’
Wrentham was resting his elbows on the table and twisting a piece of paper between his fingers. He had got over his first surprise. The one thing he understood was, that Philip would hold obstinately to this ridiculous ideal of a social revolution until experience showed him how impracticable it was. The one thing he did not understand was, how Mr Shield had agreed to let him try it.
‘I admire the generous spirit which prompts you to try this experiment; it is excellent, benevolent, and all that sort of thing,’ he said coolly; ‘but it is not business, and it will be a failure. Every scheme of the same sort that has been tried has failed. However, I shall do my best to help you. How do you propose to begin?’