The great building firm of Peto Brothers, in England, having been awarded a contract for a large public building, have taken advantage of what, as they say, they consider a favorable opportunity to initiate a system of profit-sharing with their men, in accordance with a circular which is printed in the Builder. The system described by the circular is very simple. It is to apply for the present, only to the contract mentioned, but, if it works well, will be extended to future cases. Under the arrangement proposed one-quarter of the net profits of the contract are, when the building is done and the accounts settled, to be divided, as a bonus above their wages, among the men who have worked on it, in proportion to the wages they have earned. The conditions under which each man is entitled to his share are that he shall have worked long enough on the contract to have earned five pounds, at the regular rate of wages; that he shall not have neglected his duty, or misconducted himself, or wasted his time, or in other ways have acted so as to diminish the profits of the contract, or injure the reputation of the firm for good and honest work; and, that he shall not have engaged in any strike for shorter hours, or for wages above the schedule of wages which prevailed at the time the contract was made, and upon which the contract price was based. That the workmen may assure themselves of the fairness with which the division is carried out they are invited by the circular to send a representative to watch the making-up of the accounts by the auditor of the firm, and to sign the balance-sheet. In order to identify the claimants, every man must obtain a printed ticket from the time-keeper, on beginning his work, countersigned by the foreman, and noting the day and hour when his employment commenced, with his name, number and wages. This is to be again signed and countersigned when he leaves, and must be produced to secure a share in the dividend. Unpretending as it is, this bids fair to be one of the most interesting experiments in social science yet tried, and unless the trades-unions in England have forgotten their prowess, it will not be carried out without a struggle. Our readers will remember Mr. Lewis H. Williams’s experiences in trying a similar plan with his carpenters in New York, and his final victory, but he had only one union to contend with, and that not a very compact one, while Messrs. Peto Brothers will have all the building trades about their ears at once, and the great question whether men shall be allowed to do only a fixed amount of work in a day, and that amount as small as possible, or whether they shall be allowed to work as they please, will be fairly brought before the parties for decision.
THE APARTMENT-HOUSE.
From Building News.
Most people are willing to admit that they cannot afford to pay over twice as much for a thing as it is worth; but few in this country are aware that they do this very thing when they build for themselves an independent city dwelling-house or pay a rent equivalent to or greater than the interest on this outlay.
In the old country the secret of obtaining luxury and economy combined in building has been learned, and rich and poor, fashionable and unfashionable alike live in “flats.” In America, people have not yet learned this lesson, but cling to the old and barbarous custom of living perpendicularly in isolated towers, with all the cares and worries that go with isolated management.