NOTE: Above figures differ slightly from those given in annual reports, a few employees having failed each year to go through with their subscriptions.
Besides being given as much as three years to pay for stock purchased employees who hold their stock receive an annual bonus for five years. At first, when only preferred stock was issued, the bonus was $5.00 a year. Later, when the common stock began to have a real investment value, this, too, was offered with an annual bonus of $3.50. But in recent years the investment value of the common stock still further increasing, and it having become impossible to purchase any considerable amount of preferred stock at a reasonable price, only the junior security has been offered employees and the bonus on the common has been raised to $5.00 a year.
Latest figures show that there are now more than 66,000 employees and their families interested in the plan, that is, that number are either paying for stock or, having paid, are drawing their annual bonuses. As it is likely that there are still more employees not now on these lists but owning stock bought more than five years ago it seems fairly safe to assume that the number of employees who, as stockholders, have an interest as part owners in the great organization that they work for is not less than 70,000.
And in this number are included employees from all ranks, including workmen, so-called office boys, elevator operators, and executives. The plan was designed to be, and is, catholic in its scope.
Naturally, the stock subscription plan has not been regarded with favor by those whose interests lie in fomenting dissent between capital and labor and the plan has been attacked in many ways. One of these is the charge that it is a money-making scheme under which the Corporation purchases its own stock cheap and sells to the workers at a profit. As a matter of fact, the operation of the plan is a continual source of expense to the Corporation which has so far spent on it an aggregate of $9,160,000. It has, however, profited from the plan in one way--increased loyalty, efficiency, and coöperation.
Only “the men who occupy official or semi-official positions and who are engaged in directing and managing the affairs of the Corporation and of its several subsidiary companies” were concerned in the profit-sharing portion of the plan, generally designated as special compensation. This was more or less an adaptation of Carnegie’s method of rewarding his assistants for good service, with the difference that it held out no allure of return for effort selfishly directed, but only that done for the good of the entire organization. It was a yearly distribution to the men above described of a small percentage of the profits above $80,000,000, part of the bonus being paid in cash and part in stock of the Corporation. At the time of the promulgation of the plan it was made plain that there would be no increases in salaries of officials. All additions to salary would come through these bonuses, and in basing them on the profits of the Corporation and not of the separate subsidiary companies a powerful motive for loyal and harmonious effort for the good of the Corporation was created.