Sir Wm. Mather on After-war Profitsharing.
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. The Rt. 11 on. Sir Win. Mather, P.C.. LL.D. in the course of his annual speech (on the 23rd ult.; to the shareholders of Mather and Platt, Ltd., made the following suggestive remarks about after-war conditions " There is one possible asset, common to all industrial firms, companies, and corporations, which hitherto has been rarely possessed by any, that is. the hearty co-operation, 'zeal, concentration, and unity of purpose of the working people with employers. The possession of that asset might exist in every industrial enterprise and would be as potent an element in the industrial world as capital itself in promoting continuity and economy in production and general -prosperity. To acquire this asset more than fixed wages is needed. The inducement to a working man to invest as his capital in the business all his zeal, willingness, interest, and 'goodill, in addition to his time and skill which earns the ;working wage, ought to be a share in the profits in the form :of dividend, just as a shareholder expects to receive a dividend on his money invested. No outlook, in which we have to re-cognize a continuation of the terrible disputes and angry feelings that have from time to time for long years been displayed both on the part of capital and labour, can he regarded as a condition which any enlightened nation can be satisfied with , a30 in the future. This war has displayed the weak parts of all the peoples engaged therein, though in great Britain theno appear to be greater possibilities for a continuous and happy future for all classes of our people if we take to heart the lessons now learnt, and act upon them, to prevent the disasters that have shaken the stability of industry and prosperity in the years of the past. I hope it may be possible for our company to take some share in promoting changes as inay ensure this happy state of things ; to this end, the shareholders and their directors, managers, and foremen, and all classes of workpeople engaged in the great enterprise of engineering must give their earnest consideration in order that we may speedily arrive at the desired result."
This supports a recent U.S.A. view quoted by us.