Jasper County Democrat, Volume 14, Number 5, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 April 1911 — CHICAGO MEN ASK BIG BONUS [ARTICLE]

CHICAGO MEN ASK BIG BONUS

For Establishing Their Factory in Rensselaer Want an Equivalent of About $16,000 Before They Turn a Wheel—Must Have Factory Financed or Won’t Come Here. The Chicago promoters, Messrs. A. G. Dicus, Geo. Gardener and J. J. Kartheiser, stockholders and organizers of the Gardener Automatic Fuel Feed Co., who have been negotiating with the Commercial Club for a factory site, came here day and at an open meeting of the Club in the east court room of the court house that afternoon made their proposition. ■ The promoters have evidently been reading “Get-Rich-Quick Wallingford.” Their proposition in a concise form was: The Commercial Club take SIO,OOO of treasury stock in the concern, build two buildings 40x125 with a railroad switch between the buildings, and donate 5 acres of ground. The deed to the buildings and ground to be held in escro by the Club for a certain length of time, the expiration of which time deed to lie turned over to the Chicago people. Or, build the two buildings, donate the ground and $7,000 or SB,OOO in cash.

The promoters agreed to furnish for their share of the transaction : Five patents, some nicely printed stock certificates, and a small amount of money. (The spokesman of the Chicago concern Mr. Dicus said the amount of money was too small to mention.) The factory people further agreed to begin operations 30 days after the buildings were finished, and said they would install $7,000 or SB,OOO worth of machinery, giving the Commercial Club a mortgage on this machinery (providing the Club furnished the money to buy it with, or bought this nicely printed treasury stock). They also agreed to gve-bond to pay a certain amount out in wages after operations were begun. The concern would eventually employ from 50 to 150 men, and woukj, make a smoke-consumer, a fire-box feed for boilers using either coal or wood, and a fan. From the promoters standpoint the proposition was gilt-edged. If they made good the Club would get one-fifth (providing they bought the stock) and as the stock is for sale it might as well be the Club as any one. On the other hand, if the proposition fails, the Chicago people lose practically nothing, while the Club stands a loss of about $16,000. If the articles manufactured were of everyday usage, it would not be so much of a gamble. But these articles are more in the nature of novelties. The utility-

is unquestioned, but whether the demand is sufficient to keep a force of 100 men busy the year r6und is debatable. And in articles' of this character it should be remembered that there are many others and only practical tests will determine,which is the best.

Mr. Dicus, one of the promoters, laid particular stress on the fact that skilled labor wouty be used. This would mean importing about 100 families as there is in all probability not more than 10 men in the county that can be called skilled mechanics in* that line, if there are that many. To import skilled labor from the city to the small town means a continued lack of sufficient help or else it means as much or more money per day than the city pays. A carpenter won’t leave the city where he is making from $4.50 a day up to .come, to Rensselaer for S3OO tm~ less he is crazy. Neither would moulders nor any line of skilled labor the factory might employ, as few mechanics in the city can be made to, see the advantage of life in the small town, arid while there can be no.question about living being cheaper it .s

hard to make the average skilled workman look at small town life from* that viewpoint. This is usually one of the arguments promoters use: Cheaper labor. And almost invariably it fails to work. With common labor it is different, but skilled mechanics of today get the money. \\ ith labor costing as much or more and freight rates high from lack of competition, it hardly sounds feasible to establish a factory here making an article that in order to have a market must be a labor and money saver, and in order to pay dividends must be built economically. Chairman Warner asked the promoters what guarantee the Club would have that the concern would not vacate the buildings whenever they get ready.

Mr. Dicus replied: “By a mortgage on the machinery.” That i would be nice for all concerned, j The Club gives the promoters SB,OOO and the buildings, etc., and the company installs SB,OOO ! worth of machinery, boaght on credit, giving the Club a mortgage on this machinery. If the business don’t pay, the parties selling the machinery come and get it and the Club is SB,OOO poorer, has two empty buildings, a mortgage that’ isn’t worth the powder it would take to burn it, and—some experience. The promotors admitted they had practically no capital. What they ask is the Commercial Club to finance the undertaking, furnish the buildings and ground and get —if it proves successful —one-fifth. If it fails, stand all the loss. A man who wouldn’t start a business that way would be lacking in common sense. At the directors’ meeting held immediately after the public meeting, the Club made a proposition of donating buildings, grounds, build switch, and pay the money asked if the company would deposit a bond with the Club that, in case of the business being a failure. £he entire plant including machinery and all equipment would revert to the Club. This the promoters were not willing to do, claiming that this was virtually bonding themselves to be a success financially. While their contention is true to a certain extent, and in all probability the bonding rate would be quite heavy, if the promoters have doubts as to the success of the undertaking why should Rensselaer business men be asked to have faith enough in it to invest their money? The promoters were willing to bond themselves to install the machinery and begin operations, and were also willing to have the bonus paid monthly on a basis of 15 per cent of wages paid. A supposition case weakens t|ys argument, too. If th>» Club were to have its money in these buildings, it would rather, by far, have them occupied. Mr. Dicus admitted the}' would have to buy thp, machinery on credit. If they were to run short of monev, the only thing for the Club to do to keep a tenant in the buildings would be to furnish an advance on the bonus. To refuse would mean the factory closing, to comply would be sending “a boy to mill when they had a man hired.” In all probability the prospect of securing this factory for Rensselaer is ended unless the promoters should greatly modify their terms.