Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 4.djvu/817

 PROFIT-SHARING AND COOPERATION 797

per pound on their wages as is paid to the members on their purchases." ' This is the usual method with such societies, and such bonuses would average from 5 to 12 per cent, on wages. But this cannot be regarded as an addition to wages in all cases, for in many such cases the wages are below the normal, on account of the bonus given. In addition to this, it is to be noted that in some of these cases the bonus paid is merely a commission on sales, and not a division of profits. To what extent this is true cannot be stated. The last investigation, completed in 1897, included 1,434 distributive societies, of which 235, or about one in six, divided profits.

In reply to a similar inquiry concerning those consumers' societies having productive departments, answers were received from only 199, sixty-one of which had productive departments. Of these only ten claimed to practice profit-sharing. But three of these were really not cases of profit-sharing, but rather of extra wages not depending on profits. The Scottish Wholesale Society is the largest of these, and for a long time has divided profits with the laborers, now numbering about 2,000. The bonus has averaged 3 or 4 per cent, on wages over a long period of years.

As to a dozen or more "supply associations," which are really middle-class joint-stock companies, but one, the Agricul- tural and Horticultural Association, practices profit-sharing. This it has done since 1874.^

Finally, as to the societies of producers: as previously remarked, under the influence of the Labor Association, most of these are profit-sharing. In August, 1897, there were 152 such societies reported.^ Yet in the minority are included all the great pro- ductive enterprises, so far as their financial importance is con- cerned. No account of the failures is possible, though an explanation of a popular error in this respect has been given. Yet a similar error is apt to be made in regard to the successes. These figures are given from the summaries of the Labor Co part- nership without any consideration of the wages paid, whether

' SCHLOSS, Report on Profit Sharing, p. 16.

' /hid., pp. 44-6.

' Labor Co-partnership, August, 1897.