Good morning, Whitewater.
It will be cold today, with cloudy skies and a high of ten degrees. Sunrise is 7:25 AM and sunset 4:35 PM, for 9h 10m 25s of daytime. We’ve a full moon today.
On this day in 1914, Henry Ford announces a new business model. The New York Times promptly reports on it, with some astonishment over the plan:
Detroit, Mich., Jan. 5. — Henry Ford, head of the Ford Motor Company, announced today one of the most remarkable business moves of his entire remarkable career. In brief it is:
To give to the employees of the company $10,000,000 of the profits of the 1914 business, the payments to be made semi-monthly and added to the pay checks.
To run the factory continuously instead of only eighteen hours a day, giving employment to several thousand more men by employing three shifts of eight hours each, instead of only two nine-hour shifts, as at present.
To establish a minimum wage scale of $5 per day. Even the boy who sweeps up the floors will get that much.
Before any man in any department of the company who does not seem to be doing good work shall be discharged, an opportunity will be given to him to try to make good in every other department. No man shall be discharged except for proved unfaithfulness or irremediable inefficiency.
The Ford Company’s financial statement of Sept. 20, 1912, showed assets of $20,815,785.63, and surplus of $14,745,095.57. One year later it showed assets of $35,033,919.86 and surplus of $28,124,173.68. Dividends paid out during the year, it is understood, aggregated $10,000,000. The indicated profits for the year, therefore, were about $37,597,312. The company’s capital stock authorized and outstanding, is $2,000,000. There is no bond issue.
About 10 per cent of the employees, boys and women, will not be affected by the profit sharing, but all will have the benefit of the $5 minimum wage. Those among them who are supporting families, however, will have a share similar to the men of more than 22 years of age.
On this day in 1855, Fond du Lac produces a razor baron:
Gillette safety razor patent drawing. Via Wikipedia
1855 – King Camp Gillette Born
On this date King Camp Gillette was born in Fond du Lac. He worked for many years as a traveling salesman. After much experimentation, he developed a disposable steel blade and razor. He established the Gillette Safety Razor Company in 1901. Sales for his product skyrocketed. Gillette remained president of his company until 1931 and was a director until his death the following year. [Source: Lemelson-MIT Program]
Google-a-Day asks a question about literature:
How many more books is Milton’s 1667 epic masterpiece than the connected work that was published in 1671?