A VITAL QUESTION.
395
ployees, half of the receipts; for the other expenses, one-fourth; the last quarter is profit. This means that if the employees receive one hundred rubles, then the other expenses rate fifty rubles; the khozyáïn has also fifty rubles. Now let us see what the employees receive according to our system." Kirsánof began to read his scale of figures:—
| They receive their salary ..... | 100 | rubles |
| They are themselves employers, and thus they receive the income of the khozyáïn ..... | 50 | rubles |
| Their working rooms are joined to their own private rooms, and so they get them at a cheaper rate; they are careful about materials; in this way the saving is greatly increased, I think a full half, but let us say a third part: from the 60 rubles which would go towards this expense they save for their income ..... | 16 | rubles, 67 kopeks |
| 166 | rubles, 67 kopeks |
"Here we have already," continued Kirsánof, "brought it about that our working people receive one hundred and sixty-six rubles and sixty-seven kopeks, when, according to the other order of things, they would have only a hundred rubles. But they gain still more: working for their own benefit, they work more industriously, and therefore more successfully, quicker. Let us suppose that in an ordinary, uninspired work they would succeed in making five things—in our trade, five dresses; now they succeed in making six. This proportion is too small; but let us adopt it. Then, at a time when an ordinary enterprise is earning five rubles, ours earns six:—
| From the rapidity of energetic work the receipts and the income are increased one-fifth part of 166 rubles, 67 kopeks, thus ..... | 33 | rubles, 33 kopeks |
| Plus the former ..... | 100 | rubles, 67 kopeks |
| 200 | rubles |
"Therefore ours have larger profits than others," continued Kirsánof. "Now, as to the use of this profit. Having double as much means, we can use them to much better advantage. Here is a double profit, as you know. In the first place, from the fact that everything is bought wholesale, let us suppose that from this a third part is gained. Things