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Show IE BONUS CHECKS 10. BE RECEIVED BY THE ! RAILROAD MEM? . Speculation is beginning to crop out among railroad and other big corporation corpora-tion employes as to whether an annual bonus check will be issued individuals during the first of the coming year Nearly all the larger corporations, taking financial cognizane'e of the J high altitudes of the cost of food- j stuffs and wearing apparel, gave, bonus checks to thousands of employes , last year. The bonus amounted ap- j proximately to one1 twelfth ot the an- . nual wage, or a month's pay. The J bonus was given to the men who had' been in the employ of the companies I for a stipulated period. New men, of course, were excepted. j The' custom, except in very isolated I instances, began since the European war started. The immense volume of I increased prosperity that redounded j because of huge war orders to the benefit of the companies railroads,' factories and other industrials -j caused the officials to decide to share) the profits with the wage earners I They also recognized the fact that the: cost of living had taken long leaps up-1 ward and realized that a bonus would materially assist In keeping the pro- verbial ,wolf from the back door. It I also was stated, in issuing the announcements an-nouncements of the distribution, of the bonus checks, that the employes, as a result of the increased volume of business, were compelled to work under un-der high pressure and be constantly alert and on the job. Aside from speculation, nothing definite def-inite has been learned as to the probable prob-able policy of the big industrials for the coming year. If it is being con-1 sidcred, nothing has been officially in -1 timated. As a result, howe-ver, of the' close approach of the period when the ' checks were distributed last season ' speculation has become a popular topic. They're wondering if they're going to be "surprised," and in which direc -1 tion. |