"It has been said that our manufacturing villages have a demoralizing tendency. I wish to show there can be an exception. I would rather not make one cent than to have men go away from here worse than they came. My mind is not so bound up in the love of dollars and cents as to overlook the best welfare of our workman."

More skilled workers were needed so Sam built duplex houses for them. He rented the houses for 25 dollars a year, provided they took in a single boarder employed by the Company, and provided that no alcohol was produced or sold on the premises - Sam was a confirmed teetotaler!

Pay was 12 to 16 dollars a month for a 72 hour work week, soon reduced to 60 hours (One of the first in the country to have a 10 hour workday). Room and board averaged about $1.50 a week! In the beginning, Mr. Collins paid his employees only once a year; this was to make certain they would stay on the job!