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After Thomas Bat'a's body had been embalmed the first thought of Jan Bat'a was to retrench. The Bat'a newspaper announced that the company had passed its dividend, that for the first time working partners will fail to receive their 10% return on the stock they hold. Under the Bat'a profit sharing system, half of each worker's profits has been automatically invested for him in Bat'a stock, thus making him a working partner.
Among wild rumors in Zlin last week was one that "the Bat'a warehouses are piled from cellar to roof with 25,000,000 pairs of unsaleable shoes." Contrary to his usual custom Tycoon Bat'a was not in the luxurious cabin of his plane when it took off but perched up beside the pilot. A story flew through Prague that the pilot, when found dead, had a bullet through his head. Even if this were true no coroner of Zlin could be expected to confirm a fact so damaging to the House of Bat'a. The bullet story was officially and vehemently denied.
One of the Bat'a Board members said, "Some time ago our First Working Partner remarked to me, 'If I should die I expect you to stand by the works for one year. Then, if you are unable to continue without me, you are free to do what you like.' "
To the Bat'a funeral last week flew Boston Merchant Edward A. Filene, no vender of Bat'a shoes. Mr. Filene was at Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad), Czechoslovakia when he heard the news.
Punctually at noon all Bat'a factory sirens began howling an eerie lament. Work ceased for the day. Again at 3 p. m. the sirens howled. In the factory yard a joint funeral service began for Thomas Bat'a and Pilot Heinrich Brouceck. Sixty thousand mourners, many of them peasants with black kerchiefs, marched past the catafalque hour after hour. In a husky voice that several times broke, Jan Bat'a read aloud Thomas Bat'a's will. It ignores his son Tommy as such, leaves all to the House of Bat'a as a family trust.
Raising his hand high at last Jan Bat'a took a solemn vow "in the presence of our dead chief to uphold his ideals: service to customers through cheap shoe production and service to fellow workers through high wages!"*
Humbly upon his father's bier was laid a bunch of white roses from his son with the inscription: "I promise, Tommy."
Finally the two bodies were buried near each other in a woodland cemetery. Roaring Bat'a planes dived and zoomed, strewed the graves with Zlin's summer flowers.
*Whether Thomas Bat'a ruthlessly exploited his working partners or made them comfortable & happy is the subject of bitterly controversial labor literature in Europe. In normal times the wage of expert Lynn shoemakers averaged $30 gold per week, expert Zlin shoemakers $13.50 gold. But the House of Bat'a claimed to provide married working partners with houses having bath and electric light for 45¢ per week, served restaurant meals at 8¢ each, "four meals a day" for 25¢.