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Before long, Milton Hershey was a multimillionaire who could boast, "I have made all the money I need; what I want to do is put it to work so that it will benefit others." By the time he died at 88 in 1945, Hershey had built most of the town of Hershey and turned it over to his estate for use by the town's 6,000 residents. Among his gifts: a $3,000,000 community house, a junior college, three schools, two country clubs, four golf courses, an amusement park, two swimming pools, an ice rink, a hotel, stadium, zoo and firehouse. Childless himself, Hershey founded the Milton Hershey School for orphan boys and gave his stock to it. Through trust funds, the school now owns 70% of Hershey Chocolate's 2,400,000 outstanding shares.
The Test of Quality. Despite such paternalism, Hershey has had its full quota of labor trouble. A sitdown strike in 1937 set off a head-cracking battle between union and nonunion employees; in another bitter strike in 1953, the union was defeated in its demand for a closed shop. But since then, says the local agent of the A.F.L.-C.I.O. Bakery and Confectionery Workers, "our relationship has been progressively better."
To critics who cry "company town," Hershey executives reply that Milton Hershey's creation—with its broad green lawns, absence of slums, and sports events sponsored by the Hershey estate—"may well be the best town in America for raising kids." And to candy fanciers who do not find Hershey's chocolate quite as tasty as the costlier Swiss and Dutch imports. Chairman Hinkle has a businessman's answer: "In one sense, the best chocolate is the chocolate that sells best."