The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-02-12

4
ducing goods, should be posted at
every stage in the process OF produc-
| lion. The total cost Of an article may
| seem high, but unless we can locate
| the point or points where excessive
| cost occurs, the remedy is not easy.
The question will arise, is not such a
system expensive? My reply is, know
of no really good thing but what does
/ cost something. To stop % cent leak
/ with a so cent plug is poor economy.
/ But reverse the proposition ard you
have 100 per cent profit, which would
be considered a pretty good investment.
| But some one will say, our fathers and
| grandfathers did business without all
| this figuring, this cost system you talk
about, and they made money. Very
! true, with large margin OF profit and
| little competition they did make money,
else some of the present generation
| who are attempting to carry on bust
ness after an antiquatad fashion, would
! remain in the commercial arena but a
very short time.
Light your factory with tallow can
/ dies if you wish; disconnect your tel
| ephone, discharge your stenographer,
! throw your type-writing machines into
! the scrap heap, don't figure your costs,
pack your samples into your saddle
bags, mount your steed and start. You
will get there" but when you arrive
you win find the receiver with your
creditors for mourners, holding a wake
over your financial corpse.
Manila and the Queen Of the An
titles would never have struck their
colors to the wooden hulls and flint
locks of our ancestors.
Up-to-date hulls, armament and ord
nance, with the scientific work of the
men behind the guns, accomplished the
feat
The question may be also asked, if
there is not some difficulty in intro
ducing into the factory such an ar
rangement of accounts as would be
necessary for a cost-keeping system.
To this 1 will answer yes and no.
l have found that the intelligent
overseer. after the system is eX-
planned, for his own benefit, worked out
the problem cheerfully. But the man
who wishes to carry on business as his
grandfather did, has his counterpart
in the factory. This man, whose ideas
Gf they merit the name of ideas) were
conceived in the densest of ignorance
and born of conceit, can see no use for
system. In fact he objects. of all men
in your factory, put a tab on this in
dividual You will find his manage
ment faulty or his methods question:
able. generally both. He breads the
cost system as the thief breads the
search. Relegate such talent to the
garnet with the spinning wheel and
the warming pan of the past. To the
antiquarian he may possess value, but
he has neither part nor lot in the
hustle and enterprise of the present
day.
Mr.. Greenleaf at this point entered
into a most interesting series of illus
trations on the blackboard, which were
followed by his audience with the
closest attention, showing in the
clearest and simplest manner the
value of cost system. One of the IL
Illustrations was a grocer's bill, giving
simply many items purchased and the
total amount.
Continuing, Mr.. Greenleaf said,
should your dealer present you a bill
like that you would Immediately OBJ
ject. But why object? You have the
number of pounds, price per pound and
total amount correctly figured. What
more do you require?
You draw your check for your pay
roll under similar conditions. You are
given the number of hours, rate per
hour and total amount But, you
say, referring to your bill again, you
wish to know the kind of provisions
Do you ask the same of your pay roll?
Have your pay roll analysed, if only
for once. There may be a revelation
in store for you.
After illustrating on the blackboard
the great Importance of such analysis
and the wisdom of keeping close track
| of every feature of the direct labor ac-
count and properly apportioning the
| general expense, Mr. Greenleaf pro-
| ceeded to address a word of warning
TO manufacturers against computing
theif general expense upon tonnage of
business. Nothing could be more fall
lacloCs. You may as well be- without
cost as have one based upon weight
Come with me, said the speaker to
the door of your shipping department.
We find two boxes ready for shipment,
They weigh 200 pounds each. Accord
ing to the tonnage basis, the general
expense incurred by that production is
the same. One box contains a single
piece of very common mechanism re-
curing half day to make In the
other we find several ingeniously con-
Structed, nicely adjusted machines. If
has taken days, perhaps weeks, to pro-
duce the contents of the second box
DO you ask nue. to believe there has
been no more Illuminating or heating
expense, no more wear and tear to the
plant no more interest on cost of ma
chlnery, no more correspondence, no
more time in selling and in making
| invoices. no more time expended in sny
way upon the contents of that second
boX, than upon the other? You will
not ask me to believe this, neither
VIII You ask me to figure general ex-
pense upon a mere tonnage basis. You
VIII agree with me. I think, that the
general expense is incurred in the pro-
portion of the manufacturing pay roll
Making further use OF the black
board. Mr.. Greenleaf went closer into
the details Of his subject. When he
resumed his seat, he was greeted with
hearty applause, showing how keenIv
me audience appreciated his highly in
terestins and practical address
The next in the course of Industrial
talks will be by Axel F. Backlin. CHIEF
drauightsman of the Washburn & Moen
laI. his subject will be. Coal and
its use under the steam boiler