Evening star., 1901-08-31
Machinery, Division Of Work and the
Trusts.
EACH AFFECTS TEE W0RKINGMAN
intensity Exertion and Naturally
Decrease Wages.
RIGHTFUL ORGANIZATIONS
Written for The Evening Star by Prof. John
Commons.

1 ~ON~. -
| Commons.
The serious problems which face the
werkingman today are machinery, division
| of labor and trusts. Machinery and divi-
| sion of labor affect him in two ways-they
| drive him to over-exertion and they cut
| his wages Formerly when skilled tailor
| made the entire coat he changed about
| from basting to machine stitching, to hand
4 sewing. to pressing, and not only was each
| change relaxation, but it was impossible
| for him to get up speed in any Of his opera
| tiens Now one man does the stitching,
| another the basting another the pressing.
| and so on. The man at the machine gets
| an amazing skill in narrow limits, which
| amounts merely to the skill necessary to
drive his work through at high speed.
| True. the price of ready-made coats has
| come down, but the man can no longer
| earn wages after he is forty-five years of
| age This effect of division Of labor and
| machinery extends to all trades. Even
| bricklayers in New York have increased
| their speed 30 per cent in the past ten
| cent more brick than he did in Germany.
| A weaver now operates twenty to twenty
| five looms. where by hand one was enough.
| But the main effect of machinery Is not
that it intensifies exertion. or even that it
| displaces labor. but that 1t cuts wages. A
| certain tannery introduced a machine to
take the place of men at s1s per week. The
I men were forced to work for 81 a week.
| and then the proprietors threw out the ma
chine because labor was cheaper. Almost
! universally employers hold It absurd that
| they should be asked to keep a three-doilar
man on the dolIar-fifty machine which
| takes his place II such view succeeds.
| then machinery does not stand on its own
| merits.
ma chinery because American wages are
| so high that employers must seek machine
| substitutes. But. plainly IL the machine is
| used to cut wages. then the economic rea-
| sons for its Introduction are gone, and it
| becomes mainly club to cow labor. Con-
| trast the tannery machine above mentioned
| with the typesetting machine The COM
positors when faced by this machine saw
| that boys and women were likely to take
| the places of men, and their wages likely
| to be cut and hours heightened. On the
contrary, at the present time. these same
! compositors who formerly set type by hand
| ten to twelve hours day at whatever they
could make. paid by the piece, are now
operating the machines six to nine hours a
day at a minimum of SIS to $50 per week.
| according to the locality, paid by the day.
At the same time the cost of composition
| to the employer has been reduced two
thirds. Here, it is plain. machinery stands
| on it's merits. 1t has benefited directly both
the workman and the employer. 1t has not
been club, but an economy. But notice.
the only condition that made the effect OF
| the typesetting machine different from that
| of machinery in other trades was the
| strength and wisdom of the printers trade
union.
| 1t may be stated as automatic that labor
without organization will be reduced to the
lowest wages, longest hours and hardest
| exertion that physical strength can endure.
| Lack of organization is the essence of the
| sweating system. Apparent but not real
| exceptions to this rule are members of
those highly skilled trades or those individ
| uals of extra gifts who advanced as experts
! or as supervisors or pacemakers for the
| less gifted mass. and those non-union work
men In trades where union exists. Set
ting aside these exceptions, which prove the
| rule. there is no substitution for organiZa-
tion for the great majority of workingman
and workingwomen except legislation, and
| in proportion as organization fails the de-
| mand for legislation increases.
Must BE Well Directed.
While organization is essential. it can
not succeed If not rightly directed. For
| this reason the old-time trade union is
| gradually giving way to the Industrial
| union. AS a manufacturing establishment
grows and enters trust it can subdivide
| it's operations and substitute automatic
machinery until it eliminates trade skill.
Therefore the union based trade skill
controls a smaller and smaller proportion
| of the employees although on account of
the growth of the business the absolute
number of skilled men in the country may
not be reduced This is the reason why
! the largest establishments in many indus
tries are nOn-unlOn. 10 an OuISlueT IL
seems unfair that 10 or 25 per cent of the
workmen-those who are skilled-should
| be able to stop the work of an entire in
dustry in order that they alone may get
an increase Of wages or the recognition of
| their union.
Another point where the older trade
union theory is giving way is in it's theory
of restriction of output. These rkstric-
| tions place union shops at disadvantage
| in competition with nOn-unfon shops where
machinery and division Of labor are car
| red to their limits This disadvantage is
obscured for a time by the device of the
| label which has enabled employers of union
| workmen in certain cases to sell their pro-
| ducts at higher prices than those received
| label cannot be considered a feature Of
| organization-it produces a kind of hot
| house unionism; it is only substitute for
| billboard advertising. and is limited in
scope.
l. AS result of these changes a new
unionism is springing up, which bids fair
| to do more for the workingman than any
| thing that has been done In the past. This
| is sometimes called industrial unionism, in
place of trade unionsm. 1t takes differ
| ent forms, all the way from amagamation,
as in the of the mine workers, to a
close federation. as in the case Of the
United Garment Workers and United Hat
| ters. The mine workers union is no longer
| union of miners alone, but it includes
| day laborers, top men, drivers, carpenters,
| blacksmiths firemen, hoisting engineers
| in or about a mine. The United Garment
| Workers in New York city are now con-
| Quoting for the first time a general strike
under central council, in which ten or
| twelve unions take part, covering the en-
| tire trade, except the Italian women who
| work al home. This new form of alliance
| is not necessarily an amalgama tion, nor
does it wipe out trade lines. was at
tempted by the knights of Labor, but it
binds together all the trades and all the
unskilled workmen who work in the same
industry, much as the United States Steel
Corporation binds together it's constituent
corporations. Certain strong and COM
pact unions resist this movement because
they are opposed to making sacrifices for
their weaker associates but in proportion
as they these unskilled men with ma
chinery taking their places they are awak-
ening to the need Of protecting themselves
by protecting them.
Hampers No Employer.
2. The new unionism abandons restric-
tions on the employer in the matters Of
ma chinery, division of labor discipline of
the establishment and speed Of work. The