The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1911-02-10
NO BONUS SYSTEM
Mitchell Opposed to Brandeis'
Economy Plan.
A MENACE TO WORKINGMEN.
Specialization of Work and Payment
of Premiums Tend to Mental and
Physical Deterioration Of the Toiler
Bad Business Policy.

Physical Deterioration Of the Toiler
Bad Business Policy.
John Mitchell, vice president of the
American Federation of Labor. now
member of the executive committee OF
the National Civic federation and one
of the most prominent labor leaders in
| America, opposes what he believes to
be some Of the means advocated by
| Louis ID. Brandeis to save 81 t10.00O
n day for the railroads of the country.
Mr.. Mitchell in recent intel view
| said he held Mr.. Brandeis in the high
est esteem. that he was valued
| friend of labor, that he was a deep
| thinker and man possessed of pro
| found economic knowledge. He did
| not want to misinterpret anything Mr..
Brandeis had said, and if he said any
thing not justified by what Mr. Bran
had misunderstood it:
"Mr. Brandeis has been saying that
| some $300O00,0O0 a year could be saw
| ed by the railroads in the cost of
| transportation, according to the news
papers. There is general belief that
he advocates as a means to that saving
the premium or bonus system of pay
ing the wOrkmen and further speciali-
cation in work. l do not believe that
the wOrkmen employed by the rail
roads should do any more work than
they are now doing. I do not believe
that anything can safely be saved on
them and that if there is a waste Of
$500, 100000 year it lies outside the
sphere of cost occupied by the work
men. And | am against the premium
or bonus system and against too much
specialization.
First as to specialization. The
thought should not be so much about
the machine as about the man in front
of the machine There Is a point in
the specialization of work beyond
which it Is not safe to go because Of
the deterioration of the workman and
ultimately Of the kind of work he does.
think that point has about been
reached In the railroads and In most
of the other large industries.
Speaking recently to an interview
er, Dr. William Mabon, superintendent
of the Manhattan State Hospital For
the Insane said that monotony Of la
Dor is a frequent cause of insanity.
Let me read you what he said"
The article quoted DR.. Mabon as
saying. for example, that in a shoe
factory one man has a machine to
punch holes In strips of leather for
the laces; that all day long for six
days in the week he punches holes.
That kind of work gets to be abso-
lutely automatic, and many workmen
deteriorate while doing 1t. The brain
cells that are not used in the piece Of
specialized work, which is most Of
those in the BRAIN finally go dead
from lack Of use, and then the worker
is ready for the insane asylum.
"This horrible monotony Of special
lied labor" DR.. Mabon was quoted as
saying. sis doing a great deal to I'M
balance the minds Of the workers"
ut Is best that the workman use all
the knowledge he has" went on Mr..
Mitchell. There is nothing SO restful
as variety Even If the work itself is
not intrinsically hard, 1t deterlorates
the workman if it is always one little
piece of the same kind.
81 don't know whether or not Mr..
Brandeis is an advocate Of the piece
system. Organized labor is against
that, because it speeds the men up too
| Hatlyfnra
man, who should always be the first
concern.
1T is sometimes charged that the Ia
Dor unions tend to level down work
men. This Is not true. Labor unions
do not say that an employer shall not
pay an especially competent and eff
fective workman something in addi-
ton to what he pays the others. They
are but fighting for at least fair pay
for an honest days work by the aver
age workman.
Organized labor is against the pre-
MUM or bonus system Of payment to
the workman because that is designed
to speed up the workman beyond the
safety line. That is bad economy
The employer who uses the system
may notice an advantage at first, but
1t is not long before the workman be-
gins to deteriorate under the strain;
then his work deteriorates Also and
presently the loss in his productivity
amounts to much more than the tenn
porary gain.
"Of course there could not be a
great deal more specialization in the
actual running of the trains than
there now Is. In the very nature of
the occupation a man must do work
of considerable variety, but In the
shops there is opportunity for minute
specialization, as In the case OF the
shoe factory used as an example by
DR.. Mabon. There the specialization
has already been carried to the edge
of the danger line, and 1t should be
carried no further. Organized labor
will oppose any attempt to carry 1t
further.
1.-The men who do the work OF the
railroads, both outside and in the
shops, are doing all they should do
now. They are the fastest and most
efficient of their kind in the world. II
there be any waste, then, In the rail-
roads of the country 1t is not In the
men. / have no criticism to make of
Mr. Brandeis' recommendations for eff
fectng further economies In the run
ming of the railroads except in so far
| n n thav raIat 20 RI lahoru