El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-03-10

fullest capacity The overhead charg-
es were reckoned as an integral part
of production, and waste preemptor-
lily stopped. Not all Of this was done
without opposition, but the program
was gradually carried through and the
business saved.
The new efficiency system takes ac-
count Of costs as fundamental In
the old days the conserva tive business
man was wont to say Why bother
about costs? Sales are what countp
The results of this attitude were some
times appalling and disastrous, as for
example: A large commercial print
ing corporation in the middle west
went into the hands Of a receiver who,
under the orders Of the court, was to
run the business and fulfill certain
outstanding contracts for the benefn
OF the creditors. The concern was well
equipped, and should have shown a
goodly balance on the right hand OF
the ledger. The receiver called IN
a business doctor who speedily discov-
cred the causes Of failure. In many
instances bids had been made for work
and subsequently carried out at less
than actual cost OF labor. material
depreciation of plant, interest on cap
ital and overhead charges. owing TO
the fundamental blunder that the Of
ffcers Of the company had no data
at hand telling the first cost OF COM
pleted piece Of work. Their estimat-
ing had all been Of the haphazard va
riety. The business now is on a pay
ing basis and has recently enlarged
its plant
Specialization Is Good.
Specialization IS another effective
prescription Of the business doctor,
not alone in the shop. the foundry,
or the finishing room. but In the
business or sales office. AS a conse-
quence the au-round mechanic like
the, all-round bookkeeper, is rapidly
becoming an extinct species This may
not be a good thing for the worker,
but it does make for efficiency. In
great wholesale mercantile offices or
insurance companies. for Instance, the
office force will be highly organized
and specialized In place OF the old
general bookkeeper" we now find the
"S'' or the &C" ledger man, the entry
man. the cost clerk, the entry clerk
the billing clerk, or the invoice man.
So in the department stores A man
may work for 80 years in blankets.
in trimmings or in silks. and not be
able to spot the difference between
a huckaback towel and a bolt of sheet
ing. In the average machine shop
will be found. instead OF a machfn1st
capable Of turning his hand to any or
er man, thread man, or q punch hand.
who from year end to year end sees
and learns nothing Of the other null
tiform processes going on around him.
Trades union officials deprecate
this specialization speeding" and the
bonus system for driving men, claim
ing. not without warrant. that all such
methods tend to degrade the worker to
q mere cog in a complex machine and
TO these modern methods Of system
and efficiency, and the introduction
of automatic devices. the number OF
purely routine men is annually increas-
ing Foremen and department heads
are now able to oversee two or three
hundred men where in former days
% would have constituted a large
force.
The question of railroad efficiency
is one that comes vitality home 10 every
American citizen. In the recent rail-
road rate hearing before the Inter-
state Commerce commission il was in
dubitably brought out that the rail-
road presidents themselves were SIM
gularIy ignorant of the scientific bus
mess efficiency commonly practiced
nowadays in competititive business
enterprises For instance it was ad-
mitted that no standard costs were
kept for repairs on locomotives or
freight cars. Louis D. Brandeis show
ed that a three percent increase OF
efficiency in operation would save
enough to offset the recent wage in
crease.
Efficiency Literature Needed.
Modern efficiency systems in bust
ness have not only developed a lit
erature of their own. but many wide
awake concerns now make use Of such
literature. by tabulating, indexing and 4
filing every article or illustration bear
ing upon some particular process or
product-au this being inspired by the
efficiency engineer. Some large con-
Germs employ a man whose sole duty
it is to read every trade journal. every
technical paper or pamphlet and ev-
cry popular magazine. in order to Gull
therefrom articles or matter that may
prove Of interest to the employees and
heads of the different departments.
who are thus kept in touch with what
is doing in their particular line. In
another great manufacturing concern I
100 copies of a technical monthly are !.
subscribed for by the company and
presented to certain members of the I
force who are working at the bench. /
These are simple yet all-embracing
methods of keeping the entire staff !
posted as to the newest ideas. The I
result is increased efficiency anr {
marked acce1eration Of output
Tom OrrOW-POlO