The Washington herald., 1912-05-12

aAAIulilaTt HnlCn we must CndI bN W " kAe1'
and loss. but In the aggregate there is fai
too much OF such waste 1t IL tusunaoi'
waste when a man must learn how and In
tends to keep on doing thing; but here. TOO
there Is often great. needless. and wholly un-
justlhable expenditure Of energy and an ex-
pense which someone must pay
+
Effect of Psychology.
Prof Jastrow in his book. Fact and
Fable in Psychology" gives remarkable
illustration Of the effect Of psychological at
titude upon learner-the influence of pre-
possession in delaying the process and the
ease with which thing may otherwise be
learned
This illustration Prof. Jastrow got from
some facts connected with the business OF
tabulating the returns Of enumeration OF the
census Of 1890 by means Of machines special
ly designed for the epuropse-tabulattng ma
chimes for any purpose were then rather
new thing. The account he gives was fur
nished him by Mrs. Mary Cole Baker, and is
as follows:
The adoption Of Mr.. HoIleriths tabulat-
ing machine for counting the population Of
the country according at one and the same
time. to sex, color. age. marital condition,
fAS-IooAoAAf
guaee. and school attendance presented an
entirely novel problem to the ONCE. The
machines having never been used for any
purpose. there was no previous experience
by which TO act or on which TO predicate re-
suits. ThS Necessity was upon the ONCE OF
employing for a very limited time (ninety
days. at least 500 people for this work alone,
IN addition to the 1000 who could. be taken
from other branches OF the work and placed
on this one. Every one. including Mr., Hol-
lerith himself, felt that the rapid and aecu-
rate use Of the punching machines called for
a degree of cultivated intelligence not pos
sessed by every clerk. So much for the
mental attitude.
:" The clerks ian instructor for every twen-
ty) were taught to edit the family schedules
from which the count was to be made, thus
learning thoroughly how to read and classify
the returns. In order to accommodate the
returns TO the capacity OF the punching ma
chine. a great variety OF symbols were
adopted for occupations and professions
Some one symbol must be used for
each occupation recorded. and the use Of the
symbols must be learned. and, for rapid
work. they must be committed to memory
After iye weeks OF editing, one by one, the
most reliable and intelligent workers were
is much like that Of using typewriter. sub
stitutIng for keys moveable punch which
passes through lettered holes. and in place
Of the forty keys Of an ordinary typewriter
about $50 holes are to be learned.
=
Work Cost Nervous Force.
Mr. Hollerith set the number Of cards
for days work at $50. Zach finished card
~ Is b1I 4.
two weeks before that number of cards was
reached by any clerk and that only in ex-
ceptlonal cases. Then the entire force Of the
division was set to work. In two weeks most
Of them had reached i've hundred and the
average was daily increasing. These clerks
worked at first from edited schedules; that
is, those on which had been written the
symbols 10 be punched on the machine A
roll Of honor was made out daily showing
the highest records and In q week the clerks
were doing from 600 to LOO day, but at a
great cost Of nervous force So severe was
the nervous strain that complaints were
made to the secretary Of the interior, who
forbade any further posting of daily reports
and instead an order was posted that no
clerk was required TO do more than such a
days work as he or she could readily per-
form. and that no arbitrary number was re-
quired OF any one.
After the work was weH under way
about 200 clerks were put into one room and
scattered through the force already at work.
They had no experience with schedules, knew
nothing of the symbols. had never seen the
machines. They say those around them
working easily and rapidly and in three days
several Of them had done 500. In q week near
ly every one. while the general average was
rising. There was no longer any question
of nervous strain and one of these temporary
clerks the day before she left beat the record
by doing 2,23O think the influence OF the
mental attitude quite as remarkable in the
matter Of their doing the work easily as In
that OF doing It rapidly. During the first
month they were actually sick from over
work when doing 700. while after that time.
the idea that the work was unusually trying
was never referred to. Another significant
hing is that after the posting Of the daily
record was abolished there was no falling
off in the daily average, as had been antlci-
,ated, while complaints Of overWork neces-
larily ceased"
Prof, Jastrow prints the first two sentences
Ind al half in this last paragraph In italics
Ind the last part of the third sentence in
apitals. In the second paragraph he itali-
ises after FIVE weeks Of editing" and in
he next all the time references. to contrast
he fact that an unsldlled clerk in three days
'asily accomplished what It took clerks Of
wo weeks OF praetice and i've weeks Of I
raining to accomplish. Could there be a
much better illustration OF how much mental
taste as well as waste Of time often goes
n in the starting of new and unfamiliar
b4ng?
There are perhaps half dozen practical
sssons to be drawn from such an i1lustra-
lon One that Is drawn here Is that We
eldom exert ourselves TO our fun capacity.
We can do what we think We can do. II
7e coddle our mental selves too much we
re in as bad a case as when We eoddle our
hysical selves. There are many people
Tho never surnount the first difficulty espe- 1
ALLY If they must work alone. They let