Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1912-03-13

nlm would IN ali INSTANCES DeCome
more efficient by the adoption of some
other method even though the other
method eliminated unnecessary mo-
ton. In the judgment of your COM
mittee, the determination Of whether
or not a detailed study of the methods
of the workmen should be made would,
in a great measure, depend upon the
skill or lack of skill Of those required
to do the work.
1t is always an advantage to have
the work properly routed through the
shop, although it is not at all times
necessary that routing card should
be made out to accompany the work. In
small shops the routing might be done
very effectively by the oral direction
of the foreman. In larger establish
ments routing cards are beneficial for
the effective handling of the work and
they are made more effective when
the machines are properly arranged
and grouped so that the work can pass
through with as little handling as pos
sible, but even in large shops where
the same work is being duplicated day
after day it would be waste of time
and an unnecessary expenditure of en-
ergy to furnish routing card for any
job after the work had reached the
point where it automatically routes it
self.
| STIMULATION RESISTED.
(Here is the crux of the difficulty in
the introduction of the Taylor or any
other system of so-called scientific
management. So far as the workmen
are concerned, they have not made any
serious objections before your commit
tee to standardizing or systematizing
of the work, but they have vigorously
protested against stimulation on the
grounds that it tends to injure their
health through overwork, and that
while their wages may be temporarily
increased, the result is that they are
ultimately required to expend the
great amount of energy without re-
ceiving any additional pay. In the
Judgment of your committee the best
and most effective stimulus that can
secure and hold fine spirit of cooper
alton with the management on the
part OF the workmen. That can not
be secured through timing the opera
tons of the workman with a STOP
watch when he considers such a proce'
dure an indignity which recognizes him
as being in the same class as a beast OF
burden or a machine, or when he con
siders such a time study inaccurate
and therefore unjust to him, or when
he knows that 1t Is to be used as a
basis from which to compute the speed
at which he must work and the wages
he is to receive, when in his judgment
the work, speed, and wage rate are be
ing established in order to secure
greater profits for the employer at the
expense of the workman A straight
piecework basis may be used as a stim
illus to workmen without injury tC
them on work that is continuously dup
Heated for prolonged period of time
providing the workmen are so situated
that they can protect themselves
against the entire power of the man
agement being centered upon them in
Individually to compel them to work be
yond their normal capacity, and pro
vided, further, that they can secure ;
satisfactory guaranty that when thu
piece rate has been once established i
Will not be reduced unless the methods
of production are changed, and reduced
then only in proportion to the reduc
ton In mental and physical energy re
CURED in the production OF the article
In any form that stimulation may b.
used, except that of true cooperation
continuous care must be had tina
quality Is not sacrificed to quantity.
Neither the Taylor system. tn
Emerson system, the Can't system
the Brombacher system, the Stimpsol
system, nor any of the systems of sc
called scientific management hav
been in existence long enoug
for your committee to determine wit
accuracy their effect on the health an
pay of employees and their effect o
wages and labor cost. The conclusion
We have arrived at are all based upo
what We consider to be the logical 81
lquence of the conditions existing Q
proposed. The selection of any systeI
Of shop management for the variou
government works must be to gres
extent a matter of administration, an
/ your committee does not. deem it al