Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1914-07-14


manufacturers or the federal govern
m ,nt?
Mr. Tavenner. Mr.. Taylor developed
his Jstem at the plant of the Midvale
Steel Company, enc of the three con
navy contracts.
The Chairman. Has the experience
OF the Midvale Steel company ever
been looked up by any impartial au
thority?
Mr.. Tavenner. Not that l know of
Mr.. Smith. Is it being used in that
plant yet?
Mr.. Tavenner. / could not say as to
| that.
Mr.. Heating. According to your
statements, the prices charged the gov.
eminent for certain ammunition by
private concerns, operating under the
| Taylor system, was from 20 to so per
cent in excess of the cost of producing
the same kind of ammunition in a gov
eminent factory where the Taylor sys-
tenn was not in use?
! Mr.. Tavenner. Yes, sir.
Mr.. Heating. Those figures would
seem to indicate, then, that either the
government employees who were not
working under the Taylor system were
more efficient, did better work, or that
the private concerns supplying the
government with the material were
charging an excessive price
Workmen More Efficient.
Mr.. Tavenner l think both those
things are true-that the workmen In
the government arsenals are more eff
ficient, as a rule, for the reason that
the government pays better wages in
the government plants and the men
work eight hours day there, while
in the private plants they work 10
hours day. Then, too, in the govern
mont plants men are allowed Is days
leave a year with pay, while in the
private plants they work ~ months
n the year. The better working CON
ditions prevailing in the government
plants have a tendency to attract the
most efficient workmen. The govern
ment gets it's pick of the men.
In some instances. in the Bethle-
hem's Steel company's plant for in
stance, according to the report of the
commissioner of labor, the men in the
blast-furnace department work II
Mr. Taylor has two or three descrip-
tions Of his system. l heard him tes-
tify day before yesterday before the
industrial commission that there is abb
solutely no hurry under his system.
He stated that it was an economic
and scientific impossibility' to over
work a machinist, which statement led
one of the members of the commission
to inquire if workman did not actu-
ally fall from exhaustion, whether that
was sign that he was not over
worked.
Mr. Taylor testified that way before
the commission, but Mr.. Taylor says
in paragraph 125 of his book in regard
to his system: THE tasks were all
made so severe that not more than
one out of five laborers. perhaps even
smaller percentage than this, could
keep up" ! suggest that that is some
hurry.
Mr.. Taylor, in paragraph s293 of his
book on this subject, says: For the
success Of the system the number OF
men employed on practically the same
class of work should be large enough
for the workmen quite often to have
the object lesson of seeing men laid
off for failure to earn high wages and
others substituted in their places"
Whenever a stopwatch is put on
man he does not necessarily have to
work as fast as he can. He does not
have to, but at the same time. there
is the fear that IL he does not do it
he is liable to discharge, and that is
an important thing to workman, who
perhaps has no savings accumulated, |
and who may have wife and children
to support. He has that fear that I'M
less he does work to the limit he is |
liable to be discharged. That is one
Of the features of the system to make |
the men work faster and faster.
A committee of congress investi- |
gated the Taylor system, and reported |
unanimously that this scientific man
agement, so called, placed workmen
IN the position of beasts of burden. A
committee of congress having investi-
gated and reported against it, it seems
10 me 1t is the logical thing to follow
hat investigation with this bill. A
committee of congress having found
hat the speeding-up features of the
system are inimical to the best inter
ssts of the workman, I think this COM
nittee would be justified in reporting
/ bill which would make effective the
work and findings of this committee
which investigated the Taylor and
,ther systems of shop management.
rhe special committee did not have
ime to get a bill through the last
congress, but 1t seems to me 1t is now
he logical thing for this committee to
eport out a bill so that we can have
egislation on the subject this session
I take 1t from General Crozier's re-
marks that this report did not con-
emn the Taylor system and 1 submit 1
hat anyone who will read it will GER I
ainly see that it does not commend !
he Taylor system. ID
General Crozier. Neither does 1t I
ondemn the Taylor system. +,
Reads an Excerpt.
Mr.. Tavenner. Let me read this ex-