The Topeka state journal., 1916-05-04
Euening Chat
Efficiency and Humanity.
BY RUTH CAMERON.

A very ambitious, conscientious
young girl who lives in our neighbor-
hood works as a stenographer in the
city.
A few weeks ago I was calling on
her mother, and she mentioned that
Ellen was home in bed When I ex-
pressed my sympathy, she said, "Oh,
she's got really sick. She just felt
as if a cold were coming on"
Nothing more was said at the time,
and 1 wondered what had come over
Ellen. For she isn't the kind who
stay home for a slight cold. In fact,
the winter before she almost had
pneumonia because she persisted in go
ing to the office in spite of very
bad cold. Yesterday l met her on the
trolley and she told me all about the
new state of affairs.
At the beginning of the present
winter, her employer had summoned
the office force to a conference and
surprised them by telling them that
in the coming winter he wanted them
to stay home whenever they felt the
slightest symptoms of cold.
Then he had a serious talk with
them The substance of the talk was
this:
'If you go to bed when you feel a
cold coming on, take some simple
treatment, keep warm, and rest, you
ing it up in day or two OF course
hitherto you haven't felt like taking 4
day off just because you were afraid
a cold was coming on, and so you
have come to work and the cold has
grown worse and lasted perhaps a
week, perhaps longer. Maybe in the
end you were sick and had to stay
out a week or two. Maybe you man
aged to stick to your post. but felt so
mean that it was big strain to work.
Probably you gave the cold to two or
three others, who went through the
same experiences.
Now 1 thank you all for your pluck
and devotion to duty" Che is a man
who really inspires these qualities) /;
''but for both our sakes I don't want
winter
Last winter I lost some months
of time from serious colds, besides
the general loss of efficiency where
people worked under the handicap of
cold. This winter I suggest that
we cooperate in trying to nip these
colds in the bud.
whenever any of US feels that he
has cold coming on, he is to tele-
phone the office and stay in bed until
the cold is better. Don't bring it in
and pass it around. And don't let it
get the upper hand of you. I trust in
your honor not to abuse the privilege,
either by taking time when you don't
need 1T or by doing anything else with
the time except going to bed anG
working just as conscientiously to get
rid of the cold as you would work in
the office
That was the substance of his talk
The results of it make Ellen, usually
a quiet person, quite voluble with en-
thusiasm. Although this has been an
unusually severe winter, only one per-
son in the office has been out more
than three days with any form Of
cold. In her own case she broke up
two colds. one with two days rest, an
other vita one days. The gain in gen
eral efficiency from stopping the leak
caused by subnormal health from
colds cannot be measured, but her
employer is entirely satisfied with it
There are times when the prin-
ciples of efficiency seem to be pitiIess
and inhuman, there are other times
when efficiency and humanity plainly
go hand in hand And this seems to
be one Of the latter.-(Protected by
the Adams Newspaper Service.)