The daily Nome industrial worker., 1916-07-27


 management as is understood in this country they have little or mo- thing to do. For inefficient labor they have one cause: fatigue, and they say that it is for scientific management to discover the point where the workers time is uneco- nomically spent by reason of that and that period of rest being ar- ranged that will eliminate it. In America the method is differ ent. That it is better is another question. The expert first of all forgets all about fatigue or the worker as a human being. He re- gards the worker as a machine. May be a machine with limited en. durance, but none the less a me- chanism. He observes the move ments of that human mechanism whether it is loading iron or laying bricks. If necessary, and he is truly modern, he takes a motion picture of the man in action. He reduces all unnecessary motions. If a min takes a step forward and step backward and raises his hand to the right ard then to the left, four mo- tions in all, and the expert finds that it can be done in two, the em. ployee is compelled to eliminate the Isnperflucus two. He is then tested and speeded up with his two mo- tions until eh accomplishes them in about half the time he could other wise accomplish the work in. The stop watch is used until the highest possible efficiency of action is achieved. This gait is demanded by the employers of their employees and when they cannot any longer make it, they are scrapped. The mechanism is industrial junk like an out of date or worn out engine.
 After that, the worker drifts to jobs less highly remunerated. His earning capacity goes. He is the first to feel the effect of an indus trial depression and broken down he passes away to be inferred in the Potter's field. The majority of the workers have this experience, and there is no greater tragedy in the United States than working mans gray hairs. It is a tragedy and it is a disgrace, and it is due to the fact that the industrial system has resulted in men being literally vast ed for the sake of profit.
 The same thing has been done in England. Before this war Great Britain held human life in small esteem. It's slums and its povertC were appalling. But this war has shown that it is not upon factories alone that a nations greatness or a nations security depends. It de- pends upon the welfare of its popu- lation. It depends upon the health and the vigor and happiness of the The happier the intuition workers were, says this committee, the greater was the output in all the government factories, and any thing that conduced to healthy and happy home life conduced also to a better and more efficient out put.
 Again and again the committee deplores the lack of foresight and of human life that re- luced the productive capacity of he population and created so many weddings. The Royal Commission o stimulate recruiting has done exactly the same thing. The num- per of defectives at first appeared alarming until the discovery was made that proper food, healthy and egular exercise made new men out if many who were regarded by the 4rmy examiners as physically unfit.
 It has taken a great war with ndless misery, suffering, dest1tu- ion, destruction. maiming, strain nd nervous stress to force this lpon the people of England. They LOW discover in the day of wrath hat after all profits are as nothing, wealth is as nothing, but human fife everything if they are to main' , ain their national integrity.
 They are compelled, not from any wakened social conscience, but rom motives of selfish materialism, |