New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-05-07
Expert Tells How
Britain Organized
Labor for War
Every Man Knows He Is
Helping Nation, Says
Commissioner Amos
Capital Valves Profit
Workers Gladly Give Up
All Trade Union
Restrictions
Capital Valves Profit

Washington. May 8. How Great
Britain has arranged her industrial life
so that work on war material is speeded
10 the utmost, and so that every man
who touches such material, down TO the
last nail in a she'll box, knows that he
is helping the nation, and that the ma
ton will get the full benefit of every -
thing he can do, was told to-day by
Maurice S. Amos. the British NUM-
ons expert. He was one of the chief
factors in working out the change.
"England's industry, which before
the war was inchoate and morgan
led" he said, "has gradually been
diverted from the usual channels TO
specific war work in four different
ways. First was the regulation under
the Defence of the Realm act in the
early days Of the war, under which
speculation in war necessities was abb
solutely prohibited by requiring gov
crnment license. This, of course, re-
stricted and stabilized such dealings
and gave the government a semi-con-
troll through its influence over dealers
"Secondly. the railroad executive
committee. which has an even greater
control Of transportation than your
kindred body here, gave priority to war
goods, with such results that manu-
facturers desired to be classified as war
manufacturers in order to secure i'm
mediate transport.
Thirdly the exemption from mill
;ary service of men engaged in war in
dustries made many manufacturers
change over from general trade to war
work i'm order to secure labor stability.
Important Work Kept First
"Most important of all. however,
was the priority committee of the Min
istry of Munitions. At first the COM
mittee itself had divided manufacturers
into three classes Of different degrees
OF national urgency. 1t endeavored to
allot all work on the basis of its war
Importance and oversee every contract
in such way as to keep the most I'M
portant work always d first. Three
classes of work were soon made public
and the aid Of every individual in the
Kingdom asked
First was Class A, or immediate
war work, TO have precedence over
everything else IN securing supplies,
labor and TRANSPORTATION.
THE second group, Class r, we de-
scribed as work looking to the main
tenance, without extension, of the pres
ent industrial plant and stocks.
"Class {. We described as other work
especially foreign trade, maintained at
first 10 keep up exchange and preserve
our position abroad, but now pretty
well abandoned.
THE original man 10 receive n Class
a contract is entitled on his own lnltia-
tive to mark all orders necessary for
making that product as Class A also.
Thus a box manufacturer filling an
order for she'll boxes, orders nails and
wood under Class A urgency; the nail
man in turn orders his materials under
Glass A, and so on all the way back to
the original raw materials entering
into the finished product.
War Material Gets Preference
"Thus war material is given prefer
cnce all along It's road TO construction
Most valuable or all, however, Is thc
intense interest and enthusiasm Gre
-ated among all hands during the long
route from raw material TO fighting
line Every man knows at a glance
whether he is on war work, whether
the box he rs making is for shells or
for toys. Interest and enthusiasm.
enlisted by the judgment Of individual
manufacturers and foremen IN their
grading of goods, subject to only occa-
sional checking. are secured IN way
most compatible with democracy.
"Another most valuable innovation
is the so-callcd controlled shop, O.
which there are now about five thou
sand. devoted exclusively TO war work,
but not subject to government control
as TO prices. rates Of labor. etc.
Capital, on its part, agrees to give
up so per cent of all profits above the
average for the last two years. Labor
therefore. recognizes al once that any
excess profits from its greater interest
and productivity will go to the govern
ment, and has gladly given up many
/ trade union restrictions.
About 90 per cent of England
| labor has been concentrated in thi;
way on war work. The government
has been given autocratic powers OF
requsition. price fixing, labor control
and so forth, but it has felt it infinite
~ better not to use them"