Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-02-18
SHIPCARPENTERS YIELD
TO PRESIDENT
Continued from pase 1

gpntlnue1 IRON paSs 4
to the enemy he would direct the men TO
return 10 their jotr pending settlement.
In formal reply Hutcheson said " hile
he had no power 10 sign an agrccrnent for
adjustment, he wns using his influence 10
have the men return and asked again
, that the President meet him as the "only
! way in which TO solve the problem"
rIEcE WORK PROBABLE SOLUTION.
Solution Of constantly recurring labor
troubles in the shipyards is believed TO
lie in a national piccework scale, uni-
form throughout the United States and
guaranteed by the government, IN the
opinion Of Chairman Hurley OF tho Ship
ping Board, V. Everitt Macy, head OF the
Labor Adjustment Board, and other Off
cials Of the Emergency Fleet Corporation
The Labor Adjustment Board will
work progressively toward general adop-
ton Of this gystern under it's close slTer-
vision. For this reason piece work rates
fixed in the Delaware River scale are
Of the highest importance. They frankly
will be used as the basis for UNIFORM
scale for the entire United States.
In the past union laboriHn has limited
output under the piece rate system. This
limitation was done by local un ions, it Is
asserted, and was a dcfesIve measure
| because when men earned more than
employers thought TO be a fair wagc
the piece rate WIS reduced.
RATE GUARANTEED YoR YEAR.
Under the national uniform piece rate
scale the rate will be guaranteed by the
government for the period Of the war
or at least against any change for a
period of year. VI man makes 500
week under the scale IT will stand.
Such a wage arrangement, 1t is be-
lieved, will solve the problem Of speeding
up the workers and end what has been
dubbed in Washington the Tabor hold
back" the unwilingncss Of certain Of
the wage earners to speed production
when only the builders got the benefts.
Another source Of cornpl Amt has been
the bonus system under which builders
IN certain Instances are TO get a bonus
for speed while workers who could bring
the bonus got nothing. Cons Iteration IL
being gwen To the question Of splitting
bonuses 50 that the men as well as the
yards will benefit.
ROGER BABsor's VIEWS.
Failure Of manufacturers 10 increase
wages IN keeping with the advance in the
cost Of living, may be the weakness
Of the industrial structure" according
to Roger W Babson, special agent %
the employment service Of the Depart
ment of Labor, whose views gained dur.
ing recent trip through The west, ar.
set forth today IN an employment ser.
vice bulletin
Although starting his trip with the ides
Of educating the workers to the need'
Of the present situation, Mr. Bateor
says he returned with the idsa that III
/ ..lF =
localities need fully as much D,esonsr-
work as do workers"
The labor difficulty at present ia on
/ of improper distribution, rather than o
shortage he said. The complaints o
manufacturers, have found, have anse1
not 40 much from their difficulty IN Oh
| tanning labor, but N their difficulty n
obtaining IL at the prices which the manu-
facturers desire 20 pay. My prinnps
dificulty was IN convincing mAnufac-
turers Of the increase IN the cost of hvInl
TO wage eaTners and IN the reasonable
ness of advancing wages.
THE manufacturers who are not corn
planning about paying advances Of 10
per cent or more for materials wnIci
, they must Use, are srrpnuousiy object
ing to paying q fraction of this advanc
IN wages
In many ways manufacturers Ar
more liberal than wage eaxuers. The,
cheerfully pay heavy taxer. give hount,
fully to the Red Cross and similar N
carnations, are willing to work In Wash
ington for 81 a year and permit thei
wives to knit from morning 70 night
but there is one thing which they All
not do: Give up one-sixteenth OF so-caiie'
inherited rights OF the employing Glars.