The labor standard., 1918-09-01

wastage of time in great mass of raw labor recruits in the process of their organization into efficient crews.
 The thought uppermost in the minds of men was wages, bonus or overtime. I have only once seen a man censured by foreman for vast ing time. Groups of two and three would walk about the yard and visit from one ship to another, doing noth- ing for two hours at time.
 No matter how much man might want to work, he must confine him self to allotted tasks. He couldn't do thing just because he saw it needed doing, just to be busy. He must do what he was told to do, even if it was to "stall," or risk losing his job, as he might think. If he made an iron he thought should be made, first, he might be thinking wrong, or if right he could not be sure that some one else had not thought of the same thing and work be duplicated, which often happened; the result of free-lance eff l forts.
 I have seen men asleep, dozen or so on a deck, on overtime and no one saying a word to them. Just now these men are working IA hours a day. On that time man gets from three and half to five hours sleep/a night, the average being nearer four. He spends three hours or more daily on trains and cars, and pays 35 cents on trains plus carfare. That man is not fit for 14-hour days work with this daily round-trip ordeal, I can testify, as one who tried it on 13 hours and less.
 As an example of mechanical effici- ency the trolley hoist picks up a plate in the yards and about three minutes later drops it on deck 200 yards distant, and at 35 feet elevation, at a cost in power and labor of not to exceed 25 cents.
 At another place l saw 15 men or more engaged in tug-of-war with a steel plate on the yard level, dragging it about two inches on the average per tug, provided they all tugged to- gether, which they did by. the old sailor method of "yodleing" "all to- gether." Business efficiency is conspicuous by it's absence. No one seems to care what is wasted either in labor or ma terial.
 The prodigal outlay of unrequited wages paid alone would seem enough in time to bankrupt even Uncle Sam, if it occurs in all war industries and government industrial enterprises as it does here.
 Who is to blame? That is always the demand. And having answered that question to the satisfaction of the jury we fatter ourselves that we have answered well; that is, when jus tice is placated for a time with the conviction of somebody. You have heard the saying "Pa's rich and Ma doesn't care'' That is the common attitude toward Uncle Sam.
 Instead of sacrificing some victim on the altar of our imperfect justice, we should apprehend and indict the real culprit, the golden calf, materi- ally, whose name is legion.
 Let Se1fishness, Greed, Avarice and Hypocrisy be haled into the Court of Public Opinion instead of their vic tims shining and sinned against.
 Labor will never do it's best while profiteering goes on under it's nose.
 The men here saw ship launched prematurely that the company might get the bonus. It was not fit for the water. a.e,s t..--- l
 As in this war soldiers must be led by brave, self-sacrifcing commanders, so must the armies of labor be led by real captains of industry, not by profteers. !
 We are at war with the Beast of greed and arbitrary power, not only abroad but at home.
 We are raising our armies by con- scription. <..
 If, prior to it's complete extinction, the. Beast must be chained for the period of the war, and it takes con- scription to chain it, let us have con- scription of labor and capital for that period.