Webster City freeman. [volume] (Webster City, Hamilton County, Iowa) 1884-1946, 1920-06-07
Production Throughout the
Country has Fallen off
IS per Cent, Say
Experts.
RAILROADS AND WAGE
Wages and Rate Boosts are
Going Around in
Circles.
BY J. e. Jones.)

though telephones are as common as
family Bibles throughout the country,
the great Bell System admits that it IS
in the same boat with all the other IN
dustries that require a large volume
of supplies, inasmuch as it Is unable 10
secure the necessary materials to. In
stall thousands Of new instruments
that are wanted by custOmers-prlncl-
pal1y those in the metropolitan centers.
The Bell System weekly 5S,-
600 miles Of fine wire in apparatus.
and 10000 miles Of cOarser sizes OF
copper wire in l~ead-covered cable
which is sufficient to girdle the globe
nearly five times. But old Mother
Hubbard is having a deuce OF a time
in getting copper wire for her cup
board, and one Of the reports upon the
subject by a large concern that sup
plies copper wi:e says that even
though the highest wages known to
the brass and copper industry are now
being paid that ''this policy does not
tend to increased production or higher
efficiency to the contrary, men seem
to acquire, with higher wages, an air
of Indifference" ."
The wire mills have been subjected
to repeated strikes, and some OF the
principle sources of supply have been
closed for weeks at a time. Shorter
working hours have been followed by
inability to secure night shifts which
are usually operated in these institu-
lions in busy times. The great manu-
featuring pressure and inability to Sc
cure new machinery is creating a
Thoroughly wOrn-Out condition., which
frequently causes breakdowns and in
terruptions of delivery, in the wire
mills"
1t is apparent that the telephones
cannot be installed without wire. The
condition described with reference to
that commodity is no worse than that
which controls the ultimate delivery of
steel. The Bell System uses 1S,OOO,OOO
pounds annually. The steel industry is
many months behind it's orders, and it
is reported that n company alone Is
behind 9,5OO.OOO tons. The industry
has not recovered from the strike OF
last fall and there is a general shortage
Of steel workers.
The Bell System in a phamplet en-
titled Hard Facts about Supplies
shows the general, shortage Of the es-
sentials fOr, the extension and upkeep
of its plant. The thread of, the story
is a REPETITION of difficulties obtaining
in all industries in the purchasing of
all kinds of supplies, including galvan-
lied iron and steel wire and strand,
pole line hardware, and lead, anthony
and tin, silk and cotton yarns, timber
products, clay conduit and glass insu-
latOrs, etc.
Decreased Production.
Perhaps no institution in the country
Is in better shape to secure supplies
than the American Telephone and Tel
egraph company, and surely there is
no national institution in better posi-
ton to analyze our domestic conditions,
since it reaches everywhere. In the
opinion of the company 1.-THE average
failing off of production throughout
the country is estimated to be about
35 per cent, and this in spite of great
ly increased prices" In its own
principal purchases for telephone con-
structiOn a table of the per cent of in
crease in costs from August, 1914, to
January, 1920, shows that on more than
half of a large number of articles
the advance has been 100 per cent, and
upwards to as much as 475 per cent.
The conspicuous feature of this story,
which is used as an illustration be-
cause 1t affects a c0ncern in such gen
eral operation, apparently removes any
doubt about thdre being a great back
ed-up demand for construction work in
practically every line of industry.
There is no record of panic and in
dustrfal depression in the face of such
a prospect" says an economic expert.
Added to this important observation is
the addenda of needed houses, railroad
equipment, and construction work that
has long been on the waiting list"
The needs Of other countries are also
OF great Importance, but foreign com
merce Is tagging, waiting for some
signs, Of industry catching up with
itself, ,
The world has not gotten back TO
normal production and everywhere it
is the same old story concerning re-
tarded development and the lack of
construction to meet the imperative
needs.
While the hours of labor have been
reduced wages have climbed steadily.
1t is pointed out that those who re-
ceived early advantages with their DAY
checks lost the value of these increases
as other advances followed. They now
seek to recOver the gains they have
lost by further increases in wages. As
a result wages are raised first in one
quarter and then in another, each sue
demand suggesting others. In
the past. history of the country in
creased expenditures were a guaran-
tee of increased production: One of the
reasons why we do not get this today
is the shorter hours. Was that the
only reason, it might be overcome. Ac-
cepting the estimate of the Bell Sys-
fem that the decrease in production
b per cent, the deficit can
not be sqla red by charging it all up to
the short day.
Evidently there continues to exist a
good deal Of unrest throughout the
country, and to This unhealthy cOndi-
ton may be safely charged the re-
sponsibility for most Of the 'loafing on
the job" that has cut down production.
Advances in railroad wages granted