davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The New York herald., 1921-07-31

ers of comprehension otherwise are Sc
verely limited.
With this in mind let us look in on a
meeting of the representatives of the en-
ployees in a large New England factory.
This is one which manufactures motor
vehicles. 1t is located in one of the largest
and wealthiest cities of Massachusetts,
where the school system is excellent. The
community has churches galore and in
every respect it is representative of the
best in the State. The particular factory
in question employs $500 men and women,
all well paid and working under first class
conditions.
The vice-president is present at this
meeting to tell the employees of the man
agement's wish to add to the attractiveness
OF their working conditions. 1t is pro
posed to give every man and woman of
one years tenure in their positions free
life insurance in the sum of $500. There
are no strings attached to the proposal as
the management will take all the neces-
sary steps and pay the premiums. What
is the pleasure OF the meeting?
II was rather startling to hear the first
delegate get up and say fatty that the
workers didn't want to accept IT, Another
worker jumped to his feet and said:
when we're dead, we're dead. Let some
body else look after them that's lert pe-
hind" To this frank, IL rather heartless,
declaration there was no dissenting voice
Another workingman got up and began a
harangue about higher wages. If the
management would pay them more money.
IL needn't worry about insurance. The
men could look after themselves
The difficulty with the vice-president
was that he did not know his workers. He
lived in different world-that of general
education, of familiarity with books. news
papers, of common understanding and
sympathy; in short, in realm where peo
pie conceive themselves to be part of the
community. and give and take It never
occurred to him that the men and women
he employed were interested chiefly in
themselves and in adding to their existing
wages and pleasures.
What? Vote for the boss to spend $685.
900 year to pay our INSURANCE. premiums? :?
Never! This would be fine excuse for
him to keep wages low let him pay us
more money and we will look after our
own affairs Ii was the chairman of the
meeting who said this to me afterward
| asked him how many Of his comrades
carried any insurance and he didn't know.
My impression is that it was very small
percentage. When | suggested that the
annual premium proposed to be paid by
the company would. IL distributed pro rata
among the workers, add only $40 year to
their pay, he answered that 1t made no diff
ference. II was the principle of the thingl
They had no complaint about wages, but
IL the boss had any extra money to give
away let him hand it over to them.
In walking through the factory ] could
not see that the average worker displayed
any excessive interest in what he was do
ing. The motto was Don't work too
hard" In the main they lacked a feeling
Of responsibility should not say that
they were of low grade of intelligence
The New York herald., 1921-07-31
Hire Best Help Possible;
Hold Them Responsible but Free

when the time of our shutdown ap-
preached l called the employees together
and explained to them why it was unwise
to make goods which we should have to
sell later at loss. Such course would
only delay our getting back to normal. 1t
was a condition for which we had no re-
sponsibility whatever, and our people
grasped it.
Il announced that any worker needing
ii could have credit at our store or coal
pocket and that loans would be made to
those needing cash. None need suffer.
We would resume business probably in
about ninety days.
"To make a long story short, everybody
went away satisfied and sat tight. Some
of our directors expected that we would
lose $4,000, due to unpaid loans, during
the shutdown. Nothing of the kind hap
pened, and since we resumed operations
every employee who bought from us on
credit or borrowed money has repaid us
in full"
When | tried to get at the secret of this
managers methods / found him very re-
luctant to talk. Finally he said:
II employ the very best men and women
/ can get. If it is possible for me to teach
them anything about their jobs | do so,
then let them alone. They are held strictly
responsible for their department, but their
hands are free My real job is to think"
This sums up the entire problem. Where
such a condition exists in Industry the
workers may be illiterate and imperfectly
educated, but they are contented and
even happy. What is more they have a
direct incentive to improve themselves
and their progress is in marked contrast
with that of their less fortunate fellows.
whose lives are passed in industrial estab-
lishments which are only one-half or two
thirds efficient
The New York herald., 1921-07-31
A Gilt Edged Offer of Help
Turned Down by the Laborer.

II is this preponderating element, too
which supplies such leadership as exists in
our mills and factories. If blessed with
an abundance of common sense II is con
ceivable that the equivalent of grammar
school education might result in fitting a
workingman to become passable citizen,
but it leaves him wofully incapable of
exercising very inspiring leadership for
his illiterate comrades He may be, and
often is, first class worker, but his pow.
The New York herald., 1921-07-31

his ideas are derived, in the MAN, from
his more fortunate fellow who works be-
side him in factory and mill This bet
ter educated workman at least can read
and write. He may not be fountain of
wisdom, but he has enjoyed advantages
which give him a certain superiority.
Should we not take comfort in the hope
that the lterate workman will help to
level up his less fortunate brother at the
foot of the ladder?
Prof. William McDougall of the School
of Psychology in Harvard College, in lee
lures before the Lowell Institute of Boston
recently, studied the mental equipment,
and to a lesser degree the moral equip
ment, of the American public-the men and
women who work in industry, on the
farms and in business.
BY and large, he said, we are grammar
school people. lacking the mental stamina
to sustain as much as a high school edu-
; cation. In support of his contention he
cited the results of an intelligence test
conducted among many thousands of men
examined in a district where the oppor
tunities for schooling are relatively poor
The tests were not matter of knowledge
but of innate mental ability There were
many illiterates among those examined
and large proportion both of literates and
those unable to read and write were
negroes.
Prof McDougall Classics the men in
seven groups. In the first, or "A" group,
are the men who have the ability to make
a record above the average in college Those
capable of making an average record in
college are classified in the second or "B"
group. In the next, or &C plus classfca.
tion, are what would be called low grade
college material
After that comes the fourth group or
"C' men, who are scarcely capable of fin.
ishing even high school course They
constitute one-quarter OF the whole The
fifth, sixth and seventh groups, constituting
As per cent. of the whole, are the illiterates.
sub-normals and detectives. These go out
into the world without any book learning.
or progress no further than the various
grades OF the grammar school The per
centages are as follows:
ONE HUNDRED MEN.
A Plus C C Minus d Minus
AZ Q 16h 25 90 Is 10
It comes down to this: Seventy per cent.
or almost three-quarters OF our men, are
incapable of high school training One
quarter of them are unable to read and
write. This is the public to which has
been committed the destiny OF the nation
under universal suffrage.
The New York herald., 1921-07-31
Phenomenon of Mill Perfectly
Conducted on Modern Plan

This marvellous phenomenon has left a
very deep impression upon me. / have
never seen more highly efficient manage
ment anywhre, and question IL any other
plant in the United States can equal IL. In
the first place, this mill has production
ranging from So per cent. to even 106 per
cent Sounds like a fairy tale, doesn't 1t?
But an examination of the production
charts is proof. Ninety-fve per cent. is
very common. AS for the 106 per cent. II
is figured In this way.
'Many years ago." the manager told me,
I'VE decided to scrap our old machinery
and we literally threw It out. We tried
to look ahead to times when competition
and other business conditions would de-
The New York herald., 1921-07-31

Mitrued and
in Plants Where Education Has Been Effective

entire country if we had more ably man
aged corporations. l have visited over
100 mills, factories and transportation
companies in the last couple of years, but
out of this number have discovered per-
haps not more than four that impressed
me as being 100 per cent. efficient, year in
and out. This is a serious statement to
make, but it is my deliberate conviction.
Good business management is one of the
rarest things in the world.
would define it under four aspects.
First, body of managers and executives
who are fundamentally good. Second, a
complete understanding between employer
and employee. In the third place, / put
generous wages, and, lastly, excellent work
ing conditions.
There is transportation company in
New York city which embodies all of these
requirements.
What kind of a company is it that you
work for?" ! inquired of a big. broad
shouldered machinist in one of the shops.
Sure, the best in the country" was the
answer. Fine pay and white treatment"
Another workman near by turned and
said we can go in and see the president
ohy tihC IL tHlHBS uOh 30 ANU
he's just Bill to us fellows tool" From
third | learned that the president had
never lied to- them"
Too few of our executives are really
capable. They may expend on an aver
age $50 each for hiring and firing en-
ployees. when the exercise of little real
brain power would not only get at the
source OF their troubles. but result in pro
ducing body of satisfied workers, as well
as save their employers thousands of dol
lars annually. The absence Of q really
intelligent and constructive policy often
may be laid at the door of the board of di
rectors, which perhaps is dominated by
tnanciers who themselves are ignorant of
what is on the workers mind.
few weeks ago visited large cotton
goods mill in northern New York Though
tbis is an era when few factories are work
ing full time found this one on a twenty
forr hour day basis for 1.200 of its en-
ployces. and possibly half as much for the
GOO others. They were contented even
happy, and according to the president of
the local savings bank, 75 to so per cent
OF them were depositing portion of their
wages each week.
The New York herald., 1921-07-31


minds were not awake and their imagina'
tion sluggish.
1t had not occurred to the chairman-em
ployee that even if the company raised
wages the men might not use the money
to buy insurance or that it would be more
expensive. He admitted he didn't know
much about insurance, didn't carry any
himself, as he was "a long ways from be
ing dead YETI His intellectual concepts
reached scarcely farther than those of the
grammar school If he thought ahead at
all it was to vacation or Christmas, which
meant more spending and pleasure. AS
for looking at the facts of life squarely or
trying to reach a goal or object in the
world, this was beyond him.
Another Instance of Labor,
But Under Excellent Conditions
Last summer | attended picnic given
by the management of a large textile mill
in Central New York. They employ 1000
people and pay excellent wages. For weeks
the managers had striven to perfect the
arrangements. variety of entertainments
were projected; there were to ne sports,
theatricals, music and dancing, followed by
sandwiches, ice cream and soft drinks. On
the afternoon appointed great crowd as
sembled and Joined in the fun. The affair
had been carefully planned and everything
went off we'll II cost the management
about $4,000.
There is no doubt but the younger ele-
ment had a good time, and they showed it.
The girls and older women were outspoken
in their appreciation One of the men.
however, confded in me that he thought
the company would have done better IL II
had given the money to the workers direct.
am entirely ready to concede often
times that the managers OF corporations
themselves are largely responsible for the
distrust shown by the employees. In one
of the large cities of the Atlantic seaboard
there is a public service corporation en-
ploying 10000 men. II offered stock to the
employees a few years ago on the basis of
small weekly payments. The first issue
was sold in this way at price of s1i5 a
share, the dividend rate at the time being
6 per cent. subsequently a second allot-
ment was put out to the men at $3.50
share, the dividends having increased to
per cent.
To-day that stock is selling around $40
and the last dividend was at the rate of
per cent. There are employees who are
still paying on shares subscribed for on
the basis of $780, Naturally they are not
pleased. On the whole. / should say that
the workers are decidedly hostile in their
attitude toward their employers
"The corporation is robbing usl" de-
clared one veteran worker TO me. He went
on in TRADE against his employers and
Wall Street. A large number of the men
continued their payments and received the
stock. Others discontinued and lost. OBJ
viously the company was guilty Of nothing
more than atrocious Judgment but IL is
glaring instances like these which do much
to arouse and fan the bad feeling between
employer and employee
1t would be of the greatest benefit to the
The New York herald., 1921-07-31
BY MAJOR SHERMAN M. cRAIGER.

wv lean worker? l refer to the fif
teen millions of men and women
in industry, as well as to their fellow
workers on our farms. What do they think
about you and me, and of the interests
more or less varied, that are of concern to
us? Do they accept all or part Of the view
that we may hold in regard to life, ac-
quiescing in what Fate and Fortune brings
to them, and making the best of their
powers and capabilities? Is the existing
order satisfactory to them, or do they en-
tertain very different idea as to what
the world should be- and are they striving
to make 1t so? What is it that they want
most?
After twenty months of more or less per.
sonal contact with thousands of industrial
workers in the States of New York and
Massachusetts, and going in and out among
them freely, l have been impressed with
some very novel facts about the men and
women who work with their hands. For
a year l resided in city of $4,000 people,
the majority of whom toiled in shirt and
collar factories, cotton and woollen mills
and steel and rubber industries. They were
largely American, with considerable groups
and Armenans. Altogether they represent
perhaps an average cross-section of Amer
lean industry.
4 ChiIdHkeneSs Is the
Obvious Trait of Workingmen
If the reader is to endeavor to see them
as l have he should at the outset lay aside
his preconceiyed ideas and for the moment
frxy IN ot ho Tba oh
vious trait of the workers, according to
my observation, is their essential child
likeness. 1t was shock to me at first
to go into a factory and discover young
men and women who could not read or
write. They are not foreigners, but Ameri-
can born. They wear good clothes and
make an average appearance. Their speech
is not particularly ungrammatical For
tunately there is not large percentage of
young people who are illiterate
1t is very much more common to find
adults working in the mills who can
neither read a newspaper nor write let
ter. There is a surprising number who
cannot sign their names. This element,
too, is either of American birth or has re-
sided in this country for a long time.
There Is nothing about their personal ap-
pearance to indicate their illiteracy, al
though one might not experience much diff
fculty in classifying them as factory
workers.
do not wish to imply that there are no
foreigners in the mill towns who lack an
education. Undoubtedly there are many.
II is not possible for me to estimate their
proportion, but it Is no small one. They
have enjoyed few, if any, educational ad-
vantages.
Until the seective draft law came into
being during the world war the average
reader contented himself with the re1ec-
tion that. if illiteracy did exist in the
United States, it was confined principally
to the negroes in the Southern States and
to immigrants in the Northern Industrial
centres. There was a widespread ignor-
ance of the actual conditions and no gen.
eral manifestation of interest in them. 1t
was a revelation to the world when the
examination of men drafted for military
Service indicated that one American out of
every four is illiterate.
The New York herald., 1921-07-31
Figures That Proclaim
Our Crime of ILIiteracy

eral Commissioner OF Education at Wasl
ington:
According to the Federal census Of 1910
there were in the United States 5.5o2,s51
iliterate persons over 10 years of age.
Illiteracy means in the census report ina
bility to write. OF course. these persons
are usually also unable to read. or this
number something more than four and
three-auarter millions we're over 20 years
of age.
At the same time there were 3.0s9,723
over 10 years of age unable to speak Eng
lish. OF course. they were also unable to
read. This would appear to make total
Of s,592074 persons over 10 years of age
unable to read and write English. Pos
sibly IL should be remembered, however,
that some Of those reported unable to
speak English were also included In the
Ave and one-half millions of illiterates.
Probably the census Of 1920 will show
smaller number of illiterates and larger
number of persons unable to speak Eng
lish.
The examination of men in the canton
ments and camps indicated that 249 per
cent could not read and write well enough
TO read an English newspaper or write a
letter. These men were between the ages
of II and 81. This would indicate that
something more than one-fourth of all the
people over Fl years OF age are unable TO
read a newspaper or write letter The
total number of people over 81 in 1920 was
probably about sixty-four millions. one :
fourth OF this would be sixteen Millions
The percentage Of lliteracy, according
to the 80 census was much higher in
the Southern States. even among the
white people. However the percentage in
the South is now much less, and in the
North. where there is large foreign popu-
lation. much larger than in 1910
What is the significance of these facts
Just this. That out of approximately Is,
100000 workers in industry and anothe
100000 on the farms, more than half, Of
53.3 per cent. are unable to read an ordi
nary newspaper, or write simple letter
AS there Is no way in which we are abb,
TO reach them with the printed word, IL Il
obvious that our forms of government. oul
laws, political institutions, culture and ma
tional life have very uncertain meaning
'or these people. Where does the iliterat,
worker get his notions and what are they
The slightest reflection will suggest that
The Washington herald., 1921-06-26
Needs A Tonic.

THE injection of considerable portion of Hell
and Mariah" into the financial affairs of the
administration of this government, exactly meets the
popular belief of what is needed. The appointment
of Charles c. Dawes to be Director of the Budget,
therefore, has unusual approval. Mr.. Dawes was
Comptroller of the Treasury for FIVE years which
makes him familiar with the working conditions of
the government.
He is banker. He is aso a nexecutive, prov
ing during the war his ability organizer and
business man. The expletive which has become a
common handle to his name is indicative OF his habit
of mind. This leads him to go straight to the
point brushing aside all nonessentals and the rub
bish of technical details
Directness Of action disregard Of formalities,
and refusal to be hamstrung by the conventions and
routine mark him the sort Of man to whip into
shape his new agency of order and efficiency 1t is
a safe guess that hereafter each department, each
bureau and each activity will know from day to day
lust what funds arc available to it for specific
Each will have to make accounting for funds and
there will be an end to deficiencies.
Economy in expenditures rests far more on the
use made of money appropriated, than on the
amount 1t may be greater extravagance and cause
greater waste to provide too littlc than too much.
The balance OF the too much can be saved; but the
losses from too little may be beyond repair. To
have enough and to all the too much, will
depend very much upon the board headed by
Mr.. Dawes and the people have confidence in his
fitness to accomplish this.
The Washington herald., 1921-06-26
Hard to Keep Out.

THIS government is finding it more difficult
i every week to preserve its attitude of secu-
sion and of isolation from the affairs of the rest
of the world Every week it is more concusvey
evident that it is condition and not a theory
with which this government must deal. The the
ory seems to be that only Woodrow Wilson is
responsible for mussing up with the rest of
world, and that this is enough for leaning
backwards.
The fact is that it was the which threw
us into the middle Of the world maestrom The
condition is that there and there to stay
as every passing event makes more evident. This
country is but trying to deny fact.
Already the government, while refusing to ratify
the Versailles treaty, has had to act under it. Al
ready, while declaring it will have of it, it
has had to claim rights under it. Already it has
had to accept responsibility under it, in its
forcemcnt, through representation in the supreme
council and the reparations commission. The
council of the league of nations has just put
over all consideration of mandates until the
United States have time through negotiations
with individual governments, to determine what is
wanted and be had from governments, all
auhortativcly represented in the council We
cannot oven dsarm save by agreement with other
nations.
In that minor, but considerable league of
tions, known as the British Empire, four of the
six votes we so much feared in the major league,
are cast for the United States regardless Of the
will of Great Britain, as to treaty which must
be filed with the league Of nations and which
would be subject to objection il member.
And now comes a formal request to the Ameri-
can representatives of The Hague tribunal to
candidates for udgeshps of the permanent court
of international justice. Will they, will they not
do this? WILL or will not this government
Join in making fact what has for years been
distinctly American proposal? 1t was Elihu Root
who, as Secretary of State, drew the instructions
for this proposal by the American delegates at
The Washington herald., 1921-06-26
the 1907 Hague convention. Joseph H. Choate

the 1907 Hague convention. Joseph H. Choate
was chairman Of that delegation.
The plan of this present court is also credited
to Mr.. Root Will the United States now deny
its own child? If permanent court is the
dreaded "supergovernment," it is own. If it
is consequence of article of the League of
nations covenant it is one hardly recognizable
in that brief provso. There was a man..
so the story runs, who so dstrusted his neighbors
that he committed suicide to avoid living near
them.
The Washington herald., 1921-06-26
THE ODD ONES.

! like best those crotchety ones
That follow their own way
In whimsical oblivion
OF what the neighbors say.
They grow more rare as they grow old,
Their lives show in their faces
In little slants and twisted lines;
Like trees in lonely places.