The evening herald. [volume] (Albuquerque, New Mexico) 1914-1922, 1921-07-31

mr. oNcrcnracity OF shoe plants
~ the United States II regarded
by the Hoover waste committee
az a very serious problem. The aver
age daily production OF all shoe
pptnts in the country Ia about wa
600 pairs short OF the capacity, ac-
cording to the individual report on
this Industry submitted to the com.
mittce on the elimination OF waste by
Sanford y. Thompson OF the Thomp-
son a LIGHTER Co.
Tho capacity OF United States shoe
plants says the report, l. 1850 900
pairH per day, while the average
output vs. $1,000 pairs, or a little
more than ono-haif the. capacity. Due
70 seasonal and cyclicai fluctuations.
irregular flow OF materials. labor dis
putcs, bad management and "a score
OF incidental OWLS. says the report,
the workers and the machinery OF
the shoe industry are die Sc per
cent OF the potential working time,
exclusive of the time lost whlio on
the job. The workers loss IN wnges
IN estimated In the report at 500.
100000 annually, while the loss In
materials and profits leaves capital
earnings short n still greater mount
Shoe workers produce an average
OF 81 pairs Of shoes a day, says the
report, h n being 2 TO ~. sc-
cording to the style. Workmanship.
and the ability NJ h worker. The
labor cost on these shoes totals nearly
fls0,0 0o,o 900 annually Tor about 239,-
100000 pairs. or about 90 cents per
pair GALL kinds c~onsidered). (Thcse
figures are deducted from Others
given In the report.) This cost rep.
fcscntH 20 per cent OF the total which
II about 50 per pair, or a total of
1879 500 600 per year for shoes val
ucd at a little over "A billion dollars.
Nature OF the Shoc indnTry.
HnnN mud UtAA a milf ~ HaWNaaNm L. I
the giant OF the group of leather in
dustrics, nearly cqualing In the value
OF its products the combined value
Of all the other trades In his group
The production Of boots and shoes
ranks sixth In value Of output in
the United States.
Shoe manufacture l. one Of tho
most highly competitive OF the In
dustrtes. having about 1900 produc'
ing companies, the largest of which
manufactures about . per cent OF tho
total output. No trusts have been
formed In the shoe industry and no
agreements or pools exist.
Figures for 1909 and 1914 are from
1914 T.. =. consus OF manufacturers.
Figures for 1921 arc estimated, since
no exact figures are available for
1921. These estimates were made
after consulting tho latest published
ana ~unpuhlihed data.
NNM inANNMu INNNNAifH NNNNN De
per cent 81 tho shoes made In the
country; New York. ~ per cent:
Missouri. \ per cent. Ohio. = PET cent,
n Icuusy l,auiH. SIS rcr cent. The
remaining production Is scattered all
over the country, The average out
put p'r cnployc H. about 81 pairs
per day, based or an average Of the
entire year. The n In these
shops, due to STYLES and plant condi-
ions ~ from 2 10 II pain por opcr-
ator pcr day. The far rcach of shoe
production IN shown by the fact that,
excluding hides, the materials used
60 make a pair of shoes come from
some 20 countries.
4 most serious situation lies In
the oN"r capacity ~ shoe plants. The
capacity Of shoe manufacturing
plants In tho United states is APP
proNimatcly I,75O.O0O pairs Of shoes
per day. The average production rs
about 100000 pairs for a S0O-day
year.
Time Ios~cs C1licf Causcst
The waste Of time through tho
year due to seasonal demand and
tho daily LOSSES 81 time through un-
balanced production ~ departments
and processes. max" the cost OF la
bur on q pair of shoes almost duu-
Die the possible minimum. With an
output valued at over one billion dol
lars. this loss OF labor, even assum-
NNA NANN WHY sN Ifl 'fll ~ NNNNffl
time. amounts tsiuCc the labor cost
b. about 20 per cent Of the shoe cost
To- $50. 100000 re- year. and TO this
must ho added the loss 90 the manu-
nstur"r folly as great and the waste
Of material.
The nightmare Of every shoe work.
II except In the few shops that
have s-yst"matizcd production. * tho
constant fear Of unemployment. Add
to this The loss In time when lac IN
actually ON the job waiting for shoes,
and we have a picture ~ the situa-
ton. Manufacturer estimate that
thv average shoemaker spends only
90 per cent ut his possible produC-
tive hours iu work. 30 per cent OF
his time Is spent Ia idloncss.
Results Of Lost Production.
What are the results Of tho loss
in production from |idlcness? They
az, four, as follows:
l. Dissatisfaction among employ.
crs aud employees, II resulting
strife.
. Higher costs Of boots and shoes.
3. Excessive piece prices.
4 ENhorhltant overhead cost.
Tho peculiar feature is the fact
that nobody knows the amount OF
This lost time. No records are kent
Of actual working time Of the piece
workers. This lack Of knowledge Of
facts intcrfcrcs with Intelligent deal
ngs, Piece rates are set by guess.
Bartoring takes the place OF agree
mCuis hasod on facts, Arbitration