The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1921-06-03
BOTH LABOR
and CAPITAL
ARE SCORED
Over 50 Per Cent Waste Laid
at Door of Employers-25
Per Cent Caused by Labor
Urge Cooperation.
MILLION men ARE IDLE

ST. LOUIS, June 3.-Responsibility
for more than fifty per cent OF the
waste in industrial processes, which
! is causing enormous annual losses to
! the nation can be placed at the door
| of the management and less than Is
per cent at the door of labor. declared
report of the American Engineer
/ ing councils committee on elimina
! ton of waste in industry made pub
| lie today at a meeting of the councils
! executive board. The committee was
| appointed by Herbert Hoover, secre
| tary of commerce, when he was head
of the council.
The report showed that the margin
| of unemployment amounted to more
| than a million men; that billions of
! dollars were tied up in idle equip
| ment; that high labor turnover was
rough index of one of the common
est wastes, and that waste of time
and energy and money through dupli-
cations and estimates and bids in
building trades ran into millions an
! nually.
Restrict OUTPUT
| Both employer and employees re-
strict output, it was said. Both cap
| ital and labor are blamed for exist
| ing abuses Dut the annual losses
| through waste by conflicts between
them is much less than popularly
! supposed.
| From four to five million workers
were idle during January and Febru
airy of this year. In 1921 half a bill
| lion dollars will be lost in wages in
the building trades, it was said.
| Nationwide machinery to obtain
! continuous information concerning
unemployment conditions throughout
| the country is declared necessary by
the report. Means for regulating en-
ployment in the principal industries
were urged and a nationwide plan
| of cooperation between the govern
ment. the public, trade associations.
the industries. labor taners and en-
gineers was outlined.
Seek Harmony
The waste inquiry was in charge. of
a committee of sixteen headed by>J
Parke Claiming of New York, as
chairman, and L. W. Wallace of Wash
/ II,
American engineering council of the
Federated American Engineering So
| cietieS, as vice-chairman.
i This was beginning of a movement
by the country's organized engineers,
about 100000 in number, to bring
about better Industrial conditions and
more harmonious relations between
capital and labor.
The full report comprises l25000
words and deals with the deep-seated
causes of waste. and does not consider
! the present business crisis due in
part to worldwide waste and extra
vagance, caused by the war. as an
excuse for transitory experiments and
as an opportunity to point out the need
for permanent reform.
Propose Program
The committee outlined the follow
ing proposed program of governmental
assistance to eliminate waste: A nat
ional industrial information service
should be established to furnish more
timely, regular and complete informa-
tion covering current production and
consumption and stocks of COM
modify; a national statistical service
should be established covering en-
ployment requirements; national
be fostered and encouraged; the nat
ional program for industrial rehabilita-
tion should be encouraged and should
offer opportunities for education and
placement to those having physical de-
fects as we'll as those handicapped be-
| cause of industrial accidents; nation
wide program of industrial standard
ization should be encouraged in con-
junction with industrial interests; the
government should recognize the ne
cessity for a revision of such federal
laws as interfering with the stabiliza-
tion of industry; a body of principles
should be accepted which could be de-
veloped for the adjustment and settle
ment of labor disputes"
Urge Cooperation.
! After emphasizing the need Of re-
form and Improvement in plant man
agement and administrative policies
the report urged the cooperation OF
| labor.
Declaring that the annual economic
loss in the country through prevent
able diseases and death amounted 70
i $4,000, ,000,00e. the report urged more
general use of safety mehods ALREADY
perfected. 1t was asserted that rs per-
cent of the deaths and serious acci-
dents in industry could be thus pre-
vented.
! Plant idleness came in for its share
of the blame for waste. In the print
ing industry alone the report saws, an
investment of more than s100, 600, 900
in stocks of paper required to meet
I trade requil ements could be cut in
half through standardization in the
brands of paper.
/ Score Building.
| The building industry was said to
be about six per cent efficient. In the
shoe industry the waste is about 35
per cent. The average plant In the
metal trades group is from 25 to 80
per cent behind the best plant in out
put per employe. So a--
In the ready made clothing industry
the report said. it should be relatively
easy to save three-quarters of mil
lion dollars a day. an Increase of
forty per cent in effectiveness. The
value of the output in this industry IS
put at $4,000, 100000 year h