Evening star., 1921-08-17
CONTINUE ATTACK
AGAINST OVERHEAD
At WAGE HEARING
Many Inefficiencies Pointed
0ut-Charge Erroneous
! Figures Given Board.
SUGGESTS ABOLITION
OF PLANNING DIVISION
Would Have Master Mechanics Do
Estimating-Protests Number Of
Officers on Duty.

Highly skilled machinists at the
Washington navy yard and gun factory,
| men highly skilled in gun manufac-
| ture, get less money than ordinary
automobile mechanics who do no ma
chine work. but just assemble cars.
This was shown by figures given to
| the general wage board of the Navy De-
partment yesterday by Herbert p. Lee
| man, chairman of the local yard work
mems committee. The wage board Is
holding public hearings on the recon-
mendations of the local wage boards of
the Washington and other yards for a
/, lowering Of wages.
That local firms. from which the
| local wage board obtained figures OH
which it based it's recommendations to
the general wage board, deliberately
; sent in erroneous figures in order to
influence reduction in wages. was
charged by Mr. Leeman. who gave to
the board numerous instances where the
boards figures must have been wrong.
| He pointed out that in some instances
| ioca! firms included in the figures for
machinists every one in the machine
chinists.
Would Abolish Glasses.
Mr.. Leeman urged abolition of the
| classes into which machinists We're
divided at the Washington navy yard.
which suggestion Capt. James X.
Robson. chairman of the board.
characterized as absurd. pointing out
| that all machinists could not be of
equal talent. and that the better ones
, should get the better pay.
That the machinists in the local
| navy yard were the most highly
skilled in the country was asserted
| by Mr.. Leeman, to which Capt. Rob
! ison replied that there was no finer
i workmanship than that found in the
F! Washington yard. adding, and the
most expensive"
| I'VE made torpedoes cheaper when
was at Newport" he said.
But were they as good as those
| made at the Washington yard"
asked a member of the local yards
committee.
! "WeIi' replied Capt. Robson. they
| went further. faster and straiehter.
I've fred both kinds"
Mr.. Leeman argued that it was
| in the public nfereatfor the gov
| ernment to make the positions In
the Washington navy yard attractive.
SO that the government always would
\ have at hand q corps of trained and
expert gun builders, 1t is just as
important to maintain force OF
| this kind as it Is to maintain an
Army and Navy. he argued. These
men know the necessity of accuracy
in gun building and it's importance
in protecting the lives Of those al
sea who must use these guns These
men. in time of war. can. and in
| the last war were, sent out to su-
peryise the work being done in pri-
| He pointed out that a large amount
of the gun work done by outside firms
| during the past war had to De tdone
| over and mistakes corrected AT me
Washington navy yard by the ski!%
| instance of aeropiane manufacture
during the war. saying that the gov,
| ernment was not prepared to build
them and most of the money appro-
priated for this work was wasted que
| to this fact. Unless the government
4 remained prepared for gun building
the same would apply in another war
to the manufacture of big guns for
the ships. he said
Protests Opening Question.
! Mr.. Leeman also entered protest
| against opening UP the wage ques-
assurance had been given the men at
! the time of the last wage adjustment
! that it would not be reopened until
October of this year
! Much constructive work can be done
| in cutting out the overhead in the
Washington yard. he said. He attack
| ed the planning division Of the yard.
where the estimating of work is done.
| saving that this work could be done
by the leading men, or master me-
chanics in the yard. He protested the
large number of naval officers on duty
| there as a heavy overhead charge. but.
Capt. Robson pointed out that only
a comparatively small percentage of
these officers had a portion of their
| salaries charged to operation of the
yard, The remainder, he continued.
| were charged up to purely military
work. They are there to learn. he said.
for in fifteen years they will be the
| officers who will be operating the
yards.
Citing figures to the board, Mr.. Lee
man said that in most instances sec
| ond-class men on the outside were
getting more money than the best
men in the Washington yard. A
skilled gunmaker at the Washington
yard. he said. gets s6.40 a day. while
men on the outside doing an inferior
class of work get 81, IS and in some
cases as high as $40 day.
Attack Overhead Charges.
! Practically all of those who testified
Yesterday complained Of the large
overhead charges at the yard and asked
that something be done to cut il down.
| They thought that il constructive
| work was done along these lines there
| would be no necessity Of reducing the
mechanics wages to keep within the
| appropriations.
| Capt Robson asked n. P. Alias of
the Machinists International Union to
use his influence to cut down the num-
ber of helpers in the yards. This, he
pointed out to them, was a large over
head charge. He said that every me-
chanic must have helper to carry
around his tools. and that this was ip-
efficient.
The question of getting new work
at the machines and ready for opera
ton before the piece of work in the