Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1921-07-22
Waste And Poor Management
Also Blamed For Losses
Employers Charged With
Causing Part OF Loss !;
Unions Urged To Train
Their Men.

- o. ~ 4&A 0AAS
Their Men.
New York. July 22.-Half a bi1non
dollars a year in wages is being lost
IN the building industry through un-
employment. declared report made
puolic today by the committee on
elimination of waste in industry OF tho
American engineering council. ;is
The committee asserted lack OF.
work was the outstanding fact in this
industry, whose critical condition N il
attributed primarily to high cost Of
construction. 4
Waste Causes Big Loss.
The report said that waste was
causing huge losses in building, which.
including all trades and common Ia
Dor. ranked second among industries
and contributed more than $4,000
100000 yearly to the wealth Of the
nation.
The chief sources Of waste in tha
industry were. according to the report.
irregular employment, inefficient man
agewent and wasteful labor reEula-
ttons. Customs or conditions prevail
ing throughout the industry, and
poorly designed equipment are given
hS SeCOHOdIy causes.
The annual economic loss due to
accidents were estimated as high as
100000, 900. Application Of safety
methods, it was stated, should save
the industry 100000 days work a
year. Loss through duplication Of
estimates and designs. and duplication
in bidding, was said to run into mil
lions.
Shortage Of Houses.
An acute national shortage of tous-
ing exists, the report stated. because
holder and banker.
Many union rules were condemned
as absolutely wrong" and both en-
ployers and employees were blamed for
restriction Of output
Union regulations in the past have
produced enormous losses" said the
report, through direct or indirect re-
contractors. however, are beginning to
appreciate the reduced output reacts
In tremendous fashion upon tlien-
selves .-ag'
Greater cooperation between
workmen and employers is an abso-
lutte essentially This cooperation
must be attai6ed before we can ap-
ncutaeA Such co-QperationA however,
is impossible without the remoyai Of
causes of friction and the working out
OF plans to this end. III, 5tH III,
For More Employment
The report deplored the irregularity
OF employment for building trade
workmen, declaring that they were
ousy only on an average Of about 100 i
days in a year. 1t recommended the
following means of reducing seasonal |
employment:
of
profit for both labor and capital, dur
ing winter months, development of
methods of conducting the work in
cold weather, arrange men at work to
provide indoor operations in cold and
stormy weather: organization Of
clearing house for ordinary activities.
"!dleness, however, is not due en-
tlrely to lack of demand; strikes and
lockouts are contributing causes" the
report added.
The strike was called to be only
one Of the great economic wastes in
the building industry.
The waste to the men engaged.
the contractor and the public is hard
to estimate" Is was asserted.
III the greatest cause, the demand
Tor an Increase in wages, could be ,
eliminated. strikes as a factor Of,
waste would shrink into insignificance,
The remedy that suggests itself is CO.
operation. Management and labor
must forget the sore spots Of past |
conflicts and through whole hearted i
cooperation. fix by proper studies. a
minimum wage to correspond with a
standard amount of production, with j
additional compensation for addi-
tional output. This would furnish an
incentive to the men and would give i
recognition to deserving mechanics
Plan is Endorsed
THE Philadelphia PLAN is endorsed
by the report as one of the means Of
adjusting labor difficulties and elini- .
mating waste. This plan, it was stated,
provides for a tribunal or council Of
the building industry, composed of an
equal number of representatives of
employer and employed
1t also proposes eTa blishment Of a
central bureau through which. volun-
tarily. all construction programs in
the territory should be cleared in
cludingl national. state, municipal and
private work. 3a5
Contracts Also Blamed.
Conditions are not alone blamed for
restricting output by the report,
which said that contractors and
builders and supply dealers affect the
to as great degree indi-
rectly by maintenance of high prices,
Soi0o1Ou III DlQQlQS ana un1alr DraC-
tees
Haphazard management in planning
and controlling work and lack Of :
standards in the city often has
doubled the labor. stated the report.
The unions are urged to make their
services more valuable to the em-
ployer by developing and training the
men in their organizations and assist
Ing In the development. Of standardi-
zation of time, method and material.
Never in the history Of the coun-
try" concluded the report, was ii so
important that certain fundamental
principles of economies should be ac-a
.epted and established as working
program. These principles will throw
oYerboard the faliacy that restricting
production can make work 60 further,
and will supplant this with the knowl-
edge to get one must give. that to re-
seiye the equivalent must be given
n money or in time or in EFFORT, and
hat increased returns can only be at y
satned through Increased production.
The building inyestiga ton was in y
charge OF Sanford f. Thompson 81
Boston. who directed q large force of
ield workers. who covered the entire
country, special attention, the report
aid bieng paid to- representSfiye
ites, such a. New York. Rosfon.
Phihde elphiA HAkimore. Chicaxo.
5leveiand, Atlantis, and San Francisco.
wEATHHs FORECAST. s
N. u. ~ r II :. J. ~ l