Evening star., 1922-11-26
|HOOVERIZINC OF INDUSTRY
GAINS IN GIANT STRIDES
But 1t Doesn't Mean Everybody Will
Dress Alike, Look Alike and Eat
the Same Things.

I to restrict the manufacture of flags
| to twelve sizes. 4
Other commodities on which ex-
perts are working to reach some de-
gree Of Standardization are boilers,
woolen blankets. milk bottlcs-and
the bottle caps that go with them
cigar boxes, building brick and lum-
Der. sashes, blinds, doors and agricul
tural implements
why the man who has been
stung may ask, while they ar"
standardizing things. don't they
standardize styles?"
At first glance this would seem
reasonable. since there is no greater
J expenditure of private funds than
that which marks the efforts of th"
average citizen and his wife to keep
up with the times in styles. The man
who buys q shining new Roaring Six
may feel comfortably prosperous. but
Just as he gets used to the feel OF
the accelerator beneath his foot h"
turns a corner and sees the later
model OF the Roaring Six, which
makes his car look like an antiquated
night liner in comparison. Then, If
he lacks common sense, as many do,
! he turns in his brand-new Roaring
Six and gets brander. newer Roar
| ing Six. thereby spending VALUABLE
! coin Of the realm to keep up with
| the latest stream lines or wicker
| wheels.
Styles Outside Province.
i But styles are without the province
of the division Of simplified practice.
Styles, in clothes or in automobiles.
are selling features. changes which
| enable the producer to put something
! new over on the consumer and make
| him like it at the same time. There's
to be no monkeying with styles by III"
i government. The government has
already been accused of monkeyins
| with business in its simple effort !"
reduce the most of panufacture and
eliminate the waste in industry. al
| though it is rapidly showing how this
| monkey business" is worth while.
According to officials of this d.
vision of simplified practice. th"
! American business man is coming
| around rapidly and nicely TO the poinf
( Of seeing things as Mr.. Hoover and
| other engineers have seen them for .
long time. OF course. the anci"n'
axiom that you can't teach an old do
new tricks still holds good. Thor"
are many .'old dogs in the MANI
i featuring business to whom govern
ment advice sarors of goVernmeh
meddlesomeness. and they refuse 1"
! be convinced. But the ma jority. :.
shown by the-different commoditi'-
now in the process of Standardization
i are giving their whole-hearted co
operation in helping MIR. Hoov,"
! Hooverize industry.
Must First Sell Idea.
Selling the idea" according to Viii
| liam A. Durgin. an engineer and thr
head of the division Of simplified
! practice, is probably the most diff
cult part of Mr. Hoover.s program
/, Here is how Mr. Durgin goes about
his saiesmanship
ITO make plain the intent Of III"
activity" says he. "let me tell you
something of how it came into being
Secretary Hoover's attention wa.
first drawn to the question. its ma
tional significance. perhaps. SOM
three years ago. when he was presi-
dent Of the Federated American En-
cheering Societies. Through his in
spiration. this organization undertooh
to determine the amount of prevent
able waste in their current method
and processes The six industri.;
were: Metal trades boots and shoe
textiles. building. printing and men
clothing The individual percentaG,
of waste run from 90 per cent to ~
per cent or an average of 40 per CEN
The men who made these survey
were outstanding engineers II ma
tional reputation. but possibly Nai
feel that the findings Of technir"'
men should be prejudiced. Say thar
they were only half right. and y"!
stHl get the amazing figure of slo,-
0O0, 100000 annual waste.
Fear n .Standnr rdi.ed- World.
ITO many people Standardization
has a most unfortunate sound n"
sooner do they hear it than they think
of a world where the Rolls Royce ana
the Ford shall differ only in dimen-
s;ons. where we shall walk and dress
with identity, where the dear laLie"
must sacrifice devotion to transitor:
style-where the standardized dogs
shall be of a color to match the sin
Gle and universal clothing material
and where, with carefully controlled
Temperatures and air currents. TIE
smoke shall rise from every chimney
at a fixed time in Identical querlicues
to condense in clouds moving at IN
variable speed.
II present the picture as a perfect
anthithesis of every characteristic
of our simplified practice enort. IN
the first place. simplified practire
leaves all questions of art. design. m
uality, absolutely alone. We are look
ing for broader. larger American Nv
ing through waste elimination, not for
any Prussian impositions of mass uni
formity.
I'VE have no aspirations to serve as
policemen. Our function is to sup
port the manufacturer in measures
for the mutual benefit of all interested
in industry. If there is any policing
to be done in industry, the industrial
leaders must do it themselves. Ana
finally, the field of simplification deals
only with those everyday, common
sense measures which will gain ;u'i
advantage of mass production, re
duced stocks, quick turnover an"
high quality product