The Connecticut labor news., 1923-11-03
UTAH MAN WOULD MAKE WORKERS SLAVES |OF MACHINES AS REMEDY FOR LABOR ILLS
 CALLS HIS SCHEME DECENTRALIZATION

standardized, nothing has ben left to the initiative or judgment of the miner himself
 ""The trade of metal miner has ceased to exist; they are now all mine workers fitting into the inches and conforming to the routine laid out by their managers, and are certainly more efficient, more contented, and happier than in the old days of the individual worker Engineers have brought these things about even though they were not always cogniz- ant of the fundamental reasons for their desirability.
 "ln coal mining, on the other han, the tradition of the individual workers has been maintained, even extended; mechan- icalization has been Nery slowly and reluc- tantly brought about operations at the face are left to the judgment of the miner him self. The influence of the engineer has scarcely been felt i'll the coal mining in dustry. This has caused to exist group of skilled workers intensely jealous of their special knowledge and easily main tained Ill compact organizations for the purpose of preventing other men from ac- quiring or utilizing this special knowledge and incidentally of exploiting their em- ployers.
 "Thes parallel betwetn the metal work CTS and the railroad employees IS exactly the same as between the two groups of miners. The metal workers have been made to fit into vast routine Organ1Za- tions, but the tradition of individual skill still holds the railroad worktrs III it's grasp; that element has not been remov- ed from train optration
 But the routine maker of machine par ic pf fn hR S,1a ca6 nlor contented ands in every way better og personally than the skilled railroad man, with his exaggerated ideas of his own cossequence and his exercise of in dividual judgment, initiative and skill i; things made so much of by ignorant so- cial workers and union leaders, but which perhaps more than one-fourth of even this relatively intelligent group pos sess the natural brain equipment contin- uously to per form with safety to their mental equilibrium.
 "This condition is closely related to the breakdowns of certain inte11ects un- der the strain of modern civilization, and the fact that the routine worker re- lived of the stress of making independent decisions keeps his mental poise much better than the responsible worker. Not the least of crimes< of our educational
 
 equality of men,
 Having shown to his own satisfaction that 'mechanicalization" brings happi- ness to the workers and, presumably, di- vidends to the employers, MT. Stroup proceeds to give an explanation of his own for the failure of schemes of em ploye representation, iproht-sharing, etc Entirely ignoring tfle fact that the work CT, i'll common win h1lse rest of the popu- 1ation, bitterly hates being patronized and being the object of charity MT. Stroup says the reason the worker does not take to welfare" schemes is because he is subnormali
 It has been shown, MT. Stroup says, that 50 per cent. of the nations popu 1ation is underdeveloped mentally, and that it is incapable of self-direction or of exercising independent judgment. It is probable he says, that from 80 to 90 per cent are incapable of clear thinking or self-direction. In view of this, he finds the great success of the modern factory system not surprising, and the cause of the failure of all tse well in tentioned schemes of employe partici- patton in management, profit sharing, etc, is made clear.
 "This simple fact of the preponder- ance of the subnormal in our working population" he continues, must be the point of departure for all successful schemes of employer-employe relation ship, and its full import and significance must be grasped by every industrial ma nager. It must also be the basis of an education system to supersede the pres ent system to supersede the presen night mare of experiments in public schools and of many things, social and political ;; but this knowledge also brings greater responsibility to management and grea- ter opportunity for service to mankind, responsibility and opportunity which past experience tells us will not be shirk- ed"