The Washington times., 1923-03-24
T ORD PREDICTS
WAGESOF $40
A DAY
Auto Magnate Believes Air
Frelghters Will Be Used
Twenty Years Hence.
BY GRAHAM CAMPBELL,
Special Correspondent Of International
News Service.

BY GRAHAM CAMPBELL,
Special Coproapondemt OF International
News Service.
Copyright, 1854. by international Nsws
0ervteo.1
DETROIT, Mich, March GA
minimum wage Of SO a day for
skilled labor may be q regulation in
industry twenty years from now,
according to Henry Ford. motor car
nd tractor manufacture. railway
nwner and inventor.
Ford believes that American In
lustry by 1913 win be using air
,reiRISters and that big fnAnufaCt-
1ower, railways, coal mines and
sources Of raw materials.
Labor, Ford asserts. ID becoming
more and more skilled as new
machines are invented to do the
work once accomplished by hand.
At the same time the worknnan'S
life viii be easier, owing to the
numerous labor saving devices in
use.
Highways and Railroads.
Twenty years ago what would
people have said II q railway com.
,any had announced 1t was going
o build a good highway adjacent
10 the tracks?" asked Ford. But
do not need to atisWer that ques.
ion. The people would have
hought the railroad officials crazy
CRAZY to open competition in such
!, manner. Probably, the officials
NJ the transportation company
vould have thought . similar
hing. Today, TO me, It Ii good
BUSINESS. Industry, twenty years
rom now, will be using the high.
ways for freight transportation It
vill be using the air also.
"There 10 so much water power
ring idle that. twenty years hence,
zig manufacturers will be using it
They win have their own water
,ower, their own coal mines, their
,wn railroads, their own factories
hey viii own everything that enters
1tlct-own II. and control It.
VIII Eliminate Waste.
Downing the raw products II the
fundamental basis Of It all. Own.
Ing those raw products, and utIliz.
Ing them to tina best advantage and
wasting nothing. Waste L. ex-
pense.
"Labor-that is the labcrlng man
will have an easier and better
time. Manufacturers, today. are
Installing labor saving devices. In.
stalling them as fast as they can
get the proven ones. It 10 q diff.
cult thing now to find man who
hasn't trade. Digging bitches has
ceased to be q problem OF muscle.
aA~
digging machine that scooped out
three truck loads with every revo-
luton of the chain. That beats
man labor all to pieces.
Labor is becoming more skilled.
What is good for the manufacturer
Is good for the man who works for
him. Years ago when tho $5-a-day
wage scale was inaugurated in our
factories, there was a great deal Of
criticism from great many
sources. We were charged with
being unreasonable
Wage Scale Now So . Day.
To-day. wages are high. Our
know where that minimum scale
will stop. It Ii entirely up to the
worlxingman. As we continue to
prosper so will the working man
continue to prosper. This Is true
Of other manufacturers. Big bust.
ness makes the laborer worth more
to himself. He is worth to business
what he 10 worth to hinaelf-even
though his minimum wage scale
he SO a day: Big business will put
a premium on skill.
II have said, or limited, that in.
dustry Is just in its infancy. It In.
The automobile industry is little
more than twenty years old. Trans.
portation-that Is, transportation
we KNOW It todav--is IN its in.
fancy. Think Of the untapped re.
sources of the world. Think OF
America-Russia-C l have q
great deal of faith in the Russians.
China is a most wonderful country,
too-great land fine people.
Russians Will Come Back.
Russia will settle down to a
workable system. It threw out
Napoleon; It will throw out those
whose interests are not construc-
tive. The Russians are slow movers
and slow thinkers-but they move!
AS a mass the people always move
in the right direction. A minority
among them may get off on
wrong track que TO the direction
Of a temporary ruler. but, always,
they come back and get on the
right road.
People are actuated by desires.
We are shipping tractors and motor
cars into Russia. The size Of the
shipments steadily increases. These
tractors and these motor cars will
create a desire in the minds Of
hose who see them. Where there
is desire there Ia business. Russia
> handicaped--and so is China
by a lack Of good roads. Good
roads will come after motor cars
get in. America didn't have many
good roads until after the advent
Of the motor car. You've got to
get the thing which makes for i'm
provement before you can have the
improvement.
Russia Is learning that. So is
china. When these countries begin
% open up think Of the business
hat will come to American manu-.
facturers. The surface has not
oeen scratched"
ROBERT w. GAYLES HELD