Evening star., 1924-10-05
'FORD|z|NG' IS SEEN
NEED OF GERMANY
IndustriaIist Says Consum-
ers Oppose Standardizing
of Products.
by EDGAR ANSEL MOwRER.

BY Radio to The Star and Chicago Daily News.
BERLIN, October 4 Greater
standa rdization or ''fordizing'' of in
dustry must be carried out in Ger
many. but such standardization can
not today be pushed very far.
Such is the opinion of Carl Fried
rich Won Siemens, leading member
of the great house of SiemenS which
has aided so greatly in the develop
ment of eiectro-techniQue, the heal
of industries employing 100000 per
sons, and president of the National
Economic Council, when he received
the correspondent in "Siemens Haus,"
or company building.
Herr SiemenS is a good looking
man of about so. He is much trav-
eled and is familiar with the indus
trial conditions of many countries in
Guiding the United States, having
lived much in England and speaking
several languages. He is a promi-
nent leader of the Democratic party
ana a member of the Reichstag.
Three Main Obstacles.
Three great obstacles are in the
way of Stnda ardization of German in
fustry along American lines" said
Herr Siemens. First is Your larger
population. Second is your higher
living standard as translated into
much larger buying power Third
Is what | should call greater stan
dardiZed education in consumption of
your people.
The first and second reasons are
clear The cost of a given article
necessarily diminshes with the num-
her sold. You, in America have
brought standardized consumption to
high point. Your public wants good
articles, the best possible articles.
but 1t does not mind if all the best
articles are alike and if his possess
SlonS are an exact copy of those of
his neighbors
The European is different He
wants his motor car. his electric
motor and his furniture to be per
sonal lie comes with an order and
accepts such and such type, but
with a slight change His industry
Is development of old handicraft
capable of executing anything He
wants not what is offered, but his
own idea to which he is accustomed
An example, was the factory which
George Westinghouse built near Man
chester. England. His products are
AT least as good as the British, but
the British prefer their greater vari-
ETY. of types. For instance, in Amer
lea you have two types of electric
motor. the open motor and the closed
motor The Englishman has four
types. lie wants partly closed
motors or mouse proof motors He
viii not take anything else.
Cites Different Conditions.
In America you have practically
everywhere Standa rdiZed voltage of
l1O, while in Germany we have 10
VoltageS. We must produce material
for all. Therefore, we cannot easily
compete with you on articles of COM
no t1rrlr1 tinr hut
duce specialties more quickly and
more cheaply."
What of the possibi of assem-
bling in Europe American standard
ized parts as Henry Ford is reported
to be doing, thus avoiding the cost
of creating new type for Europe?"
the correspondent asked.
This will be possible in some
cases." he replied, 'for where parts
are manufactured in large quanti- /
ties, small quantities can be sold in |
European countries where the cx-
pcnse and outlay for complete tech |
nical equipment for complete produc-
tion would not pay. You save freight |
charges Complete motor cars re- !
quire more ship space than parts. but |
assembling and finishing naturally !
will cost more here than in America |
on account of the smaller quantities |
ing devices to be applied"
Why, with such low wages must /
German industry ask such high !
prices?'
Socialist Spirit Reigned.
"The question is difficult to answer.
During the war while few profited
and installed all the latest improve
ments, others were paralyzed. After
the war came a period in which the
socialistic spirit reisned. National
ization of industry is one thing which
academcally can be discussed. So
cialistic spirit is another. 1t seems
to consist largely of preventing any
sort of efficiency.
1t was impossible to fire a man
without recourse to court OF ar
for d man always main
tanned that he was not fired for poor |
work, but for political reasons, and at
best such court attendance cost us II
working hours. Therefore, when
workmen claim we owners should in
stall new methods and machinery, We
answer that no machinery will work
so long as they do not show a bet
ter spirit.
"In many instances we employ too
much labor. The American miner
produces nearly three times as much
coal as the German in WeStphalia,
where the seams are very thin. Ger
man industry was also harmed by
imitation"
Can wages in Germany riseo"
1T all depends on trade conditions
and the spirit of the mer. Today
skilled workmen are paid compare
lively less than the unskilled. This