The Connecticut labor news., 1924-08-16
Waste Costs Billions;
 Workers Urged to "Produce More"

Washington, Aug. lO.-At every Op- portunity labor is advised to produce more. The latest excuse for this ad- vice is report on the length of Euro pean work days, issued by the Fedora tion of British Industries. Comment ing on this report, one labor adviser, disregarding every experience and every industrial history, feverishly asks:
 Can America, with a short working day, hold its own in the markets of the world with European countries that have a long working day."
 These advisers assume that busl- labor is the one drawback to 100 per cent. production. Investigations by skilled engineers reveal an astounding waste in American production. They responsible for 81 per cent. of the waste in the metal industry. In tex tiles, labor is blamed for but 10 per cent. of the waste.
  ally wasted by management, but this is ignored by advisers of labor, who call on the workers ot 'produCe more, while large percentages of this pro- duction is wasted
 In 'Waste in Industry" a report by the Hoover committee, is listed wastes that border no the criminal, and that should sting the public conscience.
 The report is signed by a committee of Is engineers, appointed by Secre- tary of Commerce Hoover These engineers present waste in industry under four major heads
 LOW production caused by faulty management of materials, plant, equip ment and men.
 Interrupted production, caused by idle men, idle materials, idle plants, idle equipment.
 Restricted production Intentionally caused by owners, management or labor.
 Lost production caused by i'll health, physical defects and industrial accidents
 As an indication of arrangements s1ip-shod methods, the report states that few building contractors keep ac- curate records that they may know the unit of cost from day to day. "In the recent hearing" says the report, "a claim was made by a contractor that a bricklayer laid I, 500 brick be- fore the war and was laying 500 in 1921. This was answered very prop erly by representatives of the work men that without more knowledge, variations in the kinds of walls made comparison like this absurd" It IS estimated that 100000 days a year could be saved in the building indus try by the application of safety methods.
 In the metal industry 1t was found in all cases an' adequate cost system IS needed employers are guessing as to the cost of production The labor turnover i'll this industry averages 160 per cent. In some shops the turn over amounted to 300 per cent. This means an annual waste of $100,000,000 because of the cost of breaking in new labor.
 Millions of persons are annually sick through preventable disease. "Of the 500,0O0 workers who die each year." the report states, it is prob able that the death of at least one half is postponable, by proper medical supervision, periodic medical examina- ton, health education and community hygiene"
 Tt has been estimated that the economic loss from preventable disease and death is S1,S00,O00,000 among those classed as gainfully employed or over $7OO,OO0,OOO among industrial workers in the more limited meaning of the term"
 The report is reproach to the boasted efficiency of American indus try. It is a challenge to those who urge workers to ''produce more" while ignoring conditions that shorten the lives of workers and cause wastes that annually total vast sums.