The Connecticut labor news., 1924-07-26


 these systematic efforts to bring gov ernmental purchases in line with the best commercial practice, important economies both to industry and govern ment are resulting.
 The Division of Simplifed Practice of the Department of Commerce con tinues to exert a most stimulating in Huence on the standardization move ment particularly in emphasizing the efficiency results of standardizations to the business man.
 Through the organization of the American Marine Standards Commit tee work has been initiated in this inn portant industry. Very little in this field has heretofore been done in this country, although very considerable ac- tivity has been going on for some time in Germany and Great Britain.
 The most striking aspect of the movement for industrial standardiza- ton on national scale More than 150 undertakings now have official status before the American Engineer ing Standards Committee, the national clearing house for standardization. Fifty standards have received final ap- proval by the Committee, twentytwo of which were approved during 1923. cratic methods followed in this clear ingly widespread recognition. In it all parties concerned with any standard, producers, consumers, and representa- tives of the public and government participate CD in deciding whethe her the work should be undertaken at all O., in formulating the standard, and (3) in its ultimate approval
 Thus the industries are developing and using such standards as best fits their needs, without danger of such technical industrial matters becoming subject to legal enforcement or to go- vernmental pressure. Is 1t not prob able that many other of our important industrial problems will find their so lutions by closely analogous methods?
 There are now national industrial standardizing organizations in sixteen countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech oslovaaa, France, Ger many, Great Britain, Holland, Hung ary, Italy, Japan, Norway, Sweden Switzerland, and the United States Of these, the work in Great Britain, Ger many and~the United States is the most extensive, as would be expected from the scale of the industrial de velopment in these countries.
 The extensive standardization work going on in Germany continues to pre- sent many interesting phases. Some of these were outlined in a recent bull letin of the American Engineering Standards Committee. Practically every important manufacturing concer in in that country is actively engaged ;n the work, and more than a thousand companies have formal standardiza- tion organizations within their own works Appr6Ximately seven hundred national German standards have been approved by the central national stan dardizing body. These are only stan dards in which several industries are concerned. Standardization engineer ing is now a recognized profession in Germany.
 Standardization continues to play a more and more important role i'll tt.e activities of trade associations Ti@ subject is treated at length in tine book on Trade Association Act;,li- ties" issued by the Department of Commerce, It is of more than pass ing interest that the Supreme Court il a recent decision in regard to trade association standardization as being ir1 | the D11h1iC interest