The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1925-03-05
Useless Expenditure Costly
to Every Person in
Nation,
BY LARRY BoARDMAN
NEA Service Writer


WASHINGTON. March 5.--Ameri
ca is facing menace moro than
bolshevism or any Of the other
bogeys which have been held up for
our awed consideration.
1t is the menace of waste.
Yet of the amount wasted In the
United States each year at least ten
billion dollars could easily be saved.
This is the statement OF Ray M.
Hudson, the country's head waste
eliminator.
Hudson's official title is chief of
the simplified practice division,
United States Bureau Of Standards.
His organization is the Governments
combat unit assigned to lighting the
aforementioned menace.
Here's how he describes it, war
operations:
"The waste menace is so deep
rooted that 1t is levying constant
tax on every man, woman and child
in the United States. The tax is
placed upon us in the form Of costs
Of articles in everyday use--costs
which are passed on to US by the
manufacturers and distributors.
"A report made by eighteen lead
ing. industrial engineers of the
country to Secretary of Commerce
Hoover states that in six major in
dustries the waste OF material. time
and effort averages so per cent!
Simplification Method
"It is this same report that de-
clares ten billion dollars of the pres
ent waste could be recovered.
"One OF the methods now being
used in an effort. to curb this huge
loss is simplification. This means
the study of an industry, OF the va
riety of everyday goods IL offers, of
the demand for the items.
The sequel to this is the presenta-
ton of such facts to the producers.
distributors and consumers TO enable
them to- weed out the dead wood.
Experience has shown that 80 per
cent of the demand in the average
industry is for but 20 per cent of
the variety Of goods. In other words,
the manufacturer produces so per
cent Of his variety OF goods to satisfy
a 20 per cent demapd--and he passes
the extra cost on to the majority
consumers.
THE cooperative method of
bringing producers, distributors and
consumers to act jointly for the in
terest of all Is the common sense
way of correcting this condition. AL.
ready 1t has saved millions OF dol
lars, and, Under competitive sys-
tenn. such saving must be passed on
to the ultimate consumer.
Waste In Building
"To illustrate how the system has
worked take the case of a man
building a home. Where there were
formerly thirty-nine variations In
the size of face brick and forty-four
sizes of common brick. there Is now
but one size of each.
Hollow building tile was formerly
made in thirty-nine sizes. Now 1t is
made in nineteen. Metal lath was
formerly sold in 125 sizes. Now
there are only twenty-four.
THE variety of items of yard lum.
Der has been reduced 60 per cent
and the home builder now knows
for the first time how thick stan
dard board is.
These reductions are of imme-
date influence On the work OF the
architect and the contractor as well
as the building material dealer.
These examples are but few OF
many.
More and more OF the firms
which have had part in this form
Of waste reduction are emphasizing
1t in their advertising.
And as the movement goes on IT
will become more and more apparent
to the consumer that he can help to
make his own burden lighter by us
ing his purchasing power to irdorse
goods which have been -simplifled.
when he does that a great part
of the waste tax will be removed
and the waste menace will be
stopped in its tracks"
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