Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-12-25
MEN AND MONEY
BY NJ. S. Rukeyser.
(Copyright. 1921

When and IL the dividend is passed
on labor common" the result Is pri'
walton. in extreme cases even stafva'
| ton. Wages, therefore. constitute the
most vitality human factor In the
whole scheme of business facts.
/ The future of wages Is. OF course,
| tied with the future Of business, ana
| the whole organization of American
prosperity Is predicated on hlgn
wages.
The great industries Of the country
are based on mass production, ana
volume output cannot be sold to an
aristocracy of well-to.do individuals.
The millionaires, in spitee of their re-
sources, have limited consumptive ca
pacity. The prosperity of American
Ilarge.scale industries rests on the rel
atively high buying power OF the av-
erage man. If wages were substan'
TALLY reduced. the great domestic mar.
ket for commodities would shrink and
business would be adversely affected
more than by any other single factor.
Idea Widely Accepted.
Henry Ford was the first American
business man to give conscious eX
preston to this realization, and the
idea has now become widely accepted
The fear or high wages has dimin-
ished and those who are alarmed by
high wages are going increasingly
into the minority.
The installment plan. despite it's
merits and defects in other respects,
is factor in making for business sta
bility. The success Of the program
depends on the continuous employ.
ment of labor. The great automobile
plants and other industries which
have a direct stake in installment
finances are committed to a program
of uninterrupted employment, in so
far as It Is humanity feasible.
American manufacturers are more
concerned with unit costs of opera.
ton, rather than with weekly wage
scales. They are willing to pay high
wages II workers. helped by labor
saving machinery, can produce indi-
vidual items at low cost. Both CAPT.
tai and labor are taking a more so.
phisticated attitude toward the price
Of human services than in the past.
American employers recognize that
high wages are factor in the bust
ness situation, and are keeping out of
competitive lines where hand labor is
a principal item Of cost. In such ases
it is cheaper to import articles than
to make them at home. Moreover,
the higher scale of American wages
is keeping American-manned mer-
chant ships from reaching a competi-
tive basis with foreign bottoms. Some
business men philosophically take the
viewpoint that the thing to do is to
ship goods in foreign bottoms and use
American labor in mechanical indus
try. where 1t can be economically EN-.
ployed. The policy Of restricted immi-
grafton has given the American
worker scarcity value.
Readjustments Seen.
The business prospects for 1927 sug.
gest no marked increase in wages,
although laggard lines may be brought
in line. On the other hand, a read.
justment in the building trades may
result in reductions in pay that are
relatively high compared with the
general scale of wages.
IneQuities exist and will gradually
be corrected. In general, farm labor
is being underpaid in relation to city
labor.
Business leaders are becoming in
creasingly candid in their forecasts.
Many men in responsible positions
are unwilling to predict that 1927 will
be the greatest of all possible years,
suggesting, maybe, hesitation and
slowing up in overexploited indus
tries. On the whole, however, the
business leaders seem hopeful of q
moderately good year.
Irving T. Bush, president of the
Bush Terminal Co., in discussing the
outlook with me, said: II look for no
trade boom in 1927 and no depres-
sion. There will be no smash next
year. in my opinion. but there may
be a readjustment in some trades, in
Guiding the building industry. The
third year of presidential term
always invites political criticism,
which is somewhat disturbing to con.
ffdence. In the fourth year the issues
become drawn and there is less un-
certainty. think there Is reason for
confidence as to 1927, but not for ex-
cessive optimism.
The f. w. Woolworth Company
continues to expand irrespective of the
business cycle. A moderate business
recession is helpful to the profits of
the company, for it tends to reduce
operating expenses and the cost of
merchandise and heightens the dispo-
sition OF the public to effect economies
at the and 10 cent stores. Hubert
T. Parson, president, in calling atten-
ton to the fact that the company had
opened IS new stores in 1925, told
me that 1t had already signed so new
leases for 1927 and would probably
open rs new stores in the next IL
months. Our company has unlimited
capital and unlimited man power and
our expansion Is limited only by the
opening up OF new opportunities to
establish successful stores" said Mr..
Parson.