Evening star., 1926-10-02
Ford Designated as Paternalist.

tive council But his good policies
will be comforting blessings on the
labor movement long after his indi-
vidualistic opposition to urionl>in Eas
been forgotten"
And as Mr.. Ford puts il:
The right kind Of wage increase
comes as Il result Of management hat-
ing the wage motive. The way to
check n threatened depression is ~
cut the price and increase the wages.
High wages with high prices do not
help any one; ii just means that every
thing has been marked up. But higher
wages and lower prices mean greater
buying power. more consumers.
Cutting wages is no cure for low
consumption; it only makes the con
sumption still lower, by reducing the
number of possible customers"
Coincident with the tive-day week
announcement. it was said that a gen.
eral readjustment of wages in Ford
plants would be undertaken. SkeptiCS
among labor leaders have predicted
that this readjustment will deprive
many workers Of some part of their
incomes. so that the fiveday week Will
not actually carry siX-day pay.
View Based on Experience.
The writer has no way of knowing
what the Ford management has in
mind, but a glance backward Will set
al rest suspicion that the shorter week
will result in reduced wages for work
ers The 10-hour day, the nine hour
day and the eight hour day all brought
about increases in workers incomes.
1t would be tiresome to recite reasons,
but it is a we'll established fact that
Il reduction in working hours has al
ways resulted in better wages.
1t was suggested few months ago
by a widely read writer that it would
profit MIR. Ford to subsidize the labor
movement an order that a great share
of American prosperity might be
placed in the hands of prospective au-
tomObile buyers. Undoubtedly, if
other employers follow the example of
Mr.. Ford in reducing working hours.
the automobile business will be bene-
fited-something must be done with
the added hours of leiSure-but, if
some workers choose to ride, others
will prefer the radio. Whatever they
do with their time will help some
business. And it will also help the
cause of more education and the ac-
ceptance of cultural opportunities that
come with leisure.
Machinery Held a Factor.
IF. with the aid of machinery. man
can increase the share of comforts
and luxury available for the indi-
vidual the world will be made hap
pier. Mr.. Ford is pioneering. He will
make the tiVe-day week profitable, no
doubt. But il doesn't follow that all
other industries can adopt the same
course overnight. If the plan was
immediately followed in all industries,
the resulting financial disturbance
would destroy business equilibrium.
The late Lord LeVerhulme British
cotton goods manufacturer. advocated
the SiX-hour day in industry as a
production stimulus and proved his
point H. practice His theory was
that machinery should be worked
more extensively. and human work
ers, because they were subject to
fatigue, less extensively. He stated
his theory in this way:
I'VE must have six-hour working
day for men and women, and by
means of siX-hour shifts for men and
women we must work our machinery
j., is or Pa hours a day. The change
from a 4Shour, week to a 72-hour
week of two shifts of 36 hours each
would affect the cost of production
somewhat as follows:
Cost of Production ltemized
working lS-hour week. and as
suming that the product was 1000
items per week at q cost of fl 900
per week for overhead charges and
of Il 900 per week for wages. the
resulting total cost Of production per
item exclusive of raw material and
such other prOp0rtionate costs as
would always be in exact relation 10
volume produced. would be 40s per
item.
IF such factories adopted the g.
hour working day system they would
work - hours in two shifts Of Sc
hours each. ana. assuming that no
Increase of production per hour was
hchieved-not necessarily the case
and that the wages paid for SO hours
were the same rs for IS hours, then
the resulting product would be 1900
items Production costs for overhead
charges would not he greatly affected.
as machinery almost invariably be-
comes obsolete before il wears out,
and fixed capital in plants and build
ingS and equipment would be the
same The cost of overhead. there
fore, would again be $1,000, but the
cost for wages would now be $4,000
a total of $4,000 for 1900 items, or
again a cost of sos per item.
= But supposing. as one is 1ustlhed
in doing by past experience. that the
fatigued worker could produce in six
hours as much as was produced IN
eight hours, then the figures as TO
cost of production would be somewhat
like the following. showing a great
gain in economical production: 1000
items would then be produced IN
12.hour week of two shifts of 80 hours
each at a cost of 81 200 for overhead
and e. 600 for wages, which would be
a reduction of % per cent when COM
pared with the 4S-hour week.
This economy might be used in in
creased pay to workers and reduced
prices TO the ultimate consumer. The
employer-capitaliSt would not need to
share in economy of production be-
cause his share would come TO him on
his increased production and quicker
turnover of capital, with resulting in
crease in dividendearning capacity.
That is one way 10 bring employer
and employe closer together. Whether
the scheme appears practical or not
Lord Leverhulme put it into practice
and made it a success. or course. II
isn't SO simple as il sounds. Neither
is Henry F'ord'S idea of 4 fiVe-day
week.
The point of interest here is that
the labor federation is committed 10
a policy of demanding increased pay
FOR workers as production increases
and a reduction in working hours to
proyide every man with il Job and
here is an anti-union employer under
~ king to prove the practicability OF
tbe demand The situation contains
- Vmn.ts of interest