Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-09-18

wages and salaries must in the long
run be based upon a sharing Of labor
in the savings made through industrial
and commercial efficiency. Within the
past few months British labor has fol.
lowed this lead of American labor. That
is, If we are able by labor-saving ma
chinery and reduction of the waste:
| in industry to decrease the cost oil
production Of an article. we know BY
| long experience that train of con.
sequences of the highest Importance
| follow. Wages in that industry will
rise, prices decrease, consumption in
crease at home and in our foreign mar.
kets, the demand for labor is enlarged
and our standards of living improve
The ancient bitter opposition to i'm
proved. methods on the ancient theory
that it more than temporarily deprives
men of employment which is still main
tanned in some parts of the world has
no place in the gospel of American
| progress.
| Waste in Industry.
Eight years ago I caused Nation
wide investigation to be undertaken OF
the whole subject. felt that it was
| In the interest of our country to
know what opportunities we had to
improve our methods. 1t developed
that there were great opportunities for
| increased efficiency In our whole in
dustrial machine. We have the high
est ingenuity and efficiency. in the
| operation of our individual industries,
of any nation. Yet there were great
wastes which were not the fault of
individuals, employers or employees.
These wastes were due to seasonal
unemployment and to unemployment
GNnroccinvNc. 10 lot
and overproduction during booms: to
labor turnover and labor conflicts: to
intermittent failure Of transportation.
of supplies. Of fuel. of power and credit
to synchronize with demand: to lack of
simplification and Standardization in
many of our commonly used commodi-
ties; to losses in our processes and
materials and scores of other direc-
tons. They all combined to represent
q huge deduction from the goods and
services and employment we might all
enjoy If we could but eliminate these
wastes.
We adopted a new policy in Govern
ment. That was. that the Secretary of
Commerce should cooperate with in
dustry in organization against such
waste. not by law or regulation, but
by purely voluntary action in which
representing the managers IF given
industry. its employees, its distributors
and its consumers were all enlisted In
a common purpose. We have had
magnificent cooperation from the lead
ers and the employees of American bust
ness. l will not take your time to re-
cite the literally thousands of co-opera-
tive actions undertaken and carried
through with beneficent results, but !
will give an illustration.
In Building Industry.
From time immemorial the building
! industry has been a seasonal business
1t was idle large part of the Winter.
The first conference upon reducing its
seasonal character was called under my
Craftsmanship in 1923. It was partici-
pated in by manufacturers of build
ing material, by contractors. by engi-
neers, by real estate men, by representa-
tives of the employees. An exhaustive
examination by this body resulted in
the conclusion that the average sea-
sonal unemployment in the building
trades was about 100 days out of the
year. A number of specific remedies
were Initiated by organized cooperation
in different centers. BY this co-opera-
tive action and by improved methods
the average days of unemployment have
been decreased by nearly one-half.
There has been no decrease in daily
wages. In fact, there has been increase
in wages. but. far more important the
annual income Of workers in the build
ing trades has been substantially in
creased by the decrease in idle DAYS.
1t has enabled us to increase the total
annual volume of building with the
same complement of labor and equip
ment 1t has decreased the unit cost
OF building and contributed to the ex-
pansion of building generally. Nor are
the benefits confined to the construc-
ton industries. They give greater sta
bility to all the manufacturers of build
ing material and to transportation.
Bcoms and SIumps.
AS another instance of an action of
fundamental Importance to labor l
might mention the organization of
measures in the Government to mitigate
the violence of the so-called business
cycle. That is the recurrent periods of
boom and false hope, waste and ex-
travagance followed by hard times with
their hideous unemployment. decreas-
ing wages, bankruptcy in business and
ruinous prices to the farmer. These
boonfs and slumps have occurred period
ically for IS years. although less than
half as often under Republican as un-
der Democratic administrations. The
great unemployment period of 1921 was
the direct result of war initiation and
the boom of 1920. No one has suffered
more from these movements than our
salary and wage earners.
Time forbids discussion of the intri-
cate problems involved or the remedies
which we have inaugurated. They in
clude better organization of credit. ad-
vance information as to demand for
industrial products. as to volume of their
production, as to the use of public con-
struction in slack times and many other
methods: AS result of cooperation
with industry and banking and public
officials we have greatly mitigated this
most dangerous of all disasters to our
bread winners. The proof lies in the