The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1928-08-08
Horsepower and Labor Power.

The National Industrial Conference Board
has published an interesting comparison be-
tween the manufacturing methods of the United
States and those of Great Britain. If the docu-
ment has some of the quality of an mperiastic
boast of the still-growing colossus of American
capitalism over the already disintegrating Brit
ish Empire, it is nevertheless based upon some
highly important facts.
Selecting eight major manufacturing in
dustries in the United States, it is shown that
the American manufacturers use one and
half horsepower more, per worker employed,
than does the British manufacturer. Ameri-
can steel and roller mills turned out in 1925
total product of S2,94S, 068, 900, as the product
of the labor of 370,726 wage earners, while
British mills turned out $500, 1895, 900 worth of
products with 200,1 81 wage earners in the pre-
ceding year 1924. This means that the labor
of one average worker in the respective codn-
tries was approximately:
American worker produced s7s46 per year
British workers produced 1901 per year
In other industries it is said that the ratio
is much higher, the worker in America turn
ing out as much as two and half to three times
as much as the British worker in some in
stances. But in automobile manufacture the
figures are startling, $4,745, $50 900 worth of
cars being made in the United States by 43O-
303 wage earners in 1924. while S374, 124, 900
cars were produced by 145 704 British workers
in the same year. This would mean:
American worker produced s11,O per year
British worker produced 1857 per year
Figures approximately
The National Industrial Conference Board
attributes the higher productivity of labor in
the United States to an estimated 1885 horse
power to each worker in this country, as against
9.15 horsepower per worker in Great Britain.
Without verifying the accuracy of the fig
ures, we know that the general condition ind-
Gated here tells the story of the rapid decline
of the once world-dominating British Empire
and the heavy inroads of the new candidate for
world-domination, the vital repacious i'm
perialism of the United States. We say it tells
the story but it is only one side of the story
The figures given indicate the tremendous rise
in the organic composition of capital in this
country, the relative low organic composition
of capital in Great Britain, and the consequent
tremendous relative surplus value being gath
cred in by the American finance-capitalists
through the world market in competition with
the badly worn British competitor
But the figures on horsepower leave untold
the story Of the speed-up and destruction of
iiidll-pOWtI VI Tie AlIl6IICdu WOThofS. nowhere
in the world is human life eaten up by the kill
ing grind Of mass-production under capitalist
exploitation as in the United States Nowhere
are working class lives so recklessy destroyed
as in the United States. The innocent figures
say that so much is produced per worker but
they do not say how much faster the human
laborer is worn out and thrown on the discard
These statisticians speak Of higher wages aris-
ing from the greater use of power per man. 1t