New Britain herald., 1929-11-25
THE EDITORIAL VERDICT
 OF NEW ENGLAND

-Nt" blildlli lltS ldu WIdL IS COLL monly referred to as a "sood time" But here, as elsewhere in New Eng 1 land. they did not permit social obligations to interfere with the main purpose Of their survey ot New , England industry. Their report, made public few days ago, was q
 frank statement Of their findings and doubtless will be taken to heart by all wcll-wishcrs Of the northeast ern states.
 The diversified industries Of New England made a strong impression. their yirility and enterprise was be- yond cavil. To those in New England who have known of it's industrial strength at first hand. the glowing paragraphs in the report referring to this comes as no surprise.
 But the editors were on the look
 out for unfavorable factors as well,
 and they found quite a number. These are more important for pur- poses Of analysis than the onumera- ton of favora hle factors. All indi- viduals and industries cndcaNoring 10 attain improvement must take into account criticism as well as adula- ton, and the former, if constructive, is more important.
 Many industries had failed to modcrnize their plants, using the same layout for half a century. In dustry therefore, is carrying a stag gering burden" in old buildings which are not adapted 10 the efficient arrangement of modern machinery It is lucky that thc editors did not specify which particular plants were found in this condition, thus avoid ing much discussion and possibly denials. Many such plants are crowd cd into congcstcd districts where the value Of land is high. This probably applies to New Britain. The editors claim it would pay better 10 erect new plants on the fringes Of the cities, but fail to mention anything about the convenient railroad tracks which invariably arc q factor in re- taining these plants where they are. If plants in New Britain helped to bring about this criticism we are in clined to think it will be many years before a removal to other ground is likely. TO the casual observer il seems that the costs would be rather excessive.
 Along with old buildings runs criticism regarding obsolete equip ment and poor lighting. In many plants the latter is said to have been 'distressingly bad" This is constructive criticism wherever it might apply and is readily remedied. Poorly arranged machinery also was found in abundance. ciuttering asles and lacking in modern dispo- sition. We imagine that such criti- cism, also, will be found constructive wherever such conditions obtain.
 In the matter of human relations in industry the criticism is more im- portant than that pertaining to the character of the buildings or the ma chinery. It must be admitted that the editors here were little caustic. Human relations are in places way behind the times" was their verdict. Which is important if true and should not be permitted to continue many years, What could be more ar resting than these words from the report;
 "Working conditions. personnel policies. and an inherited attitude o1 patcrnalsm arc apparently taken as a matter of course by both labor and mana cement This reflects itself in many Ways-long hours Of work, poor provision for the safety and comfort of workers, crude methods of hiring and firing and other sources of industrial unhapplncss that write themselves plain in terms oe bad morale and low returns on the payroll.'
 Naturally. VIC trust that this criti- cism does not apply locally. In day when human relations in industry are receiving widespread attention and are deemed of paramount i'm portance one can only reply that if New England is "bchind the times in this connection and realizes 1t, that there will be a spirited endeaV- or 10 obviate the possibilities of suf- fcring such criticism in the future. We shall aim to be as enlightened as industrialists anywhere else, even if time honored tcnets go by the board.
 The editors arc to be thanked for their thoroughness and frankncss. New England gains nothing by shut ting it's eyes and batting itself on tn" shoulders, It is glad to profit ty constructive criticism. Industrialists, we believe, will ponder this report with avidity and show a willingness to adopt whatever good in it that applies to their own enIeavors.