The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1930-05-29

the proetarian revolution in Russia with
calist construction under the proletarian die
tatorship, headed by the Communist Party of
the Soviet Union, advancing with seven-leagne
boots to the CONSERVATION Of the capitalist
world?
MISUNDERSTANDING introduction of labor
displacing machinery to an extent never before
known, the introduction of new chemical pro-
cessess, the speeding up of workers beyond the
limit of human endurance, the sweating of the
last ounce of energy from the bodies of the
workers-the intensifcation of the labor pro-
cess by every available means, has been adding
rapidly to the permanent army of unemployed.
The belt and conveyor system (the continu-
Gus productive process from the ray material
to the finished articej, Standardization Of
products, mass production, lave increased pro-
duction with smaller number Of employed
workers.
Writing in Current History" for April.
1880, on THE Downward Trend of Employ
ment," Ernest J. Eberlng, professor of econ
omics Vanderbilt University (whom one
will accuse of discountng the virtues of capt.
talism) states as his introduction: "Probably
neuer before in the history of the tcorld has
there been such per capita increase IN the
output of industry cs has occurred in the
United States in the last decade"
Eberling assemblies mass of facts and fig
ures gathered by various government agencies
u. S. bureau of labor statistics, senate COM
mttees on education and labor, Hoovers spec
ial committee on unemployment, etc. and by
commercial and endowed research bureaus.
(The Labor Bureau, Inc, The Statistical Abb
stract, the Brookmire Economic Service, Rus
sell Sage Foundation, Roger Babson, etc..
1t should be remembered that these agencies
are mostly concerned with clarifying Amer
lean enterprise" in the field of industrial pro-
duction and that the greater portion of these
facts and figures was complies to prove that
permanent prosperity" was the result of in
creased output and the "peace pacts" entered
into by the American Federation of Labor and
the bosses.
Careful study shows that from 1899 to 1914
the output per employee had gone up slightly
less than one-haf of one per cent per year
In 1919 the physical output per worker was
actually less than in 1914. Beginning Nth
1921, however, it is the consensus of opinion
among students that the productivity of labor
has increased about so per cent, or an aver
age annual increase in output per aUorker of
per cent This has been due primarily TO
scientific management and the great increase
N machinery, and which has been the cause
o. our e., great prosperity" my question
marks and emphass).
The working population, according to Hoo
ver's Committee on economic changes" has IN
creased annually BY about 100000" Al
the sane time there is definite tendency
toward a decline in the numbers Of workers
employed"
Ethelbert Stewart, commissioner Of the
United States bureau of labor statistics states
that "our figures show q drop from the base
lire of 1928 to November 1923, CO 1913 per
cent in employment in the manufacturing in
dustries.
According to combined estimates expressed
in actual workers thrown out of jobs, the bu-
reau states that 81 ,S74,500 workers were laid
off the payrolls of manufacturing industries
and railroads between 1925 and 1928" These
workers were eliminated from the industries
in which they were formerly employed.
The figures of the Statistical Abstract for
1929 show steady decrease in the average
number of employed workers: 1919, 100000;
1928, S,770,OOO; 1925, 8,3S0,O00; 1927, $780,
000-a total decrease in this period of 100000.
In 1927 the Labor Bureau, Inc, estimated the
number of unemployed at 100000. In 1928
the Brookmire Institute estimated the number
of unemployed at 2,632,000.
Evidence placed before the United States
senate committee on education and labor show
ed that 81 men now do the work which for
merly required 60 to perform in casting pig
iron; 2 men do the work which formerly
required 12S to perform in loading pig iron
l man replaces AZ in operating open-heath
furnaces brick-making machine in Chicago
makes 10000 bricks per hour 1t formerly took
one man eight hours to make 450. The most
up-to-date bottlemaking machines make in one
hour what Al used to make by hand. -.
To the above can be added that in such high
ly mechanical mines as those at Orient, H.,
200 to 300 men mine and hoist more coal than
1900 did formerly. The ordinary mining ma
chimes used in hundreds of mines make it pos
sble for one or two men to do the work for
merly done by 6. A the Wildwood mine, near
Pittsburgh, Pa (said to be the most highly
mechanical mine in the world $50 men mine
and hoist 5000 tons of coal per day.
Mergenthaer typesetting machines elmo
types) which in their day displaced hundreds
and hand typesetters, by new electrical APP
paartus can now be operated by any number,
and any distance apart, by one worker.
The "white collar slaves" the office workers,
are feeling more and more the heavy pressure
of naturalization:
Bookkeeping machines, counting machines,
ingenious copying and tipping machines, have
forced many office workers to accept either