New Britain herald., 1930-11-07
WE ARE BECOMING CRITICAL OF MACHINES

CRITICAL OF MACHINES
 Time was when an inventor was looked upon as a great genius. The man who could make a machine do everything except talk was looked upon as a benefactor of mankind.
 This attitude is at least slightly changing. Widespread unemploy- ment has done il. The man or wo- man who has been thrown out Of employment through being dis placed by machinery either new or improved machinery. is not inclined 10 look with favor upon the con trivanccs
 l. is true that virtually every thing we use has been made win the aid of machinery That has been true for generations or ever since the factory system started, H. our time, however. the inevitable has happened and machinery has been developed 10 such uncanny perfection that 1t has reduced thc necessity Of labor's cooperation to the minimum, and perhaps the end IS not yet in sight.
 This development Of the machine age is receiving the attention Of the vocational guidance committee which will submit its findings to the White House child conference. The committee has found that fields once unaffected by the encroach- ments of machines have been af- fected by the mechanical invasion of the last ton years. White collar amployments are no longer h. touched, and representatives by the thousands from this class both men and women-are among the unemployed. Here is q list, and small one. ot the machines which have wrought havoc with this class Of citizens. as outlined by the com- mittee:
 "The billing machine. tabulalor and bookkeeping machine have brought about an entire reorgani- zation Of office occupations.
 The automatic telephone has displaced thousands Of workers and transformed an elaborate sys- tenn of training in one form of communication, and the automatic telegraph has brought about q sim liar change in another branch or iho same industry.
 The sclt-servc restaurant has changed food service both for the waitress and cook and the self serve grocer is making like tran@- formations for the person who sells foodstuffs.
 "Power-driycn machines arc making changes in farming that have led economists to aver farm ing will soon experience division Of labor comparable 10 that whereby industry vas revolutionizcd.
 The motion picture camera and the talking picture have rcmadc the actors profession.
 The radio is being used 70 give instruction on q largo scale and its introduction into tho school room already suggests changes in meth ods Of instruction and the teachers part in ,he teaching process"
 Machines are 10 serve mankind, not degrade large portions of it. The threat is not an idle one, and only last week Belin. the Edison of France" candidly declared that in his opinion the age Of machin- | cry would not make mankind hap pier.
 The effects among the educated 1 classes arc already apparent Not many years ago q person with high school education usually had no difficulty in obtaining employ mcnt requiring intelligence, Today there are plenty ot high school l graduates without employment There arc also persons of higher education out Of employment, Great corporations still arr in the market for bright youths Of cdu- cation" etc, but they now make il a point 10 select only those ho had nigh marks, disdainng the othds. ! An educator the other day con- fesscd 10 being quite alarmed; there arc others equally alarmed.
 Consider the threat in tho last paragraph quoted. Possible ln- troduction of the radio into the school rooms suggests changes in methods of instruction. What kind of changes? Fewer teachers, of course. And there already is a surplus of teachers. The same ma chine threatens the ministry.
 Manufacturers are discovering
 something worth while during the
 present period of economic stress
 that machines do not consume their
 goods.
 Peach Moth Damage Much I ,ess This Year