Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-09-12
Doherty's Gift.

When DR.. Roy v. Wright, president
of the American Society of Mechanical
Engineers, said it was up to the en-
gineers and scientists to solve the in
dustrial depression, since they caused 1t
by the invention of labor-saving devices
he said a whole lot, in the opinion Of
that public utilities magnate, Henry l..
Doherty. Mr.. Doherty, either because
he has faith in the engineers or be-
cause he desired to call their bluff,
Immediately offered the society of which
Dr. Wright is president a half million
dollars to solve the riddle OF the
present depression and work out
methods of remedying 1t.
To the layman it may be something
of a puzzle to determine whether the
invention of machinery. including labor
saving devices, has eliminated or created
more jobs. Probably the automobile
may properly be set down as a labor
saving device. Certainly it has made
transportation and construction much
simpler and quicker. The invention of
the automobile not only set thousands
of mechanics to work building cars and
trucks and tractors, but it has provided
work for even more thousands In the
manning of gas stations, garages, repair
shops and the like.
It is true that the inventions of the
scientists and the engineers have made
mass production possible, and have
speeded up the completion Of all kinds
of jobs, from the manufacture OF a
pair Of shoes to the construction OF a
skyscraper. But there were not so
many shoes worn nor so many tall
buildings constructed before these in
ventions. Furthermore. the invention
of these labor-saving devices has made
for shorter hours for labor. An eight
hour day for the worker is the rule,
where in the old days 1t was ten and
even twelve hour day.
If all the inventions Of labor-saving
devices were suddenly wiped out, would
men and women have jobs today?
Would they be less hungry and better
clad? The answer to such a query
might be found in consideration of
conditions In China, where for years
there has been huge population, with
recurrent famines, and deaths by the
millions because of those famines and
because of floods, and because Of the in
ability to provide work for all the
workers. Even labor saving devices as
America understands the meaning of
the term have only scratched the sur
face Of life in China.
If the American Society of Me-
chanical Engineers can use Mr.. Doher-
tvs half million dollars to aid in solving
the present difficulties of the United
States and the world, the sooner the
society gets to work on the problem the
better. In a measure the whole struc-
ture of activity of mankind may be
considered a machine. The problem
seems one Of gearing the machine to a
pitch which will keep all parts properly
in motion. 1t is possible to throw a
monkey wrench into any machine and
jam the working of it. Speculation on
a monster scale, the effort to make
something out of nothing, to create
false values, was the immediate monkey
wrench which threw the machinery out
of gear in this country in 1929. 1t
seems doubtful that the Society Of En-
gineers will be able to guard against
any such foolishness. Distribution and
production have been thrown out of
balance with consumption, DR.. Wright
is quoted as saying. Undoubtedly that
is true. but the cause of 1t goes beyond
labor saving devices. Furthermore, there
must be more even distribution OF
wealth II consumption on q large scale
is to be regained. The limit of con-
sumption on the part of an individual.
no matter what his wealth, is an i'm
portant factor.