The Waterbury Democrat., 1931-12-17

Bridgeport, i. Dec 17.-Develop- nent of stable economic system is sthe major piece of unfinished business" before the country, and in the solution of this problem the engineers of the nation can play a most important part. This was the declaration here last evening of Ray M. Hudson, industrial exe- cutive of the New England coun- cil, in an address before the Con- necticut Engineers club. The meet ing was presided over by William R. Webster, president of the club. and president of the Bridgeport Brass company. @
 "All who have to work for liv- ing want three things-three things so closely related that they may be regarded as one and the same. a steady job at good pay and chance to get ahead. Even those who live on income from invest ments want that. income to be steady" MT Hudson said.
 'aThe problem is to develop an economic system that will yield thece desired results. We may say that--thanks to the abundance of our natural resources, the energy and thrift of our people, and to our form of government-we have not only laid the foundations of, but have made considerable pro- gress toward, that kind of an eco- noNaic system.
 Nevertheless, it Is very appar- ent that we still have large piece If sunfinished business before us. These periodic upsets which we call cyclical depressions must not nnlw be reduced in intensity but eliminated so far as 1t is humanly possible to do 90.
 ssThere may be-there are un- doubtedly-some who say in re- butta1: 1t cannot be done! Why attempt the impossible7 But sucn an answer Is not characteristic Of the engineer.
 "The engineer, worthy of the name. is accustomed to work with physical force. He learns how to control them and direct them 10 his purposes. To do likewise with economic forces is not only to in- crease the usefulness of his proles- sion--but 1t is his duty to human ity and the world in which he lives -just as it is the duty of the pny- sician to combat and suDdue the most baff1ing of diseases.
 "The New England council nus been promoting business stabiliza- tion measures ever since January nS1aa0. Through its industrial committee 1t has urged New Ens- land manufacturers to modernize. maintain the fullest employment possible, and to merchandise az gressively. The response showed that many New England employers have spread available work as Tar es they possibly could. This ac- tion is in marked contrast to the course generally pursued by inous- frv iin the 1920-21 depression when large numbers of employees were iaid off and the remainder were Ient on full time. The course fol- lowed in the present situation marks. in my opinion, recogm, lion bv management Of It's sociai responsibility for maintaining the fullest employment possible.
 "On the other hand. we may re. gard this action. as simply gooo business, for. every employer knows the jobless worker is the casniess customer, and the maintenance or purchasing power among the arg est number of workers possible is of definite value to business as whole.
 ity of New England employers are working hard to bring their busi- nesses out of the depression.
 "A few years ago the steel indus try changed from the two l2-hour shift basis of operation to three E. hour shifts. About one year ago, the Kellogg company changed from three s-hour shifts to four 6-hour shifts. E. R. Squibb and Son adopted, about 8 year ago, nve- day week with no reduction in wages. Both firms claim not only no loss in. efficiency but also some increases in output per man-hour. The American Chemical society. through its Journal, reports many chemical plants on the six-hour shift system.
 'sThe United States department of labor, in statement issued Sep tember IA, 1881. reported SIS plants. employing 1s9.s19 on a fve-
 srhe trend seems to be definite ly toward longer hours for ma- chines-shorter hours for men
 "And why not? If the purpose of fine engineer is to tighten the