Evening star., 1932-12-28
LOSS BY MACHINES
OFFSET BY GAINS
Scientists Declare Failure of
Adjustment Causes Un-
employment.
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
ATLANTIC CITY, N. j., December
28.-The machine age has benefited
civilization far more than it has harmed
it and unemployment mainly reflects
failure to adjust workers to its progress,
said Prof. Dugald c. Jackson of Mas
sachusetts Institute Of Technology at
the American Association for the Ad-
vancement Of Science today.
He spoke at symposium on stabili-
cation Of unemployment
We cannot truthfully ascribe the
causes OF cyclic unemployment" he
said. to invention and machinery. Here
IN our Occidental civilization. invention
and machinery have added immeasur-
ably to the comfort and happiness of
ourselves and our fellow citizens and
broadly to the improved character and
general ability of our employment
Those who allege that the general
introduction Of machinery has been
the cause Of unfair distribution OF
wealth and an overall instability of en-
ployment in this age compared with
earlier times have failed to observe all
the facts and relationships
Necessary Restraint.
observations and figures. insofar as
they can exist, show that the opposite
effects have been operative in America
and Western Europe throughout the age
of machinery.
Replacement Of man hours by ma
chine hours usually should be re-
strained unless the replacement en-
larges net earnings sufficiently to pro-
vide reasonable contribution for re-
establishing the displaced EMPLOYEES
status OF living. Applying these prin-
ciples would Of itself introduce a re-
stralnt upon the improper or socially
improbable introduction Of machinery
He held there is less disparity be-
tween wealth of the high and low In
the Western World today, partly due
to the fruits of invention and machinery.
Advantages are derived by women in a
degree which raises them to SubStan-
tlal equality with men
Prof. Irving Fisher Of Yale said that
the fan in general price levels IS a
powerful factor in unemployment
Ten years ago." he said, few stu
dents OF unempoyment suspected the
existence Of such relationship. When
prices rise profits increase because
money receipts keep pace with rising
prices, but expenses do not, being most
ly fixed. This causes expansion of
business and more jobs There is a
lag OF few months between the rise
in prices and employment.
But falling prices cut profits as re-
ceipts shrink, while expenses do not.
This causes loss Of jobs. Again there
is lag of a few months. Rising
prices, not high prices increase en-
ployment. Falling prices, not low
prices, are followed by unemployment. /"
Want Less Restriction.
E. j. Working, senior agricultural
economist of the Bureau of Agricultural
Economics. United States Department
of Agriculture. said:
Suppose agriculture should adopt the
same course as other industries and
orastically reduce employment and pro-
duction. Such policy has been wide
ly advocated as cure for present de-
pressed prices of farm products.
Actually We should only be worse of.
There would be some improvement in
agricultural prices relative to the prices
OF industrial products, for the demand
1or tie latter would trend to be lowered
put there would be no rise In the gen.
eral price level
Suppose, on the other hand, employ
ment and production were stabilized in
non agricultural industries as they have
been in agriculture. The result would
be that there could be no depression"
He suggested that one remedy is more
free competition with less restriction
by trade associations, trade unions "and
others" which results in curtailmenr
Of production.