Evening star., 1933-08-27

We must put our principles ana Our
methods to the test OF adversely.
Certain practices called American"
which prevailed during the phenomenal
boom times after the war. have not been
able to resist the logical sequence OF
events; 1t is largely because the United
States applied these methods to such
a great extent that it has come to its
present impasse. However, we are all
to a great extent prisoners of this sys-
TEN which reflects marvellous technl-
cal progress the value OF which can
not be denied Nevertheless, in the
present circumstances We are obliged
to acknowledge that it has not proved
very practical If We should begin again
tomorrow to put into practice the usual
American routine of these last years
we should probably end up by being
in the same unbalanced state. What
ought We to do? 1t is without doubt
one of the most troublesome problems
brought to us by the depression and will
still be a problem when prosperity
returns
In many articles M. Leon Blum has
undertaken to show very precisely into
what an imneSse the present debate
over contemporary mass production has
led us. His analysis is extremely inter-
esting because it emphasizes very ex-
actly the difficulty of solution =.
The American example has proved
abundantly that naturalization has
tended to reduce progressively the i'm
portance of the salary and the raw
material factors in the establishment
of cost prices.
Mechanical Labor Grows.
On the one side. the amount OF
human work incorporated in a prod
uct has constantly lessened in COM
parison with the growing proportion
of mechanical labor On the other side.
concurrently with the energy employed,
the organization factor has been devel-
oped to unprecedented proportions. Be
tween 1899 and 1927 motor power en-
ployed in the United States increased
290 per cent, the number OF Workmen
grew II per cent. and production rose
1S1 per cent. 1t is understandable,
therefore, that under these conditions
the wage scale could rise without affect
ing the cost price to any extent, for
the number of workers was augmented
less than production itself, and the
output of each worker was increased.
The conclusion is that under this
modern system organization tends to
occupy the most important place: 1t Is
less a question. as formerly of d1spos-
ing of an abundance of cheap labor as
it is of a perfected equipment capable
of functioning to secure mass proouc-
tion. One of the most competent
American writer's in his field. Pro1. n.
G. Tugwen, in his book. "1ndustrys
Coming of Age" has written these sig
niflcant lines:
Efficiency Gn production, or the
lack of it, is the responsibility OF man .
Of
revolution has completely denuded the
worker of responsibility, just as also. 1t
has stolen away his skill. - 1t is the
machine and the way it is managed,
the materials and forces and the man
ner of their marshaling, which make
the difference. in our day, between EN-
cheney and the lack of it.
1t is necessary to specify that these
reflections. though so true, can be ap-
piled only to quantity production. Tor
in other cases the low price OF labor
remains an essential factor in competl-
ton. you have only to turn toward
Japan and China to verify this. But
when we are talking of mass production
these observations are peculiarly and,
let us say. dangerously true.
Dangers of the System.
The first consequence is that the re-
muneration to the human element
ceases to be an essential factor
wherever an organization is capable of
running to full capacity and producing
in quantity; the reduction of salaries
in the time of crisis may be useful
and pefhaps necessary defense, but it is
no longer the decisive and essential
safeguard. To look on another side OF
the quandary, in order to keep the or
! ganization factor at high point OF
eficiency it will be necessary to keep
the technical apparatus In perma-
nent state of perfection; that requires
! the onerous investment of more and
/ more capital which must be repeated
, in an ever-growing ratio. Thus we
realize the advantage of having a prod
uct whose cost price is cheap, though
the advantage means that the plant
must be kept working to full capacity.
One sees clearly the dangers Of the
system-dangers that the experience Of
America has brought to light these last
years with great force First, the
charges of capital, together with the
charges Of direction and administration,
ere an element of growing importance
which it Is dimcult to do away With 'o