Evening star., 1935-02-17
Centralized Industry
Under Serious Study
BY HARDEN COLFAX.

Among the more important OF the
long problems facing modern
business is that Of too great indus
trial Capitalization. Some of our
industrialists have begun to feel that
large-scale enterprises, with thousands
Of men in a single plant, may not be
the most eficient and profitable form
of operation.
Just what thoughtful employers of
labor believe ought to be done about
this Is outlined in report on DE
Capitalization Of industry submitted
this week to Secretary Of Commerce
Roper by his Business Advisory and
Planning Council, through its chair
man, william A. Julian, Treasurer Of
the United States.
Indicating that its investigations
did not lead it to believe that de-
Capitalization Of industry should be
carried to the point of shifting manu-
featuring plants from metropolitan
centers to rural sections-"where such
action might be harmful to property
owners and general business condi-
tions in the city"-the Julian report
found that, to a considerable extent,
rural rehabilitation, through the de-
Capitalization Of industry, can best
be brought about by the building up
communities" It recommends the
establishment Of new Government
agency to administer a $2,500, 900 re-
volving fund, out Of which to make
loans to industries that can operate
more advantageously in rural dis
tricts than in the crowded city CEN
ters. The amount Of such loans. nat
urally. would be based largely on
pay roll requirements.
Because the Government, through
its various agencies. Is now moving
many families from congested city dis
tricts snd placing them in partially
self aiming communities, the prob
lem presses for solution as never be-
fore. There are many old, established
communities, originally built up
around manufacturing or other In
dustries, which have recently become
stranded because Of the failure of
the enterprises. Perhaps natural re-
sources, such as minerals, upon which
they depended, have been exhausted.
Some of these towns, thanks to the
recovery efforts. are now on par
TALLY self-sustaining basis.
Many industrial workers still living
In the crowded centers should be re-
| moved to small communities, the
Julian report says, where they might
enjoy leisure time and supplement
their cash income by their own ef-
forts on a plot Of ground"
This decentralization of industry,
however, is not keeping pace with
the growth of the population. More
over. says the report, the cash re-
quired by the population taken away
from its original homes is now being
handled on a relief basis, with no
thought of return. This Is likely to
make for dependence and demorali-
zation." Such communities are not
likely to attract or establish wage
paying enterprises.
There Is q type Of industry, we are
reminded, concerned with seasonal
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steady employment to its workers.
Such an industry Is always a liability
to a crowded city area, since it up
sets the labor market during its peak
periods and creates unemployment
during its slack seasons" Indeed,
it is really penalized by its location
in q crowded city area because it
must pay full twelvemonth Of over
head and other expenses incident to
city life, while 1t actually needs its
site for only eight or nine months
out Of the year.
The report considers that these
part-time industries in city locations
would have a much better chance of
success in rural communities, while
a large city is often burdened with
them because of labor troubles.
Acknowledging that there Is q great
deal of interest on the part of vsri-
GUS Government agencies in this mat
ter, the report points out that no
department has any primary re-
sponsibility for improving this situa-
ton. The report, therefore, proposes
that a department be set up to select
and encourage the relocation Of such
,Mdustries a. would contribute to theA