Evening star., 1938-02-20

the unfortunate thing about q malcontent
is that he is usually the last person In the
world to be conscious Of the trouble he Is
causing. And we will find another few who
are willfully dishonest and who wilfully
cheat not only their employers but their
fellow workers and every one else with
whom they come in contact. Add to this
assortment q few with unmentionable dis
eases and another few with insanity of q
mild kind and then appoint q man to be
foreman with an inclination toward
age factory. I believe that every personnel
director will tell you that this is about the
picture in spite of their best efforts
There will come time when La Toilette
and Thomas become genuinely concerned
about their business. The production
schedule never seems to work out right.
There are too many rejected parts on
account Of poor workmanship. The labor
turnover is too high; men seem to quit
for no reason at all. When they consult a
more experienced employer, he will tell
them they are experiencing labor trou-
bic" and If he is one Of the group they
have been grilling during the investigation.
he will tell them of the only method yet
discovered by industry to clean up such q
condition is to place an honest, experienced
operative in the shop to report on exactly
what Is going on among their people
Does Not Defend Policy.
do not defend this policy. I merely
suggest that the highest-minded employers
of the country have used it for years. At
tention is also called to the fact that one
will find among the list of firms accused
Of employing spies q large number with
chief executives who have risen from the
ranks. This seems proof that the ex-
workman knows his own kind well enough
to insist in getting reliable information as
to what the worker thinks. He knows full
well the law Of averages for human beings
He believes that the large proportion of
honest and reliable workmen need and are
entitled to protection from the minority
whose only purpose is to create as much
discord as possible.
haven't said a word about labor unions
and the effort to control or manipulate
them through the use of undercover opera
tives. This condition was a later develop
ment; the primary purpose Of the labor
spy was as have described it, And
believe that the management of La Toilette
Thomas Radio Corp. would soon decide that
there was no other way to keep abreast
Of the situation.
No, can't see any substitute. Through
either legal or extra-legal measures the
employer will probably continue to get this
information. The people who might solve
the problem have made no effort to do so.
I refer to the labor unions themselves
Maybe the time will come when q labor
union will have vision enough to take over
the entire problem of personnel manage
ment. 1t is reasonable to believe that this
can be done. All the union needs to do is
assume responsibility for its members and
then demonstrate that it can control them
Let the unions refuse membership to this
small proportion of trouble makers-or
throw them out If they manage to get past
the membership committee. If the unions
would really police their closed shops
believe that the employers would welcome
could change the entire picture in one
short year by instituting and pursuing
policy of this sort.
The time must soon arrive when the
folly of continual pickering between capital
and labor will destroy itself through a
realization of its sheer economic loss and
waste. In the light of my many years of
close observation Of both sides, am con-
vinced that no net gain has been made
through the means heretofore adopted to
force an understanding. It is time for
leader to appear with different slogan
I predict that it will be more concerned
with giving" than with getting" In
stead of both sides worrying about what
they are going to get, let them think q
little about what they can give. With
more of this spirit and the mutual conf
dence and respect that will follow, labor
spies, strikes, finks and Senate investiga-
tions Of these industrial headaches will be
relegated to antiquity in short order.