Evening star., 1939-12-17
By Raymond P. Brandt


ing handled by Charles E. Bedeaux, an
efficiency expert. At the time, the Amer
ican Federation of Labor denounced the
"BedeauX system as form of stretch
out exploitation by employers. Never
theless, the Stakhanovite system in So
Wet Russia. which is essentially the
same thing, has received the highest
praise from Communists here and
abroad. Mr.. Carmody declares under his
adaptation of stop-watch timing of in
dustrial operations, elimination of waste
motions and establishment of quotas,
labor is given commensurate pay in
creases for increased production.
Follows Taylorian Practice.
Taylorians are noted for their fresh
approach to old problems and their dis
regard for orthodox procedure. They
set an objective and seek the most ef-
ficient way to attain it. Mr.. Carmody
has followed this practice, even to the
extent of being the leader in merging the
original Taylor Society with the Society
of Industrial Engineers, two groups with
the same purposes.
In his new post Mr.. Carmody expects
to show results from the expenditure of
a fourth of the Federal revenues. One
Of his favorite expressions is Lets get
down to cases; we must get beyond the
ory; we must show real accomplish
ment"
AS a business man he differentiates
between private business and govern
mental operations and hopes that Con-
gress and the country can make the
same distinctions.
private enterprises" he says. always
measure the return from investment in
terms of dollars. Governmental agencies
cannot always use monetary yardstick
For example, what dollar value could
one place on. stream pollution project?
Even though it is obvious that such a
project is a health protective measure.
it has definite social and recreational
value, and it means a definite increase
in property values which will ultimately
show up in increased tax receipts to the
community The uninformed taxpayer
may regard it as luxury rather than q
AACSSooAGS'
AS to the dole, which might permit q
balanced budget, he observes:
"It is more profitable to pay man
81 900 and get useful work done than to
give him $500 and get nothing. The one
thing we can't afford is letting workers
sit idle losing their skill, their health and
their courage while the years go by.
I'm the past seven years we have added
billions of dollars worth of public works
to our national wealth. This is better
record than we had in the 2Os when we
lost several billions financing public
works and private industrial plants in
foreign countries. The foreigners got
the public works and new plants. I
have seen them in Germany with my
own eyes,"
Would Revive Theater Projects.
Mr.. Carmody's desire for material ac-
| complishments does not overshaGow his
interest in white collar workers and cul-
tural developments. He would like to
see restored the Federal theater projects
| which Congress ordered abandoned and
| he takes pride in the work of Edward
Bruce in the Fine Arts Division Of the
Public Buildings Administration.
In his attention to details he combines
the business mans devotion to figures
and the ardent New Dealers insistence
on looking after the "ittle fellows" For
the past month he has been engrossed
in the budget for the next fiscal year,
which may be considerably under this
years expenditures. But he boasts that
he will know every item in his budget
and that he will stay within the limits
set by Congress.
IT operated under budget for years,
long before the Federal Government had
one," he proudly announces.
Until budget worries kept him in
Washington. Mr.. Carmody visited many
neld ofaces and projects throughout the