Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1942-04-16


"A lens about which there has
been more loose talk and less
thinking in the nations capital,
the subject of the optimum
work-week stands out as a
mgubrious example.
Congress has held hearings,
inter-agency committees have
discussed. labor has cussed, and
been cussed, and yet not one
of Washington's bureaucratic
magma cum laudes has properly
defined the problem.
The fact that they have not
done so almost leads me to feel
that maybe the thing isn't as
obvious as it would appear. The
bright lads are failing to see the
noses on their own faces.
They have cluttered up their
thinking with so many charts,
curves and graphs that the war
finds them hopelessly entangled
in their peacetime maxima and
minima. to the exclusion of a
few simple facts.
4 T a recent press conference
"A the President stated that
studies made after the last
World War in Great Britain, as
well as in the United States. in
Dictated that, week after week,
more goods were turned out in a
d8-hour week schedule than in
any other.
/ wonder IL the President is
familiar with the latest report
on the British experience.
Over there, due TO the rapid
and enormous expansion of the
armed forces, the shortage of
labor already has reached that
critical point which we will not
reach for some months to come.
So the British have stopped
dilly-dallying and have grappled
with the problem in its entirety.
THEIR labors have brought
Il forth the only scientific
study of the work-week that has
been made in this war in the
form of a pamphlet called
Hours of Work. Lost Time and
Labor WaStage."
This report was made by in
dustrial physicians with full
consideration for both the health
of the workers and the neces-
sity for huge production upon
which the British national ex-
istence depends.
It's conclusions avoid the dog
matte and pontifical tone which
has characterized state m en- S
made in this country.
Common sense tells us that
any given work week. like az
hours, even though il may be
best for one job. is certainly
not best for all jobs.
While reaching a definite con-
clusion. the British did not place
strict limits on the optimum
work week. but settled upon an
elastic e-from so to 65
hours for men and s. to 60 for
women.
ETS apply a little ordinary
II horse sense. In a freely
operating. peacetime economy,
every good business man strives
TO turn out his product at the
lowest possible unit cost.
That means he'll try to get
as large an output as possible
per hour from the labor for
which he must pay-and that's
sensible.
1t permits labor 10 function
at a high rate of output per
hour, draw a good income and
still have lots of free time.
But now we are at war. and
must forego the luxury Of us
ing mans labor only when
it functions most productivity.
We must also use that portion
Of the tail end Of the week dur
ing which, ii is true, he may
not turn out as much per hour,
but in which, il is equally true,
he turns out quantity that
would otherwise not be produced.
ESS per hour, perhaps. but
~ more per week. per month
and per year. That is the crux
OF the matter.
A 40-hour week may permit
a man TO turn out 80 machine
gun barrels, or two every hour.
A 55-hour week may yield 100
barrels, or only 1.8 per hour.
This means less productive
work week, if we are consider
ing hourly output. which we
could only afford TO do if we
had ain the skilled labor we
want.
If we aren't, then the fact re-
mains that for the week as a
whole. we have 20 more machine
gun barrels. And brother, we
need them.
Distributed by King Features synd.. Inc.