The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1945-08-17
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Y GEORGE S. BENSON
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Good mechanics are economists.
Whether a workman is compe-
tent millwright or graduate me-
chanical engineer, he is an enemy
of lost motion. And lost motion is a
menace to prosperity, serious as
fire. When an engine is running idle
it is only wearing out. When a ma
chine is driven with it's brakes on,
the waste is even more damaging;
property is injured and energy
thrown away.
What is true of mechanical as
sembly is true of human oYganiza-
ton in this respect. The owners of
q farm or the stockholders of a cor
poration are no penny richer for
having a crew that works hard all
day doing nothing. Work is neces-
sary on farm; sweat and calluses
are only incidental; it's the crop
that brings in the money and pays
the men who till the land.
Production Pays
Prosperity results from work but
not from all work. Prosperity
results from productive work. Peo-
pie who keep busy but do not in
crease the yield might as well be
resting. The man who figures out a
way to increase yield without extra
labor is the best man on the job.
He works with his brain; knows
enough to stop lost motion, to take
precautions against fire and the
like.
In England there is a magazine
called The Economist. 1t is Britain's
leading financial publication. It is
read and respected by business men
and financiers generally. Just re-
Gently it has been running a series
of articles entitled "a Policy for
Wealth." The articles have shown
why England is poor; that is, why
the English people must put up with
low living standards.
Deserve the Best
A large and respected group of
Americans often say Mother Eng
land" The British are proud and
industrious people and the Ameri-
cans respect them. The British well
understand how to enjoy and appre-
ciate life's good things. They de-
serve to live as well as anybody but
they don't. What's the reason? Well,
here's what one writer for The
Economist, looking back at 1913, has
to say:
Industrial efficiency, as meas
ured by production per head, was
roughly similar in Great Britain
and Germany while in the United
States it was more than twice as
great as in the other two countries"
The statement is that of DR.. Leon
Rostas, based on serious study of
authentic records. Now there is
movement on foot in England to
double her productive output per
man by 1872.
Lest We Forget
No longer ago than 1943, when
America and England both had full
employment, our American work
ers were twice as well off. They
were producing enough to live twice
as well as the British. About that
time Britain was investing only go
of her income in equipment for addi-
tional production. 1t was like a
woodman saying, "Why buy a file?
A dull saw pulls easier"
The British point to Americans
and say, Look! They work less,
earn more and live better than we,
all because they encourage more
investment in tools to produce more
goods per man." Now England wise
ly plans to encourage larger invest
ments to obtain greater production
per man-hour, higher wages and
higher living standards. Unless we
adjust today's tax laws, we will be
poor, watching the British produce
and prosper in 1872.