davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-04-03
BY ALTON l.. BLAKESLEE
Associated Press Science Reporter

v day in the fight against polio
should come in 10 days.
That's the hopeful guess, at least.
of some persons close to the Salk
polio vaccine. There's a general air
of confidence that the vaccine works.
There has been no hint of anything
amiss with it.
Did it protect children from para
lytic polio. and how well? Or was
it ineffective? Do we start a huge
vaccination program to end polio?
Or must vaccine research work go
back to the laboratory?
Those answers will come out April
IL, when results are announced of
last summers wide tests of the vac
cine developed by DR.. Jonas E. Salk
of Pittsburgh.
If it is good, how much vaccine
will there be this year? What are
your chances of getting it for your
children? What will it cost?
Some of these questions can be
answered pretty well right now.
There has been no official tip or
leak about the verdict on the vac
cine. officials of the National Foun-
dalton for Infantile Paralysis say
they don't know it themselves.
But you can interpret some things
as signs of confidence:
The announcement will be made
on the 10th anniversary of the death
of President Franklin D. Roosevelt,
who inspired the National F'ounda-
ton. This would be a fitting date
for an optimistic report.
Secondly, topfight scientists are
being invited to the conference at
the University of Michigan, Ann
Arbor, where results will be dis
closed.
Here are some questions answer
able now:
Q. What results will be an
nOunced?
A. The Salk vaccine was given to
100000 children. Records have been
kept on them. Did they get less
or more-paralytic polio compared
with 100000 children who received
harmless dummy shots, and COM
pared with 100000 youngsters who
had no shots at all? Blood test
studies of some 10000 children will
be involved, to learn how much pro-
tective antibodies were produced by
use of the vaccine.
@. Will II be clear -cut answer?
A. Yes. 1t should be. II enough
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-04-03

In this case, 1t is many machines.
But the "work"-that is, the part
being fandled-is not moved by hui
man power from the time it enters
until the time it leaves. In that
sense, it is a single tool.
Less Direct Labor
Far fewer persons will be needed
to work at this machine. Where
perhaps 40 would have been needed
on direct labor" Operating the
various stations) on an old line,
not more than six or eight direct
laborers will be required on this one.
K. L. Finkenstaedt, executive vice
president of the Barnes company,
demonstrated the extent of automa-
ton on this machine. He pointed
to battles under the various lathe
components, and said that when in
stalled, the machine will stand over
a trough in which a conveyor belt
will run. This belt will take metal
chips to central point without the
intervention of men.
There will be no wheelbarrows in
this operation" Mr.. Finkenstaedt
said.
This is precisely what bothers
labor spokesman. Fewer wheelbar-
rows, obviously, means fewer men to
push them. Fewer men means fewer
jobs. and-quite beyond the fact
that fewer men also means less
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-04-03

This cost does not include the
physicians fee for services in giving
the vaccine during the three visits.
His fee would be in addition to the
81 TO Sc cost of the actual vaccine
for one person, plus perhaps mark
ups in the distribution.
@. When will vaccine be given?
A. Presumably as soon as it is
licensed. starting in some places in
April II possible. For effectiveness,
vaccine should be given before ex-
posture to polio.
@. Will there be enough vaccine
for all children or adults this year?
A. No. not enough could possibly
be produced this year. Vaccinations
for everyone wanting them. or need
ing them. would take at least two
years. probably longer.
@. How long will the vaccine pro-
tect person? A lifetime?
A. Time will answer that. One
vaccination might protect for years,
or even lifetime. Or booster shots
might be needed at intervals.
G. Is the vaccine safe?
A. Yes, for it is made Of killed
polio virus. and repeatedly tested
for safety. There have been no
reports of hazards. but some per-
sons might get reactions, as people
do with any drug or vaccine. The
April IL report probably will tell
whether some children had reac-
tons, such as soreness of arm or
slight upset.
@. Will the vaccine protect against
all types of polio?
A. Yes. it is designed to. It con-
tains all three types of virus which
are known to cause paralysis in
humans.
@. Who will get the vaccine which
Is sold to doctors?
A. That apparently will pe up to
the individual doctors. Preschool
children might be favored by many
doctors. because polio incidence is
often highest at age 5. Pregnant
women might also get some pref
erence, for there is some evidence
pregnacy increases susceptibility to
polio. Or doctors might follow
rst-come. first-served order. Some
are preparing waiting lists, as pa
tients request vaccine for their
children. q.
elf the Salk vaccine Is found
ineffective, what then?
A.-Research is already under way
with other vaccines. including some
containing living virus. but altered
so II cannot cause sickness. Some
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-04-03

At the forefront of automation in
Detroit is the Ford Motor Co.. which
now virtually has a policy of never
using man when a machine will
do.
But Ford's automation has been a
creeping process. Its start came
more than As years ago, when Ford
adopted the banjo-type rear axle
housing because that form could be
made faster than an older type. "a
frequent symptom of attenuation,
incidentally, is radical redesign Of
parts to make them more readily
adaptable to automatic production.)
The Big Year
The first big period of something
like attenuation at Ford came in
1894, when these things hap
pened:
A radiator assembling machine
was installed; device was made to
drill As holes in the engine block
from four angles in 80 seconds; an
endless carrier chain was devised to
transport engine block molds
through the whole foundry process;
a f1ywheel magnetic line was opened,
cutting assembly time from 20 min
uteS to Is; a chassis line was put
into operation. reducing work from
1913 man-minutes to 80; engine as
Sembly practices were changed, cut
ting time from 10 man-hours to 8
hours As minutes.
In this same period-on January
l, 19l4-Henry Ford proclaimed the
then unheard-ot SIS day for workers
in his plants.
Since then of course, there have
been many mprovementS-thes
early ones were not automation as
we know it now. but only the rude
beginnings. Real. modern auto
nation did not get its start until
after World War II.
1923 VS.. 1858
And what has happened?
r. H. Sullivan, production vice
president Of Ford. has the answer.
In 1928 the Ford Motor Co. pro-
duced more cars than it did in 1858.
(This startling fact was read back
to him and verified.) But where
100000 men did their sketchily
automated jobs for Ford in 1928.
generation later 177,000 men were
doing highly automated job to
turn out fewer cars.
OF course, they are different. and
more complex, cars today than they
were in 1923. And that is industrys
main argument: Attenuation i'm
proves quality; quality produces de-
mand; demand produces more jobs;
more jobs produce more demand.
and so ad injfnitum.
Mr.. Sullivan says:
1.-THE motivating forces behind
automation are, first of all. the pos
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-04-03
Week From Tuesday Will Fell the Story on Sok Polio Vaccine

ply-free Of charge this year only
enough to vaccinate every child in
the first and second grades of all
public. parochial and private schools
in the United States, Hawaii and
Alaska, If parents request it. These
i children were chosen because there
is high incidence of polio at those
ages. and vaccination clinics can
easily be set up in schools. Free
vaccine also will be offered children
in other grades who took part in
last years test and received either
no shots at all or just the dummy
shots.
This supply-paid for by March
of Dimes money-will be admins
tered by State and local health
medical societies. After these 8
million vaccinations this year the
officers in cooperation with local
Polio Foundation will get out of
the vaccine business"
On their own, pharmaceutical
firms will sell vaccine to druggists
and to doctors for use on private
patients.
@. What will this vaccine cost IL
your doctor gives II?
A. The cost will vary. One phar-
maceutical firm has set a list price
of $4.20 for the three shots con-
shutting one course of vaccination
for one person. There could be
markups on top Of that. Two others
say their price viii be S. to Sc per
person. Others have not disclosed
their prices. The three injections in
the arm are given within five weeks,
with the second shot coming a week
after the first one, the last month
after the second.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-04-03

union dues-fewer jobs means de-
preston. AS the late Calvin Coolidge
once told flabbergasted Nation,
When a great many people are I'M
able to find work, unemployment
results"
New SkiIIs Needed
Industry's answer is that while
wheelbarrow- pusher will not be
needed. maintenance man will be.
If the former sweeper can be re-
tanned for a higher skill, they say,
he will be. If he lacks the mental
capacity, it is conceded, he may well
join the ranks of the technologically
unemployed.
But industry holds that there
have been chronological displace-
ments before, and that the common
veal has always been served in the
long run. There are few wagon man.
ufacturers nowadays. Montgomery
Wards catalog. noted barometer
of the times, has dropped horse har-
nesses from, its 1855 edition. But
technologically displaced vain
wrights and harnessmakers have
long since found other careers.
Some - industry contends have
gone over to the opposition and now
find themselves worrying lest auto
mated machinery dislodge them
from the auto assembly line.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-04-03

experts think the live virus vaccine
would give longer immunity.
Even If the Salk vaccine works,
better ones might be found. Re-
search will continue, whatever the
answer April II, to perfect this or
other vaccines, to solve other prob
lens about polio. The Salk vaccine
represents one elimination Of years
Of research and vital discoveries
by many scientists which paved the
way toward practical vaccine.
Own parents of children re-
ceiving shots in last years test
learn II they got the Salk vaccine
or the dummy shots?
Ayes, records will be opened
to answer that. Children who re-
ceived the real vaccine will not be
given the vaccine again. But those
who received the dummy shots will
be offered the real vaccine.
Own polio be eliminated this
year?
A.-No. Even If the vaccine is
100 per cent effective, there won't
be enough to 90 around, But 10
to 20 million vaccinations could save
thousands of children this wear.
@. Is "black market" likely in
polio vaccine?
A. Unscrupulous persons might
ATTEMPT this. even to Offering a
phony vaccine and saving YOU could
give it to Yourself. That danger
ous advice would be a tip-off. Only
a doctor or qualified nurse should
give this or anv other vaccine
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-04-03

children--vaccinat and nonvac-
cinated-were actually exposed to
polio last year. The test is whether
vaccination prevents development Of
paralytic polio from natural ex-
posture, and how well it does this.
If there was little polio in the test
communities, the answer might be
equivocal, difficult to measure sta
tistically.
@. Would the vaccine have to be
100 per cent effective?
A. No. Probably no vaccine is
100 per cent effective. But the
higher the PERCENTAGE of protection.
the better, of course.
@. If it works for children, would
it work for adults. too?
A. Yes.
@. II the vaccine is found to work,
what's the next step?
A. 1t must be licensed for use by
the National Institutes of Health.
meeting standards of potency and
safety.
@. Will that take long?
A. Quick approval is expected.
@. How much vaccine will be
available?
A. Probably enough to vaccinate
IS million children or more. but there
are no definite estimates yet. The
Polio Foundation has contracted for
enough vaccine for 10 million chill
dren. Six pharmaceutical firms are
making it. These same firms are ex-
pected to supply, commercially. as
much or more for use by private
physicians
@. How will the vaccine be dis
tributed?
A. The Polio Foundation will sup
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-04-03
au.tO.ma>tion

Improved machinery and more
productive tools. to do the work
that man formerly had to sweat
to DOR. HI. Sullivan, vice
president, Ford Motor Co., Dear
born, Mich.
"A system for the automatic
handling Of parts between pro-
gressive production processes. -
, D. S. Harder. vice president of
Ford Motor Co., credited by some
as originator of the word.
Among the engineers who
coined it, the word automation
is merely term which conven-
iently describes certain mechan-
ical controls and processes
Benjamin F. Fairless, chairman,
United States Steel Corp, Pitts
bIrgh, Pa.
The tDord also has its verbal
form. to automate. 1t can also
be used as an adjective. as auto
mated machinery. There is no
Gduerbidl form in general use
but eventually there probably
1Oiu be.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-04-03

The ,Dord abope is not yet in
the dictionary. But, say the pub
fishers of the big Webster, it Will
be Just as soon as the new edi-
tions come out.
1t should be in the language.
1t is an increasingly important
1oord. What probably tpiH be-
come the standard definition ap-
pears in bold-tace type In the
first column of the accompanying
story. Here are other definitions.
offered by people Dho spend
much OF their time thinking
about attenuation.
Materials handling In a timed
relationship with some other ma
jOr m0vement."-K. L. Finken-
staedt, machine tool designer,
Rockford, I'LL.
1.-THE supervision and regula-
ton of the production process by
self-operating mechanical, hy-
draulic, pneumatic. chemical,
electrical or electronic devices. -
United Auto Workers Economic
and Collective Bargaining Confer
ence, Detroit, Mich.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-04-03
Automotion in Action

For a close look at automation in
action, this reporter went to Rock
ford, ILL.,, where an Army ordnance
plant has long been rated-or per-
haps overrated-aS one of the best
examples of an automated factory.
1t cost between 81 and SO million in
World War II. To duplicate it would
cost about $40 million today.
The reporter found the plant to
be. for all practical purposes, obso-
lete. j. H. Pratt, production expert
for the Chicago Ordnance District,
said fatty that similar automatic
production lines for artillery ammu-
milton would never be built in the
future. Charles Holm, plant man.
ager for the operating contractors,
U. S. Industries, agreed.
The reason is simple. Since the
automatic 155-mm. howitzer shell
line was first opened for production
In January. 1852. a new and better
way of producing shells has been de-
vised. Ironically, the new process is
largely nonautomatic; at any rate,
it Is considered nonautomated.
The automatic line is, essentially,
two machines: One covering the
whole process Of forging, the other
the whole process of machining.
Ignoring one handling operation
between them, this can be said of
the line; Six-and-a-h alf-inch round
cornered steel, in bars Is feet long,
goes in one end; completed 155-mm.
shells come out the other end. Men
control and upervise-rather than
perform-the score or more of
operations in between.
How does the automated shell
line compare with standard lines
using the same process and operating
at the same rate?
. The quality Of the automated
product is excellent; perhaps better
when machines, and not men. are
the judges OF work done.
. The operating cost Is average"
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-04-03
What's Attenuation?

There are almost as many defini-
tions of attenuation as there are
people thinking about the subject.
A box elsewhere on this page. headed
with a photo-engraved reproduc-
ton of the word as it will appear
in forthcoming dictionaries. gives
some of the leading definitions.
But since ''automation" pro-
nounced to rhyme with corpora
tion'-is enough of word that
the photographers are ready to
admit it to the English language.
let's use what will be the standard
definition as a starting point.
A. M. Driscoll of the G. g. C..
Merriam Co. of Springfield. Mass,
which publishes the standard Web
ster's says, THE following deflni-
tons, based on evidence so far
gathered, is tentative, not neces-
sarily as it will appear in our
dictionaries. Anyway, here it is:
Antomotion, noun. l. The oct or tech
nique Of having manufacturing process
fully automatic. BY this technique, ports
ore moved into and out Of moehines
without being hondled by human operators.
z. The stote Of being automatic. 3.
Automatic operation, as Of moehne.
This is the kind of automation
most people on both sides of the
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT bargaining table
are thinking about. There are more
elaborate types in being. Missionaries
and even practical men in some
industries-are considering self
programming, self correcting. self
inspecting" gadgets that will make
humans not only unnecessary, but
unWanted.
I'm this connection, one in
dustry has had this extreme forced
on it by the frailty of man. Much
atomic energy work is handled
automatically, simply because the
product is too hot for humans.l
The immediate battl eground.
where attenuation is fighting word,
is the automobile industry. United
Auto Workers (and CIO) President
Walter P. Reuther has made it clear
he is out this year for guaranteed
annual wage. He cites the rise of
automation as one of the chief rea-
sons for his unions demand. For
public consumption at least, the auto
workers are scared of automation.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-04-03

even III Cle olcLlOnary, DuL shortly
will be.
Depending on the point Of view,
automation is the promise of a
brighter tomorrow. when every man
win have more things to enjoy and
more time to enjoy them in: or 1t is
a clear and present danger to the
livelihood of millions OF working
men.
Who is right?
The impression Of this reporter
just back from the automated Mid
VESTS, that automation is more
likely to bring prosperity than de-
preston, but that in the industrial
evolution now going on, some in
dividuals inevitably are going to get
hurt.
Evolution, Not Revolution
Note that the phrase in the last
paragraph was industrial euolu-
tion." not industrial revolution"
Attenuation is not something that
has happened overnight. You can
trace it back to Henry Fords first
assembly line early in this century.
You can trace it even further to
Oliver Evans continuous-procesS
flour mill in Philadelphia I'll years
ago. BY stretching the Imagination,
you can probably go back to even
more remote times. But the point
is made; automation not only is here
and here to 'stay-it's been here,
to some degree, for many years.
From the standpoint of practical
economics. as Peter F. Drucker
points out in the March issue of
Harper's. automation is not only
desirable. but absolutely essential
if we are to maintain our living
standards in the future. For the
next decade or so, the labor force
will be small compared to total
population. The needs of an in
creasing number of persons will have
to be served by a relatively stable
number of producers. Without
pushing automation beyond its
stage, some economists be-
lieve, that cannot be done.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-04-03

but II the contractor had to figure
in depreciation Of Government
owned equipment on each, the auto
mated lines production cost would
be higher than the standard lines.
. First cost is greater for the
automated line.
. Maintenance costs are far
higher, and the problem Of spare
parts for this unique machinery Is
a constant headache.
From a cost point Of view, this
automation is a flop.
What about personnel?
This is perhaps the most amaz-
ing thing about the Rockford plant
and to some extent about auto
mated factories in general At
Rockford, it takes about 100 people
to operate the automated line In
the opinion of Mr.. Holm and Mr..
Pratt. it would take 100 people-the
same force-to get the same output
off standard line.
But there is difference. The
skills required by operators and
maintenance men on the automated
line are much higher than would be
needed by men working on nom
automated equipment.
More Maintenance
This is story one hears wherever
one goes: More and more mainte-
nance-especially preventive main
tenance-is needed: better and bet
ter men are required for the MAIN
tenance crew. Where once a man
with an oil can and another with
wrench did the fixing, now the
machines are cared for by cleo
tricians of practically engineering
competence, by hydraulic mechan-
les who almost need a college
degree.
The Rockford plant is not typical
of automated operations, however.
If it were, Mr.. Reuther would have
little to fear. Much of the blame
for the Rockford experience falls
at the door of the Army, which
started and stopped the operation
for nearly 10 years before the first
shell rolled off the Rockford line.
The starts were feverish-allowing
no time for development of process
admittedly experimental. The stops
were abrupt and complete-allowing
not even an adequate amount of
money for standby maintenance.
Industry's Experience
This has not been the case in
private industry, where a dollar has
meaning sometimes forgotten by
the phasers-in and phasers-out in
Washington. tomation-success-
full. economical automation-today
is the Watchword of many indus.
tries. some of which could not exist
without fully automatic equipment.
The postwar chemical and plas-
tics industries have, for all prac-,
tical purposes, been built around
automation The petroleum indus
try also is highly automated.
But these are Continuous proc
ess" industries, where raw materials
are poured in at one end and
refined product flows out the other.
Attenuation became a significant
economic force when it invaded the
"discrete products" field, where sep
arate parts are fed into machine,
processed, assembled and delivered
as finished widgets. That is auto
nation today, whether the widget
is an Bounce gear case for re-
frigerator, a 10-cent toy pistol or
a heavy, complex and costly auto
mobile engine.
Attenuation produced items, how
ever, have one thing in common:
They are produced in great guam
tlty and at fairly constant rates.