Cornell University Library

HC 256.2.R5

man-power of the nation; suggestions

ii

604 993

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THE LIBRARY
OF THE

NEW YORK STATE SCHOOL
OF
INDUSTRIAL AND LABOR

RELATIONS

 

AT
CORNELL UNIVERSITY

 

 
The man-power of the nation; suggestions
THE

MAN-POWER

OF THE

NATION

SUGGESTIONS AS TO
INDUSTRIAL EFFICIENCY

FOR

EMPLOYERS AND WORKERS.

By
ALEX. RICHARDSON

(Assoc. I.N.A., Vice-President J.I.E.).
Author of ‘* The Evolution of the Parsons Steam Turbine,” etc

 

REPRINTED FROM “ ENGINEERING.”

 

LONDON :
OFFICES OF ‘‘ ENGINEERING,” 35-36, BEDFORD Sr.,
STRAND, W.C.
‘““Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do,
do it with thy might.”

“The labourer is worthy
of his hire.”
AUTHOR’S NOTE.

+

THE articles herein collected were contributed
by the author to Engineering at various dates,
and are published in this more accessible form in
compliance with a widely expressed wish and in
the hope that they will be carefully considered
by employers and workers in all departments of
mechanical industry. There is need for broader
views alike by employers and workers on all
phases of industrial economics, not only during
the present world’s crisis but also in view of the
certainty of more stringent competition in the
immediate future. The cheapening of produc-
tion can proceed side by side with higher earnings
by the workers ; but there are conditions which
must be observed by all concerned, and it is the
purpose of the articles to state those conditions.
‘As the articles were not written as a series, but
for publication in Engineering separately, there
are repetitions ; but these may be excused on the
principle that a good lesson is none the worse for
being repeated.

June, 1916,
THE MAN-POWER OF THE NATION.

AS a nation we have sufficient personnel to
achieve our highest destiny. This fact applies
with equal force to our immediate war needs and
to our ultimate peace requirements. So far as
the former are concerned, there are men physi-
cally fit and willing, if directly sought, to meet
the fullest expectations so far as our contribution
to the fighting forces in all terrains of war is
concerned. There would remain sufficient skilled
men, and more than sufficient of partly skilled
or unskilled male and female workers, to main-
tain the equipment of our Army and Navy, and
yield a very large surplus for the benefit of our
Allies. Even beyond this it should be easily
possible to concentrate a large force of pro-
ducers for the increase of our present rate of
exportation, and thereby ensure, now and for the
future, sound financial stability. All of this,
however, demands that the man-power of the
nation shall be dealt with as scientifically as
mechanical power in order to achieve the fullest
efficiency. There must be, not only for war
purposes now but for peace in all time, a careful
redistribution of man-power, a large degree of
10

co-ordination and a clearer perception on the
part of each as to the vé/e he or she must play
in the evolution of a national system to achieve
the best results from our manhood and woman-
hood. This is essential especially in the interests
of labour, because the humblest classes profit
most by the prosperity of all, as there is then
employment for all and the prospect of higher
wages.

We may consider for the moment our war
needs, These should appeal as much to
workers as to capitalists. Unless the military
despot of all nations is suppressed there can be
no real liberty in any country and no lasting
prosperity.

If careful selection be made—and this is
essential to all national needs—sufficient men
can be got for enforcing the will of the peace-
loving nations without entrenching upon the
man-power which can be best utilised for the
production of war munitions. It is incumbent
upon the recruiting authorities that they should
safeguard, even with a leaning towards gener-
osity, the needs of the munitions department of
the Government. Men, it is true, must come
before munitions, but there was for the first year
of the war a tendency to take a somewhat
unbalanced view, and even now, in considering
the qualifications of “starred” men, local
tribunals must not permit capable craftsmen to
join the fighting forces. It has been established
beyond all cavil that victory can only be achieved
if the men have an abundance of shells to
plough the way in advance of their attack, and
no action tending to check the supply can be
II

allowed, especially as there are sufficient avail-
able men for the Colours without taking men
from manufactories which must be kept going.
The local tribunals must be guided to a compre-
hensive view and judicial deliberation.

With the Military Service Act in operation, it
is the more necessary for the country that the
man-power of the nation should be utilised
effectively and to the fullest extent. Every man
and woman capable of undertaking productive
work must now, and in the future, be encouraged
to undertake such work: our financial state
requires that there shall be no idlers, and the
continuance of all such work is almost as
important to the achievement of our end as
is the enlistment of capable men of military
age for the fighting forces for achieving peace.
We have no wish to see a German system
of regimentation introduced into this country.
The voluntary system has immense advantages
as well as drawbacks. But we are living and
shall, owing to the cost of the war, continue
for years to live in times of great emer-
gency, and just as the physical body requires
drastic treatment in the case of serious peril, so
the body corporate must be subjected to strin-
gent regulation or treatment now. Principles
command respect, but they may be overruled in
the interests of expediency under grave emer-
gency. The majority of people whose occupa-
tion and ways of life might be temporarily intér-
rupted by the national call for redistribution in
industrial activity would recognise the need.
The men and the women of the nation are, as a
general rule, searching for the means to show
12

their patriotism and to terminate the present
world holocaust, and later to re-establish British
trade supremacy. There is much that can be
done by production to improve the economic
situation. There is a call for money as well as
for men and munitions.

Production for export must be maintained
and extended if a financial crisis is not to
envelop us now or upon the termination of the
war. There is a peculiar species of argument
abroad—that the money we spend on munitions
is not lost, but is put into active circulation.
Wealth is not produced by mere circulation of
gold. If money is spent in wages in producing
that which is to be thrown from the muzzle of a
gun, our wealth is not increased. On the con-
trary, if the same money is spent in building a
ship or a sewing-machine, or other wealth-pro-
ducing medium, the nation and the world has its
wealth augmented. The wife of a working man
can do wonders to add to the material wealth of
the family—not perhaps in gold but equally
effectively—by the use of a sewing-machine.
We must not lose sight of this need for con-
tinuing the manufacture of articles which enable
further wealth to be accumulated, and if we are
to have money to carry on the war to an
effective close, we must continue to manufacture
for exportation, in order that we may balance the
wasteful home expenditure. Before the war our
imports exceeded our exports by about 10
millions sterling per month, and this was regarded
as the return for capital invested by us abroad or
for our transport service on the seven seas. To-
day, when there is less demand for transport
13

service, and probably less return on capital
invested abroad, our imports are still exceeding
our exports by about 30 millions sterling per
month, so that we are, by reason of the slackened
production for exportation, accumulating a debit
balance at the rate of 20 millions sterling per
month. This cannot go on indefinitely, or
financial ruin will result. It is by our output
that prosperity is ensured.

The systematic utilisation of our man-power
would have manifold results, all directly con-
tributing not only to the one end now in view,
but to the laying of the foundation and the build-
ing up of a higher productive efficiency in peace
time. There is no need to offer proof that such is
necessary now and in the future. The enormous
debt which we are building up, carrying with it an
immense load in taxation, will demand more
effective service on the part of all. A careful
examination of Britain’s economic future, in a
recent number of the Wzneteenth Century and
After, showed that in the years immediately
following the conclusion of the Napoleonic wars
there was in this country an enormous develop-
ment in trade, with the result that we placed
ourselves in a position of superiority to every
nation. Others, however, have been overtaking
us, in many cases surpassing us, and the time has
come when, owing to the influence of the
necessity imposed by the tax-collector, a fuller
effort to retrieve our position must be made, and
here again the factor is man-power. We must
not be considered as for a moment encouraging
the idea that labour is the sole producer of
wealth; what is needed rather is the collective
14

organisation and co-ordination of man-power, in
order that, as for war so for peace, each unit of
physical power will be so disposed and utilised
as to get the highest result, either in agriculture
or by the use of the industrial mechanism avail-
able. From the census of Britain in 1907 and
of America in 1909 there is disclosed the astound-
ing fact, that, taking wholesale prices, which are
more reliable than retail prices, American labour
is three times as productive as British labour.
In other words, the average value of the produc-
tion per year in the same trades of each wage-
earner in America is nearly three times greater
than that of the wage-earner in this country.
Similarly, the miner in America, Australia, New
Zealand, and Canada produces from two to three
times as much coal as the British miner per
annum. The output per miner employed is
decreasing in this country, but increasing in
others, so that coal, which is regarded as a “ food
of industry,” is steadily becoming dearer in this
country, and costs 50 per cent. more than in the
States. As regards coal, it may be that the
thickness of the seams or other working con-
ditions here involve special difficulties, but one
is inclined more to the view established in the
conditions of manufacturing industries—namely,
that labour is assisted abroad to a greater extent
by mechanical appliances, because the horse-
power used per worker is three times greater in
the States than in this country.

In seeking for an explanation the capitalist or
employer must be brought to the bar of justice
as well as the worker, in order that the case may
be carefully considered. There is no doubt that
15

in many industries there has been, and there
continues, great laxity on the part of employers
in bringing their mechanical equipment to a
high degree of efficiency. There. is a tendency
to ignore the advance of the state of obsolescence
or uselessness, and thus there arises in many
cases what Mr. J. W. Kempster, in his admirable
presidential address to the Belfast Association
of Engineers, called “a species of creeping
paralysis detrimental to industrial health.” At
the same time something by way of excuse can
be said for the employer for this lack of enter-
prise. In the first place the earning of a good
profit is essential to the industrial health of the
country. In the second place, it is of the utmost
importance that the fullest use should be made of
the improved appliances provided. American
workers always welcome new appliances; the
trade unionist of this country looks on them
askance. To quote from the “ Hand-Book of
the Union of German Iron-Masters” of 1912 :—
“The English trade unions, with their
championship of labour, with their notorious
policy of ‘ca’canny,’ and with their hostility to
technical improvements, have seriously shaken
the powerful position of the British iron trade.”
This applies, even with greater force, to
industries where mechanical appliances are
extensively adopted. On the side of the
worker there must be made this excuse: that
there is too little inclination to ensure that each
individual will share in the gain from the higher
producing capacity of the new mechanism.
Rate-fixing is one of the most difficult opera-
tions in a factory, and in the hands of a new
16

official, eager to curry favour with the employer,
a pernicious habit sometimes asserts itself of
“getting the better of the worker.” A most
important fundamental principle of efficient
manufacture is to secure the greatest volume of
production from every mechanical unit in the
factory. Then rent, taxes, power cost, manage-
ment and establishment charges are spread
over a greater value of output, the rate of
depreciation can be higher, and the working life
of the appliance reduced. It can be the sooner
replaced by a better appliance. In order to get
the maximum output it may be profitable to
pay even a higher wage than would otherwise
be justified. But the difficulty is, in this
country, that a great number of men “ca’ canny,”
or act on the principle of working only until
their week’s earnings reach a certain level, and:
then idling for the remainder of the week.
Nothing is more economically unsound,
particularly when there is an unceasing desire for
a higher rate of wage, so that the earnings can
be gained in less time. These conflicting
attitudes are opposed to the effective utilisation
of the man-power of the nation. It is the
determination of the, workers in America to
earn the most in a week at a good wage—which
the employers can pay because of the advantage
of maximum output—that enables America per
unit of man-power to produce three times the
value of the product of the British worker.

As Mr. Kempster said, “Waste and its
equivalent restriction of useful output are
tantamount to providing our foes with the
means for our defeat.” To readjust our trade
17

balance, he pointed out, required an increase in
productive savings of the nation to the extent
of £8 14s. per head of population per annum,
or about 3s, 6d. per week per head. Beyond
this, there is the necessity, after the war, of
providing for the immense burden of taxation
to provide interest on the debt and for the
sinking fund. This can only be met by our
man-power being more efficiently utilised in the
future than in the recent past. More workers
must be found. There must be fewer idlers,
No men should be employed at work which can
be done effectively by physically and mentally
capable women. Each must do his share in
producing manufactures for exportation. Trade
unions must forego restrictions. Employers
must be readier to adopt new appliances, and to
give freely to the workers part of the benefit
accruing from the high rate of production. A
fair profit must not be denied to employers,
while the workers must cease to create artificial
methods for restricting the output, as in the case
of coal, in order to raise the price. Mechanics
must welcome new methods, improved organisa-
tion, more efficient processes of production;
they must view improved machinery, not with
dislike or indifference, as at present, but with
determination to ensure higher output per week,
or per annum, in return for an increased share
in the value of the work done.
THE DUTY OF ECONOMISING.

Many problems which are ever present have
been greatly intensified by the war and have
forced themselves to the front. The extra-
ordinary circumstances of war have made us
take heed of facts which were hidden away in
peace times. They were always there and it will
be a pity if, after the war, they are again hidden
away. In December, 1915, conferences were held,
attended by delegates from fifty to sixty trade
unions—numbering nearly a thousand, and
representing over four million workers—to hear
the views of the Government on questions
affecting the problem of the general economic
situation, and to formulate some method of
engendering among their members a fuller
realisation of the need for every man to do his
best in respect of production, of avoiding
demands for further increases in the rates of
wages, and at the same time of limiting the
consumption, not only of imported goods but of
home manufactures, in order to meet financial
conditions. It would be idle to deny the
opportuneness of such a vigorous campaign of
enlightenment upon these points amongst the
working classes, and also among those more
fortunately situated financially. But, as the
Prime Minister pointed out, the Government
have made arrangements for the compulsory
exaction by taxation of a large proportion of
the surplus cash of those with higher incomes,
19

and he, with his colleagues, forcefully pleaded for
a voluntary contribution by workers of a large
part of their surplus earnings, not by means of
taxation but by savings and by their invest-
ment. Z ,

Throughout all the vicissitudes of the military
operations there has been continuous confidence
in our ultimate triumph. We have all the essen-
tial resources. We need but the will to utilise
these resources to the fullest conceivable extent.
Where the will of the individual fails, it must
be stimulated by resolute leading, and it is
gradually being recognised that without greater
leverage it is not possible to bring each and all
to realise that the individual will must be
merged in the recognition of the whole duty of
all to the State. This applies not only to the
war but to the coming conflict in commerce.
We have a strenuous struggle in front of us to
maintain our manufacturing supremacy and our
industrial prosperity.

This campaign to promote economy, in-
augurated by the Prime Minister, the Chancellor
of the Exchequer, and the President of the
Board of Trade, is an important part of the
process of quickening the will power of the
worker, The Prime Minister and the Chancellor
of the Exchequer dwelt logically and forcibly on
the evil to the State of the almost continuous
demand for increased wage. The former
pointed out that since the war began official
returns through trade unions showed that
about 44 million workers had had their rate of
wage increased to an extent averaging 35. 6a,
per week, and that, too, apart altogether from

B 2
20

the augmentation of total earnings because of
overtime. Millions of others had wage increases,
but these could not be brought within official
cognisance. On the other hand, the cost of
living had increased on an average in the ratio
of 30 per cent., and to this extent the value of
the wage had been decreased in purchasing
power. This diminished purchasing value of
the sovereign is a great hardship to many
workers, clerical and professional men, whose
income has remained stationary or has declined.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer stated that
the demand for higher rates came mostly from
the trades engaged in manufacturing goods
essential for war. In peace times it might be
possible to dispense with the goods, but they
must now be sent to our sailors and soldiers.
The State could only pay by borrowing, by
charging its future with a load of debt which
must be met now, and must increase taxation
now and in the future. Every new demand
involves a greater debt for the future, and must
recoil on labour. The demands for increased
wage by munition workers, and the tendency to
increased expenditure on their part, has the
further effect of increasing the selling price of
all commodities, so that any extravagance by
those prospering at the moment is doing grave
injustice to others whose income has not been
increased. No one disputes that it is reasonable
for the prosperous working man for the moment
to desire extra comforts for himself and his
family; but there is the duty to the State to be
considered. The extra demand tends not only
to reduce exports, but to increase imports, so
2t

that the national exchequer is the poorer. But
there is an equally grave disadvantage in the
fact that an excessive demand, for, say, pianos
and brass bedsteads, monopolises the work in
home manufactures of men who might otherwise
be employed in the direct prosecution of the
war. Moreover, as Mr. McKenna pointed out,
if the money were saved and loaned to the
State at a liberal rate of interest a double
advantage would accrue; because in the mean-
time interest would be earned, and ultimately
the same additions to the comfort-contributing
items of the household could be purchased at
a very much reduced rate when commercial
conditions were more normal, and when it would
be desirable to stimulate trade in peace times
and to develop anew the export trade. The
President of the Board of Trade established the
fact that there was excessive expenditure by a
comparison between the consumption to-day
and that of the period 1872~76, when wages
were at an abnormally high level. We are now
consuming per head per annum go Ib. of sugar
as against 50 Ib, then, double the quantity of
tea, 50 per cent. more tobacco, five times the
amount of cocoa, 11 to 12 per cent. more meat,
and 8 to 10 per cent. more wheat.

All this proves that we have been moving in
a vicious circle to the danger of the State,
because increases in the rates of wages result,
by reason of unnecessary augmentation in con-
sumption, in higher prices and a greater cost in
living. If this latter again were to be the
excuse for a further increase in wage, the
worker could not conceivably be any better off,
22

because the extra wages would be swallowed up
by additional cost of living. Until the worker
realises, especially at the present juncture, that
there must not be excessive or lavish expendi-
ture, it will be impossible for the national finance
to return to a stable condition, At the Con-
ference the question was raised as to whether
labour was not being asked to contribute more
than capital: but the Prime Minister, as well as
the Chancellor of the Exchequer, showed that
this was not so. In the first place, the income
tax is now three times that exacted before the
war, and super tax has been increased to a
corresponding extent. Everyone—manufacturer,
trader, commercial agent, even the shopkeeper—
will have to hand over considerably more than
one-half of profits in excess of those made
prior to the war. Over 3,000 factories, including
engineering, shipbuilding, and other works, are
now controlled by the Ministry of Munitions.
In their case the additional profit which can
be earned is almost infinitesimal and is rigidly
controlled by the Government. There are those,
however, who seem to think that the forfeiture
to Government of even 60 per cent. of the
excess profit is too little, and that the whole of
the excess should be confiscated. The Chancellor
of the Exchequer, however, pointed out that in
addition there was the usual income tax to be
paid, and that it would be contrary to all com-
mercial soundness, and inimical to the State, to
take all the profits. Ultimately profit earned is
added to the capital available for the development
of manufactures. We would also put forward the
plea that without profit advancement in science
23

would be greatly limited. Thus, without
reasonable profit, as Mr. McKenna pointed out,
the very industrial life of the State would be
severely crippled. It cannot, therefore, be urged
that a greater burden is being cast on the
working classes, particularly when they are
asked not to give to the State any part of their
extra earnings, but only to lend their money at
a sound rate of interest.

The claim of the Government for a higher
sense of duty to the State on the part of the
workers was further supported by evidence that
in other directions the Government had inter-
fered, in the interests of the nation, in many
departments of commerce. Immediately on
the outbreak of war the large retail stores of
London were forcibly persuaded to resist the
temptation to advance prices because of the
panic demand for household supplies, and this
regulation of prices was quietly pursued down
to the smallest retailer. Again, an enormous
fleet of merchant ships has been commandeered
by the Government, who are paying rates little
more than one-third those realisable by vessels
of neutral countries. A direct result of this
acquisition of shipping was that the great world
combines supplying chilled meat were forced to
sell to the British Government at very rcasonable
prices, since they could not have their meat
transported to this or allied countries in the
absence of available ships with refrigerating
holds. Asa consequence, the price of meat has
been kept as near the normal price as possible,
and the British Government are responsible for
the supply not only of this country, but for the
24

whole of the French Army. Surely a Govern-
ment which thus limits the freedom of com-
mercial action of shipowners and others is
entitled to appeal with confidence to the workers
to exercise will power alike as to the extent of
their manufacturing effort and the limitation of
consumption. By the purchase of wheat in all
markets, by the limitation of the price of coal,
and by the legislative prohibition of increase in
rents for workmen’s houses, or the foreclosure of
mortgages to enforce higher rates of interest, the
Government have also given evidence of ‘their
desire to meet the working classes in every
possible way, and to conserve the financial
stability of the country. They have done this
with a larger measure of prescience and acuteness
than was shown by the Germans in fixing maxi-
mum prices. There was a delightful innuendo -
in the remark, by the President of the Board of
Trade, that every buyer favours a maximum,
while every seller wants an unlimited price,
because the trade unionist is certainly not the
least active in the enforcement for himself of
such principles. Had the Government fixed,
say, 30s. per quarter as the maximum selling
price of wheat in this country, and the general
price throughout the world had gone to 60s., as
was quite within reason, neutral countries, to
whom we look for supplies, would not have sent
their wheat here, and we should have starved.
All these decisions, and a great many of the
actions taken, had necessarily to be carried out
secretly, so that the working man, like others,
could not be cognisant of all that was being
done by the State in his interest, and the fact
25

that the cost of living in this country has not
advanced in any degree comparable with that
in Germany should be comforting to the worker,
and should assist towards a higher sense, in
each and all, of their duty to the State and the
forcible exercise of the will to conquer. In view
of our immense resources, such exercise of
will is alone necessary to the attainment of a
complete and lasting peace.
THE SELF-SACRIFICING PATRIOTISM
OF EMPLOYERS AND WORKERS.

“What shall it profit a man ifhe shall gain the
whole world and lose his own soul?” Originally
the question was addressed to the individual, but
it affects a nation as well. We are fighting for
all that constitutes civilisation, from the founda-
tion upwards; for the dominant principles of
humanity ; for the basal realities of individual
and national liberty. What, then, can it profit
anyone—worker, employer, capitalist, commer-
cialist—in fighting for individual liberty of action
if the freedom of the nation or the Empire be
lost? At last the great majority of the people
realise that there is but one duty, which obliter-
ates all selfish or personal interests, and that is
the concentration of all effort, individual and
collective, on the achievement of national liberty
and the re-establishment of the principles of
humanity.

Much has been done, and we are not disposed
to be critical as to the failures of the past, but
we ought to apply with firmness and decision the
lessons of those failures. Every day that passes
proves that the supply of munitions of war from
the workshops must be enormously increased.
Mr. Lloyd George himself has time and again
pointed out this fact during the past few months,
and crystallised this view in the remark that
“the toll of life and limb levied by the war, the
27

amount of exhaustion caused by the war,
economic and financial, and, I would also say,
ultimate victory or defeat, depend upon the
supply of munitions which the rival countries
can produce to equip their armies in the field.
This is the cardinal fact of the situation in this
war.” Captain Guest, the Member of Parliament
for East Dorsetshire, after being ten months at
the Front, stated in the House of Commons that
before the war he was strongly opposed to any
form of compulsory military service, but he had
seen sufficient to convince him that there was no
other system that would supply the men in such
numbers, and the munitions in such quantities,
as will be needed before the war can be ended.
It has become a war of attrition, and the sooner
we make up our minds as a nation to exert every
effort unselfishly and earnestly to ensure a great
and continuous predominance of munitions, the
sooner shall we be able to realise that the end is
attainable.

We must continue building ships for the Navy
in order to ensure continued maintenance of
superiority, even should there be devastating
results of a fleet action for both combatants. The
ships being built are, it may readily be assumed,
designed to meet the special requirements realised
by the tactics of the present war, and it is allthe
more incumbent that work on these ships should
be pushed forward with the greatest possible
haste. The story of the war in the first year of
land operations proved the preparedness of the
Germans to batter down the deepest trenches
with heavy guns and high explosives and to
defend their own trenches with machine-guns;
28

our problem was to organise for victory, and
not to take it for granted. Therefore the whole
engineering and chemical resources of the Empire
must be mobilised.

Time and again members of the Government
have announced publicly that the employers have
placed themselves completely under the control
of those responsible for the provision of material
for the Navy and the Army. All legislation, as
well as departmental regulation, has been based
on this concessionary spirit, and the individual
rights of the employer—in which term must be
included the capitalist—have to conform to this
patriotic and unselfish attitude. Never have the
employers complained in any way about the
compulsion which has been exercised in every
respect, not only in the choice of work or extent
of energy demanded from the staff, but also as
to the small extent of profit resulting from such
work. In sharp contrast; there was, and, to a
moderate extent, still is, on the part of organised
labour a determination that they shall have a
free hand either to work, to “ca’ canny,” or to
play, if not to “ waste their substance in riotous
living,” to enforce conditions of employment
involving compliance with trade-union regula-
tions, or to exact such terms of remuneration as
they choose. The Munitions Act was conceived
in conference with trade unionists, and without
adequate (if any) consultation with the em-
ployers, in order to place on the Statute Book
the intention of the Government to bring the
trade unionist into line, with more or less com-
pulsion, side by side with the patriotic attitude
of employers, It becomes interesting to analyse
29

the action following upon protestations alike by
worker and by employer, and to investigate
whether there is not—to vary an old phrase,
much beloved by the people—one law for the
worker and another for the employer.

Let us first consider the much-lauded principle
of voluntaryism. We could conceive some
member of the Government cogitating as to
some difficulty in connection with the provision
of war munitions. On one side would be the
claims of the worker, on the other those of the
employer. The goodwill of both is essential
to the maintenance of the Navy and Army, to
the fulfilment of the stern duty which fate has
imposed upon us—the achievement of a lasting
and decisive victory as a preliminary to peace,
with all its blessings. The workers are more
numerous. We need not inquire whether they
are more impressed with the duty of the citizen
to the State. Expediency suggests that the line
of least resistance should be taken by arbiters ;
the, multiplicity of opponents on the workers’
side wins the day. The men must be pleaded
with, must be soothed, must be dealt with as
fretful children. The “face” of the leaders must
be saved ; compromise must follow compromise
until they become masters of the situation. On
the other hand, the employer must be coerced to
agree to those conditions. He is educated. He
recognises the immensity of the injury to British
prestige if there should be exposed to the jeers
of the enemy any cleavage in public opinion
which might suggest a lack of intensity in fulfill-
ing our purpose. He knows that the future of
the Empire depends upon unity of effort to
30

accomplish the tremendous task imposed upon
this generation. The employer thus willingly
accepts compulsion, not only as regards terms of
employment, but as regards the increased re-
muneration for the workers and a profit far
below that justified either by the turnover or by
the risks involved in the utilisation in the future
of capital now invested to achieve the immediate
end in view. Were any employer to-day to
attempt a lock-out of his men, the Munitions Act
would very promptly be put in force, and a
severe penalty immediately imposed and exacted
to the utmost farthing. The effect would be
interesting if anyone attempted such a pro-
cedure; but this is inconceivable.

A fundamental principle in economics is that
one should buy in the cheapest market and sell
in the dearest. But all axioms in political
economy must go by the board in the presence
of national danger. Notwithstanding this, every
worker in the country to-day is practically domi-
nated by this principle. We hear much of
increased cost of living due to war conditions.
No one can deny that the cost of living has
gone up. This is due in some measure to the
increased cost of production, consequent, first,
on the supply of labour falling short of the
demand for it, and to the aim of the worker to
obtain higher remuneration for the same physi-
cal effort. Cause and effect act and react, and
thus the cost of living is unduly inflated. But
apart altogether from the influence of national
exigency, the continuity of employment and
the need for overtime puts within reach of
the worker an addition to income per week
31

much greater than the amount of the increase
in the cost of living. In contrast to this there
is the case of those whose income is not thus
affected by the demand for labour in connection
with the maintenance of the Navy and the
Army—the salaried class, clerks and others
engaged on civil work, seamstresses in the East
End, whose income has not been increased, and
whose continuity of employment is even jeopar-
dised. Coming to bed-rock, the cost of living
has been utilised as a stalking-horse for the
agitator who seeks to exploit the national situa-
tion for the personal gain of workers. The war
bonus granted is in nearly all cases much
greater than the promised increase of one-fifth
on average profits earned by the manufacturers
in 1912-14. In most factories the war bonus
takes the form of an increase in wage per unit
of work done, or per unit of time spent in the
works, so that the increase in wage is propor-
tionate to the turnover. In the case of em-
ployers, however, two years are taken arbitrarily
as a basis of calculation, and ihe Munitions Act
lays down the principle that, apart altogether
from the utilisation of machinery, representing
capital, continuously from midnight on Sunday
to midnight on the following Saturday, capital
can only obtain a profit one-fifth greater than
in a period when the machinery was only used,
and the staff employed, for eight hours instead
of twenty-four hours per day. Here there is
another case where there is one law for the
worker and another for the employer. If it be
right to increase the remuneration of labour
according to the time worked or the work done,
32

surely the same principle ought to have applied
to the remuneration of the employer. And yet
employers have not publicly complained.

In practically all cases the demands of
workers have had to be conceded. They have
had the Munitions Act amended to meet their
requirements. Some labour leaders, too, find
it difficult to get a large majority of their
members to admit that national needs call for the
temporary suspension of all restrictions imposed
by union rules in normal times. It is worth
reflecting on what might happen if the employers
cultivated the same spirit, and refused to comply
with the terms of the Munitions Act, and other
compulsory conditions imposed by regulation
and otherwise by the Government. Let us
suppose that the machine-tool makers decided
that the Government should not control their
factories to the extent that no orders and no
deliveries should be arranged without the sanc-
tion of the Government. It needs no stretch
of imagination to realise that in the present
state of affairs the British tool-makers could
obtain much more favourable terms by export-
ing their machine-tools. They could not only
thereby greatly increase their profit, but at the
same time raise the rate of wage to all the
workers and secure harmony. But this would
inevitably involve an enormous risk to the
national interests. Again, from several mer-
chant shipbuilding yards men have been with-
drawn for service in munition works. It is true
that such firms may be compensated and may
get an increase over the average profit of 1912-
14 of one-fifth, but the demand for merchant
33

shipping at the present moment is so intense, and
the prices securable so much greater—probably
triple those in recent years—that, as with the
machine-tool maker, an enormous gain would
accrue. Even shipbuilding yards now engaged
on the building of warships would similarly
profit exceedingly by continuing to build mer-
chantmen alongside, or instead of, warships.
Many other parallels might be quoted, but it is
unnecessary. As we said at the outset, the
owners of factories have placed them and the
services of their staff, their inventors, and their
foremen unreservedly in the hands of the
Government. Compulsion to the smallest
detail has been imposed, has been accepted
willingly, and is being loyally and unceasingly
acted upon. The only difficulty is still with the
worker, with whom rests finally the decision as
to the volume of output, and therefore the
efficient utilisation of the mechanical resources
of all factories. The Government, by accepting
the line of least resistance dictated by expedi-
ency, have once again established that the
workers, being in the majority, can dictate terms
and, although undertaking no responsibility,
can hold up the nation. It is proved that there
is nothing sacred about the principle of volun-
taryism. The law imposed upon the employer
cannot be considered any violation of funda-
mental principles when it is imposed upon the
worker. Both are partners in the task of
equipping the Navy and the Army. On both
rests the terrible responsibility of supplying our
forces with the implements indispensable to
victory.
Cc
INDUSTRIAL ECONOMICS PRESENT
AND POTENTIAL.

The strategic skill and resource of our generals
and their staffs, the valour and self-denying
courage of our troops, and the continuous and
untiring effort of munition-producers, all com-
bined, will not alone suffice to achieve a victory
free from ultimate disadvantage from the Im-
perial standpoint. More is necessary. We must
keep our exchequer fully supplied now and in
the future. We have at present the co-operation
of the industrial resources of neutral nations in
helping to augment war supplies. It is necessary
that we should now export productions rather
than gold to pay for such purchases. Conse-
quently the maintenance, if not the increase, of
the output of disposable manufactures is now a
vital duty. To increase them in the future is
equally important, in order that the war shall not
involve a permanent injury to our financial and
commercial stability.

The advance in the price of commodities,
involving war bonuses, as it has rightly or other-
wise done, is economically unsound. The cost
of production has as a result been augmented,
because, in the great majority of cases, the
increase in wage is not counterbalanced by
greater output. Goods for home and foreign
use are made dearer. Thus the cost of living
tends to rise still more, while at the same time
it becomes more and more difficult to add to the
volume of our export trade. Only by this latter
35

means can our financial condition be made satis-
factory. The aim must be, as far as possible, to
pay for our raw material and food supplies—
and, in as great a measure as is feasible, also
for our war material—by exporting manufac-
tures. This can only be done by a full recog-
nition on the part of the employer and worker of
their national duty to ensure economic equili-
brium between the exports and imports. The
latter may be decreased by stringent economy
in consumption, with the further advantage that
savings may be invested for personal gain and
national weal. The exports may be increased
by greater and more efficient manufacture. The
difficulty in achieving the latter is intensified by
the great number of workers withdrawn from
their ordinary occupations for military service
either in the trenches or in munition factories. It
is difficult to compute the number of these, but
Professor W. R. Scott, the occupant of the Chair
of Political Economy in Glasgow University, in
the inaugural lecture of the current session, com-
puted that the number for Europe was 25 mil-
lions. We do not think that this is by any
means an excessive estimate; it is probable that
in this country alone there are I0 million workers
who have ceased to contribute by labour towards
national income. And yet while we cannot
avoid the task thrust upon us of wasting money
on shot and shell to be fired away on the four
frontiers of the Continent, we must, at the same
time, try to counterbalance the account by main-
taining, as far as possible, our output of wealth-
producing manufactures for home as well as, and
particularly, for export.

C2
36

There are but two ways of increasing the pro-
duction of marketable goods at the present junc-
ture: by the fullest possible utilisation of all
mechanical appliances available, and by the
utilisation of all physical effort that the nation
can mobilise. Recruiting, voluntarily and com-
pulsorily, must reduce the number of young men
who might be effectively employed. It will, as
a consequence, be necessary to draw into the
net for the output of manufactures a still larger
volume of female labour. There is no alterna-
tive to the dilution of labour by utilising partly
skilled and unskilled, as well as female labour, as
fully as possible. We are glad that trade unions
are now more fully realising this vital necessity.
It is the only economically sound course, both
now and in the future, if the best is to be got
from available labour to maintain our industrial
supremacy. This phase of the conflict is apt to
be lost sight of because industrial economics is
not sufficiently considered in our commercial
life. Asa science itis ignored. This is not the
time to enforce the advantage, for all employers
as well as workers, of becoming familiar with
economic principles and their application ; but
we hope that one of the changes which will come
as a consequence of the intensity of life resulting
from the war will be a fuller recognition of the
need for a study of industrial economics.

The after- war conditions will raise new
problems. There will be the question of the
redistribution of labour at home. Uncertainties
prevail regarding the markets for our exportable
productions. As Professor Scott pointed out,
certain goods and certain kinds of skilled labour
37

bear at the present time a “scarcity value,” and
there have been indications that the sellers both
of goods and labour have endeavoured to obtain
a “scarcity price”—in some cases even a mono-
poly price. If the scarcity ceases, prices alike
for material and labour will fall, and there will
come a corresponding readjustment of real
wages, which will be to the advantage of the
unskilled worker. But to what extent this will
Operate is uncertain. What must be aimed
at, not only now but in the future, is economy
in consumption of all classes of goods which can
be exported, associated with the highest produc-
tive efficiency in labour. This does not neces-
sarily mean the cheapening of labour, but rather
the ensurance of the highest degree of produc-
tivity for a given expenditure, both of labour
and the mechanical appliances utilised by labour.

The war, too, has involved immense govern-
mental interference with the conditions accepted,
and more or less serviceable, in peace time.
The emergency measures taken have been very
extensive. The State controls the internal
transit trade of the country; State insurance
schemes have far-reaching effect upon sea-borne
commerce; a very considerable number of arma-
ment and engineering works are also controlled
——the number is more than 3,000; the accepting
houses and banks and the Stock Exchange
have been supported by the public credit; and
foreign trade is regulated. The Government,
too, have purchased commodities, such as sugar,
for resale, and have taken steps to regulate
prices in the coal market. The Government
have been careful in all their agreements to
38

stipulate that the observations and restrictions
imposed, owing to abnormal conditions, will not
be continued after the war. Everyone realises
that the nation is living in what Professor Scott
terms “an interim industrial life.” And yet
there is uncertainty as to when and to what
extent we shall return to normal conditions.
Although State regulation of industry may
succeed under the abnormalities of war time,
it does not follow that it will confer correspond-
ing advantage when the unexpected conditions
due to war cease to prevail. From the economic
point of view, war is a colossal waste, and a part
of that waste, which may be necessary for mili-
tary reasons, is the limitation and restriction of
individual initiative. The war is being fought
in the interests of national freedom and for the
maintenance of free institutions. Our whole
history establishes these to be consistent with,
and a source of strength to, our national life.
Yet the same spirit which commends representa-
tive democratic government is manifested in the
growth of individualism in commerce, which is
most conducive to the stimulation of the power of
initiative in industry. Thus, while the war may
lead us into new avenues of progress, there is every
probability that the changes made may not be
so much in basal principles as in a fuller realisa-
tion of the fact that the economic soundness of
a nation at peace as well as at war can only be
founded on prudent economy, in order to limit
the outflow of gold to foreign countries, and on
the subordination of all effort to the utilisation
to the fullest extent of our mental, physical, and
mechanical resources.
A FIRST ESSENTIAL TO INDUSTRIAL
EXPANSION.

There is no need to enforce the view that the
financial burden imposed by the war must be met
by industrial expansion. The first essential is
that science must be made to yield up all its
secrets, and that the lessons of science must be
applied in every department of industrial activity.
The nation which does not continuously search for
improvements must fall behind in the struggle
for supremacy. This truism has greater influ-
ence to-day than heretofore.

In this matter it is not alone the capitalist
who requires to assimilate the teaching of the
experience of decadent trade. The workmen,
and the leaders of the workmen’s unions, must
analyse the situation, because on the lessons
which can be gathered from it depends in no
small measure the encouragement to evolve
improvement, as well as to adopt better methods
and appliances. Usually, when trade is brisk,
when orders arrive in satisfactory volume, and
when it is possible to distribute over a wide area
of production establishment and other recurring
charges, the main idea is to meet demands for
delivery—to ensure the maximum turnover in
any given time. Volume is then the main idea
in securing a reasonable return. But volume
itself requires a large body of workers, and, un-
fortunately, the crude principle of supply and
demand dominates the question of the remunera-
tion of labour, and, through this, the cost of
production and the amount of profit derivable
40

from a givencontract. Although it is admittedly
in accordance with the tendencies of uncultured
human nature, it is, nevertheless, to be deplored
that a certain class of workmen will only put in
a sufficient time at work to earn enough for their
immediate needs. The trouble which the em-
ployers have experienced, not only in meeting
contractual dates, but in achieving a satisfactory
degree of efficiency from power plant and other
producing mechanism, arises from the reduced
number of hours which such mechanical appli-
ances are in operation during each week, It
follows, therefore, that the employers are not
encouraged to improve their mechanical methods,
since every improvement made will involve in-
increased capital expenditure, and therefore a
greater call for return on capital, while the men
cannot be relied upon to utilise the plant to its
highest producing capacity. At no time is this
lesson more important than at present. There
is certain to be some reduction in the extent of
labour available, and yet we must increase our
volume of productions in order to pay for
the war.

Research, experiment, improvement in manu-
facturing appliances, cost money. A firm
which cannot meet the just expectation of the
ordinary shareholder for a dividend cannot have
much money to spend on industrial experiment
or scientific research, so that our progress in im-
provements in processes of manufacture and in
the design and efficiency of the product, which is
essential to continuous industrial prosperity, may
be unsatisfactory. Are our manufacturing and
commercial conditions conducive to the prosecu-
Al

tion of this experimental work? Are our com-
petitors in foreign countries assisted to a greater
extent by the prevailing economic conditions in
developing this important department of indus-
try? The vital importance of these questions
need not be enforced; neither is it necessary to
enter into a discussion as to whether any political
party in the State is alive to their importance.
Certain it is that much labour unrest is due to
a most pernicious view that the main function
of a political party is tosecure power by pleasing
those having’ the greatest number of votes,
There is too little broad thinking as to the
general trend of government and its ultimate
influence on the national prosperity. The resort
to force in industrial affairs, with the disgraceful
displays of rioters, is a consequence of that laxity
of discipline which no one cares to combat.
Moreover, the uncertainty as to the course of
legislation, and the lack of fairness in dealing
with economical questions, is tending to divert
the flow of capital essential for British enterprise
into foreign channels, where more stable condi-
tions seem, at all events, to prevail.

While labour thus demands first considera-
tion, the purchaser in most cases encourages
ruinous competition. We say “ruinous” ad-
visedly, because the ultimate economic effect
ef employment which yields only remuneration
to labour, and does not leave a sufficient margin
for capital, far less for scientific development,
cannot be other than disastrous. One cannot
blame the purchaser for buying in the cheapest
market, although there is no disputing the fact
that he comes pretty near to the committing
42

of a moral offence when he purchases an article
with the full consciousness that the price paid
is less than the real cost of production. The
responsibility is the greater in the case of a
municipality or Government department, as they
are not actuated by personal gain, and, more-
over, ought to be exemplars. The Government
or municipal purchasers shield themselves behind
their consultant, and place upon him increased
responsibility: in ensuring that the article shall
be efficient according to the standard set, apart
altogether from the loss in producing it. The
consultant may do his duty, but on him rests the
moral offence of demanding more than is being
paid for. There is no doubt that the price paid
has been less than the cost of production in many
recent cases. The practice of accepting the
lowest tender is defended because of economical
conditions and of the guarantee it affords against
favouritism, But there should, at the same time,
be some recognition of the fact that, just as low
wages may not conduce to high efficiency,
because tending to delay improved mechanical
means of production, so a loss in the selling price
is not conducive to permanent efficiency in
manufacture, as it prevents expenditure on
research. As a great engineer said recently:
“Striving after cheapness will lead to the inevit-
able result of securing present gain at the sacri-
fice of future progress, for it must be borne in
mind that if contractors are deprived of the
margin of profit which enables them to make
investigations, it will put a stop to their en-
thusiasm in scientific work.”

Obviously it should be the aim, if not the
43

duty, of manufacturers to secure a certain margin
for research work. This, indeed, is as important
as the percentage for establishment charges and
for profit, if the work of invention and improve-
ment is to continue. In all factories there should
be a department for special originative work.
Many of our establishments have succeeded in
maintaining their experimental work, and, by
reason of their success in meeting guaranteed
conditions, have found in some respects a readier
market for their productions. But with every
desire to be patriotic, we must incline to the
view that, in the recent past, more of this origina-
tive work has been done on the Continent and in
America than in this country. It is too largea
question to discuss what are the many and
various conditions in those countries which assist
manufacturers in securing a higher margin of
profit in their home markets. We only accept
the fact that higher prices are realised, that
profits are surer, and that a greater amount is
therefore available for experimental research. It
is known, for instance, that Messrs. Krupp have
a great building fitted with the most modern
apparatus for physical tests and chemical analy-
ses of steel and other products, a department
presided over by two professors with ten
university-trained experts and 150 men. When
short-sighted critics contend against our warship-
building firms having a moderate margin of
profit, they fail to recognise the importance of
some concession in favour of corresponding ex-
perimental work in this country. This origina-
tive work gave us at once naval superiority at
the outbreak of the war. The present position
44

of the Diesel oil-engine industry affords another
illustration. We have lagged behind in respect
of mechanical application, and it seems amazing,
in view of our undoubted supremacy in mechani-
cal engineering, that we should have needed to
pay large sums in order to gain some experience
from Continental sources. We do not in any
way decry the value of the experience gained
by these Continental firms, but we are persuaded
that, as in all the affairs of life, experience which
is bought can never have the same influence, or be
so certain in ensuring the avoidance of mistakes,
as the lessons taught by trial anderror. However,
we are satisfied that if our manufacturers will
take the matter up with characteristic British
determination, lost ground will soon be recovered.

We may seem to have ignored the great
amount of research in progress in physical
laboratories, public and private; but this is only
because such work is not germane to the main
point at issue. Such experimental research work
has its influence on industry, but more direct is
the experimental work on practical details, which
is best carried out in manufacturing works. Now
that trade is active, and that work can be more
easily got, it should be the aim of manufacturers
to resist the temptation to cut prices. They
should recognise that, as we have already said,
competition which does not yield a margin for
improvements that will add to our manufacturing
prestige must be ruinous. The advantage of
filling an establishment with cheap work is, as
we have said, transitory; it helps the workman
for the time, but will not add to the nation’s
ultimate and permanent success.
THE INCREASING IMPORTANCE OF
AUTOMATIC MACHINERY.

The justification for the increasingly ingenious
efforts of the machine-tool makers is found in
the fact that only by these means can the higher
wages and shorter hours conceded to labour be
made without adversely influencing economy,
since there is thereby ensured a higher labour
efficiency—a greater output from the same num-
ber of workers. The philosopher has said that
he only is the benefactor of man who makes two
blades of grass grow where one grew before, and
on this principle the machine-tool maker, who
enables the manufacturer to produce two units

- for the labour cost of one, is adding to the general
prosperity and is directly reducing the cost of
living.

The question brought home to anyone who
reflects upon the improvements of machine-tools
is not one associated with this general question
of industrial economics, but rather the direct one
—whether our present system of manufacture is
conducive to the utilisation in the fullest degree
of the specialised machines now produced. That
involves the subject of limitations imposed by
manufacturers generally upon the ingenuity of
the machine-tool designer. The term “automatic
tool” is applied somewhat promiscuously, and it
were well at the outset to notice some of the
varieties of meaning which it carries. We take
46

it that the term used is only applicable to a
machine-tool which completes the manufacture of
any given product from the material supplied to
it without necessitating any further operation.
As an example, we may mention the production
of a screw-bolt or a nut fromthe bar. The cases
where such tools are used in this fashion are
somewhat limited in number. This is due not so
much to the lack of ability on the part of the
machine-tool maker to perfect his manufacture,
as to the desire on the part of the user fora
machine which will be adaptable to various pro-
cesses, or to the machining of different units in
mechanism. The defence of the user is that the
work upon which he is engaged does not justify
the highest achievement of the machine-tool
designer, because the demand for any unit which
can be completed automatically from the raw
material is limited to comparatively small num-
bers. Consequently it would unjustifiably
augment capital outlay were tools installed
separately to effect this purpose automatically on
a greater number of units, when all of such
specialised machincs could not be continuously
employed in the ordinary rate of output of the
works.

Nevertheless, it is most desirable that the
machine-tool maker should be encouraged and
have the fullest scope for improvement and for
the multiplication of automatic machines. As
we have suggested, the assumption cannot be
proved by reference to the product of any one
factory; but in this, as in so many industrial
questions, the collective need, or the benefit of
the industry regarded from the national point of
47

view, must be considered. Consequently there
arises the question as to whether some new prin-
ciple or extension of principle in collective
manufacture should not be introduced. There is
not only the direct gain from the production of a
unit of mechanism from the raw material to the
finished state in an automatic machine, conse-
quent on the rapidity of work and the conservation
of manual effort ; there is indirect gain, because
in the case, for instance, of the production of nuts
from the bar, unskilled labour is applicable, and,
as a result, the cost of production is reduced
greatly. On the other hand, where, as in the
case of so-called semi-automatic machines, the
tutored mind or hand has some part to playin
the process of machining, however slight, a new
set of conditions is enforced by the dictates of
labour organisations. We are not here concerned
with those problems which are affected by trade-
union regulations, our desire being rather to look
at the question from the broad, national point of
view. Nor is it necessary that we should enter
into the question of the displacement of labour.
Where the dominant demand of industry—
namely, the reduction of the cost of production—
is achieved in a greater degree, there can be no
displacement of labour ; there may be redistribu-
tion of labour, because reduced cost of production,
and consequent lower selling price, places the
manufacturer and the nation in an advantageous
position in respect to competition. Nothing
which can conduce to this end can conceivably
be without gain to the working classes. Similarly,
the reduction in the selling price, whether it be by
the use of a machine to facilitate the mining of
48

coal, the production of clothing, the making of
bread, or the transport of supplies of life, must
tend to lessen the cost of living—perhaps, under
present conditions, we ought to say, must tend to
minimise any rise in the cost of living. In other
words, if the cost of the production is lessened,
there-is the possibility of increased consumption,
and, as a result, greater demand for the product,
and consequently more work for the people. This
argument may be a commonplace, but even
truisms are either willingly ignored or intention-
ally perverted by those whose contentions they
do not support.

If, as we contend, the machine-tool maker is
handicapped by the lack of demand for a greater
number of designs of automatic machines, because
there is not continuous work for all of them in
individual factories, it seems only reasonable to
contend that the utility of these machines should
be still further extended by a greater measure of
specialisation in the manufacture of the units
required in mechanical industries, where auto-
matic machine-tool work could be employed,
especially as the higher economy realisable is
indisputable. The valuable work done by the
Engineering Standards Committees helps towards
this end, because there is set out in the accepted
standards an enormous number of units common
to each branch of engineering. We have no wish
to enter into details as to the number of such
units in which there is that degree of uniformity
which would justify manufacturing firms purchas-
ing them from specialising factories. In Birming-
ham, where there is such an enormous variety of
manufactures into which standardisation has
49

entered largely, the principle of special works
confining themselves to the making of units—
bevel gears, screws, bolts, nuts, and the like—is
carried out more fully than elsewhere ; and there
are grounds for the belief that this process of
specialisation has affected beneficially the position
Birmingham has taken in miscellaneous manu-
factures. Inthe case of the textile industries the
spindles are forged in graduated swages in special
establishments, which supply the spindles to the
makers of textile machinery. In the Clyde
industry a number of shipbuilders allied them-
selves for the equipment of works to produce
rivets and bolts, &c., for the shipyards and boiler
works, with very economical results. Cases might
be multiplied, but these suffice to show the direc-
tion in which industrial reorganisation must take
place if we are to achieve the highest utility in
the use of automatic machinery.

Indeed, there is no branch of mechanical in-
dustry in which the principle might not be
extended. The carpenter and joiner never think
_of making, but purchase, the screws with which
the materials are put together. The builder has
accepted the principle of purchasing doors made
at the source of wood supply. The shipbuilder
is content to buy pumps, fans, and other auxiliary
machinery, and many of the fittings on board
ship, from firms who have specialised in such
manufactures. That being so, it seems only a
natural step to enter upon an investigation as to
what units of an engine, either steamship, loco-
motive, power-producing, or otherwise, can be
bought from a specialising factory where auto-
matic machines could be utilised continuously on

D
50

the same work. In the case of textile machinery,
too, there are many parts which could be
standardised and similarly bought. We admit
there is always the difficulty of the purchaser of
a marine-engine, a locomotive, or a textile
machine, for instance, demanding variations in
arrangement of dimensions, which would make
the purchase of special units from the stock of
specialising firms a matter of some difficulty.
But we are persuaded that where the changes in
design, which are too often dictated by personal
idiosyncrasy, involve considerable addition to the
cost of the article, such variations from standard
detail would not be insisted upon. There is
the other disadvantage, that standardisation and
specialisation limit development in design. This
argument has been refuted often in connection
with standardisation, because there is no desire to
arrest progress by tightening unduly the bonds
of standard rules, and specialisation in production
is undoubtedly the natural outcome of standard-
isation.

There is the distinct advantage that the
change in industrial administration affects the
amount of capital involved in a factory. It is
true that there is advantage in some respects in
concentrating every conceivable auxiliary in-
dustry under one guiding influence, so that each
will contribute its part to the building up of the
finished product exactly as and when required.
In times of prosperity this enables delivery dates
to be maintained with a greater degree of
certainty, because the units can be brought to
hand at the right moment ; whereas when these
are got from a separate factory, delays may be
51

occasioned, due sometimes to preference being
given to one client over another. This is by
no means an inevitable result. On the other
hand, there is.this undoubted consideration, that
during periods of depression there would be less
capital lying idle in any given factory. We
could name one or two of the most prosperous
and successful engineering factories where the
principle is adopted of producing nothing which
can be bought outside with ensurance of
economy and efficiency. Moreover, where the
specialised factory is related to several branches
of engineering, any depression will be less felt
in such specialised establishment, because all
branches of engineering seldom experience
depression at the same time. It would seem,
therefore, as if the balance of advantage rested
with the organisation of such establishments
utilising to the fullest extent automatic
machines, each designed to complete the opera- '
tion from the bar to the finished article, and to
supply such finished articles to the general
engineering factory.
WORKERS’ ENCOURAGEMENT OF
INDUSTRIAL EXPANSION,

No one who considers the matter, even
superficially, can fail to realise the value to the
worker of such a reorganisation of our supplies
and demands as will compensate fully and satis-
factorily for the dislocation due to the war, as
well as provide for a quickening of our com-
mercial enterprise in order to make good war
losses. This, like the general prosperity of the
nation, and consequently its greatness amongst
the countries of the world, is dependent upon
the realisation of high ideals, whether regard be
had to international integrity, commercial
morality, or industrial efficiency. It is the third
quality with which we are for the moment
concerned, and as we have dealt in previous
articles with the phase of the question affecting
the enterprise of the employer, we propose to
devote attention now to the responsibility and
attitude of the workers in the achievement of the
same end—namely, the furtherance of our
industrial supremacy and commercial enterprise.

The primary aim of industrialists is to achieve
(1) continuity of employment for the workers ;
(2) ensurance of a satisfactory rate of remunera-
tion ; (3) a reduction in the cost of output ; and
(4) the expansion of the purchasing market. It
follows that, these aims being achieved, the pros-
perity of the working classes is promoted, because
not only is the income of each unit made more
53

constant and greater, but the purchasing power
of the wage is augmented by reason of the
cheapening of production. At the same time,
industrial efficiency, with cheapened manufacture
and an extended market, increases the demand
for labour, so that the burden placed on the
community for the maintenance of the less
fortunate is reduced. These are truisms, but
few think deeply enough to realise the action
and reaction of the efficiency of labour upon
national and individual prosperity. It is there-
fore desirable that the national aim to extend
markets should be considered from the stand-
point of the worker.

There are many manufacturers who are
dependent upon imported supplies, and while
there may be natural and economical difficulties
in meeting the requirements of some manu-
facturers, it is possible for this country to meet
the wants in the great majority of cases. Capital
is ever necessary, and unfortunately the worker
does not fully recognise the claims that capital
possesses. There is, therefore, a natural reluc-
tance on the part of those with available financial
resources to embark on new enterprises without
the assurance that whatever success may be
attained will be permanent after the war, when
other countries resume production at present
checked because of hostilities. We refuse to
believe that the British capitalist lacks enterprise.
We have no convincing evidence that the
inventive faculty of Britain is unable to devise’
processes or mechanical appliances to achieve an
efficiency corresponding to that of any foreign
nation. But we are not so certain that the
54

organisations of labour will adapt themselves
to principles more in consonance with those
obtaining in countries whose manufactures we
desire to displace, and with which new industrial
developments must ultimately compete. The
war has undoubtedly affected our lines of
thought in many directions, and the dislocation
of supply and demand has shown that we must
create new lines of attack industrially. Much
has got to be changed, not only in Government
and municipal administration, but also in
industrial organisation. It would be well,
therefore, if those responsible for the organisa-
tion of labour would address themselves to this
problem, with the view of finding a policy
which, while ensuring the aims already enumer-
ated, gives a greater reward for commercial
enterprise.

It is idle to speak of the capturing of the
trade of any country unless improved tactics
are adopted. None of our competitors has
secured trade which ought to have come to us
without excellent reasons. They have met a
demand by supplying the article exactly as
required at a cheaper price; or the article
produced at a given figure has been more
profitable for the sum demanded ; or success has
been attained in the selling department by
greater adaptability to the conditions of a
country, or, finally, the convenience of buyers
has been consulted in packing consignments, or
by quoting at a price inclusive of transport,
import charges, and warehousing at the port of
discharge. Some of these causes of success are
attributable to the commercial management of a
55

factory, but others, of great importance, are due
to methods of manufacture. Many of our
competitors in foreign countries have greatly
improved their mechanical appliances, en-
couraged thereto by the greater output and
economy consequent upon the willingness of
the workers to make the most of new machine-
tools. The time is therefore opportune for
trade unions to recognise their responsibility for
the encouragement of the flow of capital for the
benefit of industry generally, and of the increased
effort of the selling departments.

This subject of the relationship of labour to
economy of output may be said to be hackneyed,
but in the present industrial crisis it is impor-
tant that it should be once more enforced, and
that support should be given to a great body of
opinion amongst the working classes that the
true and underlying principles of industrial
economics should have greater play than hereto-
fore in the settlement of the relation between
employer and employed. Perhaps the first
difficulty of the estimator in a factory in con-
nection with all prospective contracts is the
absence of any fixity of the rate of wage. Of
late years agreements have been made between
employers and unions, and even between federa-
tions of employers and great groups of unions,
whose members contribute collectively to the
creation of some of the mighty products of
modern manufacture. These agreements, too,
have in some cases been made to continue in
force for as long a period as three years. We
regret to note, however, that there is an inclina-
tion towards shorter periods. Unfortunately,
56

too, even in the presence of such agreements,
there is scope for the crafty agitator. Agree-
ments, as a rule, are based on broad questions of
remuneration and hours of employment, and, in
some cases, on the relation of the proportion of
overtime to the working week or day. There
are, however, many details in ordinary contracts
of employment between worker and employer,
and often some of these subsidiary and generally
trivial details are made the cause of dispute.,
We may instance, for example, the allowance
for working away from the factory. Surely the
object aimed at by the employer and worker in
arriving at these agreements is continuity of
work. Consequently the organisation of a
strike on subsidiary details may be worthy of
the statesmen who regard international agree-
ments as “mere scraps of paper,” but unworthy
of those who are capable of excellent work as
mechanics. The enforcement of such agreements
has ever been a difficult question, but for the
future there must be some guarantee that there
will be fixity of wage on any given contract
during the existence of the agreement. For
this reason there is much to be said in favour of
the principle that such agreements should be
legally registered, and that employers and trade
unions alike should be called upon to deposit
with the Courts financial guarantees against
their violation in spirit as well as in letter.

For success in international competition in
the future, it is important, not only that new
factories should be organised and equipped to
meet demands hitherto covered by foreign
factories, but that existing establishments should
57

be improved by the introduction of new processes
and new mechanical appliances, in order to
reduce the cost of production. The difficulty
here is that there is no surety that the possible
increased output, or the lowest attainable cost
in labour, will be realised from the new
machines. We have always. contended that
high wages are generally economical, but it is
not easy to make the worker realise that he is
responsible for the economy of the high wage
which the employers are always anxious and
willing to pay. It is an axiom that there can
be no equality in remuneration without equality
in the value of the product. The incapable or
indolent worker, who receives the same wage as
the intelligent and industrious employee, is a
drag on the latter, because he increases the cost
of production, and handicaps the selling depart-
ment, and consequently tends to reduce the
extent of employment available in any com-
munity. If new machine-tools are to be
introduced and old appliances scrapped, the
work produced must be augmented so as to
cover the charges on the increased capital
involved, while at the same time maintaining or
increasing the wage earned.

The rate of wage must depend not so much
upon the man as upon the value of the output
from the machine. It matters little how this
result is obtained, whether by time-rate or
premium-bonus system, or by the older piece-
work rate of pay. The rate of production on
most machines is easily ascertained, and the
remuneration to the worker may vary with the
output. At the same time the degree of
58

responsibility on his part must be taken into
consideration. If we take a lathe engaged on
repeat work, the responsibility of the attendant
is reduced to a minimum—unskilled labour may
even be employed—and it will be accepted at
the same time that the remuneration possible is
limited, because the competition for orders for
such repeat work requires that the selling price
should be low. In the case of a turning lathe
we have the same condition in modified degree ;
but where the turner is engaged, for instance, on
large turbine-rotors, it necessarily follows that
he requires to exercise greater experience and
skill, so that his remuneration ought to be
higher. Moreover, it can be higher, because in
such work, requiring greater skill, competition
is not so keen, and the possibility of serious
expense due to wastage or fault is great. In
other words, it will be recognised that all
turners in a large factory cannot be regarded as
equal if sound economical conditions are to
prevail. The same illustrations might be drawn
for almost every class of work, not only in
engineering, but in other departments of
industrial activity. It is therefore illusory for
the trade unionist to expect that industrial
improvements and commercial enterprise can be
encouraged by the principle of equality.

The national need at the moment is not only
for greater effort on the part of the selling
department in capturing foreign markets, and of
the business department in securing improved
mechanical accessories as well as more efficient
administration; the workers themselves should
realise that in this peaceful contest for industria]
59

supremacy they must play an important part.
The reward of success will be largely reaped by
them, because the aim, as we have said, is to
ensure continuity of employment, the utilisation
of a greater number of workers, and the
cheapening of the cost of production, all
necessarily contributing to better income on the
part of the working classes. The improvement
in trade resulting from higher efficiency neces-
sarily tends towards a greater demand for
labour, and possibly higher rates of remunera-
tion. Apart altogether from this, there can be
no doubt that improvements in producing
facilities tend to enhance the weekly income,
even although the rate per unit of output may
be decreased. On the other side of the ledger
we have cheapening of the cost of living, because
reduction in the cost of output is immediately
operative in this country in lessening the selling
price; so that the development of industry,
which is so much desiderated at the present
time, will be a great advantage to the workers
from every standpoint, and will, at the same
time, enhance our position amongst the nations
of the world, an ideal which is worthy of the
collective effort of all who seek to maintain
British traditions.
SHORTER HOURS AND “SELLING
PRICES.”

We have at all opportune times contended for
liberal remuneration for labour, but this in
itself, in the national interest, requires high
industrial efficiency. Leaving aside for the
moment the question whether short time or the
artificial restriction of output in any country can
be efficacious in maintaining a higher average
price for a product such as coal, it must be
recognised that the amount of wage which can
be paid to workers in some measure depends
upon the efficiency of the plant. The cost of
production, and therefore the profitable selling
price of a commodity, is dependent upon three
factors. The first, in point of importance, is the
efficiency of the mechanism placed in the hands
of the worker ; the second is the continuity with
which the workers use this plant, and, con-
sequently, the volume of the product per unit of
time and of labour cost; and the third is the
success of the management, not only in the
working of the plant, but in the disposal of the
products in keenly-contested markets. If
410,000 be paid over by the workers,
the capitalist, the community, or even by
Syndicalists, for the installation of mechanical
appliances to assist manual labour in the process
of production, a return on this money must be
found, and the greater the volume of output per
61

unit of time the easier will it be to afford a high
wage for the worker, in addition to an adequate
return upon the money invested. If, on the
other hand, 410,000 worth of machinery is
utilised for four days per week, instead of
six days per week, with a consequent dimi-
nution of the tonnage, say of coal produced
from a mine, 33 per cent. greater charge
must be made against each ton of coal to
provide all permanent charges and the same
return on the 410,000, in addition to the
satisfactory wage. Herein lies the crux of the
question of economy in production. Shortening
of hours must increase the cost of production,
and consequently cannot conceivably, in a
competitive market, gain for the workers a
higher rateof wage. This argument applies to all
workers in every factory. Instead of the wages
varying with the selling price, according to the
present application of the sliding scale, we
should prefer to see them vary with the amount
of time worked by each operative. The man
who works six days per week is, other things
being equal, more efficient than he who works
only four or five days per week, because he
enables a higher output to be obtained from the
mechanical appliances at his disposal and
enables the incidental permanent charges to be
spread over a wider field. If the arrangement
were not too complicated, we should like to see
the sixth day of a man’s weekly work paid at a
higher rate than the fifth day.

Memory is short, and the workers of one
generation never accept the experience of their
predecessors. It is an axiom that experience
62

which is not directly expensive is seldom fully
appreciated. There are many cases recorded in
industrial history where workers have insisted on
conditions which resulted in the more or less
permanent loss of trade. Mr. R. Chisholm
Robertson, a past-president of the Scottish
Miners’ Federation, enforced this point on a
recent occasion in connection with coal mining.
He wrote: “If the Scottish miners had a
monopoly of the home and foreign markets,
they could, by restriction of output, raise prices
to a high level—to a level determined by the
necessity of general producers and consumers.
To the extent that they have not a monopoly of
supplying coal, the restriction must be abortive
and, both immediately and in the future, be
hurtful to their interests.” At the present time
no country, not even Britain, can be said to have
a monopoly in any branch of manufacture or
production, and thus, when work is stopped,
those seeking supplies necessarily look to other
countries, whose workers profit by the cessation of
production, partial or otherwise, in this country.
Commercial relationship thus established under
emergency conditions has the habit of becoming
permanent, and consequently each strike closes
many doors for the reception of the work of the
producers on strike.

Even greater and more widespread effects
always result to the nation from shorter hours.
An effective example is that of the colliers,
because coal is one of those products which is
universally utilised, and any change in the price
affects every citizen. Where, as in this case, the
rate of wage varies with the selling price, there is
63

a temptation to take steps to advance the selling
price which are not justifiable by economic
conditions. In the case of coal the loss falls
upon every citizen, either in his work or in his
home. The loss, too, is immensely greater in its
aggregate effect than any gain which the miner
may secure; the coal-winner may be paid an
inflated rate of wage by working shorter time,
although his weekly earnings may not be
greater: loss is involved owing to the mechanical
appliances being idle over a longer period per
week. The coal user has to pay, as the.
maintenance of the selling price in one district
at an artificial level minimises the influence
of competition ; coal imported, say, from
Germany is only sold at about, or slightly less
than, the price demanded by the home producer.
Again, as the increased charge for coal at
every factory involves higher cost for steam
power, the effect is to enhance the cost of
production of all manufactures. In turn, this
consequently adds a handicap to producers in the
competitive markets of the world; and results in
less demand for labour in other industries. These
are truisms well understood by all who take time
for reflection, but the trade unionist of to-day is
too prone to neglect the national interests,
although in effect they are his own interests, and
therefore every opportunity should be utilised for
enforcing these economic truisms,
FATIGUE IN FACTORY WORK.

While it ought to be the aim of every worker
to utilise the last ounce of mental activity or
physical energy to meet the nation’s needs, it is
incumbent upon those responsible for the ad-
ministration of all works, whether mines or
factories, to ensure the maximum output for the
minimum of fatigue. The works manager is
perfectly conscious of the fact that long hours,
involving excessive fatigue, are not conducive to
the maximum of production, even where the
most efficient of machine-tools are utilised,
because longer time is taken to re-set the machine
at the fourth or fifth hour of continuous work, and
there is a tendency for the degree of accuracy to
be lessened.

In large establishments, probably more than
in small factories, attention is given to overcome
those conditions which are indirectly, but never-
theless pronouncedly, conducive to fatigue—
namely, defects of ventilation and heating. There
can be no doubt that vitiated air has a serious,
debilitating effect, particularly where the air
becomes moist as well as heated; and we fear
that in some of the smaller factories, where the
maximum use has been demanded per unit of
floor area, the conditions are unsatisfactory.

It is of the first importance that there should
be a sufficiency of pure and dry air, and from this
point of view large factories are commendable,
65

because the tendency is to have a higher roof and
to have a systematised method of renewing the
air. The environment, too, in such case is more
likely to be conducive to that brightness which
assists resistance to the influences making for
excessive fatigue.

There is no doubt, however, that the nature of
the work done is the principal factor in producing
work-weariness, and is probably as great an
influence to this end as excessive effort over
prolonged hours. It is often contended that
where repetition work is done, involving the
maximum of uniformity and regularity, the result
is lack of interest, due to monotony; and _ prob-
ably in such case the only influence counteracting
fatigue is the reward or remuneration under
modern piece-work or premium-bonus systems.
Where there is added the element of frequency,
the mental condition is undoubtedly altered,
particularly in cases where the machine deter-
mines the rate of operation; in other words,
where the material has to be fed in with a
regularity and speed unalterably fixed by the
machine. These conditions are met with, for
instance, in most mechanical stamping operations.
The degree of fatigue in such work is due to the
extent to which mental strain is added to physical
work. With the introduction of any degree
of complexity, or of other qualities demanding
attention on the part of the workers, there is
introduced the need for care, and consequently
a sustained anxiety which may involve attacks
on the nervous organism, conducing, along with
physical strain, to work-weariness, The quality
of the work, again, is affected by the influence of

E
66

fatigue upon attention, muscular control, judg-
ment, and memory: this may result in greater
loss of intensity consequent on fatigue, especially
where the machine sets the pace. Where there
is possibility of reduced output, the likelihood is
for a less effect on quality.

The conclusion which may be drawn, although
it cannot be accepted as arbitrarily correct, is
that frequent breaks are effective against exces-
sive fatigue, even where the greatest degree of
uniformity, frequency, and regularity obtain.
Scattered, irregular pauses, be they due to the
nature of the material or to a hitch in factory
action, all tend to ‘relieve the mental strain, and
put a check to fatigue.

There is the question of incitement to great
effort for a short period. It is almost a universal
experience that workers paid by piece or premium-
bonus systems will put on an extraordinary spurt
for a considerable period before the pay-day pre-
ceding holidays. Fatigue is then forgotten.
There is, too, the element of incitement, due to
the anticipation of a rest or stoppage for food at
the end of the spell. Indeed, the personal
equation and will power enter very largely into
the influence of fatigue on the worker,’
THE PREVENTION OF ACCIDENTS.

The maintenance of the man-power of the
nation, notwithstanding depletion of the ranks
of workers owing to the war, increases the
importance of this subject, at all times regarded
with solicitude by employers. Recent official
statistics show that while labour-saving appli-
ances have tended to lessen the number of acci-
dents, there is an increase attributed in great
measure to the extension of the liability of
employers to less serious accidents involving a
shorter period of absence from the works, and to
a more complete record and classification of
accidents, At the same time it is evident, from
the somewhat incomplete analysis given in
official returns, that a preponderating number
are due to causes which cannot be provided
against by the most ingenious safety appliances
conceivable; in other words, that lack of care
and the growth of foolhardiness account for the ~
great majority of mishaps.

To avoid the possibility of misunderstanding,
we at once disclaim any desire to minimise the
responsibilities of employers. No measure which
may be effective should be omitted in order to
ensure absolute safety for the workers. This is
essential alike from economical as well as
humanitarian considerations. It is true that,
following upon the enactment of the workmen’s
compensation principle, most employers safe-
guarded themselves by insuring their risks; but

E 2
68

premiums for insurance vary with the measures
adopted to minimise the risk. In cases where
the annual disbursement due to accidents is
above the average, the insurance company is
certain to investigate the cause, and to regulate
the premium accordingly. Indeed, the insur-
ance companies have, with or without the con-
sent of the employers, enforced such regulations
—principally in respect to physical qualities of
workmen which render them liable to or immune
from accident—as to involve serious hardship to
some workers. Men who, though apparently fit,
may have a defect which, according to the spirit
of such regulations, makes them physically liable
to accident, find difficulty in securing employ-
ment at their trade. We say “ physically liable”
advisedly, because there is extreme probability
that, as the result of being forewarned, such
worker of defective constitution would exercise
so continuous a care as to ward off accident.
Indeed, the fundamental cause of* accident is
lack of mental qualities, such as discipline,
orderliness, alertness, and common-sense, which
all tend to promote obedience and care and
thoughtfulness, not only for one’s self but for
one’s fellow-worker. Such qualities cannot be
measured by the somewhat cursory examination
of the medical officer responsible for passing
workmen under insurance regulations; nor can
they be assumed as a matter of course.

It is true that with a sound educational
system these characteristics should be developed,
although, perhaps, in varying measure. Unfor-
tunately, however, a very small percentage of
the children of the working classes are really
69

taught to think. Our educational system is
based far too largely on what may be termed
the imitative rather than the reflective faculty.
At the same time the “liberty of the subject”
is regarded as a divine principle to be wor-
shipped ; it would be more correct to look upon
it as a fetish, Any measures for exercising
discipline and enforcing rules to develop thought-
fulness, obedience, orderliness, and alertness are
resented by parents, who fail to realise that such
measures are but a means to an end. For
instance, the home task, which is a proper
medium for developing industry and reflection,
is objected to by the parent, who prefers that
the path of learning should be made easy.
Similarly, rules of conduct are opposed because
they do not seem to conform to demccratic
ideas. Curiously enough, the smaller the com-
munity the more direct the resentment becomes.
The teacher is accused of petty pedagogy. In
larger communities the same effect is brought
about by the wider spread of that socialism
which promotes the worship of this fetish.
The Education Department, unfortunately, has
scarcely awakened to the necessity of teaching
discipline and orderliness, and the responsibility
is thus left with the teacher, since the local |
board is susceptible to the pressure exerted by
the proletarian electorate. His Majesty, when
at Eton recently, referred to the importance of
boys being educated so that they might leave
school “ disciplined to the self-restraint, the con-
sideration of others, and the loyal acceptance of
public and private duties which are the ideals of
our race.”
70

That the teaching of discipline is essential can
easily be proved in industry, as in almost every
department of life. It is because of the lack of
the training in discipline that there is so much
disregard of necessary regulations, and want of
thoughtfulness in the presence of possible danger.
A large proportion of accidents is due to negli-
. gence in observing the rules laid down for the
prevention of accidents, and to foolhardiness in
taking risks in order to save a little trouble.
How many have lost their lives at railway cross-
ings through lack of discipline, by not crossing
the line by the footbridge according to injunc-
tion? How many serious accidents in factories
have been caused by machine attendants reach-
ing over the gear of an engine, &c, to oil a
working part, instead of walking round the end
of the machine? How frequently have serious
fires been caused by workmen failing to disci-
pline their minds and refrain from smoking in
dangerous places? What of the man who will
sit on a gunpowder barrel and strike his match
on the side of it? The same applies to the
great majority of fires in mines; notwithstand-
ing full consciousness of danger, men are too
weak to resist the temptation of taking matches
and pipes into fiery mines.

Another cause of trouble in workshops is the
inability of those there engaged to concentrate
their thoughts upon their surroundings, and upon
what they are doing. How often does it occur
that the only explanation a man can make of a
serious accident to himself, or to a number of
his fellow men, is—“I didn’t think.” His mind
may have been diverted to the consideration of
71

other pursuits—perhaps to his recreation. We
are not going to enforce the point that mental
lapses are often the effect of over-indulgence in
intoxicating drink, because this is only one of
many reasons. Nor do we care to enter upon a
diatribe against the growing absorption of the
mind in football and other pastimes. Recrea-
tions are necessary to mental and physical vigour,
but they must be under subjection. What is
wanted is the development of the faculty of
mental concentration in order to ensure that the
worker will never forget the possibility of disaster.
No doubt this is a counsel of perfection, but the
point cannot be too frequently insisted upon by
educational authorities, especially in view of the
growing laxity in regard to discipline of the
* mind.

A further consideration which ought to be
borne in mind is the influence of incapacity on
the part of foremen as well as workers. This is
probably not so operative in this country as it
seems to be in the States, where, we are told, the
person who can get a chance of working for a
week or so sawing boards often leaves and
engages with a new employer as a carpenter ; if
a youth can get to walk the bridge of an electric
crane fora couple of weeks, he tries to engage
himself as an inspector or an electrician; if a
youth can stand by a lathe for two months, he
considers himself a machinist; a man who wipes
a few dozen joints of pipes esteems himself a
plumber ; and a person who gets an opportunity
to pound sand for a few months in the foundry
isa moulder. Obviously under such cenditions
there is sure to be trouble, We fear that in what
72

may be termed the “miscellaneous factories,”
notably in London, there is a growing tendency
to employ men who furnish no proof of their
competency such as is afforded by apprentice-
ship lines; and because they enforce the pre-
sentation of such, trade unions are to be com-
mended. But the apprenticeship lines again do
not prove those mental qualities of competency,
&c., which are so much required in order to
ensure maximum mental efficiency in the pre-
vention of accidents. The evil is the greater
when a foreman, or a charge-hand, is not
sufficiently alive to the possibility of danger.
In times of prosperity, men who are by nature
careless and indolent and who willingly, or un-
wittingly, accept risks whereby accidents are
made possible, cannot be taught a lesson by
being discharged, as they can easily find work
elsewhere. In times of depression extra effort
is put forth so that they may not lose their job.
There ought, however, in all works to be a black-
list, and the manager ought to be on the look-out
for cases of irregularity, involving possibilities of
accident, so that a black mark may be placed
alongside the name of the guilty workman.
These marks should count when it becomes
necessary to pay off men owing to lack of work.
It is true that it is difficult to teach old dogs new
tricks, but much can be done in this way even
without resort to new legislation, which is often
over-stringent.

There is no doubt, however, that additional
power is necessary to check the foolhardiness
and recklessness which are responsible for many
accidents, Employers’ liability has been enacted
73

in 23 or 24 countries, and in none of these does
ordinary negligence on the part of the injured
employé involve a forfeiture of the right to com-
pensation. The entire burden, too, rests upon
the employer in all of the countries, excepting
Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Luxembourg,
where the workers bear a part of the expense.
In all countries, excepting Sweden, the compen-
sation is based upon the wages of the injured
person. It will thus be seen that every nation
brings home to the employer, and very properly
so, a full measure of his duty regarding accidents.
What is required now is the awakening of every
worker to his responsibilities, not only to him-
self, but to his fellow workmen; recklessness
must be put down with a firm hand. It is often
urged in extenuation of reckless conduct that
courage is a quality to be commended, and that
risks must be taken. There may be cases in
which a risk is justifiable, but they are exception-
ally rare, so that every case should be considered
on its merits. No safety appliance, for instance,
ought to be rendered inoperative merely to
increase piece-work production or to lessen the
worker’s inconvenience. Many instances might
be given of such form of recklessness, whereby
safety appliances installed at considerable capital
expenditure have been rendered nugatory.
There ought to be severe punishment meted out
to any workman who, either with or without the
consent of his employer or foreman, interferes
with such appliances. Employers may impose
fines, but often the very frequency of the offence
involves the ultimate ignoring of the broken rule.
It becomes a trouble to officials to report the
74

offence, especially as the aphorism that everyone
should look out for himself is often heard in
connection with schemes for the prevention of
accidents; The punishment, therefore, should be
simple and direct, as well asexemplary. We shall
be told, of course, as we have always been told,
that we are interfering with the liberty of the
subject, but this should be no deterrent in con-
nection with schemes for the prevention of
accident. A freedom which involves danger to
one’s self, or to one’s fellow-workman, cannot be
classified as anything but the freedom of the
mouse with a playful cat.
THE FOREMAN OF THE FUTURE.

Slowly, almost imperceptibly, but nevertheless
certainly, a change is taking place in the charac-
teristics of foremen in mechanical trades. Before
machinery had so extensively superseded manual
labour, the primary qualification was superiority
in handicraft, the others—self-control, adminis-
trative ability, &c—being secondary. Thus,
while it was necessary for the foreman to ensure
the production of the best that his men could
give at the fullest economy, he often required
not only to be resourceful in respect of procedure,
but deft with his hands for the sake of example.
Not infrequently he had to show the dull or lazy
workman how to execute work, and had definite
responsibilities in this direction in connection
with apprentices. As the name implied, he was
first craftsman. That interpretation still holds
good, but it is worth considering whether the
order in relative importance of the necessary
characteristics has not been affected by the
application of mechanical methods of manufac-
ture. Is it now imperative that the foreman
should be expert with his hands and capable of
excelling in all processes all the workmen under
his charge? Whether is the workshop, the
designing-office, or the costs department the
better school of training? To what extent
should theoretical knowledge be associated with
practical experience? How far should influ-
ences, social and otherwise, be enlisted to effect
76

that psychological change necessary to the
cultivation of habits of thought differing from
those of ordinary workmen ?

We may consider the last question first, as its
bearing on the subject may not be so readily
accepted or so fully admitted. The laws of
economics in their relation to production should
not, we admit, differ with the standpoint from
which they are viewed. They should be the
same for workmen, foreman, manager,or capitalist.
But, unfortunately, in practice, the reading or
understanding of the law is often one-sided or
vague, owing to insufficient grasp of the case.
It is not necessary on the present occasion to
enumerate fallacies entertained by trade unionists
and Socialists as to the relative position of
capital and labour. Men who have freely im-
bibed such principles find difficulty in rising
above the limitations of such a school of thought.
It is not always easy for them to realise that
where capital is sunk in a new tool which
increases the productivity of labour some part of
the gain must go to reward capital. Moreover,
so long as foremen continued trade unionists,
they could not exhibit independence, and the
employers therefore acted wisely in establishing
foremen’s societies, which conferred on members
the superannuation and other benefits they had
to forfeit upon severing their connection with the
trade unions. That was a move in the direction
of inculcating habits of thought different from
those of the ordinary workmen. But there is the
other danger of the zeal of the new convert. It
is said that workmen when promoted to be fore-
men are less tolerant of the failings of their
if

former colleagues than are managers or em-
ployers. Local disputes on petty questions due
to this cause have often had serious results. It
is difficult to see how this can be avoided. It is
imprudent to damp the ardour of enthusiasm;
the effect on the worker is disheartening, and
may be far-reaching. One can only depend on
the mellowing influence of time. But it is open
to inquiry whether a probationary period be-
tween the bench and the foreman’s desk could
not be beneficially utilised in this as in other
directions.

In negotiations the foreman stands before the
employer as the first man, just as in the view of
the men he is the oversman. He should not
only realise the duties of labour and the claims
of capital, but the privileges of labour and the
responsibilities of capital. It is not easy to
balance these important interests. It requires a
disciplined mind, and it were well if the foreman
could be schooled in this direction. Some em-
ployers, owing to misunderstanding or lack of
experience, occasionally, perhaps through aggres-
sion, set impossible tasks or enforce vexatious
conditions; the foreman in such case would be
failing in his duty were he not almost insistent
in arousing the employer to the right view or to
a sense of justice. More frequently the undesir-
able change comes indirectly, in the employer’s
interest, from the costs or other department, and
here protest is readier and more easy, although
the need for it is no greater. A foreman should
thus have not only the reflective mind, but such
independence of character as is needed to enforce
just claims and protests We fear the tendency
78

of the young foreman is to work primarily for the
favour of the employer, heedless of the fact that
the best of employers highly appreciate indepen-
dence of judgment and that moral courage which
enables a man to state to his superior unexpected,
and possibly unpalatable, but at the same time,
carefully thought-out, views. Just regulation of
labour and wage conditions, like truth itself, is
only arrived at when all facts are considered,
and the foreman will better serve his employer
by a statement of his own convictions than by
unconvinced acceptance of his employer's views.
The sooner these considerations are realised the
greater will be the efficiency of the foreman, and
if the expression of these views awakens reflec-
tion, some gain will be realised.

But there are many who doubt the expediency
now of promotion from the bench to the fore-
man’s post. It is contended that the changes in
methods of manufacture are so radical that there
is not now the same need for the superior handi-
craftsman—that what is required is a controller,
a master of method and of organisation. We
can only accept this contention with the impor-
tant proviso that the man of thought who is to
be the ideal foreman of the future shall first have
had such a practical training at the bench as to
have acquired a sound knowledge of workman-
ship and a complete sympathy with workmen.
Contact is imperative for both acquisitions;
without them a man cannot control men or
methods. There is nothing more subversive of
discipline than the ridicule even of one man, and
it is quickly awakened, and justifiably so, by the
slightest display of incapacity to do any bit of
79

work. We know of one foreman whose future
was spoiled by insisting on his own ideas in
erection, which proved more costly and took
more time than former practice and the workers’
preference. A man cannot be a really efficient
foreman without being a capable workman. He
must, however, be more than that, and the
elements of development are in this direction ;
so also are the divergencies from unanimity of
opinion.

The workman who aims at being a foreman
must secure as great a degree of technical and
general education as is possible to him. If the
attendance at evening classes involves hardship
and self-sacrifice, the result is advantageous in
the formation of character. It is important that
he should know, for instance, about the qualities
of the metals used, the principles of mechanics
and physics, and the whys and wherefores of the
details of the designs to be embodied in metallic
form, as well as the elements of machine-tool
design and power distribution. There are other
important studies, but these examples suffice,
Even in the case of a shop-fitter, smith, or forge-
man, where manual labour obtains still to a large
extent, there is need for technical training. And
in all cases there is possible great gain by the
pursuit of knowledge which, although not imme-
diately useful, tends to general culture. This
point need not be elaborated here; the develop-
ment of a disciplined mind will be regarded as of
great importance.

Drawing-office experience is equally necessary ;
but the cases are very rare where a foreman who
has been trained exclusively as a draughtsman
80

has been successful ; there is always the lack of
intimate knowledge of workmanship. Indeed,
it is possible that a prolonged period in the
drawing-office may partly unfit for foreman-
ship a man with earlier workshop training.
The atmosphere of the drawing-office, and the
psychological conditions prevailing, are very
different from those obtaining in the shops. In
the one case the problems are associated with
strains requiring calculation and there is more
or less of mechanical method ; in the other the
difficulties are connected with personal character,
where conditions do not repeat themselves and
cannot be standardised. In the one instance it is
mathematics, in the other humanity. A foreman
should be able easily to read a drawing and
readily to discern an inaccuracy. This latter
raises a point which has involved heartburnings
between the drawing-office and the shops. The
duty of the workman, the machineman, is to
obey: to follow his drawing implicitly. Any
other rule would mean confusion, But this
scarcely holds with the foreman, who from his
practical experience in the shops and drawing-
office ought to be able to suggest modifications
which are acceptable, because they simplify
machining or fitting, or for other reasons. The
foreman who neglects to make, and the
draughtsman who refuses to accept, such sugges-
tions fail in their duty.

There are some firms who only promote men
to foremanship if they have been in the premium-
bonus or costs department. This course is
satisfactory; but again we must interject the
reservation as to the duration of service in a
81

department which is only an adjunct to the
factory. The premium-bonus system has proved
very satisfactory; but there is a tendency to
make too much of it. The happy mean is
difficult to strike, and in this, as in many other
cases, our English pastime of hobby-riding is
very pronounced. The card system is another
case. We have heard of a works where there
is a staff appointment of a “card-inventor.”
Inventors, to which class belong premium fixers
and card and index-makers, are like mothers
whose goslings are all swans. Where they have
uncontrolled sway there is trouble. What is
wanted is a reasonably good system of premium
standards and cards, which should be altered
reluctantly, and only on unquestionable grounds.
They should be operated conscientiously. A
foreman ought to know the system well to be
able to restrain and regulate the rate-fixer.
Men who become imbued with the spirit of the
card system sometimes have their imagination
limited by the four edges of the card. That is
well for one who is to remain a member of the
premium-bonus staff, but it is otherwise with a
foreman.

The training of the successful foreman should
thus be composite. He should have a liberal educa-
tion, although this, fortunately, may be supplied
in later years by reading and other means of
culture. He should have a sound training at
his trade in the shops; this is indispensable.
Technical training is invaluable, and to this
should also be added some experience in the
drawing-office and costs department But to
these there must be added those qualities which

F
82

mark men as leaders. There is, first, ambition
in the truest sense, and the readiness to suffer
privation in achieving an end. This is akin
to self-discipline, to the development of a well-
balanced mind, and, therefore, to a strong sense
of the relative importance of justice and right.
These two will enable him to avoid nepotism
and favouritism—two of the greatest pitfalls,
This, it may be urged, is a gospel of perfection ;
but it is well, once in a while, to aim high.
Moreover, we are persuaded that employers
could do much by encouraging intercourse
between foremen toa greater degree. There are,
it is true, foremen’s associations, but they are not
sufficiently supported by the men who could
profit by them; nor do they meet often enough.
Itisimportant that there should be considered
at their meetings economic and social problems
associated with production as well as purely
technical questions, while visits to works at home
and abroad should be arranged at frequent
intervals. Nothing tends more to efficiency in
management than perfection of system, and
many hints in this direction could be gleaned by
travel. There should be no difficulty: one firm
might welcome the foremen of another in
exchange visits, to the advantage of both. Even
an international exchange on such lines might
be possible. But in any case there can be
nothing but advantage from any effort to improve
the characteristics of foremen. On them the
economy of production greatly depends, They
should be exemplary, being first men, as well as
oversmen, even at six o’clock in the morning.
THE PITFALLS OF THE PROMOTED.

The transfer from the factory to the fighting
line of so many mechanics, including non-
commissioned officers of the Territorial Force,
and the great increase in the numbers of the
workers in munition and other factories, have
resulted in the promotion of a large number of
tradesmen to the position of foremen. The
conditions and qualifications essential to their
success have been dealt with in the preceding
article. Here we are concerned with their
attitude towards workers, a question of interest
at all times but of intensified importance at the
present juncture, not only because of the ever-
present need for tactful treatment of the men by
those placed* over them, but because of the
importance of ensuring the maximum production
with the minimum of friction under present
trying circumstances, excessive demand and
consequent fatigue giving rise to possible irrita-
tion. At all times a foreman can exercise great
influence upon his men. Persuasion, with an
underlying current of forcefulness, has a great
effect ; whereas domination, even when veneered
by a display of sympathy, tends to active
guardianship of privileges cherished by the
worker, and the exercise of that wilfulness which
finds expression too often in an enforcement of
selfish rights. In fact; were one to probe deeply
into the basal cause of many disputes in works,

F 2
84

it would be found that in a large number of
cases a little thoughtfulness and tact on the
part of the foreman would have nipped the
' trouble in the bud.

Some of the pits into which those promoted
fall, with regrettable results, not only in respect
of efficiency but in friction with the workers,
are dug by the foremen themselves; others are

‘created by those in responsible positions over
them. The characteristics which enable a man,
who is promoted, to rise to new responsibilities,
and the principles which ensure success, are
common to every rank in.industrial or com-
mercial life, whether regard be had to the man
placed over a mere handful of workers, or to the
manager, or even to the managing director.
Consequently each step in the ladder of advance-
ment involves new responsibilities, a broader
outlook, and an increased exercise of all that is
embraced in that comprehensive term “ tactful-
ness.” The case of the workman promoted to
be foreman involves perhaps a more radical
change than in that where, subsequently, he
achieves advancement. In. the latter case, the
psychological attitude is more a matter of
progression than of ‘change. The new foreman
has a new standpoint as well as new duties and
new responsibilities. Without seeking to con-
sider whether the outlook of the capitalist or
labourist is different—a subject too great for
incidental discussion—it may be accepted that
there exist two points of view. At the outset of
his career, in a new capacity, the foreman is faced
with new standards. Hitherto he has been
concerned with the sclfish aim—it may be

f
85

justifiably selfish—of securing as an individual
‘the greatest remuneration for his work. As a
foreman, his interest is to ensure a happy blending
of this aim on the part of the workers under
him, with the achievement of sound economic
results, in order that the work done in his
department may be marketable under the most
favourable conditions. There are employers
who consider that when a workman is promoted
he should cease to be a member of any trade
union ; and there is much to be said in favour of
this view, because the fundamental reason for
the combination of workers is the securing of
the most favourable conditions for the worker,
apart altogether from works economy. Here
again, without attempting to enforce that the
one is dependent upon the other, we must
accept the situation, and a foreman obviously
cannot continue to be the supporter of views
on one side which are at variance with the
correct holding of the balance, which is one of
the duties of his new office. : .

Another difficulty experienced by the pro-
moted workman is the recognition of the
difference in the respective duties of the worker
and the foreman. The one is concerned with
direct operations. He has his specified job to
execute, and, consequently, has one interest.
The foreman, on the other hand, must not
concern himself with any one machine or
operation, or even one class of work. He has
to take a general supervision over his depart-
ment, and any concentration on detail is at the
expense of general efficiency. We have known
men who had for years shown a very high
86 °

efficiency in one particular class of work being
unable to divest themselves of interest in that
class of work when they became foremen, with
the result that’ the efficiency of other operations
“in the shop has suffered. There is need also
for a change in one’s mental attitude toward,
and social relationship with, one’s fellows. In
the interests of discipline it is in the highest
degree important that a gradual but dis-
tinguishable change should be patent to the
foreman’s old colleagues. A quick assertion of
superior authority awakens resentment on the
part of the old associates, with the result that
the atmosphere becomes ‘charged with those
elements which conduce to. storm, Here par-
ticularly conditions arise which are responsible
in very many cases for disputes. Indeed, the
view is held by many that because of the
difficulties of balancing accurately the conflicting
elements—the assertion of change and the
avoidance” of an overbearing manner—it is not
desirable to promote a workman from the bench
to the position of foreman in the same depart-
ment or establishment. The enforcement of
the rule, even if it were desirable—that foremen
should be taken from other works—has its
objections: in the first place, because the
manager of the establishment is the best judge
of the qualifications of his own workmen for
promotion ; and, in the second place, because a
man promoted from the ranks will fall in more
readily with the peculiarities of the managerial
and administrative system of the factory. There
is the other difficulty of a foreman—perhaps
unconsciously—exercising too great zeal at the
outset of his new career. This fact is not
usually recogniséd by the manager, and recom-
mendations for changes are made with a
persuasiveness which misleads the manager.
One instance is in regard to rate-fixing. Either
the new foreman considers that the time has
come for a reduction in piece or standard rates,
‘or he, fails to resist the continuous tendency of
the office to exact new conditions from the
workshop. A new foreman ought to be very
cautious in effecting changes, not only because
he is suspect as a “new broom,” but because he
has much to learn regarding the “economy of
high wage.” This is an economic doctrine
difficult to understand; only by careful study
can the trtith of the apparent paradox be
realised—increased diligence and constancy of
attendance at work on the part of workers
can give an augmentation of output from
expensive machinery which justifies the higher
rate of ,wage. It would be well that new
foremen should set out on their career first with
a determination to go slowly, and also with a
desire to’ study more closely such questions as
industrial economics,

As to the difficulties created by managers for
new foremen, perhaps the greatest is the failure
on the part of those responsible clearly to define
to the promoted his rank, responsibilities, and
duties, and to take silent, yet significant, means
of establishing the foreman in his new position.
Where it has been a game of “general post,” and
each of the staff has moved one rung up the
ladder, the trouble is intensified, because many
men cannot at once dissociate themselves from
88

the old work, and will interfere with, and there-
fore challenge, the prerogative of their suc-
cessors. It is a natural failing, but for this
reason ought the more continuously to be fought
against. Too often does it happen that a man,
promoted to manager through the rank of fore-
man, forgetting himself, delivers instructions
direct to the men, ignoring the new foreman.
There is nothing which causes greater trouble
and makes the position of the new foreman more
difficult than this apparent ignoring of his new
position. Moreover, it is subversive of discipline.
Either the appointment of the new foreman was
necessary to the effective working of the estab-
lishment or it was not; in the latter case, the old
foreman promoted to manager could carry the
duties of both offices. But the foreman having
been appointed, the new manager must recognise
such succession, and refrain most continuouslyand
rigorously from performing any of his old duties,
preferring, with scrupulous care, to recognise
his successor, not only for the successor’s good,
but to establish his rights and responsibilities in
the presence of each workman in the department.
Unless this is carefully done, a link in the chain
of control, from the head to the humblest, is
weakened. Confusion must result, especially in
the absence of the manager, because the worker
may not so readily comply with the require-
ments of the foreman whose position has been,
probably thoughtlessly, ignored by the manager
in the presence of the men.

There is another difficulty, and that is in the
relationship of a new foreman to experienced
and old-established draughtsmen, Where design
89

is entirely a function of the drawing-office, there
is often a tendency to ignore the suggestions
even of old-established foremen, and as each new
man is appointed to be head of the workshop the
tendency, unfortunately, is to flout still further
any suggestions of the foreman. Again, we
must resist the temptation to dilate on a broad
question—the advantage of close contact
between those who supervise the construction
and those at the head of the designing depart-
ment—and will content ourselves with a plea in
favour of the management ensuring the recogni-
tion by the drawing-office of the promotion of a
worker to the rank of foreman. This done the
foreman has an improved status in the sight of
the designer, and can, with greater confidence,
put forward, for what they may be worth, his
suggestions, notably, for instance, for the details
in design being determined with due regard to
facility and cheapness in casting and in
machining. The designer has still the right to
apply them or reject them ; that is a matter for
the management ; but we fear that in too many
instances the rejection is based on grounds other
than those of general efficiency.
NEW MARKETS FOR THE FUTURE.

Although many mountains of conflict must be
scaled before we can hope to perceive the dawn-
ing of the day of peace, it is yet permissible to
look forward to that welcome time when we may
beat our swords into ploughshares. The vision
of that desirable consummation raises the question
of finding sufficient fields on which to employ
our new implements, of which there will be
multitudes. In other words—to drop our biblical
simile—the present need fora great increase of
mechanical appliances for producing war muni-
tions will result in the release at the end of the
war of enormously increased means of manufac-
turing peace products, and it behoves the nation
to anticipate the greater supply by cultivating
now a proportionately fuller prospective demand.
This is undoubtedly the crux of the problem to-
day, as capitalists hesitate to build the new shops
and fit the new machine-tools to keep up the
enormous supplies for the army while faced
with the probability of inadequate orders in the
future to keep these additions to factories
remuneratively employed. Patriotism, however,
is overcoming this hesitancy, however sound it
may be in industrial economics. The diffi-
culty, too, extends over a wide area, since war
supplies are so multitudinous and varied, and
affect so many industries. Leather-producers,
gl

boot and saddlemakers, and many textile
manufacturers are affected equally with steel-
smelters, gunmakers, shell-forgers, and engineers
and mechanics.

It is true that when peace comes there will be
opportunities for utilising much of the greatly
augmented manufacturing resources in repairing
the ravages of war in Continental countries.
That applies to the steel and engineering and
building trades, but not to the same extent to the
others which provide what may be termed
personnel supplies for the army. But such source
of demand not only fails to compass the full
extent of the new supplies, but cannot prove
lasting. The enormous wastage of money for
the war must for long operate against new enter-
prises. Many estimates of the cost of the war
for a year have been made, ranging up to
5,000,000,000 sterling, and it should always be
borne in mind that this is almost entirely unre-
munerative expenditure ; most of it is withdrawn
entirely and irrecoverably from the world’s reserve
of capital. It can bear no interest. It cannot
yield anything to income. It reduces income
because interest on the debt must be deducted
from income. To such extent must future demand
be affected. It is with the nations as with indi-
viduals, if a man loses a purse of sovereigns over-
board while he is crossing the Channel, he is
precluded from investing those sovereigns in
order to add to his income, and thus to increase
his purchases. Or he must deny himself the
purchases which those sovereigns would immedi-
ately have rendered possible in order to increase
his personal wealth or comfort. Much of the
g2

money spent on the war is as completely lost.
Thus, while producing facilities have been,
and are being, augmented, the capacity of the
world for utilising these will be affected for
some years. This much can be accepted without
any further consideration of problems of high
finance.

The effect on commerce due to the war will be
world-wide. Each nation must exert itself to
ensure that this will be minimised in its own
particular case, and the most effective methods
will be by economy in manufacture and by
vigorous propagandism to cultivate at once new
sources of demand. We have fully dealt in
preceding articles with the former of these
methods. It is well that in this, as in all business
affairs, a long view should be taken, The future
should not be mortgaged ; conditions should not
now be lightly created or be made irrevocable
when normality returns, when the need for a
strong effort in commercial competition will
become imperative. For the extension of our
foreign markets, action should be taken before
there is need for increased demands. The seed
must be planted, and the soil fertilised long before
the crop can be garnered. And thus it comes
that even now, when appliances can only be used
for ensuring the action essential to the obtain-
ment of peace, we must make provision for the
utilisation of the same mechanisms when peace
comes. This necessity is recognised on many
hands. The multiplication of organisations
proves this. But we are not quite certain that the
mediums proposed for meeting the case are
always the most efficient.
93

Propagandism is necessary, but it must be
aggressively active and direct. Circulars and
pamphlets are of comparatively little value.
Personal contact is requisite. The representa-
tive, too, must have practical experience. He
must help the client to formulate his demands,
must guide him in his selection, and must
persuade him that his principals alone can satisfy
them, and in doing so conform to the practice or
national prejudices of the country. On the other
hand, he must meet the client’s wishes, even if he
regards them as faddish, or otherwise win him
over to saner views, and he must be prepared to
give the measure of financial accommodation
common to the country. This is a large order,
and only a firm or company with extensive pro-
duction and turnover can afford such representa-
tion in several countries; but where this is possible
the result is most effective. Our large producers
of agricultural machinery won their strong foot-
hold many years ago in Russia by this means,
They even sent large stocks of acceptable manu-
factures, and were prepared to take bills over
long periods, in some cases a year. Where the
ideal condition cannot be met there remain two
alternatives : one, that business should be done
through merchants having representatives in the
foreign countries and the requisite financial
resource ; the other, that several firms comple-
mentary to each other, and not competitors,
should combine to send experienced represen-
tatives to those foreign countries, and to wina
fuller credit from their bankers, The organisation
of such combined agency should originate with
a firm or firms, who should limit the number of
94.

complementary firms as much as the resources
available permit. Where associations are formed
by those who are not experts, or have not a full
practical knowledge of manufacturing, the
tendency is for energy to lack concentrated
directness. Reward is not direct and proportion-
ate to the effort and its success. Where one firm
is only a unit of a great number, there is first on
their part a complacence in the belief that action
has been decided upon; its futility is discovered
too late. When an agent has too many masters,
he sometimes fails in presenting all of their cases
with personal enthusiasm. He plays too much
on the principle of averages ; his income is sure.
It is another case where energy should be
founded on the need for the remunerative percent-
age. Again, with a minimum number of firms in
direct contact with a representative in foreign
countries, instead of through an impersonal
central organisation, there are opportunities for
mutual interchange of views and for mutual
stimulus. In other words, where a firm cannot
afford a direct representative in a foreign city, we
commend the practice of choosing their man,
preferably from their own staff, and by invitation
to other firms desirous of doing work in the same
country, of securing co-operation to enable the
propagandist work to be effective without being
too costly. Another great need is financial
assistance. Each country has its practice, and,
in many, long credit is asked for, so that firms
trading with them need to have a long purse or
accommodation from the bank. The Germans
gained their strong foothold partly through their
industrial banking system, and we are not with-
95

out hope that firms when they have established
new bases of trade with foreign countries will find
support from their own banks, if they have
securities and are willing to pledge them. The
immediate necessity is direct, expert, and active
propaganda everywhere by every large manu-
facturer.
IMPERIAL COMMERCIAL UNITY.

Akin to the subject discussed in the preceding
article is that of Imperial commercial unity,
without which the Empire will be unable, for
two or three generations, to get rid of the
immense burden which the war has imposed
upon us personally, monetarily and industrially.

Let it be understood at once that the call for
this closer Imperial commercial unity, with the
view of re-establishing our industrial supremacy,
is a result, and not a cause, of our entry into the
European War. Our aims, and the methods
adopted for achieving them, are writ indelibly
and unmistakably in the diplomatic correspond-
ence preceding the war. But no insinuation of
duplicity can rightly be made against us as a
nation if, having fought the fight, we are deter-
mined to apply the lessons which have been
driven home to us. The first of these is the
need for the greatest possible measure of inde-
pendence within the Empire for all supplies
essential to the maintenance of the State, either
in peace or in war; the second, a closer surveil-
lance to ensure that no foreign nation, either by
commercial or other propaganda through cun-
ningly-devised subterfuges, shall gain a com-
mercial influence leading to political advantage,
especially on the fringes of the Empire; and the
97

third, that we shall have, in addition to the
defensive forces, commercial weapons to assist
the diplomatists in evolving satisfactory inter-
national relationships, We refuse, in considering
these economic lessons of the conflict, to enter
upon an academic consideration of principles,
where these must be ruled out of court owing to
the exigencies of present conditions. Nor are
we disposed to accept any plea that a considera-
tion of this question is premature. We have to
remember the extent of the Empire, with its
numerous Crown Colonies, in addition to five
Dominions and to India, with different concep-
tions of self-government, and with widely-varying
methods for putting their ideas into force. To
have, first, a clear enunciation of the concep-
tions and of the methods, and to attempt next
some co-ordination, will involve much time, great
care, and immense tact, because any scheme
for Imperial commercial unity must be based
upon compromise voluntarily made. Moreover,
there are statesmen in every Colony, as well as
at home, whose experience and knowledge could
profitably be utilised now for this preliminary
work, and no service by them could yield a more
beneficial result for the future of the Empire,
For the achievement of the threefold purpose
—Imperial independence of supply, restriction
of foreign aggrandisement under a commercial
cloak, and closer trading unity—the first pre-
liminary is undoubtedly a complete and definite
classification of Imperial needs and existing
sources of supply. For this work investigation
ought to be at once instituted independently in
each of the Dominions, in India, and in the

G
98

Crown Colonies; and in order that there should
be an approach to uniformity the Secretary of
State for the Colonies should define clearly the
information desirable, so that later, when an
attempt is made at classification, there would
issue a definite and clearly-expressed result. We
are sure that information of such a character
would make certain, as well as simple, the feasi-
bility now of Imperial independence to an
appreciable extent. The classification of the
information should be followed immediately by
a conference representative of all the Dominions,
of India, and of the Colonies, to ascertain to
what extent development is required in order to
reap full advantage from natural wealth and
existing sources of supply.

There are two methods of encouraging such
development: a most commendable one is to
make it imperative that all public demands for
material and manufacture must be supplied from
Imperial sources. In the past there has been
less regard paid to permanent Imperial gain
than to the immediate advantage of the indi-
vidual Corporation or Government. Many
instances might be quoted where, for a slight
percentage of increased cost—and that probably
only apparent because of difference in quality—
orders have been placed with foreign companies
which should have gone, with great advantage,
to Imperial suppliers. We do not wish, how-
ever, to pillory any Government or any public
authority, far less any firm, for such remissness ;
but it would be easy to point to industries which
have been in some cases crippled, in others com-
pletely destroyed, by reason of this short-sighted
99

and narrow-minded policy. Moreover, there are
public works vital to the national weal at all
times, and particularly during the present crisis,
which have been greatly delayed because orders
were placed with foreign firms to save a small
fraction of the total cost involved. There is no
justification for this, because the number and
extent of manufacturing facilities in this country
are quite sufficient to ensure adequate competi-
tion and so secure the fairness of all prices asked
and given. Such regulation regarding patron-
age must go hand in hand with greater restric-
tions regarding the institution of purely foreign
establishments within our gates. But here, as
in other phases of the question, there is need for
careful discrimination and wise judgment. The
dominant aim is to ensure the expansion of
Imperial industries, and it is conceivable that
in some respects this can best be achieved
by encouraging foreign enterprise within the
Empire. At the same time it is incumbent upon
those responsible to see that such action does not
result in political propagandism, or in such
restrictive measures as are inimical to the widest
and best interests of the Empire.

Any Imperial Conference would have to con-
sider a large programme of important subjects.
Not only must there be indicated the lines of
development towards greater industrial indepen-
dence within the Empire, but it is desirable that
there should be unification of the Patent Laws,
of the Company Laws, and of all regulations
affecting trade and industry, including shipping
conditions and the abolition of rebates. It is
desirable, too, that there should be a more direct

G2
100

contact between the producer and the purchaser,
without the intervention of the middleman to the
great extent now prevalent ; because there would
be then a greater certainty that the goods sup-
plied had their origin within the Empire, while
the needs of the purchaser would be more imme-
diately explained to the manufacturer, and
possibly more completely met. Beyond this
there is the important fiscal question, and this is
particularly one of those questions as to which
expediency rather than academic views or prin-
ciples must be operative in the future. We do
not approach the subject at present from the
economic purist’s point of view. We are faced
in the immediate future with a huge task,
owing to the prodigal expenditure of wealth,
alike in the richly-cultured brains or physical
properties of fallen soldiers and of the immense
flow of money into a bottomless well. We have
had astounding help from the Dominions, Colo-
nies,and Dependencies. This has been granted,
officially and privately, without pressure, and
with a noble recognition of fealty. We-cannot
go back to the old relation of Mother Country
-and Colonies, Our kindred beyond the seas
have earned a place of equality ; they: “Have
proved their. manhood, and we must, fn wisdom
as in justice, grant at full value their right to a
share in all that is meant by British Imperialism.
If, therefore, expediency and desire require some
rearrangement of fiscal conditions, principles
must be readjusted ; there is need for some unity
in regard to tariffs. Some of the Dominions
have severely protective duties; in others the
Customs rates are determined with regard only
Io!I

to revenue, and, as we have said, it is important
that the compromises made shall be voluntary
and as complete as possible.

The need for immediate and wide-sweeping
action in conjunction with the Dominions,
Crown Colonies, and Dependencies is further
evidenced by the popular movement in favour
of some international action amongst the Allies
in order to ensure that there shall be the
maximum correlated assistance towards recovery
from the ravages of the war. The Central
Powers, with that remarkable degree of organi-
sation in anticipation of events which dis-
tinguishes them, are already at work in order
to organise an immense Customs zollverein, from
the Baltic to the A2gean Seas, and to embrace
also such smal] neutral Powers as can be per-
suaded or forced to enter it. Obviously this
aggressive step for peace-time must be counter-
acted if the balance in trade is to be maintained.
Has the time not come for preparing for an
international commercial union to ensure co-
operation between the Allies? Such a measure
is feasible, and, from many points of view, com-
mendable. Our Allies, like ourselves, will cer-
tainly have a great debit to counterbalance, and
it is therefore permissible, as well as prudent, to
arrange for future action to bring about re-
adjustment on the credit side. The British
Empire will experience great difficulties in enter-
ing a Conference for the arrangement of an
international commercial union unless there is
within the Empire some approach to that uni-
formity which is realised in the fiscal arrange-
ment of each European country with which we
102

are allied. This, in itself, may justify action;
but, apart from this, we are satisfied that a great
effort ought at once to be made to ensure a
closer commercial unity within the British
Empire, and, further, for co-ordinating effort to
achieve the maximum measure of industrial
development and of independence for supplies
whether for peace or defence in the future,
THE RELATION OF SCHOOL AND
FACTORY.

The problem of the distribution of our youth
in the ranks of our great industrial army so as
to ensure the best results for the nation and
for the individual—results which are in close
relation—is complicated by many considerations
dependent upon our social system. There is,
for instance, the fact that many young people,
on leaving school, find employment too readily
in lines of activity which end sooner or later
in a cul de sac, and which, therefore, in many
instances, lead ultimately to an increase in the
number of unemployables. The work thus
performed—notably in the transport of goods
within cities—is essential to our social system,
and the many nostrums proposed are inade-
quate to mitigate the evil, largely because these
remedies, dictated by philanthropic rather than
by practical considerations, fail to touch the root
cause. In large urban communities the trouble is
almost irremediable, but it may be lessened by
adopting procedure which will enable such un-
trained labour to be absorbed easily in the rear
ranks of industry where little or no skill, or train-
ing, or experience is essential. This absorption
would be more easily achieved if an effort were
made to make more or less skilled all other
workers who pass from school direct to factory.
104

It is reasonable to assume that a more definite
adjustment of the relation between the school
and factory will offer a satisfactory solution of
this, as of many other side-issues of the general
problem of regulating the supply of recruits
according to the demands of works. Until lately
any direct relationship which may exist has been
accidental in the great scheme of education, but
we are glad to find that educational authorities
are gradually recognising that it is a funda-
mental duty to arrange definitely the system of
training to meet the requirements of the factory,
and with regard also to the numbers of various
ranks to be filled. There is some recognition,
too, although not yet clearly enforced, on the
part of employers of the need for rewarding the
attainments of the scholar during his earlier
years in the works.

In considering in some detail the relations of
school and factory, as thus broadly enunciated,
we may neglect the advanced work of the
technical college and university. We are think-
ing rather of the non-commissioned officers of
industry than of the captains, although we have
still such faith in British commercial shrewdness
and honest acknowledgment of merit as to believe
that a marshal’s baton may still be found in a
corporal’s knapsack. But in each such corporal
there must have begun, during his school years,
a mental development towards the cultivation of
resourceful and creative faculties and well-disci-
plined energy. Weare not thinking of the genius;
but even so, did not Edison say that “ genius is
2 per cent. inspiration and 98 per cent. perspira-
tion”? How, then, we may ask, are our schools
105

meeting this dominant aim of education? Are
the primary and technical systems so arranged as
to give the maximum of efficiency? By efficiency
we mean brain culture, the nurture of the mental
faculty to be creative, resourceful, adaptive. Are
the means adopted to achieve this end the most
suitable and productive? Are curricula wisely
framed, with the subjects, and the proportion of
time devoted to each, arranged with due regard
to the particular accomplishments required in the
output? This does not involve specialisation.
Enough money is being spent on education,
perhaps too much in some directions and too
little in others. Expenditure and energy are
dissipated in diffuseness. There is need of co-
ordination, of more centralised administration, of
co-operation at the top between educationalists
and employers.

Brain-power is one of the greatest factors in
the production of wealth, in the prosperity of the
industrial nation, and yet, although Britain is
the wealthiest and the greatest industrial nation
in the world, we have no truly representative
Council of Education. It may be urged that
past success justifies past methods; but all
indications point to more strenuous effort being
required in the maintenance of our position in
the face of keener international competition,
and we must begin with education, since it is
a primary essential to industrial prosperity. To
the Ministry of Education we must add an
advisory board more fully representative of all
the media for utilising the education imparted
for the advancement of the nation’s interests,
instead of its being confined, as in the consul-
106

tative committee founded in 1900, to education-
alists pure and simple. An analogy is found in
a similar organisation in the cognate department
of the Board of Trade, where in the consultative
committee industries are represented. There
would thus be not only co-ordination, but a direct
relation between the supply and demand. It
may be urged that our School Boards include in
their membership representatives of industry.
That is most advantageous. But the Boards
are purely administrative ; they carry out the in-
structions of the central authority, and it is open
to question whether the dicta of the permanent
officials of the department are conceived with
full knowledge of what is required for the
factory.

A certificate of merit, granted at the end of
the primary school period, is now, it is true,
accepted in many factories as a record of
proficiency, and the boys so equipped should
prove skilled tradesmen. The others who have
not such a certificate may also make quite
satisfactory craftsmen. The full capabilities of
boys are not demonstrated with any degree of
certainty, in all cases, at so early an age as
fourteen years. Such boys as have not received
any certificate may not have accepted life
seriously enough, or may have been lacking in
brain power or diligence, or in the capacity or
inclination of applying themselves to book-work.
They may still, however, have all the potentialities
conducive to handicraftsmanship. A difficulty
is that all the boys with all the qualities
justifying continued education have not the
financial resource to pass to a further stage in
107

education after completing the primary course.
Thanks to philanthropy, there are many scholar-
ships tenable at higher schools; but they are
still insufficient in number, and the nation would
be justified in providing greater assistance to
proved latent ability. More opportunities are
wanted for those with the mental faculty capable
of being developed. In post-primary courses
there is need for more clearly weighing the
relation between the school and the factory
without any attempt at specialisation. English,
and, perhaps, one other language and mathe-
matics, must be taught, but special attention
ought to be paid to science and arts subjects
with well considered workshop instruction.
There should be a deliberate and well-devised
effort to bring the student at this age—14 to 17
years—into closer acquaintance with those
problems in science which must be faced even
by the subalterns and non-commissioned officers
of the industrial army.

A certificate of merit from such a post-primary
course would carry great weight with any
employer, and the youth would have little
difficulty in obtaining special opportunities for
acquiring a comprehensive practical training.
But there arises here the difficulty that trade
unionists, with their communistic ideas, insist on
equality of treatment in respect of the period of
apprenticeship. There is little need to enforce
the view that although boys with or without a
primary school certificate may be equal, the boy
with a certificate of merit from the post-primary
course is superior to either, and that to exact like
conditions in respect of apprenticeship from all
108

is absurd. The superiority, in effect, raises the
boy above the ordinary trade-union rank, but
some tradesmen, who are members of a union,
are too often imbued with the belief that mem-
bership of a union is essential for success, or at
least for ensuring the continuity of employment
even of their sons. It isaserious reflection upon
the principle of preferment in factories that some
workmen are seldom comfortable when their sons,
however clever, fail in the arrangement of their
apprenticeship to conform to trade-union rules.
That this discomfort exists is undoubted. Is
there any reason why the well-educated youth
should spend three years in one department?
It would be instructive to learn whether the
prosperous trade unionists—even the leaders—
have, when financially able, restricted their sons’
training to the course requisite to enable them to
qualify for election as trade unionists. There is
here room for a more enlightened policy on the
part of the men’s leaders, tending distinctly to
the strengthening of unionism.

Where a certificate of merit for the inter-
mediate or post-primary course has not been won,
we would again bespeak consideration for the
youth, so far as the conditions of employment are
concerned; but it must be frankly admitted that
he has a diminished claim upon the State in
respect of scientific training. That view is
accepted by the educational authorities, at least
in Scotland. There the Government grant for
pupils in the post-intermediate classes, who have
not taken the certificate at the end of the inter-
mediate course, is very materially reduced. We
go further; even if their parents or guardians
109

are disposed to pay fees for the continuation of
éducation at day technical colleges, the educa-
tional authorities should deny to them the
valuable space in classes, and the still more
valuable time and energy of teachers. Their
past failure to profit, from whatever cause,
justifies this extreme measure. It is in such
process of elimination at the advanced stages of
knowledge that some economy in finance may be
achieved, to enable more support to be given to
the mental material which has proved receptive
and adaptable by the test of successive pro-
cesses. This view, however, is dependent upon
the method of elimination being thoroughly
satisfactory ; that is a matter for the Minister of
Education and his Advisory Board.

The next step in the ladder of the scientific
training of the youth is what is termed the
technical school course. Only those who have
taken the certificate of merit in the preceding
school should be eligible for this step, and here,
even in greater degree, there is need for the
dominance of general, but clearly specified,
scientific training. Government aid should be
given freely, with carefully-guarded standards
to ensure that the student can profit by such
higher training. Obviously, in the case of a
youth of 18 or 19 years of age who has
thus continued his education, there should be
very definite prospects of his being able to
gain a profitable market for his attainments,
especially in the case of sons of men in humble
circumstances. We admit that our argument is
founded upon a democratic idea, but it pertains
to the democracy of talent, which is the soundest
IIo

basis for the winning of national wealth, The
difficulty is to get individual employers to co-
operate without some guarantee that a fair share
of the reward will accrue to their establishments.
But if the terms are even moderately satisfactory,
such well-trained youths will readily come under
the bond of agreements extending over a num-
ber of years to serve their employers after the
period of practical training in all the depart-
ments of the works has ended.

At this stage in the career of the youth two
courses are open, the prosecution of scientific
training at the technical college or university
with practical work sandwiched between either
(1) long or short alternative periods, or (2)
exclusive service in the factory. How may such
youths be profitably employed with satisfactory
remuneration in the works? That is a question
to be answered by each employer according to
the organisation of his factory ; but there should
be no difficulty in the choice of alternatives, as
all are in the direction of higher efficiency and
increased prestige. One of the several possibili-
ties may be indicated. The generals of an army
and the admirals of a fleet have aides-de-camp ;
why not the directors of a great industrial estab-
lishment? Youths endowed with acute powers
of discernment, even if lacking in experience,
could be employed, for instance, in making
reports on the progress of all operations, and in
preparing digests of information. In this way
they could save the director much important
work, leaving him free to devote his time and
energy to other questions. There is no need to
elaborate the advantage of such procedure.
It!

The same principle may apply to “aides” to
assistant managers, and even to foremen. Again,
the costs department ought to afford a field for
the employment of youths who have had
scientific and technical training. The tendency
is to advance respectable tradesmen to the posts
in this department because of their practical
experience ; but there is needed something
more than a knowledge of workshop practice,
which the well-schooled youth could acquire
during his apprenticeship course. The drawing-
office staff could be recruited also from among
such youths who had been specially trained, and
there would thus accrue a greater originality in
design. For those who take still further advanced
courses in college and university, the way toa
life of profitable usefulness, however difficult at
the outset, is sure to be found by the able and
earnest young men who have undergone a high
technical education.
LONDON:
HARRISON AND SONS, PRINTERS IN ORDINARY TO HIS MAJESTY,
ST. MARTIN’S LANE. .
S

Peal
ais