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 Management and men; a record of new steps 
 
 3 1924 002 2'j3 ISb 
 
 ''^^iiiiii' 
 
THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 NEW YORK STATE SCHOOL 
 
 OF 
 
 INDUSTRIAL AND LABOR 
 
 RELATIONS 
 
 AT 
 CORNELL UNIVERSITY 
 
The original of tiiis book is in 
 tine Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924002253155 
 
MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 A RECORD OF NEW STEPS 
 IN INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS 
 
 BY 
 
 MEYER BLOOMFIELD 
 
 PRCPEPTY CF U7"~ ^ HY 
 
 COriiiiuLL UNiVE. .CJTY 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 THE CENTURY CO, 
 
 1919 
 
Copyright, 1919, by 
 The Centtjbt Co. 
 
 Copyright, 191'', by 
 The Curtis Publishing company 
 
 PuUished, May, 1919 
 
TO 
 MY WIFE 
 
PREFACE 
 
 In passing from war to normal conditions of pro- 
 duction British Industry is facing a host of labor 
 problems and it is resolutely undertaking measures 
 to solve them. 
 
 Whatever may be his own particular economic in- 
 terests or outlook every thinking American is aware 
 that industry in the United States faces problems of 
 a similar nature. Unlike Britain however, we are not 
 for the moment under quite the same pressure to 
 effect a settlement of insistent issues in the field of 
 Industrial Eelations. 
 
 But the issues are here. Both wisdom and con- 
 science admonish that they be met with intelligent sym- 
 pathy. A policy of drift is no policy at all, and in 
 the present circumstances such a situation is not with- 
 out its dangers. The time is favorable for construc- 
 tive work, through joint effort by employers and the 
 rank and file of workers, in meeting at least some of 
 the most important of those questions which are 
 lumped under the heading of the labor problem. 
 
 Fortunately we have before us the guidance of pres- 
 ent British experience. Moreover a hopeful factor in 
 the situation is the circumstance that a growing num- 
 ber of employers and a host of spokesmen for the 
 working masses have the vision and the spirit which 
 if united with energy and candor to the end of making 
 work relationships sound will give to American indus- 
 try a future full of promise. 
 
viii PREFACE 
 
 Although we have not suffered as has Britain the 
 need for action is clear. Our normal industrial ac- 
 tivities have largely escaped the ravages of warfare 
 for four years and more. There has not been that 
 drain on America's man-power which the British Isles 
 have experienced. Our human losses have indeed been 
 grievous, our sacrifices great. But in England, Scot- 
 land and Wales there is scarcely a home which has 
 not in some way felt the lethal breath of the trenches. 
 There the war spared nobody and the people have 
 come out of the ordeal with mind, will and purpose 
 profoundly stirred. In the industrial world this 
 thought has taken shape: — British industry must in 
 future speak the joint purposes of the parties engaged 
 in its operations; it must manage its affairs so as to 
 assure to its workers larger returns than before in 
 self-respect, satisfaction and security. 
 
 It was my good fortune in the fall of 1918 to be 
 commissioned by the ' ' Saturday Evening Post ' ' to visit 
 the industrial centers of Great Britain and tell of con- 
 ditions as they appeared toward the close of the war 
 and during the period immediately following the Ar- 
 mistice. For all their trying preoccupation with war 
 duties, officials of the Government, of the labor organ- 
 izations and of the Labor Party, employers, and men 
 and women foremost in the significant movements of 
 the country gave liberally of their time and counsel 
 and opened up fruitful sources of information. My 
 thanks are due to the "Saturday Evening Post" for 
 permission to reprint the series of articles that I had 
 written for it. 
 
 For constant personal assistance, criticism and con- 
 tribution of material, I must acknowledge my indebted- 
 
PREFACE ix 
 
 ness to "Wilson Harris of the "London Daily News," 
 Herbert Tracey of the Labor Party, E. J. Phelan of 
 the Ministry of Labor, and Miss Mary Crosbie of the 
 Woman's Trade Union League. Sir Robert Hatfield, 
 W. L. Hichens, P. J. Pybus, Charles Eenold, Gordon 
 Selfridge and Seebohm Eowntree made it possible for 
 me to see what progressive employers were doing. 
 I owe thanks for unfailing friendliness and help to 
 Lord Eustace Percy and A. Zimmern of the Foreign 
 Office, Sir Stephenson Kent, John Chartres, Lord 
 Pirrie, Major Evelyn Wrench, Major C. T. Holland; 
 Albert Mansbridge of the Workers ' Educational Asso- 
 ciation; A. W. Tyler of the Cooperative Printing So- 
 ciety; George Lansbury of the "Herald"; J. T. Brown- 
 lie, the head of the Amalgamated Society of Engineers ; 
 H. H. MacTaggart; J. H. Thomas, Arthur Hen- 
 derson and C. W. Bowerman; W. A. Appleton, Sec- 
 retary of the General Federation of Trade Unions; 
 J. S. May, General Secretary of the International 
 Cooperative Alliance; A. H. Paterson, Secretary of 
 the National Alliance of Employer and Employed; 
 Joseph Thorp, John Hilton of the Garton Founda- 
 tion, Henry Clay, G. D. H. Cole and the other mem- 
 bers of that most stimulating group which meet weekly 
 in the "Dean's Yard" basement; S. K. Eatclitfe of the 
 "Manchester Guardian"; J. C. Squires of the "New 
 Statesman"; and Geoffrey Dawson, Editor of the 
 "Times." I owe much to the men and women in the 
 mines, mills, factories and shipyards of Great Britain, 
 for their personal letters, their interviews and general 
 spirit of helpfulness. 
 
 The main text of this book is made up of articles 
 written for the "Saturday Evening Post," but new 
 
X PREFACE 
 
 and illustrative material has been added wHcli serves 
 the practical purpose of showing in detail just what 
 new arrangements in Industrial Relations are at work. 
 This material is important and carries a message for 
 industry in the United States. We do not need to 
 imitate maybe, but in furthering the ends of better out- 
 put and a worthier manhood and womanhood in Amer- 
 ican industry, we stand to profit from an informed in- 
 terest in what industrial Britain is thinking and doing. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I From Wae to Woek in Geeat Britain .... 3 
 
 II More Output 33 
 
 III Sidelights on Industey in Geeat Beitain . . . 69 
 
 IV Control op the Job 100 
 
 V As the Beitish Employee Sees It 137 
 
 VI How Beitish Labor Sees It . . ^ . • ■• 176 
 
 APPENDICES 
 Appendix A 
 
 labor's statement on the housing problem after 
 the war 209 
 
 The extreme urgency — the extent of the shortage — what will 
 happen when the rent restriction act expires ! — who is to build 
 the new cottages ? — the government policy 
 
 REPORT BY ministry OF RECONSTRUCTION ON HOUSING IN 
 
 ENGLAND AND WALES 216 
 
 I. A Laege Task 
 
 II. Housing Before the War 
 
 The shortage o£ houses — defective and Insanitary dwell- 
 ings — slum areas — some illustrations — towns — country 
 districts 
 
 III. Attempts to Improve Housing Conditions 
 
 The provision of houses — the improvement of existing 
 housing and the removal of slums— the control of 
 building and town planning 
 
 IV. The Effect of the War 
 
 Shortage — defective houses and slums — the cost of build- 
 ing — supply of materials 
 
 V. The Need for Action 
 
 Effect of bad housing on health and life— -housing and 
 industrial unrest — demobilization and unemployment 
 
 VI. The Housing Policy After the War 
 
 Local government board inquiry — arrangement of streets 
 and buildings and lay-out of estates — private enterprise 
 — some other important committees — conclusion 
 
xii CONTENTS 
 
 Appendix B page 
 
 eepoet by ministry op eeconsteuction on raw mate- 
 eiais and employment 235 
 
 Metal trades — textile industries — boot and shoe industry — 
 timber — paper-making— other industries — general conclusions — 
 the organization of control 
 
 Appendix C 
 the employment exchange from within .... 250 
 
 A day with the manager 
 
 Appendix D 
 
 eeport of a conference between 0r3anizees of trade 
 unions, bristol employers and others concerned 
 with the industrial employment of women, con- 
 vened by the bristol association for industrial 
 
 RECONSTRUCTION, ON THE 16th AND 17tH MARCH, 
 1918, ON THE POSITION OF WOMEN IN INDUSTRY AFTER 
 THE WAR 253 
 
 I. General Considerations 
 
 II. The Industrial Employment of Women After thb 
 War 
 
 III. The ORaANizATioN or Women Workers 
 
 IV. The Whitley Reports 
 
 V. The Remuneration op Women Workers 
 VI. Welfare Work 
 
 Appendix B 
 
 labor's PRONOUNCEMENT ON THE EESTOEATION OF TEADE 
 
 UNION CUSTOMS AFTER THE WAE 269 
 
 I. Before the Munitions Act 
 II. Tee Munition of War Act, 1915 
 
 III. The Munitions of War (Amendment) Aot, 1816 
 
 IV. Summary of the Guarantees 
 
 V. Note on Government Establishments 
 
 Appendix F 
 
 the labor party 's statement on the labor peoblems 
 after the war 287 
 
 Demobilization — the machinery for securing employment — the 
 restoration of trade union conditions — the prevention of unem- 
 ployment — the maintenance of the standard of life — the legal 
 minimum wage — the nationalization of railways — the nationali- 
 zation of mines — agriculture — taxation — franchise — the position 
 of women after the war — education and child welfare — educa- 
 tional 
 
CONTENTS xiii 
 
 Appendix G page 
 
 industrial reports. number 1. industriali councils 297 
 
 I. Lettsb Addressed by the Minister of Labor to the 
 Leading Employers' Associations and Trade 
 Unions 
 
 INDUSTRIAL REPORTS. NUMBER 2. WORKS COMMITTEES . 311 
 
 I. Introduction 
 
 II. Origins and iNyLUBNCB or War Developments 
 
 III. Constitution 
 
 IV. Procedure 
 v. Functions 
 
 VI. Relations with Trade Unions 
 VII. General Considerations 
 
 Appendix I — ^Works committees 
 
 Appendix II — Reports on individual worts committees, 
 
 etc. 
 Appendix III — Summary of a district investigation in 
 
 the engineering and shipbuilding industries 
 Appendix IV — Joint timekeeping committees 
 Appendix V — National and district schemes — shop 
 
 stewards 
 Appendix VI — Ministry of reconstruction 
 Appendix VII — Scheme of loca. joint pits committees 
 
 APPENDIX H 
 
 THE PREDECESSOR OP THE WHITLEY SCHEME .... 466 
 
 The needs of the industrial situation — the scheme — the compul- 
 sory code — the voluntary code — the congestion of the parlia- 
 mentary machine — the reception of the scheme — two problems — 
 conclusion 
 
 APPENDIX 479 
 
 Proposal for a builder's national industrial parliament — intro- 
 duction — a national industrial parliament for the building indus- 
 try argument — proposal — name — objects — program method — re- 
 sult — legal sanction for compulsory code — status of industrial par- 
 liament — suggested constitution- — suggested auxiliary assemblies 
 
 THE INDUSTRL\L COUNCIL FOR THE BUILDING INDUSTRY . 486 
 
 The industrial council for the building industry — constitution and 
 rules adopted Ist August, 1918, Ministry of Labor — ^the indus- 
 trial council for the building industry (building trades parlia- 
 ment) — constitution and rules — standing orders governing pro- 
 cedure in debate at meetings of the council 
 
 Appendix I 
 
 NATIONAL COUNCIL OP THE POTTERY INDUSTRY . . . 499 
 
 Objects and constitution — inaugural meeting — manufacturers' 
 representatives — operatives' representatives — ^business of the first 
 meeting — ^Major Wedgwood — rateable value — the outcome of the 
 
xiv CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 DR. ADDISON, M.P 509 
 
 ITie government blamed — representative associations — one reco(^ 
 nized authority — ^labor's reward — raw material supplies — a ques- 
 tion of cost — an illustration — the priority question — articles of 
 the association — transport facilities — for the benefit of trade 
 
 MR. ROBERTS, M.P 518 
 
 A close analysis — an encouraging reception — employees' frank 
 acceptance — the Whitley Oouncil — government ownership — the 
 short cut to Utopia — the training of men — minimum standard — 
 an authoritative voice — after-war shortage — the right end 
 
 Appendix J 
 
 TRADS PARLIAMENTS 531 
 
 The reconstruction of industry by industry itself — the problem 
 is urgent — industry responsible for its own development— the 
 Whitley report — its root idea — the organization of an industrial 
 council — no interference with the individual management of in- 
 dustries- — the relation between the state and the industrial coun- 
 cils — ^variety of constitution essential — ^problems of the transition 
 period — the permanent problems of industry — industrial councils 
 not wages boards under a new name — -the corporate interests of 
 industry in its special problems — improved social status of the 
 industrial classes — the place of industry in the community — the 
 advantage of industrial councils to the state— the self-develop- 
 ment of each industry — a stepping stone towards industrial 
 reconstruction 
 
 REPORT OF THE INDUSTRIAL RECONSTRUCTION COUNCIL . 541 
 Report for the year December, 1917-1918 
 
 Appendix K 
 
 rules for working the hans kenold shop stewards' 
 committee 544 
 
 Appendix L 
 workshop committees 546 
 
 Suggested lines of development — preface — contents — introduction 
 — scope of workers* shop organizations; management questions 
 which could be devolved, wholly or in part — types of organiza- 
 tion — summary and conclusions of sections I and II — comments 
 on working 
 
 Appendix M 
 labor party constitution 572 
 
 Name — membership — party objects — ^party program — ^the party 
 conference — the national executive — ^parliamentary candidatures 
 — affiliation fees 
 
CONTENTS XV 
 
 PAGE 
 
 STANDING ORDERS 576 
 
 Annual conference — agenda — voting — national executive — treas- 
 urer — secretary — annual conference arrangements committee 
 
 THE LABOR PARTY 579 
 
 Constitution and rules for local labor parties in single and un- 
 divided boroughs — objects — ^management 
 
 THE . . . LABOR PARTY 581 
 
 Rules and constitution — membership — objects — management — 
 contributions — officers — v?ard committees annual meeting — can- 
 didatures — miscellaneous 
 
 Index 585 
 
MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 PEOM WAR TO WORK IN GEEAT BRITAIN 
 
 OUT of the welter of many isms and programs 
 which the passing of the war cloud from these 
 British Isles has brought to light two things are clear : 
 One, that pre-war state of mind of employer and of 
 those who work for him has undergone a change; the 
 other, that unless the peace ahead is to be both sterile 
 and stormy every capable man's shoulder must be put 
 to the wheel of industry and help begia the mending of 
 the war wastage with more and better work than has 
 ever been done before. 
 
 If anything can be said to be settled in a time of so 
 much unsettlement, of moving from a gigantic war 
 footing to normal, it is the fact that both duty and 
 self-interest require for the job of starting up the in- 
 dustrial circulation of the nation something of that 
 same patriotic spirit all round which made it possi- 
 ble to overcome the great peril. 
 
 All the agitation and discussion now going on 
 throughout the land a big word covers, and it means 
 all sorts of things, to all sorts of people. That word 
 is reconstruction. To some — not a large number, per- 
 haps, so far as one can judge, but a noisy and an en- 
 ergetic crowd, skilful in capitalizing every element 
 
 3 
 
i MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 of inevitable disaffection in these troublous times of 
 change — the only reconstruction worth looking at bears 
 one brand and familiar trade-mark: Eussian Bol- 
 shevism. The Bolshevist is right on the job in this 
 war-burdened land, and he is making himself heard 
 whenever and wherever opportunity offers. In this 
 home of free speech he doesn't have to work under 
 cover. You will find him out in the factory yard, on 
 the bus top, in both East and West End tea shops; 
 and he is in his element at the mass meetings, whose 
 number is legion. 
 
 Gro to any Albert Hall gathering, whatever may be 
 the purpose of the meeting; he is on hand to capture 
 the meeting if he can, to heckle the speakers, and in 
 general to start something. One Sunday night not 
 long ago this hall was packed to the roof. A voice in 
 the topmost gallery, louder than that of the poor 
 speaker who was trying to hold his audience, yelled 
 "We want a Trotsky revolution." There were 
 cheers and cries and applause, but none so vehement 
 as those which followed the retort of the young man 
 of the pale face and the silver badge — the insignia of 
 the returned and disabled soldier: "Why don't you 
 clear out then and go back to Eussia?" And these 
 familiar exercises over, the speaker was allowed to 
 proceed. 
 
 British good sense has always been the saving grace 
 in every emergency, and it may be said to be getting 
 into action at this juncture for all the threatening dif- 
 ferences so vehemently aired. One good sign of this 
 is the general inclination to face with sympathy and 
 good will, and also with a serious effort at understand- 
 ing, the new purposes which have taken hold of the 
 
FROM WAR TO WORK IN GREAT BRITAIN 5 
 
 minds of the people. One evening while waiting for 
 the doors of an assembly hall to open I was talking with 
 my neighbor in line. He was a postman in uniform. 
 
 "What is coming off in this country?" I asked. 
 "People are talking about changes. Is Russia going 
 to be the model?" 
 
 "Not by a long way, it is n't — unless some very tall 
 blunders are made. We have the vote, and now six 
 million women are going to vote. We go along the con- 
 stitutional way. We want no mob rule tearing every- 
 thing up. The Bolshies are only Prussians painted 
 red. We haven't put up with four years to save our 
 country and then let them do what we wouldn't let 
 Jerry do." 
 
 Jerry is trench for Hun. 
 
 More and better work, carried on under conditions 
 which satisfy those who do it, be they managers or 
 laborers, that their good will can be in it — these are 
 the twin peaks of what may be called the general labor 
 problem here. All sorts of other peaks and ridges 
 line the industrial horizon ; all sorts of trails and path- 
 ways show on the industrial map which many are bus- 
 ily redrawing — ^but they do not all lead to the Promised 
 Land. 
 
 All through the war the country has been prosper- 
 ous. Women who never before saw the inside of big 
 Piccadilly and Regent Street shops became familiar 
 customers of the luxury departments. That ghost 
 which haunted the very retreats of pre-war states- 
 men, unemployment, was happily laid, at least for the 
 time being. There was work enough — something new 
 in British memory. Labor disturbances, though not 
 unknown during the war, fell to a small figure, for war 
 
6 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 power has a way of bringing industrial disputants to 
 terms, and short shrift for the recalcitrant. A grim 
 reminder of this force was a tattered poster I saw on 
 the wall of a Clyde yard machine shop serving notice 
 on a body of strikers that within seven days they would 
 be called to the colors unless they returned to work. 
 The poster was dated September, 1918; it seems ages 
 ago in tone. 
 
 Industrial peace, then, there has been, on the whole ; 
 but this is not to say that industrial unrest had van- 
 ished. The illusion of general prosperity covered up 
 the real situation, while a marvelous national sacrifice 
 to ward off imminent disaster submerged every other 
 emotion. The heavy exertion of war-making does not 
 usually carry over into the moods of peace. Let go 
 the tension and a reaction easy to mark sets in. The 
 spirit of ready sacrifice keyed up the population for 
 nearly four and a half years ; and all the people made 
 sacrifices — rich and poor alike ; make no mistake about 
 that. Now war at best is a spendthrift business, and 
 the future is its prey. Unemployment passed out of 
 the country during the war because trade was booming, 
 new demands on the labor power mounted daily, pro- 
 ductive men by the million left their work places for 
 the Front, the government became the great spender 
 and almost monopolized the purchasing power of the 
 nation, having to pay no regard to the consequences 
 of destroying rather than replenishing things. Give 
 up these huge artificial stimulants and there is some 
 job ahead. 
 
 Will the generous spirit which floated the British 
 nation through the war last long enough to save it from 
 rocks in the peace channels ? The indications are that 
 
FROM WAR TO WORK IN GREAT BRITAIN 7 
 
 it will. Only facts have to be faced and spades and 
 things called by no camouflaged words. Eight through 
 the war there were charges and counter charges be- 
 tween employers and employed. Bad feeling, distrust, 
 calling of names were not infrequent. Each side as- 
 serted solemnly and without reserve that the other 
 was putting self above country and was busy making 
 ready for the day when war pressure was off and the 
 field open once more for the best man to win. Em- 
 ployers have complained of labor profiteering, slack- 
 ness, indiscipline and shocking time-keeping — that is, 
 absence from work. The men talk of fat war profits 
 despite the tax bills, oppression of the workers, subtle 
 attempts to undermine their organizations, and, to top 
 it all, the jump in living expenses. During the war 
 these recriminations got but little hearing. Now they 
 hold the front page. 
 
 There can be no question that, while the war was on, 
 a real brotherhood of sacrifice was the general senti- 
 ment of the nation. Industrial bitterness was, like 
 politics, adjourned for the period of the conflict. How 
 to keep something of that spirit alive and give that 
 bit of the civilized world not yet in eruption a chance 
 to build for the future of its own people and do some- 
 thing for those of the shaken lands — ^here is the big- 
 gest problem in industrial statesmanship. 
 
 The return to peace calls for a sloughing off of old- 
 time formulas in the industrial bargain; a scrapping 
 of platitudes; a truce to inertia; a frank facing of 
 what has to be done. This is not the special chore of 
 any specially ordained set of men. It is supremely 
 the chore of every fair-minded man, be his job what it 
 may. Not much headway will be made if the old imps 
 
8 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 of class suspicion and stupidity hold the stage, nor if 
 lively cooperation among all the parties concerned 
 fails to obtain. Never have said parties been so much 
 in one boat as now, whether they are aware of this fact 
 or not. 
 
 What the war did was to push the problem and fact 
 of industrial unrest into the background; it did little 
 to cure it. No intelligent man believed that it would 
 stay down when peace came and the cement of common 
 effort crumbled. 
 
 The entire subject of industrial unrest was gone into 
 carefully by a commission made up of first-rate citi- 
 zens. These men were not theorists, and they did not 
 start out to prove any pet idea of their own. When 
 they finished their job they told the country some plain 
 truths, of use to keep in mind at the present time. Un- 
 rest, these hard-headed men said, was nothing new in 
 the industrial life of the country. So far as it arose 
 from small or temporary causes the matter could be 
 dealt with by a little application of judgment and un- 
 selfishness. But the unrest which went down deeper 
 and kept smoldering, with here and there an outbreak 
 of bad temper and disaffection — that called for a broad- 
 minded view of conditions which had to be dealt with 
 in a statesmanlike way. The commission did not fool 
 itself into believing that individual agitators were re- 
 sponsible for chronic discontent. They mince no 
 words, to be sure, when they view the performances 
 of extremists who bow to no authority but that of their 
 own impulses and undermine the influence of the 
 workers' chosen representatives in supporting orderly 
 trade agreements. But the heart of British labor, 
 take it by and large, is sound ; the typical workingman 
 
FROM WAR TO WORK IN GREAT BRITAIN 9 
 
 believes in constitutional methods; one hears this 
 phrase used again and again everywhere — but this 
 same typical workingman has grievances a-plenty. 
 Soaring food prices and general profiteering are con- 
 stant sources of embitterment. Though the govern- 
 ment has skimmed the cream off profits and incomes 
 the men believe that an unconscionable amount of sud- 
 den affluence has come to many, and they are mad clear 
 through. 
 
 Shortage of houses has for years been a crying evil, 
 but very little has been done about it.^ Big war wages 
 have made no difference so far as getting accommoda- 
 tions is concerned, and thousands of families who want 
 to live as the English-speaking race has learned to live 
 find it impossible. All sorts of petty restrictions, lack 
 of enterprise and obstructive land laws have stood in 
 the way and have bred a mountain of ill feeling. No 
 pronouncement of the government has met with more 
 hearty approval than that connected with its housing 
 program. As far back as 1901 it was shown that in 
 England and Wales alone nearly three million persons 
 lived more than two in a room. In Scotland and in 
 Ireland conditions were even worse. 
 
 The house famine has been growing on the country. 
 During the war building operations came to a stand- 
 still of course. The result to-day is bad overcrowding 
 and congestion in nearly every town in Great Britain — 
 in all the mining districts, where the men are bitter 
 and discontent is rampant; in all the agricultural sec- 
 tions; and notoriously in the leading manufacturing 
 
 1 See page 209. Labor's Statement on the Housing Problem after the 
 War. Report by Ministry of Reconstruction on Housing in England 
 and Wales. 
 
10 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 centers. The common estimate is that the country is 
 about one million houses short. At present landlords 
 are prevented from raising rents above the pre-war 
 figure by the Eestriction of Kent Act. They cry out 
 that ruin is staring them in the face. The act holds 
 good for six months longer, after which a jump in 
 house rentals must surely come. That will not help 
 matters. From every point of view there is the most 
 urgent need for prompt action. If there is, no one will 
 expect miracles; the men will wait a reasonable time 
 for houses if they see that the country is at last awake 
 to this need and is doing something worth while to 
 meet it. But they will not put up with more promises. 
 
 There is another reason for a bold housing venture : 
 No one knows just how much unemployment, even of a 
 temporary kind, may hit the country; or where it will 
 occur. All sorts of dislocations are taking place, and 
 more are bound to take place during the crucial next 
 six months. Until the factories have had time to get 
 back to their proper work and raw materials are forth- 
 coming suflScient to enable industry to get into its 
 stride there will be a period of anxiety for everybody. 
 The building of a large number of houses would pro- 
 vide legitimate employment to thousands — hundreds of 
 thousands of men who would be otherwise out of work. 
 To provide three hundred thousand houses would em- 
 ploy four hundred thousand men of the building and 
 allied trades and spur the furniture and other house- 
 hold trades. 
 
 As the present cost of building material is more than 
 double that of the pre-war figure, and as prices may 
 in a few years go down somewhat, no builder is inclined 
 to take all the risks. The government is therefore 
 
FROM WAR TO WORK IN GREAT BRITAIN 11 
 
 making its plans for a national house-building project 
 subsidized by the state under an arrangement with 
 various local governments. 
 
 National aid for housing, both as a commendable em- 
 ployment project and as a means of meeting the out- 
 spoken demands on the part of masses of workers for 
 better conditions, is only one line of state activity. 
 There will be a large extension of such activity in other 
 directions. What has already been promised only 
 foreshadows other far-reaching enterprises intended 
 to serve the same purposes. Lands, forests, farms, 
 highways, transportation, public education, social in- 
 surance — these are among the topics which have left 
 the academic shades and have become live practical 
 issues. 
 
 When war broke, this country saw employers and 
 workmen carry on their various occupations under a 
 heavy crust of custom, tradition, habit and trade prac- 
 tices which must represent the overgrowths of a cen- 
 tury or more. When speed in production became a 
 lif e-and-death necessity to the nation a clean sweep had 
 to be made at once of every sort of obstruction. The 
 government called in representatives of the big trade 
 unions, and with them drew up what has since become 
 known as the Treasury Agreement. 
 
 This agreement called for a speeding up, and a 
 manning of the factories regardless of any previous 
 conditions or understandings. New and faster ma- 
 chinery was to be introduced, operations split up so 
 as to allow for dilution of the working force by men and 
 women of less skill; emergency training courses set 
 up in place of the traditional apprenticeship ; and pay- 
 ment by results enforced. Doors were thrown open to 
 
12 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 newcomers in trades hitherto the precious preserves of 
 highly competent craftsmen. To help win the war, 
 and in view of the agreement, trade unions gave up 
 rules and provisions which they had built up through 
 the generations. 
 
 The government pledged itself to "restore," when 
 the war ended, all that the unions had waived. Here 
 is the restoration pledge and the guaranty: 
 
 Provided that the conditions set out are accepted by the Govern- 
 ment as applicable to all contracts for the execution of war muni- 
 tions and equipments the workmen's representatives at the Con- 
 ference are of opinion that during the war period the relaxation of 
 the present trade practices is imperative, and that each Union be 
 recommended to take into favorable consideration such changes in 
 ■working conditions or trade customs as may be necessary with a 
 view to accelerating the output of war munitions or equipments. 
 
 The recommendations are conditional on Government requiring 
 all contractors and sub-contractors engaged on munitions and equip- 
 ments of war or other work required for the satisfactory comple- 
 tion of the war to give an undertaking to the following effect: 
 
 1. Any departure during the war from the practice ruling in our 
 workshops, shipyards, and other industries prior to the war shall 
 only be for the period of the war. 
 
 2. No change in practice made during the war shall be allowed to 
 prejudice the position of the workpeople in our employment, or of 
 their Trade Unions in regard to the resumption and maintenance 
 after the war of any rules or customs existing prior to the war. 
 
 3. In any readjustment of staff which may have to be effected 
 after the war priority of employment will be given to workmen in 
 our employment at the beginning of the war who are serving with 
 the colors or who are now in our employment. 
 
 4. Where the custom of a shop is changed during the war by the 
 introduction of semi-skilled men to perform work hitherto performed 
 by a class of workmen of higher skill, the rates paid shall be the 
 usual rates of the district for that class of work. 
 
 5. The relaxation of existing demarcation restrictions or admis- 
 sion of semi-skilled or female labor shall not affect adversely the 
 rates customarily paid for the job. In cases where men who or- 
 dinarily do the work are adversely affected thereby, the necessary 
 
FROM WAR TO WORK IN GREAT BRITAIN 13 
 
 readjustments shall be made so that they can maintain their previous 
 earnings. 
 
 6. A record of the nature of the departure from the conditions 
 prevailing before the date of this undertaking shall be kept and 
 shall be open for inspection by the authorized representative of 
 the Government. 
 
 7. Due notice shall be given to the workmen concerned wherever 
 practicable of any changes of working conditions which it is desired 
 to introduce as the result of this arrangement, and opportunity of 
 local consultation with men or their representatives shall be given 
 if desired. 
 
 8. All differences with our workmen engaged on Government 
 work arising out of changes so introduced or with regard to wages 
 or conditions of employment arising out of the war shall be settled 
 without stoppage of work. 
 
 9. It is clearly understood that nothing in this undertaking is to 
 prejudice the position of employers or employees after the war. 
 
 [Signed] D. Lloyd George 
 Walter Runciman 
 Arthur Henderson 
 Chairman of Workmen's Representatives 
 
 Wm. Mosses 
 Secretary of Workmen's Representatives 
 March 19, 1915 
 
 This is the war charter of restoration. The men are 
 asking the government to redeem its pledge. But, 
 alas, it is much easier to talk restoration than to re- 
 store amid new conditions and emergencies. Efficiency 
 once tasted and pronounced good cannot be so easily 
 dispensed with. To slow down production at this 
 time to the basis before the war would be for the Brit- 
 ish Empire to commit industrial hari-kari. Getting 
 rid of the new workers who have shown themselves 
 highly proficient is something not to be lightly under- 
 taken. Here is a hard nut to crack — employer, work- 
 men and government are wrestling with this restora- 
 tion business. To the credit of all concerned be it said. 
 
14 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 restoration in the strict sense used when the pledge 
 was made is quite generally recognized to be impossi- 
 ble. The line of final settlement lies in new under- 
 standings and safeguards worked out to protect both 
 the interests of the men and of the industries of the 
 country. 
 
 Eight here let me pay a tribute to the sane influence 
 of Mr. Gompers' speeches in this country. Conditions 
 being different here from what they are in the United 
 States the labor organizations between the two coun- 
 tries vary. Fundamentally their aims may be alike, 
 but they do not see eye to eye in every particular. Mr. 
 Gompers' long experience has taught him that an in- 
 dustry must be efficient and profitable if any gains are 
 to be made. He is for efficiency as well as for a fair 
 distribution of the results of such efficiency. Many 
 people here have been puzzled by Mr. Gompers ' advo- 
 cacy of improved production. It sounded to them as 
 if he were preaching the employers' gospel. This 
 state of mind shows the nature of the gap which has 
 yawned between employers and employed in this coun- 
 try. Gradually the meaning of his preachment is com- 
 ing home, and these words of his are frequently quoted : 
 
 ' ' We are not going to have the trouble in our country 
 that Britain had with restriction of production. We 
 in the United States have followed a different policy. 
 We say to the employers. Bring in all the improved ma- 
 chinery and new tools that you can find. We will help 
 you to improve them still further and we will get the 
 utmost product out of them. But what we insist on is 
 the limitation of the hours of labor for the individual 
 to eight hours per day. Work two shifts if you please, 
 or work your machinery all round the twenty-four 
 
FROM WAR TO WORK IN GREAT BRITAIN 15 
 
 hours if you like with three shifts, and we will help 
 you, but we insist on the normal working day with full 
 physical effort. We will not agree to that overwork 
 producing the poison of overfatigue, which destroys 
 the maximum of production, undermines the health of 
 the individual worker and destroys his capacity for 
 daily industrial effort." 
 
 Demobilization, civil and military, is actively under 
 way. Millions of men and women are involved. Mir- 
 acles cannot be worked to make the process of starting 
 up the normal activities of industrial plants coincide 
 exactly with the flow of labor. Therefore hitches oc- 
 cur, human log jams, and it takes some skill to keep up 
 a semblance of order. One factory, without a word 
 of notice, suddenly discharged its thousand munition 
 girls. The next morning the place looked as if it had 
 been through an air raid. 
 
 What manufacturers fear most just now is not a 
 possible shortage of labor or even exactions on the 
 part of labor ; they are worried lest raw material may 
 not come in fast enough to keep their organizations 
 going.i 
 
 The conversion of British industry into a vast war 
 machine was a great achievement. Its reconversion 
 to a peace basis will be an achievement still greater. 
 In the one case the withdrawal of men for the army and 
 the demand for war material were relatively gradual 
 — the national munition factories were not first put in 
 hand till the war was nearly a year old; in the other 
 the change will have to be accomplished within a space 
 almost of weeks, unless the nation is to sustain an eco- 
 
 1 See page 235. Report by Ministry of Reconstruction on Raw Mate- 
 rials and Employment. 
 
16 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 nomic loss which it is in no condition to contemplate. 
 
 Moreover, though preparations for demobilization 
 have long been in train the catastrophic collapse of 
 the Central Powers in October was a result outside all 
 calculations. It was always safe to count on three 
 months ' warning of the coming of peace. In the event 
 there was not three weeks. The army, it is true, is still 
 in the field, and demobilization on the great scale may 
 be some distance ofif yet. But the pivotal men, those 
 who just missed exemption as indispensable, are al- 
 ready coming back; and apart altogether from the 
 army there are three million or more war workers in 
 munitions and other supply industries at home who 
 must not be kept a day longer than is absolutely essen- 
 tial in unproductive employment. 
 
 The immediate problem therefore is twofold: The 
 war workers have to be disbanded, and disbanded in 
 such a way that they shall neither be turned out on the 
 streets nor let loose to capture the picked places in in- 
 dustry before the men still at the Front get their 
 chance. That means, speaking broadly, that the whole 
 field of employment has to be organized ; that so far as 
 is possible workers shall not be turned adrift till new 
 places are open for them ; and that sufficient posts shall 
 be kept open in every industry to insure absolute equal- 
 ity of opportunity for the men in France and the 
 Balkans and Mesopotamia and Palestine when in due 
 time they get back from the trenches to the workshop. 
 
 That problem has been gone into by a dozen different 
 committees in the past two years, and in the main the 
 machinery for dealing with it is ready. The govern- 
 ment departments chiefly concerned are the Ministry 
 of Munitions and the Ministry of Labor. The task of 
 
FROM WAR TO WORK IN GREAT BRITAIN 17 
 
 the former is to regulate the release of munition work- 
 ers, the task of the latter to find places for the sud- 
 denly unemployed. The Ministry of Labor has been 
 strengthened for its new responsibilities by the trans- 
 ference to it of the late head of the labor-supply de- 
 partment of the Ministry of Munitions, Sir Stephenson 
 Kent, who will be the actual director of the whole de- 
 mobilization strategy. 
 
 The machinery chosen is the employment-exchange 
 system.^ The exchanges were first set up under the 
 Board of Trade in 1910, and were transferred to the 
 Ministry of Labor on the creation of that department 
 in 1916. Their function in peacetime was, as their 
 name shows, to adjust the supply of labor to the de- 
 mand throughout the country, to keep lists of all va- 
 cancies, of all men wanting work, and to facilitate the 
 transfer of workmen where necessary from one district 
 to another. At the same time they were responsible 
 for the working of the unemployment section of the 
 National Insurance Act. 
 
 The exchanges have not been an unqualified success 
 — that for various reasons, notably the fact that in all 
 skilled trades the men's trade unions served in them- 
 selves as effective agencies for the supply of labor. 
 Now, however, the employment exchanges are being 
 rapidly strengthened and increased in number to enable 
 them to deal with a far greater problem than they 
 were ever designed to handle. 
 
 Two factors are simplifying the demobilization ; In 
 the first place the Ministry of Munitions has some con- 
 trol over the rate of dismissals. The production of 
 
 1 See page 250. "The Employment Exchange from Within" — Maga- 
 zine of the Ministry of Labor. 
 
18 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 munitions was not shut down to the blast of a whistle 
 on November eleventh. On the contrary orders were 
 immediately given that jobs half or two-thirds finished 
 should be completed, and at the same time the plants 
 were used wherever possible to produce commercial 
 commodities instead of war material, with the same 
 employees and on the same machines. Thus before 
 the armistice was a fortnight old shell makers were 
 turning out files and springs, grenade makers were 
 manufacturing dairy separators, other munition firms 
 were on the point of setting to work on electrical fit- 
 tings, or toys, or furniture, or dairy utensils. 
 
 Then there was the fact that while thousands of men 
 were wanting work thousands of employers were want- 
 ing men. When matters are finally adjusted there is 
 going to be no lack of employment for years to come 
 in Great Britain, though dark uncertainties are still 
 present. Apart from the demands that will be made 
 by France and Belgium for building material and ftir- 
 niture and machinery, the whole fabric of Britain itself 
 is waiting to be put in repair. The mines must be 
 worked at the highest pressure to make up the coal 
 deficiency ; the permanent way and the rolling stock of 
 the railways must be overhauled from top to bottom; 
 a million houses, and furniture to fill them, have to be 
 constructed; and in a score of other industries that 
 have been nearly at a standstill for the last four years 
 every man who was in the trade before will find work 
 to keep him employed on overtime for as far ahead as 
 he can see. 
 
 That of course assumes that supplies of raw ma- 
 terials will be forthcoming, and it leaves out of account 
 for the moment the fact that there are hundreds of 
 
FROM WAR TO WORK IN GREAT BRITAIN 19 
 
 thousands of workers — principally women — competing 
 in the labor market who were never competing in it 
 before. But speaking generally the problem is to see 
 that no employer is kept waiting for workers and no 
 workers are kept waiting for work. That is what the 
 employment exchange has to look after. Its equipment 
 for the task consists of a manager of each exchange, 
 with an advisory committee of employers and work- 
 men in the locality to support him. Every large town 
 has its exchange, often with several branches, and 
 throughout the smaller towns and villages there are 
 resident agents serving the same purpose as the fully 
 developed exchange. The system is centralized in 
 London in the Ministry of Labor. 
 
 By the middle of November the exchanges were hard 
 at work dealing with the flow of discharged war work- 
 ers. From the workers' point of view the situation 
 was not desperate, for all who had been engaged on 
 munitions, in the widest sense, were guaranteed unem- 
 ployment pay for six months at the rate of twenty- 
 four shillings a week in the case of men and twenty 
 shillings in the case of women. That is no great figure, 
 with the cost of living what it is to-day, but it is a 
 material relief to the drain imposed by a spell of un- 
 employment on savings, and after years of unbroken 
 physical strain there are many to whom the prospect 
 of a few weeks ' holiday is welcome enough. 
 
 That, however, does not lessen the magnitude of the 
 great changeover, and it has to be remembered that 
 for one worker who voluntarily takes a few weeks' 
 rest a dozen will of necessity be kept idle while ma- 
 chinery and plant are being readapted from their war 
 
20 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 to their peace operations. And the moment demobili- 
 zation begins in earnest their numbers will be multi- 
 plied daily. For the soldiers an effective scheme is in 
 operation. They, like the munition workers, have un- 
 employment pay guaranteed, and in their case over a 
 period of twelve months instead of six. At the same 
 time steps have been taken to keep the volume of even 
 temporary unemployment at the lowest level. Every 
 employer who wants a particular workman back is in- 
 vited to ask for him, and every soldier who wants a 
 particular piece of work is invited to apply for it. 
 That holds good whether the soldier is in England or 
 abroad. A postcard is given him to fill up asking 
 whether he has a job waiting, and if so where. If he 
 has not he states what kind of work he wants and in 
 what locality. The employers meanwhile are also fill- 
 ing up postcards giving full particulars of the names 
 and regiment and address of the men they want, and 
 stating what kind of employment is waiting for them. 
 All postcards from all sources ultimately reach the em- 
 ployment exchange for the appropriate district, after 
 which it is easy to fit together the man who wants a 
 particular employer and the employer who wants that 
 particular man, while the others can be disposed of 
 rather less immediately by the ordinary process of 
 bringing together the supply and the demand. 
 
 But a scheme that works on paper may run on every 
 kind of snag in practice. That is true of the demobili- 
 zation plans. One difficulty that is going to arise is 
 the wage question. That is inevitable. An attempt 
 has been made to get round it by an act hurriedly 
 passed to prohibit for the next six months the lowering 
 
FROM WAR TO WORK IN GREAT BRITAIN 21 
 
 of the wage minimum curre;it in a number of important 
 trades without the special sanction of a government 
 arbitrator. That is something, but it should be ob- 
 served that it applies only to the minimum, not the 
 average wage rate. At the best, overtime at special 
 rates will be at an end, and highly paid munition work- 
 ers will have to be content to go home at the week-end 
 with much lighter pockets than in the past. It is not 
 to be expected that they will flock with enthusiasm into 
 employment where that prospect is before them. 
 Many, moreover — and this is particularly true of the 
 soldiers — will find their old work distasteful, and wiU 
 probably enough prefer work in some industry that 
 would soon be overstocked if all the applications for 
 it were entertained. 
 
 That desire for change is seen on a small scale in 
 the case of munition girls who either actually were or 
 would in due course have become domestic servants. 
 There is every sign of a general refusal to exchange 
 the relative freedom of industrial life for the restraints 
 of domestic employment, and the difficulties of the 
 average middle class household are likely to be quite 
 as acute during the first months of peace as they have 
 been through the last two or three years of war. The 
 same tendency will be found in men and women brought 
 up to other trades. Many men, for example, whose 
 life hitherto has been passed in offices and workshops 
 will declare for open-air occupation in the future, 
 either on the land in England or on the land in some 
 British colony. That raises the question of training 
 as well as employment, for the recognition is at last 
 dawning on the British people that agriculture is a 
 
22 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 skilled trade, and there will be no fear of the returned 
 soldier being pitchforked into it untrained and un- 
 equipped. 
 
 These are the problems the employinent exchanges 
 have before them — and if the exchanges are run as mere 
 machinery and nothing more they are going to break 
 down very completely and very quickly. It is easy 
 enough to pick up such convenient terms as "the trans- 
 ference of labor," and to talk lightly of "drafting," 
 say, bricklayers from London to Lancashire. But 
 when all is said a workman is a man and not a piece 
 of mechanism. Neither is he a snail carrying his 
 house on his back. The house he lives in is built into 
 the ground and he has to leave it where it is when he 
 goes somewhere else. For that reason he has a strong 
 prejudice against going somewhere else. He is not 
 going to be moved about the country like a pawn on a 
 chessboard by some government official, particularly 
 after a gruelling four years or so in the army. If he 
 has got to go he must be satisfied that the move is for 
 his own benefit. 
 
 That is where the employment-exchange advisory 
 committees will come in. They have had compara- 
 tively little to do in the past, but their testing time has 
 come now. Half the membership of each committee 
 consists of trade unionists, so that the workman com- 
 ing under their purview can count on sympathetic treat- 
 ment. If the advisory committees can create and 
 maintain a humanizing atmosphere throughout the em- 
 ployment-exchange system they should find it in their 
 power to apply just that lubricant of good will and 
 understanding that will keep the wheels of the ma- 
 chine running smooth and silent. 
 
FROM WAR TO WORK IN GREAT BRITAIN 23 
 
 An overlooked factor in easing up the employment 
 situation here is the quiet process of emigration which 
 is going on. Here is a solution for some of the present 
 industrial problems which is at once attractive and dis- 
 quieting. No one has been especially pushing this 
 movement, for it is a movement, and it is growing in 
 volume. Employers are frankly anxious. The loss of 
 a skilled adult worker may be definitely measured in 
 terms of so many dollars invested. Change of habita- 
 tion is not confined to the roving and the adventurous ; 
 it is quite as often a sign of vitality and ambition. 
 Hundreds of men and women may be seen crowding 
 the window displays of the various dominion-govern- 
 ment offices along the Strand. Hundreds have gone 
 within to ask for literature and make inquiries. Can- 
 ada, Australia, New Zealand and the South African 
 lands can make good use of the energetic men and 
 women who have done such notable war work here 
 during these four years past. Workingmen and their 
 families are seeking better prospects abroad. They 
 do not wish to put up with a period of anxiety about a 
 job. Eeturned soldiers with a taste for the open gaze 
 at the alluring landscapes and views of work outdoors 
 in the spacious overseas dominions. They take away 
 with them the folders and the prospectuses, and there 
 is a serious look on their faces. Is history repeating 
 itself? Every great war has resulted in a large shift 
 of population. 
 
 The work of reconstruction and of restoration is 
 going forward rapidly, not without its daily perplexi- 
 ties and fresh difficulties, but its stride is evident. 
 Trade unions and the workers generally through their 
 Labor Party are disposed to make the transition time 
 
M MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 as orderly as possible. They willingly accept the new 
 conditions in industry, knowing that the future of their 
 country is at stake in the decisions that are being 
 made. They will throw themselves into the task of 
 upbuilding if they can secure in return a frank recog- 
 nition of the moral advance which labor has made as 
 a national force — an appreciation of the new self- 
 respect which has taken hold of the humblest toiler. 
 The workers ask for an improved status, a finer rela- 
 tion than they have had hitherto in the scheme of man- 
 agement. They think that within their own range of 
 interests and opportunities they have contributions of 
 value to make to the industries in which they are en- 
 gaged. They regard employment as a venture in co- 
 operation. 
 
 Such views and aspirations find no opposition on 
 the part of the best employers here. On the contrary 
 they are welcomed as holding out a promise of better 
 relations and more productive organization. Here are 
 the words of a great employer whose goods fill the 
 world markets : 
 
 * * It is idle to hope to increase output unless the con- 
 fidence of the workers can be gained and their coopera- 
 tion enlisted ; unless, in other words, they can be placed 
 in a position to understand how their work is needed 
 for the sake of the future of the country, in the same 
 way as they learned to understand the meaning and 
 the purpose of their military duties. Confidence must 
 take the place of suspicion, and public service the place 
 of sectional self-interest in the relation between the two 
 parties, or the lesson of the war will not have been 
 learned." 
 
 Mighty little progress, and one-sided at that, will 
 
FROM WAR TO WORK IN GREAT BRITAIN 25 
 
 take place in restoring and reconstructing if the women 
 are left out of the account.^ The woman worker has 
 filled a big place in the war enterprise; she has been 
 told this over and over again, and she admits it. She 
 doesn't for one little bit see herself as merely an in- 
 cident in the industrial happenings of the moment; 
 nor does she look upon her own peculiar industrial 
 requirements as second to those of her male fellow 
 worker. Men may propose this or that, and they do, 
 but these women war workers have come to be con- 
 siderable disposers, and likewise alert and astute pro- 
 posers themselves. Before the war there were six 
 million women workers in the United Kingdom, not 
 far from a third of them in domestic service. For the 
 actual replacement of men who had been called away 
 for military service eight hundred thousand women 
 were taken on. Some will go now, others will stay. 
 Figures can be only guesswork just at present. I asked 
 an intelligent-looking, fine-faced woman, filing deli- 
 cate turbine blades in an engine shop, what she ex- 
 pected to do when the war was over. 
 
 "Well, sir," she replied deliberately as she laid down 
 her file and started to wipe her spectacles, "I came 
 here to help out in the war, and I have been working 
 here for three years. If any soldier comes back or 
 any wounded man from the service I will give up my 
 place to him. I counted on doing that when I came 
 here. But if any other kind of a man wants this place 
 — well, I have as much right to live as he has." 
 
 Where did the woman's industrial army come from? 
 As nearly as one can figure it out more than one hun- 
 
 1 See page 253. Report of a conference on The Position of Women in 
 Industry after the War. 
 
26 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 dred thousand women came from the ranks of house- 
 hold servants; a large number had been working in a 
 small way for themselves ; girls came from school and 
 farm and fishing village ; women from their husband- 
 less homes; thousands who had no need of the wage 
 came for patriotic reasons, because the country called 
 them. They have all of them earned their salt. They 
 have made good. It is a safe guess to say that women 
 will from now on be in industry in greater numbers 
 than ever before. Many trades will be short-handed 
 for some time to come. They will want the women. 
 Suspended or reduced industries will soon be brisk 
 again and they are glad to have the workers who have 
 given such a good account of themselves in difficult 
 trades. The question of wages will be a knotty one to 
 settle, and many adjustments will have to be made 
 day by day. 
 
 Woman is no longer an accident in industry. She 
 has come to stay, and to take her place alongside the 
 man in all schemes, plans, projects and programs which 
 may be forthcoming. She asks no favors. All she 
 insists on is a reasonably rapid acknowledgment of the 
 fact that she has arrived, and she is strong in the con- 
 viction that her attaining industrial majority will be 
 to the good all around. 
 
 There have been exaggerated impressions as to the 
 substitution of men by women. At the most, replace- 
 ment by women of skilled men has not been large. 
 The increase in the machine trades, for example, has 
 been almost entirely due to shell making, which in- 
 volves working, for the most part, automatic or semi- 
 automatic machinery. So far as shipbuilding is con- 
 cerned, the number of women is negligible. The po- 
 
FROM WAR TO WORK IN GREAT BRITAIN 27 
 
 sition of the skilled craftsman is not seriously preju- 
 diced by the competition of the woman worker, except 
 as processes are broken up and simplified so they call 
 for less general skill. Whatever competition occurs 
 between men and women workers will be found on the 
 levels of unskill or semi-skill, and here labor-saving 
 machinery is likely to play a big part in the near fu- 
 ture. 
 
 When the Mexican peon has made his three or four 
 days' wages he is ready to knock off, take his ease in 
 his little neighborhood grog shop, bask in its sunny 
 dooryard, and call it a week. He sees no reason for 
 extending himself beyond what is needed just to keep 
 him and perhaps his wife and children. If a few days' 
 work will do it, so much the better. When his pockets 
 are empty and the liquor has worked itself off, the call 
 of the job is heard once more. The problem of alco- 
 hol is not a simple one to deal with an5rwhere ; the evils 
 to which it gives rise are too deeply rooted for any 
 simple statement of remedies. We may be certain 
 of this, whatever experts and laymen, reformers and 
 standpatters may say on the subject — the words of a 
 mine boss I once heard in a Western copper country 
 to a miner reeling toward the cage shaft hold true: 
 "See here, son, booze and mining can't work the same 
 shift." 
 
 Great Britain has to face the drink question as one 
 of its huge reconstruction jobs. Industry cannot come 
 back to normal and better conditions with its pre-war 
 drink load as it was. Employers and many labor of- 
 ficials realize this. One of the largest employers in 
 England told a group of people the other day gath- 
 ered to consider this question that Great Britain could 
 
28 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 not hold her own with the United States unless the al- 
 cohol traffic was suppressed. 
 
 "Whatever may be said for the public house, the 
 club and the home as regards drink, let us not forget 
 that we have lost one million productive men, and 
 about half this number in disabled. We may be im- 
 poverished industrially. America has lost much less, 
 she is rich and growing richer — and is going dry. 
 Does any one believe that we can compete with her on 
 any equal terms if we let drink grip us as it did be- 
 fore?" 
 
 There is a strong campaign on for a national-health 
 bill. Lloyd George has thrown himself into this cam- 
 paign with vigor and with a lively sense of its im- 
 portance to the British Empire's industrial restora- 
 tion. ' ' What is the first thing the great war has shown 
 us?" he said the other day. "The appalling waste of 
 human material in this country. Those who were in 
 charge of recruiting came to the conclusion that if the 
 people of this country had lived under proper condi- 
 tions, were properly fed and housed, and lived under 
 healthy conditions free from various evils and conse- 
 quent diseases, had lived their lives in the full vigor 
 — ^you could have had a million more men available and 
 fit to put into the army. There are millions who are 
 below par. You cannot bring up children under bad 
 conditions. Put it at its lowest, all trade, commerce, 
 industry — they all suffer through it." 
 
 The liquor business is coming under public control. 
 Such regulation as was exercised during the war, with 
 a reduction in the supply and a lowering of the alco- 
 hol content of beverages, effected at once a reduction 
 
FROM WAR TO WORK IN GREAT BRITAIN 29 
 
 in arrests for drunkenness of men and women to one- 
 third of the pre-war figures, deaths from alcoholism to 
 one-fourth, and insanity from the same cause to one- 
 half. From the side of industry, regularity of attend- 
 ance, or "time-keeping" as it is called here, practically 
 doubled. 
 
 Steady employment under the best possible condi- 
 tions is the demand of every worker and of every 
 worker's spokesman in this country. It is a well- 
 founded demand. To bring this about is to steady this 
 country as it has not known steadiness for decades. 
 Every intelligent employer believes in this demand, 
 for he knows that there will be little chance to make 
 the wheels of industry hum and keep humming without 
 a settlement of this universal hope. 
 
 What does labor ask of industry? It has formu- 
 lated its program. Here it is in a nutshell: The 
 throwing open of lands for use and development by the 
 people; a public-health act to prevent preventable ill- 
 ness ; a million new houses built at public expense and 
 let at fair rents ; nationalization of the public services, 
 mines, railways, shipping, armaments and electric 
 power; extension of trade unionism; a national mini- 
 mum wage for each industry based on determinations 
 by industrial boards sitting for each industry; aboli- 
 tion of the menace of unemployment ; limitation of the 
 hours of labor; drastic overhauling of the various 
 laws dealing with factory conditions, safety and work- 
 men's compensation; enlargement of the cooperative 
 movement ; international labor legislation to deal with 
 the competition of sweated goods ; revision of taxation 
 upward; and equal treatment of men and women in 
 government and in industry. 
 
30 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 These purposes the spokesmen of the British labor 
 forces have set themselves the task of bringing about 
 through the power of their vote. They look to the 
 method of parliamentary action as the means for ac- 
 complishing their aims and program. Any other 
 method than that which democracy holds out is in their 
 judgment suicidal. Only by keeping industry free 
 from dislocation can any benefits come or last. 
 
 The war has shown the vastness of the slack or re- 
 serve energy which can be used for the national need. 
 The repair of the deteriorated or damaged fabric of 
 industry, the furnishing of new capital for expanded 
 ventures in foreign trade, modernizing industrial 
 plants, new taxation burdens of the war legacy, the 
 high rate of interest which must prevail — these things 
 will make it impossible to continue the level of real 
 wages and standard of comfort which have reached 
 down to classes formerly quite submerged in the scale 
 of industry, without a very large increase in the ag- 
 gregate product. Labor and capital are busy with 
 solutions of this huge problem. Never before have 
 groups of industrial captains and representatives of 
 workmen been so much in conference as they are dur- 
 ing these days. They are busy sizing up the problem 
 and laying down the rules of the game. Both sides 
 have learned lessons of value out of their war experi- 
 ence. They accept the proposition of better and more 
 efiScient work, a larger use of the man power of the 
 country, better organization and discipline of the labor 
 forces, more enterprise and wisdom on the part of 
 managers and employers, a larger application of sci- 
 ence to industry, better industrial training — these are 
 the topics they confer about, knowing that to settle 
 
FROM WAR TO WORK IN GREAT BRITAIN 31 
 
 these matters is to assure tlie production which alone 
 means prosperity for all. 
 
 These issues are not new of course. They were 
 ripening before the war. For a long time warnings 
 of the rapid strides made by Germany and the United 
 States had been uttered. But there was too much 
 self-complacency to give heed. Even government 
 figures had shown that the nation's output of wealth 
 was not enough, even if ideally distributed, to provide 
 a satisfactory standard of comfort. 
 
 The century-long fight against poverty was only a 
 preliminary skirmish. The war has proved to be its 
 most effective antagonist. By the middle of 1918 ap- 
 plications for pauper relief had fallen to two-thirds 
 those received in 1914. It is not against poverty that 
 the minds of employers, employed and statesmen are 
 now directed. Funds started early in the war to 
 relieve cases of hardship due to war causes have re- 
 mained untouched. The big problem now is one of 
 intelligent teamplay and cooperation. 
 
 Extremists on both sides may make the work of re- 
 construction difficult. If they succeed they will have 
 chaos for their pains. For capital it would mean par- 
 alysis ; for labor untold privations ; for all concerned a 
 wrecking of the springs of production out of which 
 comforts come. 
 
 The way of hope lies along an industrial policy which 
 reckons with the new viewpoint and new possibilities 
 of mutual arrangement based on respect for what each 
 factor in industry means to the other. Level-headed 
 men in all camps subscribe to this view and are com- 
 mitted to this procedure. A competent authority con- 
 sulted by all industrial leaders here has said: "To 
 
32 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 hold the balance true between the economic and the hu- 
 man side of the problem; to increase at once the ex- 
 tent and the quality of the output ; to make the work of 
 each man in any position an integral and worthy part 
 of his life as a citizen — this is a task for us as truly 
 national as that of victory in war." 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 MOKE OUTPUT 
 
 IN August, 1914, a certain Midland city of England, 
 noted for its big trade in textiles, started to put 
 itself on a war basis. By the close of the war its 
 weekly output of munitions was as follows : One hun- 
 dred and twenty thousand shells; twelve million fuse 
 components ; one hundred tank shells ; twenty-five tank 
 gear boxes; fifty searchlights; two hundred machine- 
 gun emplacements; half a million airplane details. 
 
 To a people like the British — and this was the case 
 with us — war-making meant some tall improvising. 
 A church decorator turned out ten completed flying 
 machines each week; a water-meter factory supplied 
 millions of fuses ; a plant normally busy with the mak- 
 ing of wire netting soon became a principal producer 
 of airplane parts; grain elevators became shell fac- 
 tories; a plant noted for its shoe machinery handled 
 gun mountings; paper makers became trench-bomb 
 manufacturers ; and a large cloth mill made a reputa- 
 tion for its hand grenades. An old malt house, em- 
 ploying six hundred women, had begun to supply fifty 
 thousand fuses weekly when a fire burned it to the 
 ground. Within a few days a skating rink near by 
 took its place. 
 
 The stress of war has blown new life into British 
 industry. What had been accepted as a matter of 
 course — dependence, for example, upon Germany for 
 
 33 
 
34 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 the supply of certain industrial essentials — has given 
 way to a new spirit of self-reliance and enterprise. 
 Mica is absolutely necessary to the electrical industry. 
 India produces fifty per cent of this article, Canada 
 fifteen per cent and German East Africa ten per cent. 
 Yet the mica market was all but moved from London 
 to Hamburg, owing to the skill with which Germany 
 had captured the control of the Indian mica trade and 
 laid her plans for dominating the electrical industry. 
 At present mica from the Indian Empire can be ex- 
 ported to London only. To her capture of the tung- 
 sten industry Germany owed in large measure her 
 superiority in munitions production in the early stages 
 of the war. Great Britain to-day produces all the high- 
 speed steel needed for her industries and can export 
 at reasonable prices a large supply to her Allies. Be- 
 fore the war the United Kingdom's production of 
 ferrochrome, basic in the manufacture of certain 
 steels, was a negligible quantity. There is a plant to- 
 day at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, the power for which is 
 obtained from the waste gases of coke ovens, turning 
 out a sufficient quantity of ferrochrome to take care of 
 all British requirements for years to come. 
 
 Out of two hundred and forty thousand tons of 
 spelter in various forms used annually before the war 
 seventy-seven per cent was imported, chiefly from Ger- 
 many, Belgium and Holland. Now the flow of Aus- 
 tralian concentrates has been completed diverted from 
 Germany to England, and there has taken place a 
 doubling and in some cases a trebling of British zinc- 
 smelting plants. A long step forward has been taken 
 in eliminating Germany as a provider of potash. The 
 Stassfurt mines used to send over thirty thousand 
 
MORE OUTPUT 35 
 
 tons of potash annually. It has been found, however, 
 that fifty thousand tons of potash were going to waste 
 each year in the dust or fumes from blast-furnace 
 gases. Plants have been started or made over to save 
 at least eighteen thousand tons from this source alone. 
 
 Among the close calls England suffered in the course 
 of the war one of the most menacing arose out of its 
 former dependence on Germany and Austria for scien- 
 tific and optical glass. At the outbreak of the war a 
 large part of the British artillery was equipped with 
 gun sights manufactured exclusively in Germany. 
 British output of this vital product to-day has multi- 
 plied twenty times, and the country is self-supporting 
 so far as the finer grades of glass are concerned. 
 
 Much might be written about the big changes of a 
 mechanical kind — changes in labor-saving devices, im- 
 proved machinery, analyses of minute manufacturing 
 costs, greater accuracy of workmanship and better in- 
 dustrial organization. Mechanical conveyors are be- 
 ing used in shop transport to an extent never dreamed 
 of or encouraged before the war. Electric trucks are 
 common where once swarms of men, and women, too, 
 perspired over clumsy loads. A new interest in in- 
 dustrial research has led to the starting of plant labor- 
 atories and arrangements for cooperation with the 
 technical schools. 
 
 A transformation of British industry is under way, 
 and there is a changing viewpoint both on the part of 
 employer and employed as to the big problem ahead. 
 In a literal sense the war has paid for — paid in full — 
 paid for by the lives of brave men; paid for by the 
 limbs and physical senses of hundreds of thousands of 
 youth in their prime ; paid for by hours of toil of men 
 
36 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 and women and children in shops and mines, fields and 
 highways; and paid for by the thousands of millions 
 of gold thrown into the war furnace. The debt alone 
 remains. 
 
 Now it is elementary economics to say that payment 
 of a debt can finally be made in one way only — in goods. 
 There is no other way. Production is the only answer. 
 All debts are finally liquidated in terms of things made. 
 Be productive and all things shall be added unto you. 
 This commandment cannot be trifled with without gen- 
 eral misery as the penalty. But there is human nature 
 to reckon with, and the practices with which it incases 
 itself; and this human nature is no monopoly of any 
 aggregation of men. 
 
 We may be as glib as we please about the necessity 
 of production — ^no one gainsays it — ^but living up to all 
 that it implies calls for a considerable amount of self- 
 criticism. Things being as they are, the business of 
 turning out goods sufficient in quantity and quality to 
 pay mountainous obligations and give all concerned 
 the wherewithal to enjoy a decent standard of life and 
 supply incentive for exertion requires a certain * ' meet- 
 ing of the minds," as the lawyers put it; a getting to- 
 gether of the parties chiefly concerned with this pro- 
 ducing business in order to lay down the rules of the 
 game, to draw up, as it were, the constitution under 
 which said parties agree to live and work together and 
 forward the common business, as far as there is any 
 intention of a common purpose between and among 
 them. 
 
 War wastage means a huge bill for replacement and 
 restoration — at least it does to a people who will not 
 go under; and this bill can be met only through a lively 
 
MORE OUTPUT 37 
 
 speeding up of industrial activities. And this speed- 
 ing up depends on the ideas and enthusiasms, or their 
 lack, which animate or depress the parties to the task. 
 
 A good deal has been said about restrictions on out- 
 put practised by workingmen and their organizations. 
 The blame has been generally laid on the shoulders of 
 one party alone. The fact is that workingmen have 
 universally condemned such restriction, or what looked 
 like it, perpetrated by their own employers. They saw, 
 with the clearness of experts, how deadening to effi- 
 cient production have been the conservatism in meth- 
 ods ; retention of plants long out of date, inconvenient 
 in their design and wasteful in their demands on time 
 and on energy which should have gone into the work 
 itself; they saw an unwillingness to make needed al- 
 terations, scrap antiquated tools and adopt the best 
 current practice. They have been subjected to dead- 
 ening influences all around. They know it and speak 
 of it. Good workmen do not want to stay long in such 
 places, because some protective craft instinct tells them 
 that their own skill will suffer if they do. The truth 
 is that men who have spent years at a trade and who 
 take pride in their workmanship are among the best 
 critics of equipment, methods and managerial stand- 
 ards. 
 
 No one defends the go-slow policy; no one believes 
 that good can come out of a dishonest attitude toward 
 one's work and contract. Condemnation is general, 
 nowhere more- outspoken than among enlightened 
 workmen. But this does not tell the whole story. 
 We must understand what is in the minds of the men 
 who by unwritten law or hardened custom put brakes 
 on the wheels of industry; and by understanding we 
 
38 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 do not condone a mutually disastrous situation, but are 
 in a position to deal with it intelligently. In the first 
 place it is no longer startling to say that long hours 
 of work defeat their ends. For a long time agitation 
 against long hours was based largely on humanitarian 
 grounds. Not until clear-sighted employers proved 
 to their own satisfaction and the satisfaction of their 
 fellow employers that there was a point beyond which 
 the labor of men became a liability instead of an asset 
 was this movement lifted into the realm of the prac-' 
 tical. Sir Eobert Hatfield told a group of business 
 men the other day how his adoption of the eight-hour 
 day twenty-five years ago led to the present gigantic 
 size of his organization. Workingmen had long felt 
 that they could do better work if they had an oppor- 
 tunity for rest, family life and self-improvement. 
 But there were men of inJuence who dreaded the effect 
 of a shorter workday on their own production and the 
 demoralization which they believed would come with 
 leisure. These fears, spoken freely for decades past 
 in this land of liberty-loving men, have rankled deeply. 
 They have been stupid fears, stupidly maintained, and 
 have done harm. Enough to say, workmen do not 
 wish to have any such paternal concern for their wel- 
 fare, they do not need it and they resent it bitterly. 
 Furthermore, the example of the most successful em- 
 ployers has proved that greater production depends 
 on greater all-around efficiency rather than on the 
 number of hours worked. 
 
 The war was not three months old before the prob- 
 lem of increasing the production of munitions in Great 
 Britain became a burning issue. More material had 
 to be got out of the factories and more work out of the 
 
MORE OUTPUT 39 
 
 men. The two hung together, for though improved 
 methods might in themselves result in an increased 
 output, the essential reform was a redoubling of ef- 
 fort by the men who controlled the methods. 
 
 There was no question whether the men were cap- 
 able of increased effort. They were capable. And yet 
 with the war in full swing and the armies in vital need 
 of munitions the factories were still running well be 
 low the level of their maximum capacity. The ob- 
 stacle in the path was the trade-union restrictions, a 
 subject on which throughout the war misunderstand- 
 ing has prevailed and much bitterness has been en- 
 gendered. 
 
 The restrictions themselves had a reasonable origin. 
 They sprang from the workmen's perpetual fear of 
 unemployment, combined with the belief — sometimes 
 baseless, sometimes only too well grounded — that the 
 employer's constant aim was to exact from his em- 
 ployees the greatest possible amount of work and pay 
 them the lowest possible wages. To counter those real 
 or imaginary dangers the different unions in self-pro- 
 tection evolved gradually a formidable series of trade 
 customs and usages, designed to guard their members 
 against the allied perils of unemployment and over- 
 strain. 
 
 That system of trade customs embraced not only the 
 standard rates of wages and the length of the normal 
 working day, together with the arrangements for over- 
 time, night work, Sunday duty, mealtimes and holi- 
 days, but also the exact classes of operatives — appren- 
 ticed or skilled, semi-skilled or unskilled, laborers or 
 women — to be engaged or not to be engaged for vari- 
 ous kinds of work, upon particular processes or with 
 
40 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 different types of machine; whether nonunionists 
 should be employed at all ; what process should be em- 
 ployed for particular tasks; what machines should be 
 used for particular jobs ; how the machines should be 
 placed in relation to each other and the speed at which 
 they should work; whether one operative should com- 
 plete a whole job or form part of a team of specialized 
 operatives, each doing a different process ; what wages, 
 if any, should be paid in the interval between jobs or 
 while waiting for material ; and what notice of termina- 
 tion of engagement should be given; whether boys or 
 girls should be employed at all, or in what processes or 
 with what machines, or in what proportion to the adult 
 workmen. 
 
 These customs decided whether the remuneration 
 should be by time or by the piece, and under what con- 
 ditions, at what rates and with what allowances; and 
 perhaps, where they existed, most severely criticized 
 of all, but by no means universally existing, what 
 amount of output by each operative should be con- 
 sidered a fair day's work, not to be considerably ex- 
 ceeded under penalty of the serious displeasure of the 
 workshop. 
 
 In no union had the practices falling under the head 
 of restriction of output been more systematically de- 
 veloped or become more firmly established than in the 
 powerful Amalgamated Society of Engineers, the 
 union, as it happened, concerned beyond any other in 
 the output of munitions. It was manifest that war 
 conditions meant an immediate challenge to the ma- 
 chinists' whole position. Between union rules for re- 
 striction of output and national demands for a maxi- 
 mum output there could be no accommodation. The 
 
MORE OUTPUT 41 
 
 situation was perplexing and perilous. The navy 
 wanted more ships, the army wanted more shells, more 
 explosives, more machine guns, more aeroplanes, and 
 in face of that overwhelming need the men were stand- 
 ing obdurately on their rights, "imperiling the lives of 
 their sons and brothers at the Front rather than brace 
 themselves to work up to the limit of their strength or 
 let their unskilled comrades share the high wages they 
 were drawing." 
 
 So argued day after day speakers and writers who 
 saw only one side of the question and had neither 
 knowledge of nor regard for the other. For there was 
 another side, and it consisted in this: The customs 
 prevailing in the engineering trade represented rights 
 won after years, almost after generations, of conflict 
 with the employers. Bit by bit, as often as not as the 
 result of some successful strike, the fabric of trade- 
 union privileges had been built up; and the whole of 
 the position so secured the men were now asked to 
 abandon without a protest. They were to drop back 
 into the conditions of twenty years ago, and that with- 
 out any semblance of a binding guaranty that when 
 the war was over the rights they had relinquished 
 would be restored. 
 
 But much more than merely that was involved. 
 That the abandonment of " demarkation " restrictions 
 and the admission of unskilled men, perhaps even of 
 women, into the closed preserves of the skilled, to- 
 gether with the abolition of limitation of output, would 
 lead to an expansion in the production of munitions 
 nobody doubted. But that it might lead coincidently 
 to a substantial inflation of the employers' profits was 
 equally certain to the minds of the workers; and the 
 
42 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 expansion of the employers' profits was not an object 
 for which the men were prepared to sacrifice the fruits 
 of all their earlier industrial victories. 
 
 On those rocks the first attempts of the employers, 
 in December, 1914, to secure the cooperation of the men 
 in the reorganization of workshop conditions came to 
 grief. The unions demanded more binding guaranties 
 of restitution than the employers were able to give, 
 and the negotiations made no substantial progress till 
 the government itself took the matter up some three 
 months later. As the result of its efforts an agree- 
 ment, as I pointed out in a previous chapter, was 
 eventually signed — by Mr. Lloyd George and Mr. Eun- 
 ciman on behalf of the cabinet, and Mr. Arthur Hen- 
 derson and Mr. Mosses representing the men — that 
 forms the basis of the whole structure of work-shop 
 organization built up during the war period. 
 
 That agreement provided, in a sentence, that men 
 engaged on war work should suspend for the whole 
 duration of hostilities a number of specified practices 
 which impede production, on the explicit guaranty by 
 the government of full and complete restitution in 
 every particular at the end of the war period. In 
 return the government on its part undertook to devise 
 a scheme of taxation which would insure that the profits 
 derived from the men's increased efforts should go not 
 into the pockets of the employers but into the national 
 exchequer. 
 
 Under this compact, which was embodied in the Mu- 
 nitions of War Act and has been amplified and ex- 
 tended from time to time, the whole fabric of trade- 
 union customs and usages has been jettisoned for the 
 period of the war. Munition Courts have been es- 
 
MORE OUTPUT 43 
 
 iablished to deal with the breaches of the agreement, 
 strikes were for a considerable period declared illegal 
 and arbitration was made compulsory; while to pre- 
 vent "poaching" by employers a system of "leaving 
 certificates" was instituted under which no man leav- 
 ing his employment against his employer's will and 
 without good cause shown could be given work within 
 the next six weeks by any employer to whom the regu- 
 lation applied. These particular restrictions, under 
 which the men became increasingly restive, were sub- 
 sequently modified, but the workman still remained un- 
 der a discipline that formed a sharp contrast to his pre- 
 war freedom and independence. 
 
 To enumerate the details of the temporary revolu- 
 tion would take too much space. It is enough to recall 
 the main heads of the change, such as the introduction 
 of women and laborers to do expert work under the 
 supervision of skilled craftsmen; the establishment of 
 new machinery; the change of processes and the break- 
 ing up of jobs to admit of the employment of the un- 
 skilled; the substitution of piecework and bonus sys- 
 tem for time rates ; the increase in the hours of labor 
 and variation in the rates for overtime; the speeding 
 up of production ; the abolition of all artificial restric- 
 tions on output ; and the suspension of all demarkation 
 regulations. 
 
 That has been the position in the munitions industry 
 throughout the war, the term munitions being used 
 here in the British sense to cover almost every form 
 of direct war work. There can be no question that 
 the war changes have added enormously to the mechan- 
 ical efficiency of industry, and if mechanical efficiency 
 were the only aim to be considered the case for their 
 
44 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 retention would be overwhelming. That statement, 
 however, needs qualification in at least one important 
 particular: The physical strain placed on the work- 
 ers has been maintained without disastrous results for 
 three to four years, but that does not mean that it 
 could be maintained indefinitely without grave detri- 
 ment both to health and to output. The investiga- 
 tions into the health of the workers, conducted by an 
 able committee presided over by Sir George Newman, 
 Chief Medical Officer of the Board of Education, made 
 it clear that such practices as seven-days-a-week work 
 have not even the advantage of an increased output to 
 recommend them. 
 
 In any case, the question is not worth arguing on that 
 level, for no sane man would concentrate on industrial 
 efficiency to the exclusion of every other aim in con- 
 sidering the labor problem in peacetime. What the 
 workingman is concerned about is not only how to earn 
 the highest possible wages but also how to live the 
 best balanced life. He insists on the restoration of 
 the established customs and usages. High-tension 
 pressure and no restrictions may be necessary in war, 
 but they are not going to continue into peace. That 
 is the workman's view, and that is the condition on 
 which new contracts with employers will be made. 
 
 Here lies the justification for the men's demand for 
 a complete restitution, though it is impossible, of the 
 rights they have surrendered — a demand which the 
 government is not in a position to resist. The provi- 
 sions of the government's agreement with the men were 
 specific. They undertook to restore without qualifica- 
 tion or subtraction every custom and practice the men 
 abandoned under the 1915 agreement. The time has 
 
MORE OUTPUT 46 
 
 come for the redemption of that pledge. The govern- 
 ment, indeed, after repeated promises and postpone- 
 ments, did on the eve of the general election lay before 
 a conference of the men's representatives the draft of 
 a bill designed to give effect to their undertaking. The 
 men, after a careful examination, considered it in many 
 important respects unsatisfactory, and it had not been 
 laid before Parliament when the session ended. The 
 result of the delay is that hundreds of manufacturers 
 are unable to plan out their contracts because they are 
 entirely in the dark as to what the labor conditions 
 will be. 
 
 One solution of the problem is always open: The 
 government can fulfil its pledges to the letter and re- 
 establish every abandoned trade usage as it existed in 
 July, 1914. That, unfortunately, may prove in the 
 end to be the only course possible. But in the mean- 
 time there is a good deal of natural reluctance to do 
 any such thing, for to fall back to the conditions of 
 1914 would be to fetter industry at the moment when it 
 is very essential that it should be left free and elastic. 
 The task before managers and men is to decide how 
 to profit in common and in agreement by the experi- 
 ence of the war. 
 
 On that no satisfactory result will be arrived at on 
 the basis of an enforced compromise. The men claim 
 that if they are to surrender any of the rights of the 
 past the surrender must be absolutely voluntary, and 
 it must be made after, not before, the title to complete 
 restoration has been accorded them by an Act of Par- 
 liament.^ 
 
 1 See page 269. Labor's Pronouncement on the Kestoration of Trade 
 Union Customs after the War. 
 
46 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 There is a great deal to be said for that contention, 
 for a true labor settlement would go far beyond even 
 the wide limits of the ground covered by the various 
 Munitions of War Acts. It would include not only 
 the conditions of labor but the rights of capital. One 
 of the greatest British employers has recently laid it 
 down that "no business is entitled to make unlimited 
 profits" and that "the principle of the profits tax 
 should therefore be retained after the war." If the 
 restoration of trade-union rights had to be deferred 
 till a decision of those larger issues had been reached 
 there would intervene a period of intolerable uncer- 
 tainty and irritation. On a settlement the successful 
 restarting of the peace industries depends. The men 
 will have to forego some of the rights they have 
 guarded so jealously, and the employers on their side 
 will have to be reconciled to reciprocal concessions. 
 Fortunately, the association of employers and work- 
 men in different industries on advisory committees and 
 joint councils promises to generate a spirit of accom- 
 modation on either side that should make smooth the 
 path of what might be very difficult negotiations. 
 
 The essential conditions of settlement are that no 
 class of men — and if possible no individual man — 
 should be the worse off for the surrender of usages 
 detrimental to the efiSciency of industry as a whole. 
 That raises, for example, the question of the retention 
 of women in places once filled by men. In one great 
 shipyard all the cranes are now worked by women, who 
 do the job quite as efiSciently as the men, while the men 
 are released for other work that the women could not 
 handle. This is a war change and the question is 
 
MORE OUTPUT 47 
 
 asked what will happen when the old crane drivers 
 come back and demand the reinstatement to which they 
 are legally entitled. Apart from the hardship to the 
 women the reversion to the old conditions would be 
 thoroughly bad industrial economy. The firm there- 
 fore proposes to offer the returning men other posi- 
 tions as good in all respects as those they filled before 
 the war. 
 
 Such changes will need to be carefully watched, for 
 no two jobs are precisely comparable in every particu- 
 lar ; but it is along those lines that the settlement may 
 be looked for. If it is such as to avert the menace of 
 unemployment, to guard against any fall in real wages 
 and to maintain the worker 's freedom the men may well 
 be prepared to forego some of those artificial restric- 
 tions that appeared so necessary for their protection 
 before the war. They are sufficiently strong to resist 
 any attempt to take advantage of the new conditions, 
 and the prevailing legislative sentiment will probably 
 assist them to give legal force to such wage standards 
 and labor regulations as may be agreed on as mutually 
 beneficial by the bulk of the workmen and the bulk of 
 the employers. 
 
 There are bodies of workmen who have frankly fol- 
 lowed the go-slow policy; they have done so and still 
 wish to do so deliberately in the assumed interests of 
 their class and calling — this in the mistaken belief that 
 there is only so much work to go around, and that if 
 they got through with it too soon they would have 
 "the sack" alone to look forward to. They have not 
 realized — and what opportunity was there for them 
 to do so? — that work and wages are elastic proposi- 
 
48 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 tions; that wages come out of the stream of produc- 
 tion. Widen the stream and you widen the wage op- 
 portunity. 
 
 Why should workmen have seen this truth when re- 
 spectable names were associated with the doctrine of 
 limits to the wage? Moreover, the easy-going prac- 
 tices in hiring and firing and memories of unfair ad- 
 vantages taken of their increased efficiency counseled 
 a restraint against over-eager effort. The whole situa- 
 tion has been too wasteful to be regarded with any sat- 
 isfaction. In this transition time it is being considered 
 frankly and fearlessly. The remedy lies with the em- 
 ployer more than it does with his employees. Greater 
 security of tenure, removal of the fear of sudden un- 
 employment, and safeguards against a lowering rate, 
 which is a penalty on efficiency, will do more to do away 
 with suffocating restrictions than all the exhortations 
 in the world. 
 
 If we try to catalogue the wastes that stand in the 
 way of increased output, which output everybody con- 
 cedes is the basis of prosperity and will alone make 
 good the war damage, we should have to place at the 
 head of the list the waste from ill will, or rather from 
 absence of good will. I have always held that good 
 will is as big a factor in rapid and economical produc- 
 tion as skill itself. Great Britain has begun to think 
 about the place of this valuable article, good will, in 
 its production program. I do not mean to suggest that 
 this is a new thought ; far from it ; there are establish- 
 ments that have understood it and lived up to its sug- 
 gestions for more than a generation. But never has 
 there been so widespread an effort as now to work out 
 a basis of mutual confidence in the relation of employer 
 
MORE OUTPUT 49 
 
 and employed. It may fairly be said that all parties 
 realize that the production called for is out of the ques- 
 tion unless a new spirit of reciprocity is at work. To 
 make this spirit possible waste prevention is one of the 
 first obligations — prevention of wastes material and 
 wastes human. 
 
 The war has thrown a searchlight on the way in 
 which industry has been carried on for a generation 
 past. Wartime economies have taught far-reaching 
 lessons. The German submarine has been the cham- 
 pion promoter of British agriculture. Before the war 
 half the total food consumed in the British Islands was 
 brought overseas. But for the navy these islands 
 would have been starved into submission. The navy 
 not only kept open the channels of supply ; it gave the 
 country time to get busy on a great program of agri- 
 cultural development. Though the Belgian farmer 
 produces one hundred dollars an acre to twenty dollars 
 of the British farmer, and the German farmer feeds 
 about seventy persons to fifty persons fed by the Brit- 
 ish farmer for every hundred acres of land worked, 
 the efficiency of the land worker here is not so low as 
 these figures might indicate. The production per man 
 in Germany is only two-thirds that of the farmer in 
 this country. 
 
 These islands could not probably under the best con- 
 ditions produce enough food to be self-sustaining, but 
 with an extension of the tillage opportunities wonder- 
 fully abundant here there never need be any fear of 
 suffering even in the face of a complete blockade. The 
 holdings of land in small allotments for cultivation 
 trebled during the war. In England and Wales they 
 rose from about half a million to one million and a 
 
60 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 half. Kitchen gardens still fringe the outlying sec- 
 tions of every industrial town; crops of fresh green 
 vegetables raised near by swell the Covent Garden 
 market stalls. Fifty thousand women volunteered 
 their services in the Women's Land Army; not far 
 from a quarter of a million women were at work on the 
 land throughout the war. 
 
 Lost time, lost motion, spoiled material and a gen- 
 eral slowing down of plant are subjects of sharp in- 
 vestigation these days. Never has scientific manage- 
 ment, regarded as a distinct American importation, ex- 
 cited so much interest as well as controversy. As far 
 as the spokesmen of labor are concerned they welcome 
 every step forward in the way of scientific research, 
 the use of the chemist, metallurgist, fuel analyst 
 and other technical specialists. They say that men 
 of science have not been sufficiently utilized thus far 
 in industry. That factory organization can be vastly 
 improved is generally conceded. Positions held by 
 poorly trained men should be in the hands of those 
 equipped with a knowledge of the best modern meth- 
 ods ; closer figuring of costs and frank comparisons as 
 between plants and districts should be more common. 
 The planning and routing of jobs and a much better 
 coordination among the various units of the same or- 
 ganization are obviously things that should prevail. 
 Labor welcomes the use of science in industrial man- 
 agement just as it respects the services of the expert 
 in civil service and other governmental activities. It 
 holds large reservations, however, as to those matters, 
 apart from technical problems of management, which 
 it believes are vitally matters of general human con- 
 cern. 
 
MORE OUTPUT 61 
 
 On this point one of the greatest employers in the 
 country, speaking at a public debate in a workmen's 
 educational center, said: "Scientific management — 
 that is, science in management, as the sane leaders of 
 this movement look upon it — is not a solution of the 
 whole industrial problem; it does not settle, and does 
 not pretend to settle, how much of the products of in- 
 dustry ought to go to workman, manager, investor; 
 it does not solve the unemployment problem or lay 
 down rules for industrial harmony. These problems 
 have been in existence long before any definite system 
 of efficiency engineering was laid down in print. But 
 one advantage of such a system, honestly and sensibly 
 worked out, is to make much easier an approach to 
 some of these problems. To help make men more pro- 
 ductive with the least waste possible consistent with 
 good upkeep of men and plant is fundamental good 
 sense and applies everywhere." 
 
 The war has brought home the meaning of produc- 
 tion as nothing hitherto could have done. In carrying 
 on the war the accumulated wealth of the country was, 
 of course, largely untouched, though it was devoted to 
 new purposes. Houses, lands, railways, roads, canals 
 are still here. Day by day the people have had to meet 
 the huge demands of the military establishments. 
 Beef, jam, tea, clothing, railway wagons, shells and 
 armament — to the tune of about thirty million dollars 
 a day — ^were requisitioned. These represent fresh 
 production on a scale which deserves the adjective 
 miraculous. Savings, borrowings, selling of securi- 
 ties, abstinence and enforced economies of various 
 kinds — these helped to meet the current bills. But a 
 large debt has been left for the future to meet — an an- 
 
62 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 niial interest charge of more than a billion dollars to 
 raise, over and above the taxes levied. Ultimately 
 this debt must be paid — and paying for the war means 
 replacing the things that have been destroyed, so as to 
 have at least as much as before ; must be paid for by 
 a larger output or by getting on with less. 
 
 ' ' We can easily write off our war debt by more out- 
 put" — this is the opinion of a man who is generally 
 regarded as one of the leading authorities in matters 
 industrial — "and this increase does not have to be any- 
 thing extravagant, if all work altogether. If every- 
 body should add ten per cent to his productivity the 
 bill can be met — everybody, not a few or a class of 
 workers. The war has shown us that we can easily 
 exert ourselves even more than ten per cent. There 
 was always too much loafing, from the heads of indus- 
 try down to the manual workers. We made far too 
 little use of machinery. There is far too much drink- 
 ing. Cut the drink bill of 1916 alone by fifty per cent 
 and you have four hundred million dollars saved. We 
 are still using horses — or worse still, human labor — 
 where we should use steam power, motors and the 
 electric current. We too often use old-fashioned steam 
 power for electric power. The government, I'm glad 
 to say, is going in for a large development of cheap 
 electric power for the country — one of our crying 
 needs. What we do to-day is done too often with 
 ridiculously little science. 
 
 "Of course we can increase our output. Now we 
 must do this or be poorer. Look at what makes for 
 production — the factors that go into it are still here. 
 Our land, for example, has not been devastated as it 
 
MORE OUTPUT 53 
 
 has been in Belgium, France and Poland. Our stocks 
 are here, machinery, tools, buildings. We must recog- 
 nize that the labor is not all here. Our toll in death 
 and disablement is great. Our loss in labor power can 
 be made good; though we can never fill the void and 
 lessen our sorrow, we can with a bit more time and ex- 
 ertion on the part of the labor power we have make up. 
 I do not mean to suggest that we should overwork labor 
 and add to its strain. Nothing would be more unwise. 
 Much depends on organization, and such organization 
 as we have had we still have. It has not all been 
 knocked to pieces. 
 
 "We must insist on the land being used to produce 
 the maximum amount of food for the people instead 
 of the biggest interest or rent. Our factories show too 
 much dirt and disorder and waste of confusion. As a 
 rule we must take one to our new munition plants to 
 show a model workplace. It is very bad for us to take 
 things easily; it is not healthy. It is far better to be 
 alert for a comparatively short day than to go slum- 
 mocking about all day. I have seen skilled workmen 
 do this, and they soon break down in efficiency. 
 
 "It all comes to be a question of putting more brains 
 into industry. We have too often been putting our 
 brains into trying to cheat each other; we must learn 
 to apply them not merely to make profit but produce. 
 The true way is to discover how to prevent waste and 
 loss, to find how to do an operation in half the time and 
 with half the eifort — how to save half the capital. 
 This is real economy and an addition to actual produc- 
 tion." 
 
 No man in England has a stronger hold on the 
 
54. MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 thoughts and confidence of workingrnen's organizations 
 than the man I have just quoted. Here are his views 
 as to how to get the most out of labor : 
 
 "By labor I mean, of course, the human beings who 
 carry on the manual work. When you consider that 
 we have something like fifteen million of these men and 
 women who are manual working wage-earners, and 
 that everything depends on their health and strength 
 and training as to how effective they will be in indus- 
 try, what a lesson that is to take care of the health and 
 education of the people, and especially of the genera- 
 tion which is growing up. "We killed more babies 
 wantonly in 1915 through our public neglect than all 
 the lives lost in the war on our side. 
 
 "Consider what an advance it would be if all the 
 boys and girls out of the fifteen million workers, in- 
 stead of being allowed, as a large number now are, to 
 grow up rather clumsy, stupid louts who have not had 
 their intelligence awakened, were turned out with as 
 good minds, say, as the ordinary workingman student 
 of the Workingmen 's Educational Association classes. 
 Think of the increased productivity in the real sense 
 that such a trained and disciplined labor force would 
 mean. 
 
 "We have so far muddled along without organiza- 
 tion, but now we recognize that we have to face a great 
 emergency. • We must produce more or go short. 
 This can be done by large-scale organization alone. 
 How best to bring this about will take a good deal of 
 investigation and discovery. We have too many 
 separate people doing the same thing. To avoid the 
 peril of monopoly we have no end of wasteful compe- 
 tition. Coal is our key industry. This industry has 
 
MORE OUTPUT 55 
 
 fallen into the hands of about fifteen hundred coal own- 
 ers, working over three thousand separate mines, with- 
 out any regard to what each other is doing. This is 
 true of our transport, agriculture and machine trades. 
 Our main hope is in thorough reorganization on a na- 
 tional scale." 
 
 Closely related to the whole question of industrial 
 expansion for the peace situation is the question of 
 wages. What has done more than anything else to 
 cause a feeling of panic among workingmen for a year 
 past has been the dread that once the end of the war 
 was announced a sudden drop in wages would take 
 place along the whole gamut of industry. This dread 
 has seized on every class of wage-earner. 
 
 Eight through the war the big department stores 
 were doing an abnormally large business, in many 
 cases outrunning their sales for the previous year by 
 fifty and sixty per cent. On the day that the armistice 
 was signed the stores looked like a deserted village. 
 For a few days the slump in business was accounted 
 for by the celebrations and let-up after four hard years 
 of strain. Then the influenza epidemic was dragged 
 in as an explanation. But the slump kept up. Mer- 
 chants called in their department chiefs to find out 
 what had made the bottom fall out of business. Slowly 
 the true explanation came to light. Eetrenchment was 
 the order of the day. With the shutting down of war 
 orders a large proportion of trade automatically shut 
 down. Thousands who were getting bonuses of vari- 
 ous sorts and wages based on a labor-scarcity value 
 were waiting for the scaling down of income that they 
 believed must come. 
 
 No such drop has so far taken place. But the gen- 
 
56 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 eral feeling was one of discounting what seemed the 
 inevitable, and money was being spent on bare necessi- 
 ties only. An improved tone may be noted now. The 
 business of the shops is picking up. Wages are not 
 tumbling; nor prices. Everything is being done to 
 steady the situation, but there is still a feeling of uncer- 
 tainty. 
 
 The question of post-war wages is coming up for set- 
 tlement. Much good has been done by statements of 
 various large employers that no change in the wage 
 scale would take place if only production could be 
 maintained on the most efficient basis possible. Dur- 
 ing the greater part of the war period workers in most 
 of the big industries, especially in those doing war 
 work, were directly subject to compulsory arbitration. 
 They were compelled to submit all differences for set- 
 tlement by the government, without recourse to strike. 
 Under the Munitions of War Act there was provided 
 the additional power of acting in all industrial disputes 
 by what was called Eoyal Proclamation, and this power 
 was used in disputes, such as those which rose in the 
 coal industry and among the dock laborers. A Com- 
 mittee on Production was established to deal with con- 
 ditions in the engineering trades, so called — that is, 
 the metal trades. It became a wage tribunal on a large 
 scale. It struggled throughout its career with about 
 two hundred different wage standards or, rather, wage 
 districts. The workers' organizations have been try- 
 ing to reduce this chaos of two hundred to about a 
 dozen clearly defined scales. There are about three 
 hundred thousand members on the rolls of one of these 
 organizations, and on their output much of Britain's 
 industrial restoration depends. There is good reason. 
 
MORE OUTPUT 67 
 
 then, for the present activity in clearing up the tangled 
 wage situation. Coal miners and railway men have 
 been virtually state employees throughout the war, and 
 the pre-war system of collective bargaining was the 
 method used in all new wage adjustments. 
 
 Trade boards, at work for years before the war, 
 acting very much like the Minimum Wage Boards in 
 our states, continued without any change. All these 
 boards have raised the minimum rates, which by cer- 
 tain new legal provisions come into effect earlier than 
 has hitherto been the case. Wartime experience in 
 wage adjustments will probably affect the methods 
 used from now on. As the country needs nothing so 
 much as a stable period of recuperation it is certain 
 that the whole question of wage adjustment will be 
 treated not piecemeal, as hitherto, and by localities, 
 but — for big industries at least — 'by a policy of cen- 
 tralized wage negotiation and award. For example, 
 workers in the metal trades, foundries, shipbuilding, 
 chemical, docking and transportation industries have 
 secured advances on a national scale, and national ne- 
 gotiations have begun to take the place of the old-time 
 method of local wage arrangements. 
 
 No one can go very far into the production situation 
 here without a fresh look at the wastage from the bung- 
 hole — the alcoholic bunghole. There may be such a 
 thing as making too much of the drink situation here, 
 because most men are sober, clean living and law abid- 
 ing. Workingmen are not heavy drinkers, taken as 
 a whole, and it is a fact worth noting that many of 
 the well-known labor representatives here are total 
 abstainers. But this is undeniably true : If any one 
 thing threatens the large-scale output for which the 
 
58 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 ■whole country is organizing itself it is a drink situa- 
 tion such as was familiar before the war. This coun- 
 try has been no worse in this respect than many an- 
 other. If any people anywhere in the world follow 
 the ways of order these of the British Isles most cer- 
 tainly do. But there is and there has been enough of 
 a liquor problem here to make any slurring over of its 
 mischief a source of great danger. 
 
 At the risk of going over familiar ground I must say 
 something about the war experience with the liquor 
 trade. During the war the drink question ceased to be 
 a purely reform issue. It was dealt with entirely as a 
 production question, and the temperance reformer as 
 such was elbowed away by the business man, industrial 
 magnate, efficiency expert and doctor, who were con- 
 cerned wholly with the winning of the war. The drink 
 traffic was assailed because it lessened working power 
 and fighting power. From the point of view of both 
 efficiency and economy the case against drink was 
 argued with vigor, and -there was every indication that 
 at one time the government was about to prohibit the 
 manufacture and sale of drink out of hand. 
 
 With emphasis and point Lloyd George, in a speech 
 delivered in February, 1915, put the anti-drink ef- 
 ficiency case in words thgft struck right home. He de- 
 clared that drink was causing delay in the production 
 of necessary materials. 
 
 "Most of our workmen," he said, "are putting every 
 ounce of strength into this urgent work for their coun- 
 try, loyally and patriotically. But that is not true of 
 all. There are some, I am sorry to say, who shirk their 
 duty in this emergency. I hear of workmen in arma- 
 ment works who refuse to work a full week's work for 
 
MORE OUTPUT 59 
 
 the nation's need. What is the reason? They are a 
 minority. But you must remember a small minority 
 of workmen can throw a whole works out of gear. 
 What is the reason? 
 
 "Sometimes it is one thing, sometimes another, but 
 let us be perfectly candid : It is mostly the lure of the 
 drink. They refuse to work full time, and when they 
 return, their strength and efficiency are impaired by 
 the way in which they have spent their leisure. Drink 
 is doing us more damage in the war than all the Ger- 
 man submarines put together." 
 
 He repeated his charge at a conference of the trade 
 unions in the following month, and stated he was speak- 
 ing on the authority of reports from the Admiralty and 
 War Office. His indictment was confirmed even by the 
 Transport Workeris Federation, which stated that the 
 diminished efficiency of the intemperate minority — ' ' so 
 interdependent is modern labor" — showed a marked 
 influence upon the output of the total number of men 
 engaged in any set of operations but, though admitting 
 the charge, it went on to suggest one positive remedy 
 — that while work was being done during the night in 
 shipyards, docks and other places of production some 
 provision should be made for necessary refreshment. 
 
 How the authorities dealt with the problem is an in- 
 teresting chapter in war history. The problem pre- 
 sented some new features. There had been a great 
 shift in the distribution of labor. Men left their homes 
 and to some extent abandoned settled habits, gathering 
 in bulk round the new munition factories, some of 
 which were located in isolated places, some in and 
 near the big towns. And these new aggregations of 
 workingmen, cut off largely from the normal influences 
 
60 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 of home life, earning good wages for the most part, 
 but having scant leisure, and without much inclination 
 after a hard day's work for active recreation, were 
 naturally an easy prey for the public house. Excesses 
 in drinking are a common reaction from overwork. 
 Figures show a close relation between good earnings 
 and drunkenness. A committee appointed to inves- 
 tigate health matters among munition workers re- 
 ported in dealing with hours of labor that fatigue 
 "meant temptation to men to use alcohol; they are too 
 tired to eat, and seek a stimulant." 
 
 The committee insisted on facilities for workers to 
 obtain a hot meal, especially at night; and a clear case 
 was made out quite early in the investigation for the 
 setting up of industrial canteens in docks, works and 
 yards. Living as great masses of men were in hut- 
 ments, crowded tenements and even tents near the 
 works, the ordinary strain was intensified by loss of 
 rest and absence of home care ; and this led, of course, 
 to still more drinking. 
 
 Such was the situation. In dealing with it the au- 
 thorities undertook a policy of restriction; they cur- 
 tailed the hours of sale, prohibited the sale of liquors 
 above a specified strength, and sought to remove in- 
 centives to excess by establishing canteens for the sale 
 of nonalcoholic refreshment, and by prohibiting treat- 
 ing and chalking up. Convivial drinking was shown to 
 be the cause of nearly half the convictions in the po- 
 lice courts ; and the practice of chalking up a score for 
 the habitues of a "pub" and getting a settlement on 
 pay day is one that makes a glass in hand worth two 
 in the pay envelope, The control policy was embodied 
 
MORE OUTPUT 61 
 
 in the Defense of the Eeahn Act, and gave large pow- 
 ers to a board to control the drink trade. 
 
 These powers were exercised in many ways ; licensed 
 houses and clubs were closed or their hours of business 
 reduced, the sale and supply of particular kinds of 
 liquor restricted and the importations of liquor into 
 specified districts prohibited. The zones of restriction 
 were gradually widened, because different hours of 
 sale, for instance, in small contiguous districts had the 
 effect of providing drinking men with facilities not 
 foreseen by the liquor board. There were demands for 
 the application of a common order to large districts. 
 
 At the close of 1915 half the population of Britain 
 was under the board's orders, and at the end of 1917 
 roughly thirty-eight millions of Britain's total popu- 
 lation of forty-one millions were enjoying the benefits 
 of the control policy. 
 
 Hours of sale were reduced enormously. Before the 
 war public houses were normally open for nearly 
 twenty hours out of the twenty-four; the board re- 
 duced them to something like an average of five hours 
 and a half — two hours and a half at midday and three 
 hours in the evening, generally from six o'clock to 
 nine. At the same time the alcoholic strength of liquor 
 was reduced, especially in the case of spirits, and the 
 sale of spirits over the week-ends was later prohibited. 
 Unsuccessful attempts were made to ration drinks by 
 fixing a maximum quantity, and there was also some 
 effort to check drinking among the women. Carrying 
 out a constructive policy the board established nearly 
 a thousand industrial canteens — ^most of them in con- 
 nection with the national munition factories and ' ' con- 
 
62 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 trolled establishments," a number in the shipyards 
 and docks. In some four districts the board actually 
 became public-house managers, acquiring by direct 
 purchase breweries, licensed houses and "off" li- 
 censes; two of the four breweries thus acquired were 
 closed, and about a third of the two hundred and odd 
 licensed houses. 
 
 The whole question is now up for final settlement. 
 What the ultimate solution will be no one can say, 
 but this may be ventured as a safe prediction : There 
 is too much at stake just now, in a convalescing world, 
 if it be convalescing, for any needless complication, 
 difficulty and obstacle to be tolerated, and from every 
 point of view an unrestricted, profit-seeking liquor 
 trafiic along the lines of the good old days before the 
 war is simply unthinkable. 
 
 There is not a more respected employer in all Eng- 
 land than Mr. W. L. Hichens, whose various interests 
 embrace a pay roll of thirty-five thousand employees. 
 I asked him for his views as to the output question and 
 how labor and management were going to meet it. 
 
 "Asa large employer of labor I am more interested 
 in questions affecting labor and capital than in any- 
 thing else, save the winning of the war. The war has 
 given us a new angle of vision in regard to many 
 things. Before the war we lived in an age of indi- 
 vidualism. Employers organized themselves into fed- 
 erations, work people organized themselves into trade 
 unions, and both of these organizations existed for the 
 purpose of seeking their own interests. Other classes 
 of society followed suit, with the result that individual 
 or class interests ranked first and the interests of the 
 country as a whole took second place. Then came the 
 
MORE OUTPUT 63 
 
 war, and straightway some three million men in this 
 country were found to offer the supreme sacrifice of 
 their lives, not for themselves or for a group but for 
 their country. The clouds seemed to lift ; our horizon 
 extended; we realized that patriotism ranked above 
 individualism and that the supreme good of the coun- 
 try could only be secured by self-sacrifice. Many of us 
 even began to dream dreams and to picture to our- 
 selves the wider form of patriotism after the war. 
 And we woke up surprised to find how far away we 
 had drifted from the old individualism of pre-war 
 days." 
 
 "This widened outlook, I think, applies to the subject 
 of production. Before the war how many men made it 
 their ideal to try to put together a competence at the 
 earliest possible moment in order that they might re- 
 tire and live happily ever afterward? How many 
 young men and women were there who thought it no 
 shame to live a life of idleness if they could afford to 
 do sof But the war again has changed all that. We 
 realize now that there is an unlimited demand for 
 everything that we can produce; it seems to me that 
 if it is an essential thing for us to work as hard as 
 we can in order to preserve our liberties it will also 
 be a valuable thing if after the war we can realize that 
 it is worth while then to work as hard as we can for 
 the sake of the whole community. 
 
 "As I say, to-day there is an unlimited demand for 
 everything we can produce. Now everybody knows 
 that if we import from abroad we have got to pay in 
 one of four ways : By means of selling our securities ; 
 or by exporting gold — but the supply of gold is small 
 compared to our requirements ; a third way is that we 
 
64. MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 can raise loans in the countries with which we wish to 
 trade — that again is not an unlimited source of sup- 
 ply; the fourth and by far the most important way is 
 that we can exchange the goods which we want to 
 buy in other countries for goods exported from this 
 country. And that, everybody will realize, is by far 
 the most satisfactory way of achieving our object. 
 
 "Now there are ways in which more can be done. 
 The first is by means of increased government organ- 
 ization. I do not personally think that a very great 
 deal can be done in that way; for one thing because 
 the sturdy independence of Englishmen, which is a 
 very valuable quality and far superior to the unreason- 
 ing docility of the Grermans, does not lend itself too 
 much to government organization. Individual liberty 
 has its price, but it is worth paying for. However, 
 there are certain things government can do. 
 
 "But though in this way a good deal can be done, 
 yet I believe that we have got for the most part to de- 
 pend upon our own individual enterprise and effort. 
 I feel convinced that the production of this country can 
 be largely increased because I believe that it is still in 
 us to make a much bigger effort than we have hitherto. 
 Before the war the output per workingman in the 
 United States was two and a half times as great as 
 the output per workingman in this country. Of course 
 statistics are always open to suspicion, and that figure 
 is subject to considerable qualifications in particular, 
 because in the United States you have far more labor- 
 saving devices than we have in this country. The 
 fault of that, I am free to confess, lies very largely with 
 the employers at home, who have not taken the trouble, 
 in a great many cases, to find out what the latest and 
 
MORE OUTPUT 65 
 
 most efficient labor-saving devices were, because they 
 felt that they could rely on a comparatively cheap labor 
 supply. 
 
 "It may be surprising to say that even now some 
 restriction of output should exist, but the reason is 
 not really far to seek. The fact of the matter is that 
 we have been unable in this respect to shake clear al- 
 together of our pre-war ideas, and we have been un- 
 able to adopt the new angle of vision which we have 
 adopted in other cases. Eestriction of output, as 
 everybody knows, is a weapon in the fight between 
 labor and capital. There is no real object in restrict- 
 ing output in the hope that the employer will be deluded 
 into the belief that it is impossible to produce an in- 
 creased amount of work. Moreover, I think one can 
 easily show that restriction of output is a bad plan any- 
 how, because it is only by increasing output that one 
 can increase wages. After all, one can only pay wages 
 out of production, and if production is reduced the 
 obvious thing is that wages will in the long run have 
 to be reduced too. Labor argues that it ought to have 
 a larger part of the profit that now goes to capital. 
 But the difficulty is that after allowing a reasonable 
 margin of profit for capital the balance at the best of 
 times would not go very far in improving the position 
 of labor. It would not enable very much bigger wages 
 to be paid than are paid to-day. The only way really 
 to pay considerably higher wages is to increase sub- 
 stantially the production of the country. 
 
 "I think that if these points are clearly and dispas- 
 sionately argued it will be difficult for labor to deny 
 their justice and truth ; but at the same time they will, 
 I believe, carry very little conviction to the mind of 
 
66 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 the workingman, because he will feel — and, in my 
 opinion, quite rightly — 'that the statement is far too 
 one-sided to be at all convincing to him. He will say : 
 'Our difficulty is that, supposing we are to increase 
 production very considerably, what guaranty have we 
 got that that increase will go to us and not all be ap- 
 propriated by capital?' The real grievance that labor 
 feels is that capital has in the past taken more than 
 its fair share of the good things of this world, and I 
 think if one looks at the matter broadly one must ad- 
 mit that there is a good deal of truth in this contention. 
 One has to remember that this country is a democracy 
 and that in a democracy it is necessary for all the mem- 
 bers to get together for the problems that they have 
 to decide. This is one of the biggest problems that 
 calls for decision, and it is imperative that we should 
 have mature thought jointly in order that we may 
 come to a right conclusion." 
 
 There are hopeful signs a-plenty that British in- 
 dustry is getting ready for a large expan'Sion, and 
 that this expansion will not be of mechanical kind 
 alone. The big production which every manufacturer 
 is looking forward to will have in view the big fact that 
 confidence between management and men is the only 
 lasting foundation on which to get results. More out- 
 put and more -mutual confidence will go hand in hand. 
 There is no question in any quarter that increased ef- 
 ficiency must come soon. It is under way right now. 
 Both the volume and the quality of output are con- 
 siderations in every program of the merchant and 
 manufacturer. 
 
 To get this result industrial leaders -are looking in 
 the direction of improving the organization and its 
 
MORE OUTPUT 67 
 
 personnel, of eliminating waste and friction, and most 
 important of all, of giving enough attention to the 
 problem of increasing the opportunities of coopera- 
 tion between management and men. The best em- 
 ployers here appreciate the fact that raising the level 
 of productive capacity is finally a question of improv- 
 ing the conditions under which the work is done and 
 the spirit in which the parties concerned carry on un- 
 der the same roof. There has been far too great a 
 sacrifice during an eternity of the war period, and 
 both this country and the world in general are too 
 sorely in need of recuperation for much patience with 
 the slacker — ^the moral slacker as well as the indus- 
 trial slacker. And a moral slacker is a man who will 
 not play the game according to the new rules and the 
 new ideals of industrial team play. 
 
 "While on a recent four-hundred-mile tour of the dev- 
 astated country of Northern France and Belgium we 
 were leaving Cambrai, a terrible skeleton of its former 
 glory. Eain and mist softened the raw edges of its 
 desolation. Houses telescoped, the roof of a big 
 church covering a row of shattered buildings half a 
 block away, trees lying across the brick piles which 
 once were dwelling places — in this City of the Dead 
 there stands one entire front of a building, the rest of 
 it mingling its dust with the dust and rubbish of the 
 town. On it are the letters : Chambre de Commerce. 
 Bound this ruin German prisoners were clearing a 
 roadway, Chinese labor battalions were propping up 
 the leaning party walls, and everywhere was the 
 Tommy busily trying to do such tidying up as was 
 possible. 
 
 A whole cityful of men, women and children, scat- 
 
68 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 tered to the four winds, are anxiously awaiting word 
 to return to the place they had once called home. And 
 this Chamber of Commerce, once the heart of the 
 town's business life, with the only intact front wall 
 in its neighborhood, waits for goods to flow through 
 again and bring occupation, self-support and self-re- 
 spect to a stricken population. 
 
 Cambrai is only a symbol and a type of want, im- 
 poverishment and insufficiency. The spirit of the 
 Tonmiy, cheerfully and silently at work in the thank- 
 less task of bringing order, safety and opportunity, 
 meager enough, in these abominations of desolation, is 
 the spirit in which the productive energies of the 
 world must be put forth for years to come. The need 
 is great. Cambrai differs from the unwrecked places 
 of civilization only in the circumstance that what right- 
 minded men have ahead of them in the way of effort 
 and service is so painfully visible there. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 SIDELIGHTS ON INDUSTRY IN GREAT BRITAIN 
 
 TTIHE business of handling a large force of men 
 X is no longer a mystery. It is something which 
 can be put into words plain enough for the average 
 man to understand. Keeping an organization going 
 through power over other men takes far less brains 
 than does the winning of their cooperation by appeal 
 to their intelligence and their interest." A leader in 
 British industry voices in these words an important 
 change in the viewpoint of industrial executives. "I 
 expect all my feUow employees, whatever may be 
 their work, to help. I know that they can help improve 
 our organization and our product. And they know 
 that I appreciate such help. I want to see them grow 
 in management skill and point of view. One way to 
 do this is to open up opportunities for all to know the 
 problems we have to meet day by day, and to take 
 counsel with them. Our men see things which we can- 
 not 'see. No man can be a judge in his own cause. If 
 we tolerate this we have the formula that might is 
 right, something that we have just defeated. We 
 want an Anglo-Saxon, not a Prussian, ideal of industry 
 and its management. That ideal is of service on the 
 part of every man engaged in it — or we all move in 
 a kind of living death. If there is no ideal of service 
 we have to find out how far we are the cause of this 
 failure. Men ordinarily give about the response we 
 
 69 
 
70 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 look for in them. There is no reason for any failure 
 to make employment a service if we try hard enough. 
 But we must believe first that it is. A few years ago 
 I was interested in a company started to trade on the 
 Gold Coast. We decided to limit our profits to a rea- 
 sonable figure, and to turn over the surplus for the 
 benefit of the inhabitants of the country with which 
 we were trading. There was no cant, no humbug or 
 charity about it. We did not sell silk hats to the 
 naked natives. We sought a fair trade, gave good 
 value, and used the fund to supply real wants, such as 
 medical care, for which there was no extra charge. 
 It was our idea that the country had already paid us 
 for this service through our trade." 
 
 Production of the goods for which a shaken world 
 is waiting does not altogether depend on how much the 
 man at the bench will extend himself, though more solid 
 effort all round is needed; nor on how far workmen 
 will collectively throw over practices which hold pro- 
 duction back. They will do this, given certain assur- 
 ances. Nor does it rest on the changes in plant and 
 tools which the employer is introducing, though all 
 those things will help and go a long way. It hangs 
 on things that go deeper into essential human nature, 
 and the wise man is he who takes careful account of 
 those things. Management of men is just manage- 
 ment of human nature, and this human nature after a 
 long siege of war strain and of danger, alarms, and 
 situations which have stirred the brain cells of the 
 multitude is not quite the human nature that it was 
 before the war. There can be no doubt that every- 
 where you sense a wish to settle down, a longing for 
 quiet and for the ordinary routine of everyday life. 
 
SIDELIGHTS ON INDUSTRY 71 
 
 That settling down will not take place until certain 
 difficulties are adjusted and a certain uneasiness ap- 
 peased. Unless these things are done disaffection will 
 be there to harass and disturb. 
 
 Some share for this unsettled state of mind which 
 one glimpses in going up and down industrial centers 
 can be traced to sharp resentment against the kind of 
 supervision under which the men have been working. 
 Not that this supervision has been always harsh or 
 incapable — 'Such an assertion would be unfair and ex- 
 aggerated. In many instances there has been wisdom, 
 understanding. But while employers have theorized 
 and experimented the workers have been thinking hard 
 on the whole management proposition, and they cher- 
 ish certain strong convictions as to how they should 
 be dealt with. These convictions are not always 
 clearly stated; but the purpose is clear enough, even 
 though the phrasing favored by the more aggressive 
 would, if carried to its conclusion, undo all organiza- 
 tion and tumble industry into a heap. 
 
 But, I repeat, the men have been busily brooding 
 over notions of something better in shop relationship 
 than they have had before, and as thoughts are facts 
 it is worth while trying to understand what is behind 
 their feeling about the conduct of the workshop and 
 their part in it. 
 
 Having worked at full tilt throughout the war, and 
 believing that they were sharing, as never before, with 
 foremen, managers and employers in a common busi- 
 ness directed to a common end — namely, that of win- 
 ning the war — the workmen, take them as a whole, have 
 developed in this war experience a new interest in the 
 industrial organization of which they have been a part, 
 
72 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 and a new sense of their relation to it. They are giv- 
 ing up, if they have not already abandoned, the idea 
 that they are mere sojourners in their place of employ- 
 ment. All through the war they were told again and 
 again — and they were disposed to believe it — that in 
 their hands lay victory or disaster; that they were 
 needed just where they were ; that they were the heart 
 and the solar plexus of the organization; and that 
 nothing could excuse any slacking or shifting about — 
 in short, that they belonged very much right where 
 they found themselves. 
 
 Every effort was made to steady the working force. 
 For a time men were not allowed to flit from job to job. 
 Pressure of all sorts was used to hold them to their 
 work. And when the pressure — that of the war regu- 
 lations especially — ^was relaxed, public opinion and 
 shop opinion against the floater and the job hobo came 
 in to help. So the number of job changes was kept 
 down. Every man was expected to do his duty, and if 
 he was a workman exempt from military service there 
 was an additional reason to stand by. And the men 
 stood by; and the longer they stayed the more they 
 made comparisons, both mental and vocal, of the per- 
 sonnel that gave them orders and instructions and had 
 the say over their comings and goings. 
 
 Every plant on war work and very many others have 
 been under a most lively public scrutiny. Everybody 
 seemed to know all about their inner workings. What- 
 ever may have been the privacy they once enjoyed, the 
 strictly internal affairs — the domestic gossip, as it 
 were — of every great establishment became common 
 property. Eating places, the canteens, the pubs, the 
 smoking coaches — all became daily centers of exchange 
 
SIDELIGHTS ON INDUSTRY 73 
 
 and quotation in rating of managerial idols — or the 
 contrary, as the case may have been, and often was. 
 And out of these informal and universal juries certain 
 notions as regards management and the man power 
 under its ordering came into view, as I have already 
 intimated, and though of low visibility at first it yet 
 was of sufficient significance to furnish the abler among 
 employers with food for thought. 
 
 This is the lesson that struck home the hardest: 
 That the chain of management is never any stronger 
 than its weakest foreman link. By foreman I mean 
 any of the variety of in-between officials of the plant — 
 overseer, boss, leading man or whatever the local desig- 
 nation may be — for the man who comes directly in con- 
 tact with the men, stands in their eyes for manage- 
 ment as a whole, and rules their shop life and duties. 
 This foreman, unfortunately for industry, appears in 
 the drama as more or less of a pocketed, sidetracked 
 individual, though his part is that of intermediary be- 
 tween the man at the top and the rank and file. He 
 was neither expected nor encouraged to broaden his 
 own industrial outlook. He had been put into a niche 
 and was left there so long as he didn't give any trouble 
 and delivered the output according to schedule. Con- 
 ferences there were aplenty, but he was not among 
 those present; executives met to shape up far-reach- 
 ing policies, but he never sat in. As of the poor, short 
 and simple annals only were expected of him. 
 
 The only trouble with this proposition is that the sit- 
 uation does not lend itself to any such simplicity. 
 There is not a man on the whole industrial general staff 
 who influences as much the temper, tone and smooth 
 working of an industry as does this same unconsidered 
 
74 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 foreman person. He deals with human nature every 
 minute, and that same human nature deals with him 
 about as frequently, and the action and reaction of 
 these forces, to use laboratory lingo, is a subject suit- 
 able for minds well above the freshman grade. To 
 sidetrack this foreman then — that is, to fail to help him 
 grow in insight — is to choke up a vital channel of com- 
 munication between management and men. 
 
 The folly of it has come home to those abler employ- 
 ers before mentioned. They are getting at least a 
 glimpse of their men's real attitude and intention. 
 Their enlightenment is not sudden. It has been going 
 on for years, the war merely accelerating the process. 
 Many men of affairs having the interest or desire could 
 find out the best that was being done or thought any- 
 where. They could read or travel and talk with any 
 man whose industrial opinions they cared for. With- 
 out much trouble they could give themselves as wide 
 a knowledge of industrial questions as they pleased. 
 There is nothing disparaging in pointing out that the 
 business executive to-day is, on the whole, decades in 
 advance of his immediate predecessors as regards in- 
 dustrial insight. And there is coming up a new genera- 
 tion of industrial leaders in Britain, bred in a sym- 
 pathy with democracy, which promises much for the 
 future of industry and for right relations among those 
 who share its burden. 
 
 One of the first improvements concerns that yawn- 
 ing mental gap between the man who has the power to 
 give orders and those who take them. The building up 
 of an enlightened foremanship is one of the big and as 
 yet mainly untackled jobs of management. That here 
 and there good beginnings have been made only 
 
SIDELIGHTS ON INDUSTRY 75 
 
 strengthens the sense of need. As clear and decisive 
 is the need, if management is to win the respect of the 
 managed, for finer tools than have thus far been used. 
 The man power that is enlisted for the world's re- 
 construction will have to be dealt with in terms that 
 suggest an understanding of its hopes and sense of 
 values.^ To grasp this is to have the secret of suc- 
 cessful management in the days to come. 
 
 At the other end the masses, the rank and file, the 
 working forces — however we choose to put it — ^have 
 also been undergoing a mental overhauling. The ex- 
 tent of it is even yet hardly realized by the man who 
 leaves his office after the day's work, sees the men flow 
 through the gates, and then proceeds to his home or 
 club, where he meets those who think as he does, have 
 about the same kind of information as to what is going 
 on, and where he never gets a glimmer of a life which 
 takes on fresh vigor and fervor after the factory win- 
 dows are darkened. 
 
 To get an idea of what is really happening to the 
 workingman one must go to the sources of his inspira- 
 tion — to his meetings and gathering places, to the eve- 
 ning school, the public school, the free lectures, read 
 the press and the literature of the crowded quarters, 
 and browse among their dingy bookstalls and pushcarts 
 laden with the solidest reading matter outside of the 
 specialists ' reference shelves. And these are only a few 
 of the stimulants of the modem workman. Intelligent 
 executives are aware of these stirrings and are not 
 unsympathetic with them. They are, in fact, earnestly 
 trying to square their own ideas of handling the work- 
 
 1 See page 287. The Labor Party's Statement on the Labor Problems 
 after the War. 
 
76 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 force with this new self-respect of their employees. 
 The motive that prompts them is not wholly selfish. 
 They welcome the coming of an organization in which 
 the lowliest member may feel that he has something to 
 chip in of suggestion, criticism and idealism. 
 
 Industrial unrest in Britain can no longer be ac- 
 counted for by dissatisfaction with wage rates or hours 
 of labor, as in the early days of trade-union agitation. 
 There was a time, not long past, when it was possible 
 to ask in regard to a particular dispute "How much do 
 they want this time?" An increase of a penny an 
 hour or a couple of shillings a week represented gener- 
 ally the extent of the demands. Sometimes the men re- 
 sented bad factory conditions or objected to the man- 
 ners or lack of manners of their foremen, and ceased 
 work in protest; sometimes they wanted a shorter 
 working day, less overtime, a rearrangement of rest 
 days, and the like ; but broadly it may be said that un- 
 til a few years ago the workers as a class were not 
 much in revolt against any system as such or acutely 
 conscious of there being anything wrong with their 
 place in industry. Within a short period, however, a 
 marked change has taken place in attitude. A new 
 note of criticism crept into their propaganda, denying 
 the claim that industry was already well managed and 
 could not be improved. Among large sections of the 
 workers, especially among the younger men, a new 
 temper has appeared. 
 
 Their ideas are easy to dismiss with a contemptuous 
 shrug as half-baked notions of the imperfectly edu- 
 cated. Imperfectly educated, indeed, the younger 
 workingmen may be, and victims of phrases ; but these 
 men are tenacious ; one creed is expounded by the en- 
 
SIDELIGHTS ON INDUSTRY 77 
 
 ergetic men of the guild movement and the shop-stew- 
 ard movement, which declares that the worker is no 
 longer a mere cog in the industrial machine. It in- 
 furiates the worker to be described as a "hand"; he 
 repudiates the notion that he ought to be content 
 with a slow amelioration of his lot. Much of his dis- 
 like of the welfare schemes put forward by employers, 
 his contempt of profit-sharing arrangements, still more 
 his suspicion of ' ' scientific management ' ' cannot be ex- 
 plained except by reference to his stubborn suspicion 
 that his claim to be treated as a human being is subtly 
 being circumvented. It is less and less possible to 
 humor him. "What he wants is to be treated as an 
 equal. One has only to come into contact with these 
 groups of which I speak to realize that increases in 
 wages, shorter working hours, welfare schemes, pen- 
 sions and even a share of the profits, though desirable 
 in themselves, do not go far enough. The active spirits 
 among the rank and file are bent upon raising the status 
 of their class. 
 
 The amount of quiet but effective education going on 
 among the workmen of these isles is barely appreci- 
 ated by the public at large. Ask the man on the street 
 what he knows about the Workers' Educational As- 
 sociation and he will probably tell you that he has never 
 heard of it ; or, if he has, the chances are that he har- 
 bors a misty notion of its being some academic sort of 
 thing. Nothing could be farther from the truth. 
 This association and other like activities among the 
 men have in view the big, long-headed purpose of fit- 
 ting the British worker for a large place and respon- 
 sibility in the conduct of industry. The rank and file 
 are taking in hand the job of improving the man-power 
 
78 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 quality of the country, doing this in the strong convic- 
 tion that only as they fit themselves can they hope to 
 get and keep a bigger role in the management of in- 
 dustry. Oxford University has been in this undertak- 
 ing a noteworthy assistance and inspiration. Some 
 of the brightest and ablest graduates of this and, in- 
 deed, of other universities, too, have been leaders and 
 teachers in this work. 
 
 What is the "Workers' Educational Association, or 
 the W. E. A., as it is better known? Founded in 1903 
 by a group of trade union and cooperative society mem- 
 bers the W. E. A. now comprises nearly three thousand 
 organizations, such as trades councils, cooperative edu- 
 cation committees, workingmen's clubs and teachers' 
 associations. Its local branches cover the industrial 
 centers of England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Aus- 
 tralia, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa. Sup- 
 port for this work flows from a large number of small 
 contributions and from government grants. Work- 
 men enroll for as much as a three years' course, and 
 keep up a good attendance. In the summer school for 
 workingmen at Oxford you will find a roomful of men 
 — potters, plumbers, carpenters, miners and machin- 
 ists — wrestling over economic questions with profes- 
 sors of world-wide fame. 
 
 Prof. Gilbert Murray, the famous Greek scholar, 
 tells this incident: 
 
 "There was a close friend of mine, once my secre- 
 tary, who gave up that post to become a W. E. A. 
 teacher. In this new work he had a very small salary, 
 and hard work. He had offers at higher salaries, but 
 he refused them all for this teaching of workingmen. 
 When the war came he enlisted, and after he had re- 
 
SIDELIGHTS ON INDUSTRY 79 
 
 ceived a commission he found himself commanding 
 some of those North Country miners who before the 
 war used to form his classes in history and political 
 science. When he was mortally wounded some of his 
 men almost gave up their own lives in a long and brave 
 effort to save him. One of these men later received 
 the Victoria Cross for his effort to save his teacher 
 commander." 
 
 Euskin College, at Oxford, was founded to bring 
 workingmen under university influence, and among 
 other activities it has been carrying on correspondence 
 courses for the men who could not become residents. 
 The Central Labor College is a rebel offshoot of this 
 institution, and operates through the Plebs League. 
 This college is supported by the National Union of 
 Railwaymen and the South Wales Miners ' Federation. 
 The state of the mind of the Plebs League is sufficiently 
 indicated by its motto: "I can promise to be candid 
 but not impartial." A monthly, the "Plebs Maga- 
 zine," was issued until suppressed by the government, 
 it is generally believed for its revolutionary activities 
 during the war. The Commission on Industrial Un- 
 rest found that the propaganda of the Central Labor 
 College was one of the chief sources of trouble in 
 South Wales coal district. In March, 1917, the com- 
 mission states, nineteen classes were being conducted 
 in South Wales, with some five hundred men in at- 
 tendance. But the influence of the work could not be 
 measured by the small membership of these classes. 
 This influence is, as the committee points out, "de- 
 liberate of purpose," and forms a leaven which can 
 on occasion ferment considerably. 
 
 How many men if they were asked what was the 
 
80 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 greatest business enterprise in the British Empire — 
 greatest in volume of trade combined with the largest 
 number of shareholders — could answer offhand "The 
 cooperative movement"? Here is one of the giant en- 
 terprises of the present day. It is the biggest school 
 of business on earth, providing workmen with experi- 
 ence in business management such as nothing else 
 gives; it is the recruiting and training station for in- 
 dustrial leaders to a degree which warrants my giv- 
 ing more than passing mention to the workings of the 
 cooperative movement. 
 
 In origin the movement dates back to the days of 
 Robert Owen and the Rochdale Pioneers — the first co- 
 operative store being that founded at Rochdale in Lan- 
 cashire by the now historic twenty-eight poor weavers, 
 who in December, 1844, opened the Auld Weyvurs' 
 Shop, in Toad Lane, as a grocery store. This shop 
 at first was open only on Saturday and Monday eve- 
 nings ; one member acting as salesman, another as sec- 
 retary, a third as cashier to a trade of about ten dol- 
 lars a week, while a fourth was custodian of the capital, 
 amounting to less than one hundred and fifty dollars, 
 gathered by dint of hard saving. To-day the coopera- 
 tive stores are the recognized medium of supply for 
 the household necessities of not much less than half the 
 industrial population of Great Britain. 
 
 The device that made the Rochdale Pioneers the 
 type of all time and established the movement was the 
 division of "profits" or surplus on the purchases of all 
 the customers. 
 
 From the humble beginnings of twenty-eight mem- 
 bers the movement has grown, until to-day the United 
 
SIDELIGHTS ON INDUSTRY 81 
 
 Kingdom includes fifteen hundred societies with an 
 aggregate membership of three and a half million 
 shareholders. Its annual trade is now no less than one 
 billion dollars ; its capital in shares, loans and deposits 
 amounts to three hundred and forty millions; its re- 
 serve fund equals four hundred millions, with a 
 "profit" or surplus of one hundred millions a year. 
 The value of its land, buildings and stock is one hun- 
 dred millions, and it has at least fifty millions invested 
 in house-building schemes for its members. The per- 
 sons employed directly in the movement number one 
 hundred and sixty thousand, and the annual wages bill 
 is sixty millions. More than six hundred thousand 
 dollars annually is set aside for purposes of education, 
 propaganda and recreation; a similiar sum being de- 
 voted to charitable purposes. 
 
 When it is remembered that the whole of this colos- 
 sal undertaking is managed by workingmen, such as 
 colliers, engineers, weavers, spinners and carpenters, 
 who give their scant leisure without any fee or reward, 
 and travel up and down the land in the interest of this 
 movement for bare expenses, we realize at once that 
 something almost religiously deep and strong must be 
 acting on the minds of this great army. 
 
 J. S. May, the general secretary of the International 
 Cooperative Alliance, told me: "One of the funda- 
 mental principles of the movement is that it shall have 
 no dealings with the liquor traffic. In spite of the 
 grocers' licenses this principle is rigidly adhered to, 
 and so far from weakening on the question as the 
 movement develops the tendency is, for example, in 
 acquiring land either for business purposes or the 
 
82 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 many housing schemes of the societies, to extinguish 
 existing licenses, and certainly to prevent them from 
 operating on cooperative soil. 
 
 "Of course the great contribution which the move- 
 ment has made to the well-being of the people lies in 
 facilities for thrift. In the first place, the system of 
 cash payments for all goods has worked a revolution 
 in the habits of the people once compromised by the 
 system of 'truck' which many employers set up in their 
 factories. Robert Owen made the first practical ex- 
 periment to combat this evil at his works at New Lan- 
 ark in the early days of the nineteenth century by es- 
 tablishing a cost-price store for the use of his work- 
 people. Their wages were paid in the full instead of 
 being set off against their score at the shop of the 
 master and they were at liberty to spend their wages 
 at the store which Owen had provided or to go else- 
 where. Such a scheme was then considered quixotic 
 in the extreme, but the modern cooperative movement 
 has done much to secure the passing of the Truck Acts 
 which abolished the whole bad system. 
 
 ' ' The plan of building up share capital by small pay- 
 ments of six cents and upward, together with the later 
 rule that dividends on purchases should be capitalized 
 up to the amount of the minimum shareholding, made 
 the thrift of the members nearly automatic. Many 
 a family to-day realizes to the full the truth of the 
 saying that 'an Englishman's house is his castle' 
 simply as the result of the saving thus practised. 
 They have literally eaten themselves into their own 
 house and home. 
 
 "The boards or committees of management consist 
 solely of working men and women, who are elected and 
 
SIDELIGHTS ON INDUSTRY 83 
 
 usually serve for one year. Their services are gra- 
 tuitous except in the case of the cooperative wholesale 
 societies, where they are required to give their whole 
 time to the work, and are therefore paid salaries, the 
 highest of which is under twenty-five hundred dollars 
 a year. 
 
 "After the committees of management come the 
 business managers and secretaries. The training of 
 such men has been a fairly long and varied process, 
 which will best be illustrated by one or two examples. 
 Alexander McLeod, the late general manager and sec- 
 retary of the Woolwich Society, was a working machin- 
 ist in the Eoyal Arsenal over fifty years ago. He and 
 his shopmates decided to establish a cooperative so- 
 ciety in Woolwich. They began in a small back room 
 in a side street near the entrance to the factory, and 
 announced in the workshop that they would attend on 
 certain evenings in the week to distribute the chest 
 of tea purchased by the aid of the combined contribu- 
 tions of their shopmates. Eventually a shop was taken 
 in the town and the society grew until to-day it numbers 
 over fifty thousand members and its trade approxi- 
 mates to one half million sterling a year. It is the 
 largest and most successful society near London. 
 
 "In more recent times the movement has been com- 
 pelled, by reason of its rapid increase and the dearth 
 of men acquainted with the peculiarities of coopera- 
 tive trade, to train its own managers. Generally 
 speaking, this is practicable because each society is 
 autonomous, and begins in small ways. There is little 
 difficulty in obtaining from an existing society a man 
 trained in the methods of buying and selling who is 
 capable of controlling operations at the start of a new 
 
84. MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 society, especially when assured of the assistance and 
 advice which the central federations of our societies 
 place at his disposal in the matter of purchasing, 
 ■stocks, accountancy, and so on. As the society grows 
 and spreads into branches salesmen who show business 
 aptitude and initiative are selected to take charge of 
 the branch shops. Here begins a very important part 
 of the training. 
 
 "When the history of the great war comes to be 
 written in all its fullness the world will be amazed to 
 learn what a great part the cooperative organization 
 and the influence of its ideals have played in securing 
 the best interests of the nations affected by the war. 
 I refer directly to the influence and work of the asso- 
 ciations of workingmen and women. Whether you 
 look to Britain or France or Eussia, or even among the 
 Central Powers of Europe arrayed against the forces 
 of democracy and liberty, the result is the same. 
 Every government has been faced with the necessity 
 of providing for the needs of its civil population out of 
 a depleted larder and a world shortage of foodstuffs 
 and other necessaries of life. 
 
 "The stocks available to the civil population were 
 still further reduced by the necessity of insuring to the 
 army at the Front a full supply of the best that the 
 world afforded. Faced with the necessity of dis- 
 tributing supplies on the basis of the miracle of the 
 loaves and fishes; confronted also with the possibility 
 — if they failed to secure something like equitable dis- 
 tribution — of discontent and anarchy at home, the gov- 
 ernments of Europe separately but as if with one con- 
 sent adopted a national form of cooperation. We are 
 far from saying that their application of cooperative 
 
SIDELIGHTS ON INDUSTRY 85 
 
 methods was complete or even scientifically applied. 
 The governments had commandeered stocks, fixed 
 prices and directed the channels through which goods 
 should pass to the consumers. The cooperative so- 
 cieties were not only practically immune from all the 
 severities of control, except the difficulty in obtaining 
 supplies, but their experience and practice had been 
 the touchstone of government prices and the consum- 
 ers' needs during the war. Again, it must not be as- 
 sumed that the prices which have been fixed by the 
 Ministry of Food have been the lowest at which co- 
 operators could conduct their business." 
 
 In any large town, particularly in the north of Eng- 
 land, you cannot walk for ten minutes through any in- 
 dustrial neighborhood without coming on two or three 
 branches of the cooperative store that serves it. If 
 they are merely local branches they will look like any 
 ordinary shop. If you happen to strike the central 
 store you will find it housed in an imposing block of 
 buildings not much different from the department 
 store in the United States. 
 
 The main feature of the cooperative store is that it 
 exists not for the general public but for its registered 
 customers, and as a rule no one but the registered cus- 
 tomer gets a cent of profit out of the concern. That 
 does not mean that the ordinary housewife cannot buy 
 at a cooperative store. She can. You can go into a 
 store yourself and buy a pair of shoes or a soft hat or 
 a loaf of bread or a leg of mutton or a stone of pota- 
 toes or a ton of coal, and pay for them at the market 
 price. The store has no objection to selling to you, 
 but if you want to reap the advantages that give the 
 cooperative movement its reason for existence you 
 
86 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 must become a member and get an official number. 
 That is a very simple matter. All that is necessary 
 is to invest anything, from five dollars to a thousand, 
 in the store. Five per cent is paid on the money and at 
 the same time you become entitled to a share in the 
 profits of the business, in proportion not to your hold- 
 ing of stock but to the volume of your purchases over 
 the counter. 
 
 Every time the mechanic's wife goes to the store 
 for her week's groceries or her bread or her fuel or her 
 pots and pans she gives her number at the pay desk 
 and receives in return a check with the amount of her 
 purchase marked on it. At the end of every quarter 
 the store's books are balanced, and all the profits, after 
 payment of rent, wages, management expenses and the 
 fixed dividend on capital, are divided among the mem- 
 ber-purchasers in proportion to the totals of their ac- 
 counts with the store for the period. 
 
 There is one exception to that: In addition to the 
 payment to purchasers there is often a small bonus 
 given to employees. The principle involved in that 
 is important, but the actual benefit to the employees is 
 small, as is shown by the fact that in 1916 the 1484 re- 
 tail cooperative stores in Great Britain paid out nearly 
 sixty million dollars in profits divided among pur- 
 chasers, and only about three hundred and seventy 
 thousand dollars in bonus to employees. The rate at 
 which members get repayment varies in different so- 
 cieties and at different periods from perhaps four per 
 cent to twelve and a half per cent of what they have 
 spent in the preceding three months. That amount 
 they can either draw in cash or reinvest in the store 
 at five or six per cent interest. 
 
SIDELIGHTS ON INDUSTRY 87 
 
 That is a bare outline of the general principles on 
 which the cooperative movement is based, but it gives 
 no adequate impression of the hold the movement has 
 established on the industrial communities in Great 
 Britain. To get that you need to go and explore for 
 yourself the possibilities of a particular store. Take 
 as a fair example the society — the full title of every 
 retail store is "Industrial Cooperative Society, Ltd." 
 — at Plymouth, one of the largest and most prosperous 
 in the south of England. The locality served by the so- 
 ciety contains a population of 250,000 people, and of 
 these it is claimed that 180,000 draw the greater part 
 of their commodities from the central store or its 
 branches. The actual membership of the store is 
 more than 30,000, but most of these are buying not for 
 a single person but for a family, so that the number 
 squares well enough with the 180,000 given above. 
 Each member has five dollars or more — often a good 
 deal more — invested in the business. The members 
 are at once the customers and capitalists. The con- 
 cern belongs to them. They finance it and they buy 
 from it, and at the end of every quarter they get back 
 a substantial dividend based on the amount of their 
 purchases. 
 
 A cooperative society of this type throws its net 
 wide. At the central store, with its restaurant, its 
 library and its lecture hall, you can buy anything man, 
 woman or child can need, from a pint of milk to a ton 
 of coal. But in volume of business the central store 
 probably does a good deal less than the total of its 
 branches. They are scattered throughout the town 
 and in a number of surrounding villages, while in other 
 villages, where there is no actual store, a motor-truck 
 
88 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 service from Plymouth connects the consumer direct on 
 two or three days a week with the central establish- 
 ment. The branch store may stock every kind of 
 goods or it may deal in one particular line, such as 
 milk or bread or meat or vegetables. In the recent 
 shortage of labor and transport a scheme was devised 
 to reduce the deliveries of milk by setting up milk de- 
 pots all over the town, at which consumers could call 
 for what they needed, without going more than a few 
 hundred yards from their doors. 
 
 Though the most striking feature of the cooperative 
 movement is the pecuniary advantage it gives to its 
 members it has purposes other than merely financial. 
 Most societies before paying out the quarterly dividend 
 deduct an assessment, usually of five per cent, for edu- 
 cational purposes. Out of that they pay instructors, 
 run evening classes, and arrange excellent lectures, 
 either free or at a nominal admission fee. The Ply- 
 mouth Society has gone much further. A few years 
 ago a large estate on the seacoast about ten miles from 
 the town came into the market. The cooperative so- 
 ciety bid for it and got it. It included some nine or 
 ten farms, which are being developed to supply the so- 
 ciety with milk and poultry and meat and vegetables ; 
 and also two or three excellent houses with well laid- 
 out grounds. Two of these, placed in beautiful sur- 
 roundings, have been fitted up as guest houses, at which 
 members of the society — the great majority of them, 
 it must be remembered, mechanics — can spend a week 
 or a week-end or a fortnight at rates representing a 
 bare margin above operating costs. From time to 
 time lecture schools are arranged here, three days or a 
 
SIDELIGHTS ON INDUSTRY 89 
 
 week being devoted to the study of economic or social 
 or literary subjects. 
 
 The guest houses happen to lie off the lines of rail- 
 way, and in order that they may be put to the fullest 
 uses the management of the society, having little use 
 through the summer months for its motor coal carts, 
 fits them out as char s-d-h ones and runs half -day trips 
 out from Plymouth to the house on the coast, carrying 
 its members ten miles out and ten miles back, giving 
 them tea and charging them twenty-five cents for the 
 service. 
 
 Here is a typical program of these conferences : 
 
 First Week : Saturday, August 4, to Friday, August 10. 
 8:45 A.M. to 10:30 a.m. Morning Lectures, followed by discus- 
 sion. Subject of course for week: The Future of British Co- 
 operation. 
 6 :45 P. M. to 8 :00 p. m.. Evening Classes. 
 Class Subjects : Class A : The Report of the Cooperative Sur- 
 vey Committee. 
 Class B : The Cooperative Control. 
 
 of Raw Materials. 
 Class C : Cooperative Finance. 
 
 MORNING LECTURES 
 
 Monday 
 
 Dailt Subject — The Lessons of the Past and Their Indication of 
 
 Future Possibilities. 
 Class A. Daily Subject — Retail and "Wholesale Distribution. 
 Class B. Daily Subject — The Necessity for Cooperative Control. 
 Class C. Daily Subject — Powers and Limitations of Societies in 
 Raising Capital. 
 
 Tuesday 
 Daily Subject — The Future in Home Markets. 
 Class A. Daily Subject — Cooperative Production. 
 Class B. Daily Subject — Requirements essential to a Cooperative 
 
 Control. 
 Class C. Daily Subject — Present-Day Resources and Their In- 
 
90 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 The cooperative wholesale society is a remarkable 
 organization. It is a vast productive concern which 
 supplies practically no one but the retail stores affili- 
 ated with it. The relation of the retail store to the 
 wholesale society is exactly that of the individual con- 
 sumer to the retail store. Every store becomes a mem- 
 ber of the wholesale society, investing capital in it, 
 buying from it, and receiving back periodically its share 
 of the wholesale society's profits in the form of a divi- 
 dend on what is has purchased. This dividend, of 
 course, explains why the retail societies' stores are 
 filled with the products of the wholesale society in- 
 stead of those of private manufacturers. On that 
 basis the cooperative wholesale society has built up one 
 of the largest trading concerns in the United King- 
 dom. Its turnover in 1917, the last year for which 
 official figures are published, exceeded two hundred and 
 seventy million dollars — and the volume of trade is 
 steadily increasing. It owns tea plantations and coal 
 mines, wharves and granaries and steamers, flour mills 
 and shoe and clothing factories, foundries and farms — 
 every kind of plant, in short, needed to supply, 
 through the medium of the distribution stores, the 
 wants of a clientele amounting to some twelve to fif- 
 teen million people. 
 
 A movement as vast as this has become could not 
 entirely escape the strictures of even sympathetic crit- 
 ics. One of its foundation principles is to "conciliate 
 the conflicting interests of the capitalists, the worker 
 and the purchaser, through the equitable division 
 among them of the fund commonly known as profit." 
 That is an admirable ideal ; and so far as the capitalist 
 and the purchaser are concerned it is completely real- 
 
SIDELIGHTS ON INDUSTRY 91 
 
 ized, for under the cooperative system the capitalist 
 and the purchaser are one. Where the scheme fails 
 to fulfil early hopes is in regard to its own employees. 
 In the distributive societies, as has been said, the em- 
 ployees often share to a small extent in the quarterly 
 dividend. But in the case of the wholesale society, 
 which is an employer on a very large scale, the relation 
 between the management and the workers is not very 
 different from that which we find between ordinary 
 employers and their operatives. The wages are not 
 materially higher, and except in a few special cases 
 the workers have no more control over industry than 
 they would have if employed by a private manufac- 
 turer. As a consequence industrial disputes are of 
 periodic occurrence, and strikes, which ought to be 
 unknown under a true cooperative system, have by no 
 means been eradicated. The truth appears to be that 
 though the movement has put the relation between 
 capital and consumer on a new and satisfactory foot- 
 ing it has not come near solving the problem of the re- 
 lation between capital and labor. 
 
 But if that is true of the movement as a whole there 
 are a number of special instances in which suggestive 
 experiments in the way of true cooperative production 
 are in progress. These take the form of associations 
 of workers combining for their own benefit, and for 
 the most part with their own capital, to set up a fac- 
 tory where they can work under conditions laid down 
 by themselves, disposing of their goods through the 
 ordinary channels of trade or through some coopera- 
 tive society which is glad to enter into trade relations 
 with a concern animated so largely by its own motives. 
 One of the most interesting of such enterprises, the 
 
92 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 Walsall Locks and Cart Gear, Ltd., which has been 
 in existence for some forty-five years, does an exten- 
 sive export trade, having thus, of course, to face on 
 even terms the competition of the ordinary private 
 manufacturer. The management committee consists 
 whoUy of employees and is appointed by the share- 
 holders, most of the latter being employees also. The 
 workers, therefore, are completely self -managed. The 
 wages paid are said to be the best in the trade, and 
 the employees get in addition, from the annual profits, 
 a bonus equaling five to ten per cent on their yearly 
 wage. 
 
 Other like organizations could be mentioned. 
 There is, for example, a well-known printing business, 
 the Garden City Press, at Letchworth. There are 
 clothing factories at Kettering, Wellingborough and 
 elsewhere ; some fifteen boot and shoe factories in dif- 
 ferent localities ; and a number of other isolated busi- 
 nesses based on the same principle of self-government 
 and equal division of profits. 
 
 The progress of these self-managed productive so- 
 cieties well deserves attention, for the principle they 
 embody would appear to supply one answer to the grow- 
 ing demand of every class of worker for a larger share 
 in management. Yet the fact remains that the self- 
 management movement is making little headway ex- 
 cept in the case of agriculture. Agriculture, however, 
 cannot quite fairly be compared with the instances that 
 have been quoted, because in those cases the point in 
 question was a combination between employees, while 
 in this case it is a combination between a number of in- 
 dependent farmers. None the less, the movement now 
 in progress is of great significance. Following the ex- 
 
SIDELIGHTS ON INDUSTRY 93 
 
 ample of Ireland, where the Irish Agricultural Organi- 
 zation Society, under the wise and stimulating guidance 
 of Sir Horace Plunkett, has lifted the whole farming 
 industry of the country into prosperity, farmers' co- 
 operative societies fostered by a central agricultural 
 organization society are springing up all over England. 
 For the most part these are connected with the dairy- 
 ing side of agriculture, the farmers of a given locality 
 combining to establish a central factory or depot to 
 which they send their milk each day to be cooled and 
 Pasteurized and despatched to the town or made into 
 cream or butter on the premises. The factory is con- 
 trolled by the farmers themselves through a manager 
 appointed by them in their capacity of shareholders. 
 The movement is growing rapidly and will certainly 
 increase in scope as well as in the territory it covers. 
 Cooperative buying of seeds, fertilizers and equipment 
 is being added to cooperative selling, and in connection 
 with the Central Agricultural Organization Society an 
 Agricultural Wholesale Society has just been founded 
 to undertake the manufacture of machinery for the co- 
 operative factories and the individual farmers who 
 own them. 
 
 The cooperative movement in Great Britain in its 
 different forms has secured a place in the economic life 
 of the country which goes entirely unobserved by the 
 average business man. But it should be observed that 
 the movement has established a hold only on the indus- 
 trial population. Thafhold it has immensely strength- 
 ened during the war, for at a time when the cry of 
 profiteering was rife the cooperative-society member 
 knew himself to be absolutely secure, since every penny 
 of extra profit his store might make would come back 
 
94 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 into his own pocket and those of his fellow members 
 at the end of every quarter. One sign of the impor- 
 tance of the cooperative movement is the fact that it is 
 at present discussing the starting of a national daily 
 paper, while it has come for the first time into the po- 
 litical field, having run ten candidates at the recent 
 general election on a special cooperative ticket. Few 
 great movements in Great Britain are less understood 
 or better worth understanding, and none is having a 
 more marked influence on the man-power situation. 
 
 What the success of the cooperative movement 
 teaches is just this : The way to bigger industrial op- 
 portunity and satisfaction is along the line of prepa- 
 ration, effort and staying power. That the man power 
 of the country can fill a bigger place than it has done 
 up to now is proved by its capacity to swing one of the 
 greatest businesses in the world. Men who care in- 
 telligently enough to be willing to pay the price may go 
 as far in industrial leadership and management as they 
 choose. But the price is always preparation. No in- 
 dustry can be run on the basis of a debating club. It 
 is sure to dry up while the resolutions are on the table. 
 Management is an affair of brains and not emotions. 
 Its technic has to be won patiently. Though no mys- 
 tery — as I have pointed out in the opening quotation — 
 the business of operating a going concern is no sport 
 for the amateur. Mr. Sidney Webb has said many 
 harsh things of industry as it has been carried on, but 
 nobody has put the matter of management in clearer 
 words : 
 
 ' ' Under any social order, from now to Utopia, man- 
 agement is indispensable and all-enduring. The more 
 that men become capable of cooperation in enterprise of 
 
SIDELIGHTS ON INDUSTRY 96 
 
 larger and larger scope, and of greater and greater 
 complexity, the more indispensable becomes the man- 
 ager to any high degree of efficiency of human effort. ' ' 
 
 British employers are now frankly facing the broad- 
 ening of the foundation for management. They can 
 no longer hold a narrow view of the foreman's or the 
 manager's place as they come to perceive that if the 
 basis of shop administration is broadened much benefit 
 for industry will result. The times are much too 
 critical for old prejudices or traditions to be allowed 
 to defeat the coming together of the forces that keep 
 the wheels of industry turning. Where beginnings 
 have been made in widening the opportunity for team- 
 work in management the results have given satisfac- 
 tion. 
 
 Observe, too, that the man power of industry is in 
 itself a resource in management. To see and use it as 
 such is the beginning of industrial wisdom. Both con- 
 sciously and by indirection the cooperative movement 
 takes this proposition for granted. 
 
 A factory in the north of England employing two 
 thousand mechanics has been for two years intrusting 
 to a committee of its employees all matters of shop 
 discipline, investigation of grievances, and reports on 
 conditions which needed the attention of the manage- 
 ment. The chairman of this committee has written to 
 tell me of his work. 
 
 "Our first aim was," he writes, "to prevent friction 
 wherever possible between man and man, or between 
 the employees and the management. Looking back 
 over the past two years of my own experiences I am 
 amazed when I consider the number of complaints that 
 were laid before our committee for investigation. The 
 
96 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 majority were of bogus character. Through lack of 
 knowledge men thought they had a legitimate grievance 
 against the foreman or the management, and when we 
 carefully inquired into the complaiats we very often 
 discovered it was only a delusion. We should never 
 accept any statement or grievance as gospel truth. 
 By this method you do not discredit yourself or the 
 committee by putting up a bad case to the management. 
 
 "Also you reduce the friction to a minimum, because 
 you wipe out a fancied grievance. When we decide 
 that an employee is not justified in his complaint it has 
 more effect with the men in the shop than a decision 
 of the foreman, because the committee is the counsel 
 set up to represent the interest of the men. 
 
 ' ' On the committee we do not want talking machines. 
 We want the best men in the shop with the greatest 
 amount of common sense. It is vitally important to 
 encourage the best men to be elected, and make the 
 position a post of honor. The works management 
 should recognize this committee. After careful inquiry 
 into cases, individual or departmental, they decide on 
 what cases go before the management — ^Which acts with- 
 out delay — and discuss pros and cons. If there is a 
 really good case, and the management is wishful to be 
 fair and just, there can be no doubt of the result. ' ' 
 
 There is a dynamo-manufacturing plant in Bradford 
 employing more than four thousand men, which has 
 developed its works and shop committee system to an 
 extraordinary degree. Team spirit has been a slogan 
 with the capable men who direct this successful es- 
 tablishment; the general manager of the works is a 
 good type of the new executive who sees in the work- 
 
SIDELIGHTS ON INDUSTRY 97 
 
 ing force an overlooked asset in the proper direction of 
 industry. 
 
 "I suppose that in every country," he said in out- 
 lining the plant policy, "there are a certain number 
 of the community who love a bogy. 
 
 "Now that the war is over and the bogy of German 
 domination, which has certainly been a pretty substan- 
 tial one, has disappeared, the latest bogy is that of not 
 ordinary industrial unrest but blood-red revolution. 
 This revolution apparently is to come because labor, 
 born with a greater share of original sin than the share- 
 holding classes, has now been rendered, by govern- 
 ment pampering and a totally unnecessary education, 
 quite impossible. This represents with tolerable ac- 
 curacy the view of some of my class. 
 
 "While it is ridiculous to take the views expressed 
 above about the future industrial situation it is equally 
 ridiculous to under-estimate the complex nature of the 
 problem which confronts British industry at the mo- 
 ment. British labor is not Bolshevik ; British labor is 
 not even republican ; but it is sane and it is progressive. 
 You cannot expect a workman to be a semigenius in 
 your interest and a fool in his own. 
 
 "The war has merely accelerated the labor policy, 
 it has not increased the claims of labor. Labor is out 
 for a new 'orientation'; it is claiming *a place in the 
 sun.' 
 
 "Industry is like a panorama changing all the time 
 even while the actors are moving, and this is what so 
 many people overlook. Some of them have not no- 
 ticed that since their grandfather built the business the 
 whole scenery has changed from the early- Victorian 
 
98 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 background on which the structure was originally built 
 up. 
 
 "Now I come to my first point : The mid- Victorian 
 owner of the business negotiated with his men himself ; 
 he knew them mostly by name and he knew the rami- 
 fications of his business ; and what is more important 
 still, he did his own work in labor difficulties; he did 
 not leave it to the foreman. Almost without exception 
 British concerns leave the foreman to do the impos- 
 sible work. The boss gives away the concessions and 
 when he has not anything to concede the foreman is 
 deputed to tell them so, consequently the foreman's 
 popularity is not at all good. 
 
 "During the war munition tribunals were set up in 
 each town. We proposed to our men that they should 
 be their own tribunal. Later we decided to go still 
 farther and suggested choosing a chairman of their 
 own, to handle the decisions of this body on workmen 
 who by misdemeanor had brought themselves under the 
 Munitions of War Act and should rightly have gone 
 down to the government tribunal. All fines were given 
 to charitable funds. . No one was bound to come to our 
 tribunal unless he liked, but could go to the one in the 
 town; and a Gilbertian situation was created by the 
 central tribunal's asking us what sentence we had given 
 for a particular oifense, so that they could give the 
 same." 
 
 Industry is at bottom a problem in man power. 
 That problem is big enough to call for every ounce of 
 intelligence and force latent and active not only in the 
 managing staff but in the anonymous rank and file. 
 How to pool for the good of industry, and of those who 
 
SIDELIGHTS ON INDUSTRY 99 
 
 work in it, all that scattered, sometimes discordant, 
 and generally too little used human power is the big 
 problem before those who are looking ahead. 
 
 British industry stands to gain a new vitality and 
 promise so far as it bases its scheme of management 
 on a respect for what the everyday worker has it in 
 , him to contribute. A new f oremanship is coming into 
 play. Managers and men are learning to speak a com- 
 mon language and to think in terms of purposes that 
 neither can misuse without general injury. 
 
CHAPTEE rV 
 
 CONTROL. OF THE JOB 
 
 '"1^7 HAT will British industry look like, now that 
 V V the war is over? Does the war mean a slump 
 in British initiative?" You hear questions like this 
 wherever you go, and wherever British business men 
 or manufacturers foregather. What they have in 
 mind is not the volume of their future trade. 
 
 Trade will ho doubt be good, given the tonnage. 
 American competition is something to think about, but 
 it is n't that which gives much concern just at present. 
 
 Eeconstruction is what men are thinking of, and by 
 this they mean the kind of team play and sense of com- 
 mon interest that may or may not obtain in the relation 
 of employer and employed, and in the task of restoring 
 the economic life of the nation to a sound peace foot- 
 ing. Industrial policy is the topic of chief interest. 
 An early understanding of what it is to be is urgently 
 sought. Whatever else may be put off, an agreement 
 on this question and policy cannot. 
 
 And it is not to Parliament or any other public body 
 that men are looking for a solution. The answer, all 
 agree, lies with industry itself, with each trade and 
 business embraced under this general head. In the 
 hands of the men who carry on the industrial life of the 
 country — owners, managers and the rank and file — 
 rests the fate finally of any industrial policy adopted. 
 If they reach a working basis for the forwarding of 
 
 100 
 
CONTROL OF THE JOB lOl 
 
 their common business, with due regard for interests 
 other than their own, all will be well. If they do not, 
 reconstruction will halt and stagger, and well-being, 
 prosperity, opportunity — call it what you please — will 
 take wing. 
 
 In these circumstances the wrecker alone has his 
 innings; his ax is ready to hand. There is no occa- 
 sion for any panic of course. For all the strain of 
 four years' nightmare neither workmen nor managers 
 show any signs of having lost their heads. Quite the 
 other way; they are amazingly sound in their head- 
 work, and their zeal is far from winded. 
 
 The spirit and the unshaken common sense of the 
 nation were expressed exactly the other day by the 
 Minister of Labor, who in a talk on this very topic of 
 new industrial policy told a group of manufacturers 
 and labor representatives : 
 
 "It is your duty to see to it that we go about this 
 business in a sane and British way. Our people are 
 not easily lured away by the fanaticism whose dreary 
 and blood-stained doings have so often led simple men 
 to disaster and disillusionment, as in the case of un- 
 happy Russia. "We must find something firm — to guide 
 us against corrupting doctrines. Our new problems 
 are much more intricate and difficult than were those 
 we had to face during the war. No state department 
 can do things so well as those who are engaged in a 
 particular trade can do for themselves. I am sup- 
 posed to be a bureaucrat, being a minister of the 
 Crown. I realize the limitations of office. Greater 
 efficiency lies with those employers and employed who 
 work out together the problems of their common busi- 
 ness. There must be good, all-round organization in 
 
102 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 every trade. We need a representative industrial 
 council in every business, which can speak with an au- 
 thoritative voice for the whole industry. The govern- 
 ment will refer to such councils for the purpose of 
 guidance. 
 
 "The keystone of our country's industrial future is 
 in the getting together of employer and employee. 
 For the period we have ahead we need the most active 
 and the closest cooperation between them. We have 
 recommended to both sides the scheme of the Whitley 
 report, which scheme is now in successful operation in 
 a number of industries. We do not ask you to swallow 
 this plan or use it if you have something as good or 
 better which does the work in your own particular 
 trade. Only we point out the need of some such basic 
 principle and organization for every industry; a body 
 which can speak for it in a representative way. Such 
 a plan is typically British. It does not make for revo- 
 lution. Eeady-made Utopia is the will-o'-the-wisp 
 which has lured men in all ages. We possess intelli- 
 gence enough to distinguish what is possible and prac- 
 ticable from the glamour of magic vistas. ' ' 
 
 So industrial Britain is going in for a tryout, a fair 
 experimenting with the suggestions and the proposals 
 outlined in the famous Whitley reports.^ The cam- 
 paign has been sufficiently promising to wring this ac- 
 knowledgment from the ' ' Munchner Neueste Nachrich- 
 ten:" "The attempts made by the English to reform 
 industry deserve consideration by us also, since in the 
 great struggle after the war that nation will certainly 
 come off best which carries over unimpaired from the 
 
 1 See page 297. Industrial Reports No. 1, 2 and 3. 
 
CONTROL OF THE JOB 103 
 
 war period into peace the ideal of work for the common 
 good, and which takes due account, not only in politics 
 but in the organization of industry, of the self-con- 
 sciousness of the people which has grown so immensely 
 during the war. Without losing sight of our own spe- 
 cial circumstances we have every reason to follow with 
 the greatest attention the development of the situation 
 in England." 
 
 "Whitley" has become a sort of slogan in the British 
 industrial world to-day. The Eight Honorable J. H. 
 Whitley, deputy speaker of the House of Commons, is 
 a member of a large firm of Yorkshire cotton spinners. 
 In 1916 the Cabinet Eeconstruction Committee set up 
 by Mr. Asquith appointed him chairman of a special 
 committee charged with going into the whole question 
 of the future relations between employer and employed. 
 This committee was made up of twelve members, and 
 included trade-union officials like J. E. Clynes, who 
 later became Food Controller; economists like J. A. 
 Hobson and Prof. S. J. Chapman; employers like Sir 
 Grilbert Claughton, general manager of the London and 
 North Western Eailway; two women, and other well- 
 known specialists. The appointment of this commit- 
 tee was most opportune, and it was obviously neces- 
 sary. Considering the industrial situation at the time, 
 the committee appeared if anything somewhat belated. 
 For more than two years before the Whitley group 
 started its work unrest had been rife and threatened 
 to spread, how far no one could guess. Industry was 
 in a ferment ; what showed on the surface of things was 
 only less disconcerting than what could be surmised 
 from the undercurrent. Only the declaration of war 
 averted the imminent total paralysis of the country's 
 
104 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 transportation system, with the coal miners and the 
 building-trades workmen ready to join in. 
 
 In London the building industry was completely tied 
 up by both strike and lockout. To bring matters to a 
 head the national body of building-trades employers 
 had decided on a nation-wide lockout in support of the 
 London employers. Only the outbreak of war put a 
 stop to such a suicidal move. With local civil wars 
 threatening in all directions, with irresponsible groups 
 of men possessed of the power to bring about all sorts 
 of industrial dislocation and inflicting untold misery 
 ipon the public — the situation was about as bad as it 
 could be. All through the early stages of war bitter 
 passions were smoldering; mutual distrust and ill will 
 agitated employer and employed. 
 
 War considerations suppressed the news of certain 
 disquieting episodes in this home struggle. In the 
 Clyde valley, for example, the men, going over the 
 heads of their constituted officials, and led by a small 
 group of shop stewards, began a movement which at- 
 tained no little momentum before it was headed off, 
 and which was known as the Withdrawal of Labor 
 Committee. No word of it got abroad. This com- 
 mittee represented the very negation of the ideas and 
 method of collective bargaining. It made for anarchy 
 in the industrial world, and was naturally exposed to 
 destruction by the same method it sought to use against 
 the orderly course of negotiation and binding agree- 
 ment. 
 
 Obviously the war could not be won while such a 
 situation continued, nor could industry readily recover 
 even after victory on the battlefield, were it ever so 
 glorious. Recrimination was useless; both sides could 
 
CONTROL OF THE JOB 105 
 
 play that game, and did with zest. Nor could a resort 
 to force avail. Conflagrations are not quenched by 
 violent emotions, nor are states of mind corrected by 
 the bobby's truncheon. The public at large was clam- 
 oring for a truce, if not a healing, in this dark situation. 
 Bales of printed matter show how much public interest 
 was agitated, what fears were felt for the boys across 
 the Channel. Letters to the "Times" are the normal 
 safety valve in ordinary emergencies, but at this par- 
 ticular juncture that institution failed to work. 
 
 So the Whitley Committee set out in troubled waters 
 to find a binding principle and program; a program 
 which, whatever modifications might be imposed by 
 local conditions, should at least point a way to indus- 
 trial peace. 
 
 Among her other familiar abhorrences Nature ab- 
 hors an industrial vacuum. Laissez faire is impos- 
 sible. The committee wisely spent no time on causes 
 of unrest; it was not an investigating body set up to 
 probe into the past ; it took unrest for granted and pro- 
 ceeded to find out what could be done about it. Its 
 main business was to devise ways and means best 
 suited to the exigencies of the time. Through thick 
 and thin the committee held fast to this big fact : The 
 trouble was not one altogether of wages, hours or con- 
 ditions. All these had a part, a very large part, in the 
 temper of the industrial districts. But they counted 
 for less than many people supposed. Adjustments 
 may be made to meet demands in wages, hours, and 
 the like ; frequently matters look as if settled for good, 
 but soon the same old discontent crops up. This has 
 been the case in Great Britain throughout the war, and 
 I dare say it is typical of industrial history everywhere 
 
106 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 else. The milk in the coconut is a larger share in con- 
 trol over those matters which affect the daily interests 
 of the workingman. Naturally the average employer 
 is unprepared for any such scrambling of his man- 
 agerial eggs, and it is not too much to say that the aver- 
 age worker has not prepared himself for real service 
 in this respect. 
 
 But the subject does not end here. Though the mass 
 of England's industrial workers do not clamor for the 
 ousting of the employer, suppression of his managers 
 and executive force, and the substitution of a new 
 regime composed of the names on his pay roll, the idea 
 of a larger share in control has taken root. And dur- 
 ing these reconstruction days a vigorous and unwearied 
 group of industrial crusaders are pushing it with mil- 
 lennial ardor. But, as I have said, the general temper 
 is not extreme, the specter of Eussian conditions, if 
 nothing else, serving as a grim caution against flying 
 leaps with the industrial organization. 
 
 The Whitley Committee saw what wise employers 
 have also seen, that there is an instinct among the 
 workers which represents something wholesome in hu- 
 man nature and something beneficial to industry if a 
 way could be found to satisfy it and yet keep industry 
 sound. The committee held that the way of promise 
 was in the direction of building on the idea of mutual- 
 ity^— not of the lion-and-lamb-lying-down-together busi- 
 ness, but the idea of association between equals, be- 
 tween necessary principals in the industrial organiza- 
 tion. And with this controlling thought the committee 
 proceeded. 
 
 The Whitley Committee was appointed "to make 
 and consider suggestions for securing a permanent 
 
CONTROL OF THE JOB 107 
 
 improvement in the relations between employers and 
 workmen; to recommend means for securing tliat in- 
 dustrial conditions affecting the relations between em- 
 ployers and workmen shall be systematically reviewed 
 by those concerned, with a view to improving condi- 
 tions in the future." 
 
 In March, 1917, the committee reported, recommend- 
 ing the establishment in all well-organized trades of 
 joint standing industrial councils, representative of 
 employers and employed; and in July of that year a 
 letter was addressed by the Minister of Labor to all 
 the principal employers' associations and trades 
 unions, asking for their views. By October, 1917, so 
 many favorable replies had been received that the War 
 Cabinet decided to adopt the report as part of its re- 
 construction policy and instructed the Ministry of La- 
 bor to assist in the formation of joint industrial coun- 
 cils. In October, 1917, a second report on joint stand- 
 ing industrial councils was presented, further elaborat- 
 ing the scheme. 
 
 At the present time joint industrial councils have 
 been established in the baking, bedstead, bobbins, 
 building, chemical, china clay, furniture, gold and sil- 
 ver, hosiery, leather goods, matches, paint and varnish, 
 pottery, rubber, silk, vehicle and building trades. Ne- 
 gotiations are going on in the surgical instruments, 
 waterworks, woolen and worsted and other trades. 
 
 The machinery suggested by the Whitley reports is 
 based on the principle of local option. The committee 
 recommend that in addition to the national councils 
 representing the whole industry there should be cre- 
 ated joint district councils and works committees, sub- 
 sidiary to the national councils. The district councils 
 
108 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 would deal with questions having a local character ; the 
 works committee would deal with all questions domes- 
 tic to a particular plant. 
 
 It is a feature of the scheme that the constitution of 
 the national and district councils, of the works com- 
 mittee, and of all subcommittees of any of these bodies, 
 shall be based upon the principle of equal representa- 
 tion of employers and employed. A typical council 
 will thus consist of an equal number of representatives 
 appointed by the employers' associations and the 
 trades unions, the chairman as a rule being chosen al- 
 ternately from among the employers and the workers. 
 The exact lines on which works committees are formed 
 vary according to the conditions of the several indus- 
 tries, but in each case the lines adopted are the result 
 of agreement between the employers and the men. 
 
 Whatever methods of representation and voting are 
 adopted special consideration is given to the position 
 of foremen and others in similar posts. These men 
 are sometimes members of the unions and sometimes 
 not. In some cases they have their own unions. Their 
 functions are partly those specially belonging to man- 
 agement, partly those of labor. Their position is one 
 of great importance and they may become either a 
 great aid or a serious obstacle to progress. The steps 
 taken to insure their representation vary in each in- 
 dustry, but the committee lays emphasis on their place 
 in any successful operation of the plan. 
 
 The Ministry of Labor supplies any national council 
 with a representative appointed to act as a liaison of- 
 ficer between the council and the various government 
 departments. The acceptance of such assistance is 
 purely voluntary, and a nominee of the ministry is ap- 
 
CONTROL OF THE JOB 109 
 
 pointed only at the request of a council. A majority 
 of the councils have, however, made this request. 
 
 As to the scope of the councils the Ministry of Labor 
 has made the following suggestions : 
 
 Means to secure the largest possible measure of joint 
 action between employers and workpeople for the de- 
 velopment of the industry as a part of national life 
 and for the improvement of the conditions of all en- 
 gaged in the industry. 
 
 Eegular consideration of wages, hours and working 
 conditions in the industry as a whole. 
 
 The consideration of measures for regularizing pro- 
 duction and employment. 
 
 The consideration of the existing machinery for the 
 settlement of differences between different parties and 
 sections in the industry, and the establishment of ma- 
 chinery for this purpose where it does not already ex- 
 ist, with the object of securing the speedy settlement 
 of difficulties. 
 
 The collection of statistics and information on mat- 
 ters appertaining to the industry. 
 
 The encouragement of the study of processes and 
 design and of research, with a view to perfecting the 
 products of the industry. 
 
 The provision of facilities for the full consideration 
 and utilization of inventions and any improvement in 
 machinery or method, and for the adequate safeguard- 
 ing of the rights of the designers of such improve- 
 ments, and to secure that such improvement in method 
 or invention shall give to each party an equitable share 
 of the benefits, financially or otherwise, arising there- 
 from. 
 
 Inquiries into special problems of the industry, in- 
 
110 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 eluding the comparative study of the organization and 
 methods of the industry in this and other countries, 
 and, where desirable, the publication of reports. 
 
 The improvement of the health conditions obtaining 
 in the industry, and the provision of special treatment 
 where necessary for workers in the industry. 
 
 The supervision of, entry into and training for the 
 industry, and cooperation with educational authorities 
 in arranging education in all its branches for the in- 
 dustry. 
 
 The issue to the press of authoritative statements 
 upon matters affecting the industry of general interest 
 to the community. 
 
 Representation of the needs and opinions of the in- 
 dustry to the government, government departments 
 and other authorities. 
 
 The following objects have also been included in 
 some of the council constitutions : 
 
 The consideration of measures for securing the in- 
 clusion of all employers and workpeople in their re- 
 spective associations. 
 
 The arrangement of lectures and the holding of con- 
 ferences on subjects of general interest to the industry. 
 
 Cooperation with the joint industrial councils for 
 other industries to deal with matters of common in- 
 terest. 
 
 Demobilization and resettlement, the training of dis- 
 abled soldiers and sailors, the position of returning 
 apprentices, the priority of release of "pivotal" men 
 from the army and navy, education, and the rationing 
 of raw materials, are among the subjects that have al- 
 ready been taken up by councils formed under the 
 scheme. 
 
CONTROL OF THE JOB 111 
 
 Now in this scheme of industrial organization there 
 are three points that seem to call for special emphasis : 
 
 In the first place, the scheme goes a long way to- 
 ward securing industrial autonomy. Though the de- 
 cisions of a national industrial council have no statu- 
 tory force they do represent the considered opinion of 
 the employers and the men, and in practice they are 
 binding on the industry as a whole. 
 
 In the second place, the machinery is decentralized 
 and elastic. The provision for district councils and 
 works committees is of importance, for it insures the 
 direct discussion and settlement of local questions by 
 those whom they immediately concern. It is clear that 
 the possibilities of development are very wide. Here 
 is a simple and elastic machinery by which all the 
 parties to any industry can be brought together for 
 cooperation. New methods of organization can be 
 tested by experiment, and adopted or rejected accord- 
 ing to the teaching of experience ; and in the meantime 
 the ordinary work of the councils and committees cre- 
 ates an atmosphere of broader sympathies and under- 
 standing in which the discussion of new issues can be 
 carried on with a better prospect of general agreement. 
 
 In the third place — and this is the most important 
 point of all — the object of the coimcils is not merely to 
 settle or even to avert disputes, but, as I have pointed 
 out, to secure cooperation in the improvement of in- 
 dustry ; and this idea is nowhere better expressed than 
 in the work of the Builders' National Industrial Par- 
 liament, which was in process of formation at the time 
 the first Whitley report appeared. 
 
 Though the decision of the Ministry of Labor to treat 
 councils as the channel of communication adds greatly 
 
112 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 to their value it would be a mistake to lay too much 
 emphasis on this official relationship. The great ad- 
 vantage of the plan is the opportunity for industry to 
 work out its own salvation in the light of its own spe- 
 cial knowledge. 
 
 The principal report of the Whitley Committee, pub- 
 lished in March, 1917, was unanimous, and its recom- 
 mendations have gained universal recognition as a wise 
 and practical compromise between the views of the 
 conservative employer, who regards all trades-union 
 activities with suspicion, and the revolutionist, who 
 aims at destroying the existing industrial structure 
 altogether. 
 
 The main proposal of the Whitley Committee — -the 
 establishment in every industry of a permanent joint 
 council of employers and employed — looks on the face 
 of it obvious enough. In point of fact, the acceptance 
 of that principle was a revolution in itself, for it meant 
 the recognition of a community as the basic fact in the 
 industrial world rather than an antagonism of inter- 
 est between employers and employed. Always the de- 
 velopment of industrial organization, both on the men's 
 and on the employers' side, has proceeded entirely 
 along separate lines. The employers' associations and 
 men's unions have in fact acted as a continual chal- 
 lenge to one another, each trying to consolidate its own 
 position in order to have power to drive a hard bar- 
 gain with the other. The master stroke of the Whit- 
 ley Committee was to take the two organizations as 
 they stood and, far from trying to weaken the influ- 
 ence of either, try to make each as comprehensive as 
 possible, in order that by acting together instead of 
 in opposition they might be able to legislate effec- 
 
CONTROL OF THE JOB 113 
 
 tively for all the interests comprised in the industry. 
 
 The Whitley Committee made one bold decision at 
 the outset : It resolved not to trouble its head in the 
 first instance about methods for settling industrial dis- 
 putes. The secret of half the disputes that arise lies 
 in the fact that both sides approach each other as 
 natural antagonists and never get into serious nego- 
 tiations at all till feelings on each side are already 
 exacerbated by the signs of a coming collision. Get the 
 men and managers to cooperate as a regular practice 
 in fair weather, said the Whitley Committee, and in 
 foul weather they will find their own way of averting a 
 dispute before it becomes dangerous. Following that 
 principle the committee stuck to positive proposals. 
 Every trade, it said, ought to have at the center a na- 
 tional joint council, bringing together the men's unions 
 on the one hand and the employers ' associations on the 
 other. That joint machinery ought to be reproduced 
 locally in the form of district councils and works com- 
 mittees, each composed of equal numbers of employers 
 and employed, with or without an independent chair- 
 man. 
 
 The kind of question a joint council deals with, 
 either directly or through its local councils and com- 
 mittees, includes the better utilization of the workers' 
 knowledge and experience ; the means of increasing the 
 control of the workers over conditions in industry ; the 
 settlement of the general principles of employment, 
 such as the basis of time and piece rates and their re- 
 lation to one another; industrial training; methods of 
 negotiation on points of difference between employer 
 and employed ; industrial research and the application 
 of its results; the use, development and protection of 
 
114, MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 inventions and improvements devised by workers ; gen- 
 eral cooperation in increasing the efficiency of the in- 
 dustry ; and the promotion of or declaration of a com- 
 mon opinion on legislation affecting the industry. 
 
 On that foundation Whitley councils in more than 
 twenty different industries have been formed. The 
 experiment so far has fully justified itself, but the time 
 for judging it in earnest is not yet. War conditions of 
 industry have been entirely abnormal. The national 
 crisis was bound in any event to work powerfully for 
 cooperation between employers and employed, and the 
 influences operating against industrial disputes have 
 been strong. The real test of the Whitley scheme will 
 come in the next two or three years, when reconstructed 
 industry settles down once more into fixed grooves. 
 
 If the new cooperation can survive the pains of re- 
 construction and stand its ground under the new in- 
 dustrial conditions, its permanence as part of the es- 
 tablished mechanism of industry should be assured. 
 There is every prospect, indeed, that it will extend and 
 develop into something more, for if the workers' de- 
 mands for a larger control over industry are to be sat- 
 isfied the Whitley councils provide the most obvious 
 means of satisfying them constitutionally. 
 
 Before considering that, however, it is worth while 
 examining the achievements of a Whitley council in 
 actual working. One of the earliest councils to be 
 formed was that in the painting and decorating trade. 
 The national joint council was intended to meet four 
 times a year, but it was found that at least twice as 
 many sessions were required to deal with the business. 
 Its purpose, according to its official statement, was 
 
CONTROL OF THE JOB 115 
 
 "to promote the continuous and progressive improve- 
 ment of the industry, to realize its organic unity as a 
 great national service, and to advance the well-being 
 and status of all connected with it." 
 
 The council does not profess to concern itself pri- 
 marily with the settlement of industrial disputes, but 
 its aid and advice are, in point of fact, constantly 
 sought in local controversies. Its chief business has 
 been the equalization of real wages throughout the 
 country, the prevention of unemployment by the better 
 organization of the industry, arrangement for the em- 
 ployment of disabled soldiers and sailors on such terms 
 that their pensions shall not be allowed to depress the 
 wage standard, the promotion of technical training 
 and research, the conditions of apprenticeship and the 
 pooling of schemes for the better conduct of the in- 
 dustry. 
 
 The wage question has been taken in hand in earnest, 
 and rates have been revised in different districts — al- 
 ways with an upward tendency — with a view to estab- 
 lishing a national system of rates which will insure 
 that men doing the same work in different parts of the 
 country get a wage which, taking into account the va- 
 riations in the cost of living in different districts, 
 represents the same value. 
 
 At the same time the joint action of employers and 
 men has proved singularly effective in bringing pres- 
 sure to bear on any employers or operatives who had 
 thoughts of staying outside the scheme for their own 
 advantage. A case occurred in the early days of the 
 painters' and decorators' joint council, in which cer- 
 tain employees were called out on strike by their trades 
 
116 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 union because their employer had stood out of the em- 
 ployers ' organization. After contesting the matter 
 for a month he swung permanently into line. 
 
 In other industries work at least as useful has been 
 accomplished. The building-trades industrial council 
 has opened a special employment exchange in London, 
 managed by a joint committee. The chemical indus- 
 trial council appoints each month a mobile conciliation 
 committee, consisting of six of its own members, who 
 undertake to be ready to go at a moment's notice to 
 any part of the country to advise on the settlement of a 
 dispute. The joint council for the china-clay industry 
 is occupying itself with questions of education, re- 
 search and statistics, and the health and welfare of the 
 workers. The furniture-trade council has a commit- 
 tee for rationing raw material for the industry. In 
 the woolen worsted trade a council following substan- 
 tially, though not identically, the lines of the Whitley 
 Council has been formed to regulate the trade during 
 the transition after-war period, from the rationing of 
 the raw material to the distribution of the finished 
 product. In the shipyards the joint council has con- 
 cerned itself particularly with the reduction of lost 
 time and hindrances to output generally. 
 
 Let us look into the w^orkings of one or two of these 
 councils — the well-known industrial council for the 
 building industry — the Building Trades Parliament, 
 as many call it — and the national council of the pottery 
 industry. 
 
 The story of the Building Trades Parliament can 
 best be told in the words of one of its organizers and 
 leaders : 
 
 "As a manager and director in several enterprises 
 
CONTROL OF THE JOB 117 
 
 I have touched the industrial problem first hand. I 
 became involved, much against my will, in the London 
 building troubles of 1914. On the heels of the strike 
 came the war, which was a wonderful demonstration 
 of the whole people's unity. This gave me a lead. I 
 began to realize that the old industrial idea of coercion, 
 antagonism and resistance ignored some of the most 
 powerful forces that actuated men. Thinking work- 
 men said that the normal condition of industry is one 
 of suppressed war. One employers' association issued 
 a public statement calling for defense against labor ag- 
 gression. 
 
 "What is the result of such a condition? Two 
 groups meet as hostile bodies, a tug of war follows, 
 and instead of constructive work we have sterile con- 
 troversy and waste. Now industry needs no truce Ijut 
 courage to take forward steps, supported by the con- 
 structive genius of both sides in common council. I 
 felt that labor should take the first step. 
 
 "Being no longer an employer at the time, I wrote 
 to the organization of carpenters and joiners, my for- 
 mer antagonists, suggesting that they invite the em- 
 ployers ' federation to join with them in setting up an 
 industrial parliament, representing management and 
 labor in equal numbers. My idea was not to super- 
 sede any existing association or to provide a new means 
 to settle disputes. I wished to see all the parties mo- 
 bilize for genuine service to the industry. 
 
 "Our wage schedule throughout the country, in over 
 one hundred towns in England and Wales alone, was 
 in a state of chaos, giving no end of trouble. By 
 standardizing this schedule we should do away with a 
 large part of the friction and with unfair competition. 
 
118 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 Prevailing methods caused needless unemployment, 
 and cooperation would help reduce this evil. By com- 
 mon effort we could provide for the employment of 
 partially disabled soldiers, which is an obligation on 
 every industry, but there are difficulties connected with 
 it which can best be settled in conference. 
 
 "There were questions as to the employment of 
 women, trade training, overtime pay, traveling and 
 lodging allowances, and discharge — all of which are 
 matters best disposed of through a conference board 
 which after discussion would work for standardized 
 practice. 
 
 "Well, the upshot of it all was a unanimous agree- 
 ment to start this work, and the parliament came into 
 existence last August. In its membership are thirty- 
 twjo employers, sixty-six building-trades subcontract- 
 ors, and sixty-six delegates from the operatives' trade 
 organizations. Here we have a new line for industry, 
 representing true British tradition of justice and self- 
 government as applied to industrial relations. The 
 spectacle of organized management and man power 
 uniting their energies on a program of reconstruction 
 and advance is unique. The building industry is one 
 of the largest and most important of the staple trades. 
 It is time that barriers which have held it back give 
 way to a real team spirit." 
 
 Constitutions make dry reading, but in view of the 
 foregoing statement I can venture a few lines from the 
 book of rules adopted by the parliament of the build- 
 ing trades : ^ 
 
 1 See page 466, Memorandum on Industrial Self-Govemment, the 
 Industrial Council for the Building Industry. 
 
CONTROL OF THE JOB 119 
 
 The name shall be The Industrial Council for the 
 Building Industry [Building Trades Parliament], here- 
 inafter referred to as the Council. 
 
 The Council is established to secure the largest pos- 
 sible measure pf joint action between employers and 
 workpeople for the development of the industry as a 
 part of national life, and for the improvement of the 
 conditions of all engaged in that industry. 
 
 It will be open to the Council to take any action that 
 falls within the scope of this general definition. More 
 specific objects will follow: 
 
 1. To recommend means for securing that industrial 
 conditions affecting employers and operatives, or the 
 relations between them, shall be systematically re- 
 viewed by those concerned, with a view to their im- 
 provement. 
 
 2. To consider, discuss and formulate opinion upon 
 any proposals which proffer, to those engaged in the 
 industry, the means of attaining improved conditions 
 and a higher standard of life, and involve the enlist- 
 ment of their active and continuous cooperation in the 
 development of the industry, and to make recommenda- 
 tions thereon, including such questions as measures 
 for — 
 
 Eegularizing production and employment. 
 
 The provision of a graduated scale of minimum rates 
 designed to maintain real wages as nearly as possible 
 on a level throughout the country. 
 
 Minimizing the fluctuations of trade by intelligent 
 anticipation and the augmentation of demand in slack 
 periods. 
 
 Scientific management and reduction of costs. 
 
 Welfare methods. 
 
120 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 Closer association between commercial and aesthetic 
 requirements. 
 
 The inclusion of all employers and workpeople in 
 their respective associations. 
 
 The revision and improvement of existing machinery 
 for the settlement of differences between different sec- 
 tions of the industry, or for the provision of such ma- 
 chinery where nonexistent, with the object of securing 
 the speedy settlement of difficulties. 
 
 The better utilization of the practical knowledge and 
 experience of those engaged in the industry. 
 
 Securing to the workpeople a greater share in and 
 responsibility for the determination and observance 
 of the conditions under which their work is carried on. 
 
 The settlement of the general principles governing 
 the conditions of employment, including the methods 
 of fixing, paying and readjusting wages, having regard 
 to the need for securing to all engaged in the industry 
 a share in the increased prosperity of the industry. 
 
 Insuring to the workpeople the greatest possible se- 
 curity of earnings and employment. 
 
 Dealing with the many difficulties which arise with 
 regard to the method and amount of payment apart 
 from the fixing of general standard rates. 
 
 3. To collect and circulate statistics and information 
 on matters appertaining to the industry. 
 
 4. To promote research and the study and improve- 
 ment of processes, design, and standards and methods 
 of workmanship, with a view of perfecting the products 
 of the industry. 
 
 5. To provide facilities for the full consideration 
 and utilization of inventions and improvements in ma- 
 chinery or methods, and for adequately safeguarding 
 
CONTROL OF THE JOB 121 
 
 the rights of the designers or inventors thereof; and 
 to secure that the benefits, financial or otherwise, aris- 
 ing therefrom, shall be equitably apportioned among 
 the designers or inventors, the proprietors or lessees, 
 and the operators thereof. 
 
 6. The supervision of entry into and training for 
 the industry and cooperation with the educational au- 
 thorities in arranging education in all its branches for 
 the industry. 
 
 7. The issue to the press of authoritative statements 
 upon matters affecting the industry of general interest 
 to the community. 
 
 8. Eepresentation of the needs and opinions of the 
 industry to government departments and local authori- 
 ties. 
 
 9. The consideration of any other matters that may 
 be referred to it by the government or any government 
 department. 
 
 10. Cooperation with the Joint Industrial Councils 
 of other industries to deal with problems of common 
 interest. 
 
 11. To provide, as far as practicable, that important 
 proposals affecting the industry shall be fully ven- 
 tilated and discussed through the medium of commit- 
 tees of inquiry, joint district boards, works commit- 
 tees, the trade papers, and the general press ; in order 
 that the opinion of members of the industry and of the 
 general public thereon may be accurately gaged be- 
 fore definite decisions are taken. 
 
 Unlike the building council the furniture joint indus- 
 trial council, which started in July, 1918, has on sev- 
 eral occasions been asked to mediate or arbitrate on 
 questions in dispute between operatives and employers. 
 
12SJ MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 The council has under consideration the establish- 
 ment of a national conciliation board for the trade, 
 ■which, when the district councils are formed, will no 
 doubt be linked up with district conciliation boards. 
 The council has held four meetings up to date, and has 
 appointed an executive committee, a resettlement com- 
 mittee, a committee on conciliation machinery and an 
 education committee. 
 
 A subcommittee, consisting of the two chairmen, has 
 been appointed to organize district councils in the dif- 
 ferent localities — including Ireland, with a view to get- 
 ting the Irish employers and men to cooperate in the 
 work of the national council. 
 
 When all the district councils are set up it is pro- 
 posed to reconstitute the national council on a terri- 
 torial basis. 
 
 The national council of the pottery industry is now 
 an established institution, and is another illustration 
 of good sense at work on the problem of promoting 
 team spirit in industry.^ As in the case of the build- 
 ing trades the suggestion of the council first came from 
 the employees. This council is designed to regulate 
 wages and selling prices, to promote training for the 
 industry, to improve health and other conditions, and 
 to encourage improved methods of production. 
 
 The pottery industry before the war was in an un- 
 satisfactory condition. Its returns pleased neither 
 manufacturer nor worker. The usual ill feeling pre- 
 vailed. Earnings were low and irregular. Bad sani- 
 tary conditions were common, with potter's asthma and 
 lead poisoning ever-present dangers. There was too 
 much driving, and it was bitterly resented. From the 
 
 1 See page 499, National Council of the Pottery Industry. 
 
CONTROL OF THE JOB 123 
 
 manufacturer's side there was much to complain of. 
 Profits were small in comparison with other industries. 
 With fifty-eight processes there was diflSculty in or- 
 ganizing work on a proper basis. Unrestricted com- 
 petition, price cutting and wage cutting kept the in- 
 dustry on a low level. Common rules to correct these 
 conditions were a clear necessity, and to this task the 
 council has been giving its attention for over a year. 
 
 The problems with which the pottery council deals 
 are the most important problems before the industry. 
 
 The first is that of wages. Wage rates in the pot- 
 tery trade are in a chaotic condition, and neither unions 
 nor employers' associations have even the materials 
 for the establishment of anything like uniform rates 
 for similar work throughout the industry. A statistics 
 subcommittee has begun an investigation into the ac- 
 tual rates and conditions of work in each of the sec- 
 tions of the industry, and the result of this will show 
 how far a systematic list is practicable, and what form 
 it should take. Along with this investigation the same 
 committee has been authorized to ask manufacturers' 
 associations to supply it with certain returns as to 
 average profits on turnover with a view to finding out 
 what are the normal earnings of capital in the industry. 
 
 The wage-and-conditions subcommittee has drafted 
 a scheme of works committee. The research subcom- 
 mittee is in touch with the national Department of 
 Scientific Eesearch to secure the recognition of the 
 council's claim to representation on the governing body 
 of any research association that may be established. 
 Meanwhile the committee is looking into conditions as 
 regards health, and so on, in the workshop, its chair- 
 man being the managing director of one of the most 
 
124. MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 up-to-date firms in industry. Another committee is 
 working with the Design and Industries Association, 
 which has held successful meetings in the district ; the 
 wages-and-conditions committee is also overhauling the 
 methods of apprenticeship, which, like the wage sys- 
 tem, have never been systematized. 
 
 Though all this activity cannot bear fruit for some 
 time the other phase of the council's work — namely, the 
 representation of the needs of the industry to the gov- 
 ernment — ^has already proved important. Thus, the 
 council took steps at the second meeting to bring the 
 needs of the industry before the Controller of Ship- 
 ping. A delegation waited on the Minister of Recon- 
 struction to call his attention to the difficulty with which 
 the china branch had been faced by the cutting off of 
 supplies of South America bone, and secured addi- 
 tional supplies from home resources. 
 
 Another type of work is represented by the action 
 of the council with regard to disabled sailors and sol- 
 diers and the problems of demobilization. A joint 
 committee, which existed before the council was formed, 
 to advise the local military-service tribunal on the se- 
 lection of men for retention in the industry, has be- 
 come a committee charged with the questions regarding 
 demobilization. This committee is preparing a report 
 on the openings for disabled sailors and soldiers in the 
 industry, and on the training required. 
 
 Unquestionably the council has been successful in 
 promoting what was after all its principal object — 
 namely, the improvement of relations between employ- 
 ers and employed. This was shown at the end of last 
 March, when the general demand for a greater in- 
 crease in wages than had ever been made was nego- 
 
CONTROL OF THE JOB 125 
 
 tiated successfully without serious ill feeling on either 
 side, and without calling in the assistance of an out- 
 side arbitrator, as has usually been necessary in the 
 past. 
 
 As big a feature of the joint-government movement 
 in British industry as the councils are the works com- 
 mittees. Such committees are by no means new. 
 They had been in operation for years before the war. 
 But in certain industries, notably in the metal trades, 
 the war conditions stimulated their growth to such an 
 extent, and worked such changes in their form and ac- 
 tivities, that works committees to-day are in many 
 places a characteristic result of wartime interest in 
 better industrial relations. 
 
 The causes that promoted the growth of a new type 
 of works committee during the war are various, but 
 they may be roughly traced first to the shop stewards, 
 then to the dilution of the working force by a large 
 number of unskilled workers, methods of pay, ab- 
 senteeism, safeguards against overstrain, and a gen- 
 eral sentiment looking to a closer knitting up of the 
 personnel. 
 
 Most trade unions have official shop stewards, known 
 by various names as shop delegates, works representa- 
 tives, yard-committee .men, and the like. Their duties 
 are well known, consisting of such matters as looking 
 after the maintenance of the agreement in force, col- 
 lection of union dues, and settlement of grievances. 
 But one effect of the war has been to enhance the po- 
 sition and prestige of the shop steward. Unable to 
 strike because of war stipulations, among which was 
 one making the official who called it liable to prosecu- 
 tion, the men naturally turned to their shop steward, 
 
126 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 who held a less conspicuous place. He was a free man. 
 His power within the shop and, indeed, within the plant 
 was as wide as he chose to make it. 
 
 What the public generally fails to recognize in the 
 position of the average union leader is the undertow 
 always at work to weaken his usefulness. The most 
 serious problem that leaders with organizing sense 
 have to face is a strong tendency away from central 
 control toward a larger measure of initiative locally 
 and within each shop; The men are impatient of de- 
 lay; they want to dispose of their difl&culties by short 
 cuts. A functionary far away in London, or wherever 
 headquarters may be, is not near enough to the scene, 
 the men believe, to understand; and they look with 
 suspicion on the so-called judicial attitude, the state 
 of mind of a man who must balance one thing with an- 
 other. This is a penalty always for big organization. 
 The men have been chafing against the slowness and 
 remoteness of it all, and the shop steward has been en- 
 couraged to take things in hand. 
 
 Works committees, with shop stewards as the mov- 
 ing spirit, have been started all through the trades. 
 They have attempted to regulate the flow of "di- 
 lutees," keeping careful check on the men who have 
 been brought in from the outside. Piecework rates 
 and pressure of increased output have given these com- 
 mittees and managers many hours of agony. Owing 
 to public clamor against slackness in coal mining, com- 
 mittees were started to watch the absentee records of 
 the men and effect an improvement. 
 
 War-work strain has made it necessary to regard 
 the physical welfare of the workers. Long hours have 
 been worked; night shifts have been added to day 
 
CONTROL OF THE JOB 127 
 
 shifts; work places have been overcrowded, and such 
 facilities as were obtained were greatly overtaxed, 
 while the introduction of women in shops where none 
 wer£ previously employed raised a number of new 
 problems. No better way of handling such questions 
 could be found than through committees of workers 
 most directly concerned, and the result has been a 
 multiplication of such committees, with a voice in the 
 conditions under which they worked. 
 
 An automobile plant located in the north of Eng- 
 land, and employing six thousand men and about a 
 thousand women, has a shop steward for each one of 
 its forty departments, and the works committee is made 
 up of these stewards. There are no women among 
 them, but a woman representative is present when the 
 management and the stewards take up any question 
 that affects the women employees. There are many 
 conferences between the management and the commit- 
 tee, but they are not regular because it has been found 
 there is not always business to warrant it. Much is 
 settled with the foremen and never comes before the 
 man higher up. The foremen have learned — and they 
 have been encouraged to learn — how to meet with the 
 committee and come to an understanding with it. All 
 meetings are on the employer's time, and the manage- 
 ment has never failed to carry out a decision agreed 
 to in conference. 
 
 The blast-furnace workers in the Cleveland and Dur- 
 ham districts for over a year had in hand the trouble- 
 some question of time-keeping, or attendance, which of 
 course is at bottom a question of output. Through 
 works committees appointed by the men, often joined 
 by committees from the ironmasters' association, un- 
 
128 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 steady workers are warned, counseled or fined as the 
 case may require. The fines collected are turned over 
 to some local fund or charity as the men decide. Both 
 parties to this arrangement agree that it has given sat- 
 isfaction. 
 
 Pit committees are found in most of the coal-mining 
 districts. Not all have proved successful, but where 
 they have worked they have justified their existence. 
 They are "responsible for dealing with questions of 
 workmen losing work or failing to do their best." 
 
 Here is what a workman, a practical miner, has to 
 say on this subject : 
 
 "We have found out that output, which the Coal 
 Controller has been urging on us, is not alone cut down 
 by absence from work; faulty management has some- 
 thing to do with it. Miners have to wait for timber; 
 there are all sorts of hardships in getting to our work 
 and back home. We have to wait for tubs, which are 
 few and scarce and not passed round evenly. The 
 committee can fine the men, but not the management 
 where it falls short. But where management has 
 played fair the output of coal and the wages of the 
 men have increased. 
 
 "We do not have any way of getting the foreman to 
 improve his methods, and this spoils much of the good 
 that might be done. He does not pay for dead work, 
 such as emptying dirt or packing it ; he should pay for 
 so many tubs. He measures ripping by going to the 
 narrowest instead of the widest part of the level; this 
 may mean to the man a difference of five shillings on 
 that piece of work. Wagons are not sent round the 
 mines according to any fair system. 
 
 "One large colliery has a canteen, and the commit- 
 
CONTROL OF THE JOB 129 
 
 tee has given help to manage it. Many men are called 
 on to work overtime, and if they cannot get food they 
 cannot be efficient. This colliery with the canteen sells 
 a good meal and hot drinks at cost prices. I know 
 when the winter time comes on and the output of coal 
 depends on the surface workers sticking to their work 
 this colliery has rest periods and hot drinks are passed 
 out. Elsewhere the men have to knock off on account 
 of the weather. ' ' 
 
 Among the results of placing a larger responsibility 
 for conditions on the men, or on their chosen repre- 
 sentatives, has been a marked decrease in those little 
 frictions of the shop which waste the time of busy man- 
 agers and take longer to settle than really important 
 questions of policy. The experience of firms that have 
 not hesitated to put into practice their belief in the 
 capacity of the rank and file to deal with matters that 
 had hitherto been entirely in the hands of management 
 shows that a new confidence develops and that new 
 ways suggest themselves for checking controversies be- 
 fore they reach a serious stage. Ideas are not lacking 
 if the right atmosphere prevails, and these ideas make 
 for order and advance. The fact that so-called sugges- 
 tion or complaint boxes so generally fail in getting for 
 the management a true picture of what the men have in 
 mind proves that something is wanting, and that want 
 is not in the men. Employees who are told that they 
 are paid to work and not to think are turned from 
 assets to liabilities. Works committees and, in fact, 
 all sorts of other committees which give the men en- 
 couragement to use their heads, have succeeded in 
 clearing away countless little obstructions and mis- 
 understandings which in the aggregate have the re- 
 
130 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 suit of putting up a wall between those who, to do 
 their work as it should be done, need above everything 
 contact and frank speech. 
 
 I was in the yard of a well-known engine factory in 
 the north of England when one workman was explain- 
 ing to another, a newcomer, something about the con- 
 ditions of that plant. 
 
 "This shop," he said, "always has one foot in the 
 street. Three of the men who went to the boss with a 
 kick got the sack. So we don't believe in working be- 
 tween meals. We want forty-four hours, but if we 
 hold on we will do better than that because our dele- 
 gate says he knows a way to get forty hours." 
 
 Three miles away from this place is a factory which 
 takes pride in the fact that it has never had a walkout 
 or a strike during the war. On the wall in the office 
 of the general manager is a large framed chart show- 
 ing a fairly considerable committee system. All the 
 committees head up in a shop-steward works commit- 
 tee. The management and the committee keep min- 
 utes of all the meetings. Conferences are system- 
 atized and treated as a serious part of the executive 
 program. 
 
 With a reduction of war orders the new plants built 
 for that special purpose are shutting down. The 
 works committee has been handling, in collaboration 
 with the general manager, the problem of discharge of 
 the new workers, especially the young women who were 
 engaged for the period of the war. I was present 
 when three hundred girls were being paid off, with a 
 two weeks ' extra wage, and they were coursing through 
 the shops making their farewells, the foremen shout- 
 ing their good wishes to them at the gates. 
 
CONTROL OF THE JOB 131 
 
 In the words of a man who has watched the activities 
 of the works committees and knows the manufacturers 
 of England and Scotland : 
 
 "Wherever these works committees have been a 
 success you will find the consensus of opinion is — as 
 many a manufacturer has put it — that they have been 
 'the best thing that has ever happened to the place.' " 
 
 Such an opinion could not be so general if experi- 
 ence had not demonstrated the value of the works-com- 
 mittee plan or shown that it was something more than 
 a piece of machinery and different from the old in- 
 struments for conciliation. Getting down to rock bot- 
 tom, works committees mean discussion; and discus- 
 sion takes time, as everybody knows. This is the the- 
 oretical objection, which now and again is thrown up. 
 But you have only to total the minutes and the hours 
 that are wasted by the management in plants that have 
 no such committees or, if they have, never put in enough 
 thought to vitalize them and make them count for 
 something, to discover that the greater waste is under 
 the old system. And there is this in addition : What- 
 ever is settled through conference between manage- 
 ment and committee has a chance of staying settled, of 
 leading to something reasonably permanent. And this 
 is what the Whitley people had in mind. 
 
 Whatever the scheme adopted, the essential thing is 
 that somewhere in it a joint purpose shall be at work. 
 Unless there be an honest intention of cooperation be- 
 tween the parties to the industrial bargain it would be 
 far better to let the laissez-faire method run its course. 
 The Whitley scheme is not a cast-iron scheme. No 
 rigid program will work or be of use in all industries ; 
 indeed, it may be useless even in one if it be inflexible. 
 
132 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 There is nothing to be gained by minimizing the diffi- 
 culties, and some of these difficulties are important. 
 Be they what they may there is no excuse for inaction. 
 The cause is big enough to call for willingness to take 
 new ways to meet old issues. And the cooperating 
 spirit is not the worst guide for industry to use."^ 
 
 As has been said, the "Whitley scheme, considered 
 in the large, has as yet hardly stood a serious test. 
 Two or three of the general councils are doing about 
 as well as any industrial experiment thus far at- 
 tempted. No one who has watched their operation can 
 question that they are well worth while, and deserve 
 encouragement. Both sides to the undertaking speak 
 well of it, and wish to see at least five years ' trial be- 
 fore passing any final opinion. Keal experiments 
 along the line of industrial team play are so few and 
 far between that one feels a peculiar interest in the 
 Whitley developments; and all the more because the 
 underlying idea is to build up on what already exists 
 instead of taking out all the complicated and delicate 
 works of the industrial machine, with the hope of mak- 
 ing a fresh start. 
 
 Though, as stated above, more than twenty councils 
 are already in being there will soon be thirty and over. 
 Most of them have been formed in the past few months, 
 during a period which cannot be said to represent 
 normal conditions. Therefore few of the councils can 
 be expected to be in full running order. In the main, 
 approved by public opinion, at least by that portion 
 of it which takes any interest in labor problems or is 
 alive to the fact that these problems overshadow every 
 
 1 See page 531, Trade Parliaments. 
 
CONTROL OF THE JOB 133 
 
 other in importance, the Whitley, and indeed every 
 other approach to a solution of the question of indus- 
 trial relations, has its opposition. In the eyes of the 
 industrial revolutionary the salient defect of the trade 
 parliament and council is that they again stereotype 
 the old relationship between employer and employed, 
 and it is precisely that relationship which industrial 
 revolution is out to abolish. But in point of fact the 
 Whitley councils do not necessarily assume any such 
 going back to pre-war relationship. That they mili- 
 tate against overnight industrial upheaval is true. 
 That they point the way of reason and mutual under- 
 standing as opposed to violence and destruction is also 
 obvious. But they by no means work against indus- 
 trial evolution. On the contrary, they open up one of 
 the very few hopeful ways thus far proposed — ^ways 
 which commend themselves to thinking men in all 
 groups concerned — for the next step to be taken. If 
 larger share in management is gradually to pass into 
 the hands of the managed by far the best way for it to 
 come about will be an orderly transference of responsi- 
 bility through such joint councils and committees as 
 are set up under the Whitley scheme. 
 
 But in any case the time for complete transference 
 is not yet. Nobody with whom I have talked — and I 
 have the views of men who have given years to the 
 advancing of labor interests — wishes to see any whole- 
 sale or precipitate action. As they see it, any for- 
 ward step taken must offer reasonable assurance of 
 success, and not result through unforeseen disaster in 
 setting back the progress the workers have already 
 made. 
 
 They believe that no experiment, however roseate 
 
134. MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 its setting and its promises, is sufficiently valuable to 
 justify a jeopardizing of labor's gains and position. 
 More than other men these experienced leaders in trade 
 organization, trusted by the masses whom they repre- 
 sent, know the cost of every forward step and what 
 the price has been to bring about such advance as has 
 been made. Responsibility has made them circum- 
 spect. The stake, they hold, is far too precious for 
 any tampering by untried hands. These views, need- 
 less to say, though quite representative not only of the 
 spokesmen but also of the large mass of British work- 
 ers, are not shared by an energetic element who, though 
 in the minority, are yet influential out of all proportion 
 to their numbers. 
 
 Here is the real trouble: So far as actual experi- 
 ments in an entirely new order of industrial control go, 
 practically no progress has been made. The idea of 
 the union itself, or of a group of workers collectively, 
 undertaking definite contracts has been seriously 
 mooted, and it is an idea full of interesting possibili- 
 ties. Given an adequate technical organization there 
 would seem to be no reason why a body of men could 
 not in combination act in a given contract very much 
 as a private contractor does. This combine, group or 
 union would undertake for a given sum to deliver a 
 given output or complete a certain piece of work, hand- 
 ling all those matters which fall under the general head 
 of employment and shop management. 
 
 The only concrete instance of importance in which 
 the experiment has been tried in England was the erec- 
 tion of the London headquarters of the Theosophical 
 Society a short time before the war. At the moment 
 when the work was to be started a serious building 
 
CONTROL OF THE JOB 135 
 
 strike was on in London, and the building committee of 
 the society, sympathetic with the men and at the same 
 time anxious to get their building erected, negotiated 
 a contract directly with the men's union. 
 
 Though the experiment met with an initial success it 
 was not possible to give it a fair test because war 
 broke out before the work got far. 
 
 Ordinary building operations came to a standstill 
 through government order, and this particular struc- 
 ture was taken over in an unfinished condition by a 
 government department to be completed and used for 
 official purposes. 
 
 Altogether the actual British advance toward an in- 
 creased share in the control of the job is slow and fitful. 
 Here and there beginnings have been made in distrib- 
 uting the load of management and supervision, as in 
 the case of the miners who during the war made them- 
 selves responsible for reducing lost time in the pits. 
 There were other isolated but unimportant innovations, 
 from which no particular moral can be drawn. Never- 
 theless, there can be no doubt that we are on the eve 
 of developments in the direction of increased coopera- 
 tion in control. If coming events have in this case cast 
 singularly few shadows before them we do have be- 
 fore us a certain amount of instructive war experience 
 with the scheme of the Whitley councils and the works 
 committees. 
 
 We may be certain that the principle of teamwork 
 in management, whatever the language in which it finds 
 expression, is not a passing thing or a fantastic dream 
 of the visionary. 
 
 It is a principle which has taken hold of men, which 
 invites the best brains for its incorporation into the 
 
136 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 fabric of management, and which if sanely and sin- 
 cerely made the basis of relations between employer 
 and employee holds out the biggest hope for industry. 
 
CHAPTEE V 
 
 AS THE BRITISH EMPLOYEE SEES IT 
 
 NOT many months ago a group of employers repre- 
 senting the principal plants in one of the most 
 noted and successful industries of Great Britain met 
 in London. They came together for the purpose of 
 drafting a set of guiding principles in the management 
 of their business. They aimed to put down in black 
 and white the terms of the relationship between em- 
 ployer and employed. In more ways than one this 
 conference in London is absolutely unique. Here were 
 men employing thousands. Conditions in their indus- 
 try have always been good. Some of the men who at- 
 tended are known throughout the world for the excel- 
 lence of their plant surroundings and the care with 
 which they promote the physical well-being of their 
 operatives. 
 
 This London meeting did not lay down any rules 
 for the employee; no grievances against the workers 
 were aired ; every minute of the long sessions was taken 
 up with the task of formulating propositions by which 
 the leaders of this particular industry agreed to carry 
 on their labor policy. 
 
 "We cannot afford to neglect the urgent needs and 
 the outstanding opportunities that confront us in our 
 factories," they said. So they proceeded to draw up 
 a program of their duties as regards wages, the place 
 of the worker in the management, security of employ- 
 
 137 
 
138 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 ment, working conditions, disposal of the profits, and 
 social life. 
 
 In the matter of wages the conclusion was that these 
 should always be sufficient to enable a man to marry, 
 live in a decent house, provide means for upkeep of the 
 physical efficiency of the family, with a margin for con- 
 tingencies and recreation. 
 
 "The worker asks to-day," they determined, "for 
 more than an improvement in his economic condition. 
 "We admit the justice of this claim, and we must co- 
 operate with him and treat him as we should wish to 
 be treated ourselves. We propose to create suitable 
 machinery for this purpose; but we believe that the 
 more essential thing is a living desire to give full ex- 
 pression of a belief in right relations. Experience on 
 shop or works committees trains the members in par- 
 ticipation. We shall promote the formation of such 
 committees." 
 
 As to security of employment, it was decided that it 
 is the duty of employers to do their utmost to abolish 
 casual labor and to make employment regular. The 
 business should be carefully organized to remedy 
 unemployment evils. "The dismissal of employees 
 should only take place as a last resort. Only men and 
 women who can be relied on to act justly should be 
 given the power of dismissal. The opinion of a works 
 council would be helpful." 
 
 The working condition of a factory should enable 
 and encourage a worker to be and to do his best. 
 These conditions should be administered under two 
 heads : 
 
 "Personal. From the moment a worker enters a 
 factory he should be regarded as a part of a living or- 
 
AS THE BRITISH EMPLOYER SEES IT 139 
 
 ganism, not a mere dividend-producing machine, and 
 treated with respect and courtesy. There should be 
 no nagging or bullying by those in authority, but, on 
 the contrary, insight and leadership. This involves 
 careful choice of overlookers and managers, who 
 should be able both to lead and inspire. At present 
 such officers are often selected solely on account of 
 their technical knowledge, and sometimes because they 
 possess the faculty of getting work out of men by driv- 
 ing them. 
 
 "But if the managers and foremen are to be men of 
 the right type they should have ample opportunities 
 for becoming acquainted with our point of view, and 
 also for acquiring a broad, sane outlook on human and 
 industrial relationships. Such opportunities could 
 hardly be given in the course of one or two conferences ; 
 but a series of classes or conferences under right lead- 
 ership might be arranged — some for those already in 
 positions of responsibility, others for those who desire 
 to fit themselves for such posts in the future. Happi- 
 ness in work should be regarded as a definite aim and 
 flsset, and the personal well-being of every worker 
 should be an essential part of the employer's objective. 
 
 "Material. Employers should surround their 
 workers with a material environment such as they 
 would desire for themselves or for their children. 
 This will mean that work-rooms are properjy venti- 
 lated and kept at suitable temperatures, that they are 
 adequately lit, and that due regard is paid to cleanli- 
 ness. Cloakrooms and lavatories should be so kept 
 that employees coming from respectable homes may 
 find no cause for complaint. The workers should be 
 safeguarded against any undue strain from the length 
 
140 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 of the working day or the severity of labor. In de- 
 termining systems of payment it should never be for- 
 gotten that unwise methods of stimulating workers to 
 do their utmost may result in overstrain. Facilities 
 should be given them for spending the dinner hour un- 
 der restful and comfortable conditions, as well as for 
 obtaining food at reasonable rates. If such facilities 
 cannot be provided within the factory they might per- 
 haps be arranged outside. Again, in organizing the 
 work employers should remember that confinement to 
 one monotonous task, not only month after month but 
 year after year, is apt to deaden the intellect and de- 
 press the vitality of the worker. If it be urged that to 
 carry out the above suggestions would often involve too 
 great an expenditure we reply that inefficiency and low 
 productivity in the workers are frequently due to the 
 absence of suitable working conditions. 
 
 "Conclusions. Pioneers and pathfinders and the 
 makers of roads are needed just as urgently in the in- 
 dustrial sphere as in the opening up of new tracts of 
 fertile country. But we believe that if the longing for 
 a better order once grips the employing classes such 
 pioneers will not be lacking. ' ' 
 
 Touching by reason of their work and wide interests 
 all phases of British industry and its problems, the 
 personal statements by big business and industrial 
 leaders here will give a fair picture of what may be 
 called the nonlabor viewpoint on present industrial 
 conditions. The labor viewpoint in its relation to 
 events impending in the new Parliament just elected, 
 and to events on the Continent — ^particularly in that 
 industrial Vesuvius which once was Russia — will be the 
 subject of the next and concluding chapter. 
 
AS THE BRITISH EMPLOYER SEES IT 141 
 
 A man who has done business with the leading man- 
 ufacturers in and round London as a technical consult- 
 ant for years said: 
 
 "Just now our country is divided into two nations, 
 with no league as yet for enforcing peace between 
 them. I refer to capital and labor, managing and 
 managed. It is a rough division, of course, but well 
 understood. Normally trouble between the two is 
 smoldering; given fuel it breaks into flame. It has 
 become the business of a number of embittered men, 
 not all dishonest or unintelligent — ^besides, such things 
 don 't matter much, anyway, when trouble is on — to fan 
 this flame into conflagration. What seems to embitter 
 them more than any opposition of employer is the un- 
 readiness, the unwillingness of the people whom they 
 exhort to get worked up. But bitterness and violence 
 will never solve anything. At least no solution of 
 theirs can do what understanding cooperation can do. 
 Among employers as well as among the working 
 masses you see two schools growing up — they were in 
 session long before the war — one a school of reason, 
 the other a school of force. 
 
 "We have, first, the labor extremist — not necessarily 
 a workingman himself or a man who has ever had ex- 
 perience in building up a real, going labor organiza- 
 tion — who wants industrial war; who has been busy 
 these three years past playing on class prejudice in 
 every possible way. He is sincere, and some of the 
 facts he throws up to us need our attention, to say the 
 least. Then there is the extremist on the other side, 
 also sincere, with some facts, too, at his command, who 
 sees the beginning of the end in any attempt to be soft 
 or patient. Let me say for British industry that the 
 
142 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 dog-fight basis is going out rapidly, and the mass of 
 employers are no whit behind others in desire to do the 
 right thing. They have given up abusing labor for 
 having power without responsibility; the remedy as 
 they see it is not to break the power but to increase the 
 responsibility. 
 
 "So if this big concern, common to both parties, is to 
 prosper, if the school of reason is to prevail — and there 
 are wise heads both among employers and working- 
 men who form it — it must have the backing of an in- 
 structed public opinion. Lack of imagination is our 
 big obstacle. A great upheaval may be the chance of 
 revolutionaries who are wreckers. But there is a bet- 
 ter chance these days for the upbuilders. War does 
 not produce ; it destroys. To say that industry is war 
 is to say that industry is waste, something the common 
 sense of the people laughs at. But to leave industry's 
 door open for war is of course the negation of sense. 
 The way of hope is in better production under a 
 larger direction of industry. Passing out accumulated 
 wealth in the form of extravagant wages or prizes, dis- 
 tributing capital as working expenses is the shortest 
 road to national suicide. 
 
 "We need to look at work itself and the way it is 
 carried on. Under right direction — something which 
 the men as much as the management must supply — 
 work should mean initiative, more enterprise and serv- 
 ice. The reconstruction we all talk about means just 
 one thing: Removal of strife through reconciliation; 
 and reconciliation depends on new motives at work in 
 the conduct of industry. From the national point of 
 view the employer is a failure if he does not manage 
 to pay not only dividends on the capital he must bor- 
 
AS THE BRITISH EMPLOYER SEES IT 143 
 
 row but wages sufficient for the employee to live as a 
 citizen should, and, in addition, supply opportunity for 
 the employee to find incentives for service during em- 
 ployment. ' ' 
 
 The head of a Sheffield firm tapping world markets 
 with its product gives time now to industrial problems 
 which he used to spend in building up his great organ- 
 ization. ' ' I have been waiting for years, ' ' he said, ' ' to 
 do this very thing, because I think it is the main busi- 
 ness of an employer to see to it that his foundations are 
 sound, and by foundations I mean the satisfaction of 
 the working force with their conditions and with their 
 position. Many years ago, against much opposition in 
 the trade, we refused to join in a reduction of wages 
 by one shilling a head. Times were bad, to be sure, 
 but I felt that it was our business, inasmuch as we 
 had been settling everything for ourselves, to shoulder 
 the load of depression. Our stand held up any further 
 attempt to dock wages. Three months later conditions 
 improved and I was thanked by my former opponents 
 for the stand I took. 
 
 "In the same way we started years ago with a shorter 
 workday. Dire predictions of our ruin filled our mail ; 
 we were supposed to be defying economic laws. Well, 
 events have proved that we were merely a little ahead 
 of our time, and our growth proves meanwhile that 
 prosperity depends a good deal on whether your men 
 work with you or not. 
 
 "I have served on a good many committees, but I 
 have not seen enough workmen's representatives on 
 them. Once I was on a committee to look into the ques- 
 tion of our mineral resources. The best lead I had 
 was from a man who was once a miner and is now in a 
 
144< MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 small business of his own. I made it my business to 
 look him up, and he gave me the idea of a central 
 bureau of information, which is the key to our utilizing 
 the country's mineral and other resources. We should 
 open up every avenue of education for the worker ; in- 
 dustry suffers because the worker starts life handi- 
 capped by entering too early to have given himself a 
 schooling and a sound body. And once he has this 
 education opportunity must be afforded for him to use 
 it. 
 
 "Modern labor is very irksome where it is of a repe- 
 titive kind. It hardly calls out the best in any man. 
 And the more irksome the work the poorer the wage; 
 this is too often the rule. Now I do not know whether 
 we are any wiser than anybody else or have a better 
 selection of men. I think we are about the average. 
 But we have never had a strike. This is due to a pol- 
 icy. We have a round table for the discussion by all 
 concerned of every possible question that arises and 
 interests our employees. If they have any matter that 
 seems important to them that is enough guaranty for 
 us that it is important. 
 
 "We do not live by bread alone; this is said often 
 enough, but we do not take it home with us. We once 
 started our works at six in the morning. Before the 
 men could get a good sleep they had to rise from bed 
 and scurry off to work. We are not early risers in this 
 country, as are the Americans. So we had much bad 
 time keeping and no end of irritation. The men, 
 many of them, did not come in until they had their 
 breakfast. We tried starting a half hour later, but 
 that made no difference. Then we started at seven- 
 twenty-five, and omitted the break at nine o'clock. 
 
AS THE BRITISH EMPLOYER SEES IT 145 
 
 The scheme nearly fell down because of the opposition 
 of the men. Before long, however, the scheme suc- 
 ceeded, all hands agreeing that it was on the right lines. 
 Our mistake was in not going over the whole situation 
 with the men and letting their judgment and knowledge 
 settle the thing. To-day our late start attracts many 
 workers to our firm. 
 
 ' ' Our clerks and salaried people have vacations with 
 pay. I shall never be satisfied until every laborer may 
 take his vacation with pay. The cost is not the main 
 consideration. We cannot balance dollars or pounds 
 against the health and well-being of men and women. 
 Hope is the great stimulus. We want our working 
 force to find scope for their ambitions. They are en- 
 titled to a high standard of living. We claim it for 
 ourselves, do we not? 
 
 ' ' Our plants cover one hundred and fifty acres. The 
 famous Eiver Don, mentioned by Chaucer, is near by. 
 In the sixteenth century apprentices working in Shef- 
 field struck because they were fed on its salmon every 
 day. They surely had the right to some variety. As I 
 view the industrial future of my country I believe we 
 are in for the abolition of squalor, misery and bad 
 conditions. 
 
 ' ' Our people, who have saved the country and helped 
 in no small way to save the world, are entitled to con- 
 tentment, good pay, decent homes with gardens, and 
 an education for their children to enable them to fit 
 themselves for the life which appeals to them most, 
 and to make fine men and women of them. 
 
 "These are not the visions of a dreamer. Out of 
 the ashes of the war we want to raise something worth 
 while. War has given us many new problems, but we 
 
146 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 are tackling them in the proper spirit. I do not mean 
 to wait until the shadow of the grave falls before I do 
 my share and pay my debt to my fellow workers. 
 They are the molders of their own destiny. I want 
 to have the privilege while I can yet be active to join 
 with them in making industry a big opportunity for all 
 of us and for the nation." 
 
 Men like Mr. Balfour are the trustees of a fund, 
 known as the Garton Foundation, which has been spe- 
 cializing on the subject of industrial reconstruction. 
 The secretary of this foundation has had ample oppor- 
 tunity to size up the situation, and this is how he views 
 it: 
 
 "Let me try briefly to sketch the industrial situation 
 likely to prevail after the war. The demobilization of 
 several millions of men and the rearrangement of the 
 employment of several million men and women, muni- 
 tion workers and the like, will throw a vast number of 
 workers on the labor market. Yet I do not think there 
 will be much unemployment. Civil demands will take 
 the place of war demands. The task will be rather the 
 right distribution than the provision of employment, 
 the bringing together of the worker and the work. 
 
 "Much more serious in prospect is the situation in 
 regard to wages. Unless a special effort is made the 
 total national output, and consequently the national 
 income, may be smaller than before the war. Out of 
 the total national wealth a large slice will be required 
 for repairs and rebuilding. Though labor will be in 
 demand we have to face the fact that discontent may be 
 aggravated by certain features in the general temper 
 of the nation. An effort so stupendous as that made 
 during the war is followed by sure reaction. Unless a 
 
AS THE BRITISH EMPLOYER SEES IT 147 
 
 fresh stimulus follows the-xe will come a dull and bick- 
 ering mood. Such moods incline to a breaking down 
 rather than a building up. Though most men, I be- 
 lieve, want to see normal conditions restored as soon 
 as possible no one can tell how many men are at- 
 tracted by the idea of continuing the use of force to 
 settle further problems of ours. What has been over- 
 thrown in war will not long be tolerated under an- 
 other guise in peace. The industrial order toward 
 which we must work is one in which an evil spirit is 
 replaced by cooperation, equality, freedom and mutual 
 aid. Industry is a phase of the art of living together. 
 Kesponsibility rather than authority will keep it 
 sound." 
 
 "Our industrial problem is at root one of human na- 
 ture. The ill will that has poisoned industrial rela- 
 tions in the past springs in large part from a failure 
 of understanding. It has been believed that industry 
 was a game of beggar-my-neighbor, a game in which 
 one side could gain only at the expense of the other. 
 The belief is as false as it is pernicious. There are 
 divergent interests between employers and employed, 
 but they are enormously outweighed by the interests 
 that are common to both. The law of industry is not 
 conflict but cooperation. Secrecy is the father of much 
 evil. The parties to industry must lower their defenses 
 and come out courageously on to the open ground. 
 
 "The present demands of labor go far beyond mere 
 questions of wages or even hours and working condi- 
 tions. The official program of the Labor Party in- 
 cludes nationalization of land, railways, coal mines, 
 shipping, power stations and the insurance business, 
 together with a large state control over prices, wages 
 
148 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 and profits. The guild movement proposes to set up 
 in each industry an autonomous government, and the 
 rank-and-file movement, which is rapidly growing in 
 strength, proposes to do the same for each shop. The 
 real strength behind these programs is uncertain, but 
 the unrest they indicate is a dominant factor in the 
 situation. The use of industrial organization to 
 achieve certain ends was seen in the seamen's boycott, 
 and in the proposals one hears now and again for work- 
 men 's and soldiers' councils in this country. 
 
 "It is a common assumption that it is only the prop- 
 ertied classes who have anything to lose in an out- 
 break of class warfare or industrial conflict, and the 
 assumption is untrue. The methods of conflict are 
 very effective for pulling down; they are both inef- 
 fective and uncertain as means of building up. Now 
 the idea of partnership in industry does not mean that 
 the functions of capital, management and labor must 
 or should be merged ; that no useful part can be played 
 by the investor ; or that the technical side of a business 
 can be removed from expert control. 
 
 "During the next few years we shall probably see 
 British industry organize itself for the purpose of 
 raising both the standard of production and the stan- 
 dard of industrial life to a higher level." 
 
 Talk with any representative manufacturer or busi- 
 ness man in Great Britain and you will be struck by 
 the common note as to what is ahead for industry. 
 There is no depression, though quite apart from labor 
 problems war has left a legacy of problems galore for 
 them to face. Perhaps a truer picture of what has 
 happened would be to say that, in the supreme effort 
 which Britain made, considerations of the future 
 
AS THE BRITISH EMPLOYER SEES IT 149 
 
 played almost no part. One keeps forever marveling 
 at these unboastful, uncomplaining people. By dint 
 of probing information dribbles out, of industries 
 abandoned, commerce thrown overboard, all in order to 
 keep up the flow of supplies to the Front, not to that of 
 the British alone, but as unreservedly to that of the 
 Allies — French, Italian, Serbian, Belgian and Ameri- 
 can ; especially the American. One business after an- 
 other has been stripped bare to meet these needs. 
 Markets long the pride. of English export trade have 
 been neglected. But there 's never a wail or a 
 whimper. 
 
 Locked up in the archives of the War Office, and in 
 the bureaus which have had in charge the nerve-strain- 
 ing business of rationing the country's factory pro- 
 duct between demands at home and those at the Front, 
 are records, as yet unpublished, of how British em- 
 ployers played their part in the war. Take the cement 
 business as one example. Inroads made upon skilled 
 labor by recruiting, difficulty in getting new machinery 
 or repairs made to old machinery, hit the cement in- 
 dustry in the United Kingdom a serious blow. But at 
 the same time demands for war purposes were enor- 
 mous ; fortifications, gun emplacements, hospitals, mu- 
 nition factories — all had to have their share. 
 
 Then the United States came into the war. When 
 our armies appeared big demands came for cement in 
 the construction of hospitals, camps and gun emplace- 
 ments in France. To meet these the export of cement 
 was absolutely shut down. Remember that the United 
 Kingdom had an important export trade in cement, its 
 chief markets being India and South America. Owing 
 to the absence of supplies from Belgium and Germany 
 
150 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 the export price jumped. The profit in export of ce- 
 ment promised to be enormous. English manufactur- 
 ers saw the growing competition of the United States 
 in South America. Certain English brands of cement 
 had a good footing in South America; manufacturers 
 could see their market slipping away from them. In 
 spite of this situation English manufacturers and mer- 
 chants most loyally helped in the restrictions imposed 
 upon them. 
 
 "Our American and our other Allies wanted it; 
 we '11 think about our market presently"; this is how 
 they put it to you. 
 
 After the signing of the armistice cement manufac- 
 turers sought to recapture their export markets. It 
 was pointed out to them, however, that the ravages 
 of war remained, even though hostilities had ceased, 
 and that it was in the interest of the country that 
 supplies should be held for rebuilding purposes. So, 
 though restrictions on the sale of cement within the 
 United Kingdom have been removed, the government 
 still retains control over export. Only a very small 
 quantity, compared with the pre-war figures, is per- 
 mitted to leave the country. Of course the manufac- 
 turers feel the loss of their overseas trade, but they 
 are standing by — devotion to their country, as always, 
 the first consideration. 
 
 Take the tin-plate industry, for another illustration. 
 Tin plate is one of the important weapons of warfare ; 
 on it the feeding of armies depends. The soldier's 
 rations in nearly every form are packed in this metal. 
 Conditions under which this war has been fought forced 
 the use of quantities of cold rations, which of neces- 
 
AS THE BRITISH EMPLOYER SEES IT 151 
 
 sity have to be packed in tin plate ; in a region like Italy 
 or Saloniki, troops had to remain for weeks on the 
 peaks or sides of mountains, far removed from their 
 base, almost out of touch with transport. 
 
 Very early in the war an acute shortage of tin plate 
 made itself felt. Apart from its uses in the packing 
 of foodstuffs it is an indispensable element in muni- 
 tions. Lack of freight facilities further cut down the 
 supplies of tin. Then demands for steel for guns, shell 
 and other supplies made it necessary to ration the 
 quantity of steel available for the tin-plate industry. 
 France, Italy, Serbia and Belgium were largely de- 
 pendent upon British supplies, and allocations of tin 
 plate had to be made by the British Government to 
 the Allied governments. The shortage within the 
 United Kingdom became so acute that the use of tin 
 plate for every nonessential purpose had to be cur- 
 tailed or altogether abolished. 
 
 The effect upon the tin box-making industry was al- 
 most disastrous. 
 
 Finally, the tin-plate manufacturers had to sacrifice 
 their export trade. British tin plate has always been 
 in great demand throughout the world. Enormous 
 quantities were exported before the war to South 
 America for the use of the packing industry. The loyal 
 cooperation not only of the manufacturers but also of 
 the tin-box makers answered the call of the govern- 
 ment. Every attempt was made to salvage old tin 
 plate; and large quantities of old cans and tin linkigs 
 have been brought back from various theaters of war 
 and distributed to the factories in the United Kingdom 
 in order to keep them going as well as circumstances 
 
152 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 would allow. But British industry went in for win- 
 ning the war ; problems of trade and markets were ad- 
 journed for its duration. 
 
 The head of probably the largest rubber works in the 
 Old World, who is also a leading figure in an asso- 
 ciation of manufacturers representing two billion dol- 
 lars of capital, looks forward to a program on national 
 scale for improvement in the neglected physical sur- 
 roundings of the workers. He believes that something 
 practical and lasting will come from the spirit of team- 
 work stirring in Great Britain. 
 
 "It is not too much to hope," he said, "that disap- 
 pearance of antagonisms will be one of the results of 
 the loyal comradeship of all classes during the past 
 four years. Cooperation must be the watchword; on 
 the one side the employer must be prepared to pay 
 good and adequate wages for good work. He must 
 also be prepared to remove from the minds of work- 
 men the dread of what has hitherto been the conse- 
 quences of unemployment and sickness. It must be 
 recognized that very often the worker finds himself on 
 the unemployed market through no fault of his own. 
 
 "It is up to both employers and employed to prove 
 to each other that the mutual suspicions of the past 
 are no longer justified. In all probability the state will 
 demand a definite percentage on an equitable basis 
 of profits made in industry. If so, this must not be 
 used as a means of restricting the fullest possible pro- 
 duction. Both employers and employed must bear in 
 mind that full production, in addition to benefiting 
 themselves directly, wiU bring indirect benefit inas- 
 much as it will contribute to the general well-being of 
 the state. 
 
AS THE BRITISH EMPLOYER SEES IT 153 
 
 "Every facility should be given to insure the intelli- 
 gent interest of the workers in every phase of the in- 
 dustry in which they are concerned. They should be 
 educated on questions such as the supply of raw ma- 
 terial, its production and purchase, the selling and 
 marketing of goods, and in short all commercial opera- 
 tions that affect the work in which they are engaged. 
 This should be one of the results of the recent establish- 
 ment of industrial councils under the Whitley scheme. 
 
 "The question uppermost in the minds of all in 
 Britain to-day, be they directors, managers or clerks 
 in the countinghouse, machine minders in the shop or 
 sweepers in the yard, is whether, now that the Q-er- 
 mans are beaten, there shall be peace or war in indus- 
 try. 
 
 ' ' There are people, and many of them, who say that 
 industrial strife is unthinkable. These people point 
 to the united front which employer, workmen and 
 women presented to the common enemy all these past 
 weary four years ; to the officers in the trenches saving 
 the lives of their men and the men dying for their 
 officers; to the women of society entering munition 
 works and laboring at bench and machine side by side 
 with the girls from the unfavored quarters; and the 
 workwomen leaving all sorts of places for the manu- 
 facture of shell. Europe could not have held out with- 
 out Britain, nor America have come over in time, and 
 Britain's strength was the strength of all, not a part, 
 of her sons and daughters. 
 
 "Nevertheless, now that the purpose for which this 
 unity came into being is accomplished, it is in the bal- 
 ance whether, as far as industry is concerned, the 
 truce to internal war will not be broken and the old, 
 
154 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 old struggle of capital and labor be renewed on a vaster 
 scale than ever before. 
 
 ' ' The reasons are not far to seek. First, every one 
 has been at strain during the war. Business has been 
 hard. Work in yard and shop and office has been very 
 hard. Nerves all round have been on edge, not for 
 weeks or months, but for years. You in America know 
 better than most people what that means — for you are 
 the hardest and most concentrated workers in the 
 world. Then, think of the anxiety and suffering of 
 literally millions of our workers — whether managers 
 or staff — with their loved ones away in trench or on 
 the sea or, worst of all, in German or Turkish hands. 
 
 "Can you wonder if, now that the strain relaxes, 
 we over here, after the first great sigh of relief and 
 thankfulness and triumph, feel irritable and uneasy 
 and inclined to turn to the consideration of personal 
 matters in the spirit of overtired people who, having 
 nursed their sick back to life, now when they need rest 
 find that they must work harder than ever to get enough 
 to live on and pay the doctor's bill? 
 
 ' ' That is the condition of industrial folk all round in 
 this country, and no doubt in others. Then, every- 
 thing has been topsy-turvy. No employer has been 
 able to call his works his own, while workpeople on 
 their side in hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, 
 of cases have had to leave home and work under most 
 uncomfortable and artificial conditions, to say the least 
 of it, without any holiday to speak of and without any 
 family life. 
 
 "Now on top of all this we have to handle the de- 
 mobilization of sailors and soldiers, some five millions ; 
 and of munition workers, three millions ; and to adjust 
 
AS THE BRITISH EMPLOYER SEES IT 155 
 
 every kind of war process in industry to peace condi- 
 tions. If all these circumstances are reviewed I do 
 not think this nation, with all its faults, should be too 
 hardly judged if, now that it has to set its affairs in 
 order, it kicks up a certain amount of dust in the 
 process. 
 
 "That dust will be raised is certain. We are an 
 awkward-tempered crowd, we Britishers; and all of 
 us, whether English, Scotch or Irish — or, as most of us 
 are, a blend of all three — take kindly to a good square 
 row among ourselves at times, as ducks to water. But 
 there are rows and rows, and there is all the difference 
 in the world between a ' dust up ' between men who be- 
 neath the surface are comrades, and men who, though 
 smooth when they meet, keep knives in their boots. 
 
 "There are in every trade employers and profiteers 
 ready and eager to exploit labor and grind the faces 
 of the poor. But they will not be able, these people, 
 to upset the life and destroy the balance of the nation 
 which has achieved what Britain has achieved in the 
 mighty struggle we have won. 
 
 "I have been in Manchester and Birmingham, in 
 Sheffield, in Liverpool, in Cardiff and in Newcastle, and 
 in almost every other center where the lif eblood of our 
 industries runs. And everywhere I have found that 
 the moment a straight appeal for fair play is put to 
 any meeting of workmen and employers by trusted 
 leaders on each side there comes a response that 
 crushes to pulp the storming and shrieking of those 
 who would destroy." 
 
 Never before the present time have so many big 
 business men given such sober, persevering and un- 
 prejudiced thought to industrial problems. Before the 
 
156 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 war you would have had to do some running around to 
 get a line on what might be called the viewpoint of in- 
 dustry. There was a viewpoint, of course, if that is 
 the word for an utter lack of understanding on the part 
 of the average employer of forces working in the field 
 of industrial relations and management. Tradition 
 and outworn notions about the place of labor bandaged 
 the eyes and clouded the thinking of the everyday ex- 
 ecutive. 
 
 Labor, on the other hand, had its viewpoint and its 
 program, unmistakably, for years back. The war only 
 accentuated the outline and the detail of that program. 
 There was no mistaking what workmen wanted ; they 
 had their case in good shape. 
 
 The average employer had other things on his mind 
 than concern with bothersome labor questions ; besides, 
 it was usually the chore of some subordinate to worry 
 about such matters. To-day no man is too big or too 
 busy in the industrial organization to give time and 
 thought to the human factors in the situation; and 
 eager interest in these questions no longer necessarily 
 indicates a weak head. With the best executive brains 
 of industry foremost in the present discussion of Brit- 
 ain's economic future there is warrant enough for an 
 attitude of hopefulness. The example of those rare 
 employers who years ago defied tradition and insisted 
 on regarding industry mainly as a human proposition 
 has borne fruit. But the larger credit for the present 
 spirit is due to the influence of a great experience in 
 common suffering and sacrifice. The men whose con- 
 structive abilities had built up the Empire's industries 
 were not slow in catching the significant lessons of this 
 experience ; their brains are now at the country 's dis- 
 
AS THE BRITISH EMPLOYER SEES IT 157 
 
 posal, as they have been throughout the war, ready to 
 serve in the reconstruction. 
 
 War came to an end abruptly, as every one knows. 
 It might be supposed that, with the four years of agony 
 over, business men would make a rush upon the gov- 
 ernment, clamor for the privileges war had about an- 
 nihilaited, and proclaim the instant resumption of ' ' busi- 
 nees as usual." There is reason enough for starting 
 up. But business made no such rush nor set up much 
 of any clamor; and as for proclamations, the Britisher 
 is not much of a proclaimer. Instead of scramble, 
 from the morning of the armistice to this very minute, 
 the processes of thoughtful planning have operated 
 and characterized the transition from war to peace. 
 And what is more to the point, the first concern of every 
 industrial leader has been not with recapture of trade 
 but with making a fresh start, a right start in the mat- 
 ter of industrial relations. 
 
 A man who has done as much as any one individual 
 to build up the industries of Western England is giving 
 practically all his time to this work. He is for doing 
 away with delay and procrastination. He maintains 
 that there is information enough at hand for a start in 
 settling the relation of employer and employed. 
 
 "We have had investigations enough," he said; "let 
 us do something now. There is sense enough on both 
 sides to put behind us some of the problems that have 
 been harassing industry. Our insularity, so often a 
 stumbling block, may in this instance be our safeguard. 
 As for immediate measures that can be taken to deal 
 with the situation, it is clear that they must be pro- 
 gressive to an extent hitherto unparalleled, and that 
 the grievances of labor must be met in the most gen- 
 
158 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 erous spirit. There is little doubt that they have, many 
 of them, a substantial foundation in fact. Belief is 
 more important than truth, and labor's conviction that 
 it has not had a square deal will not be shaken by any 
 evidence which it is likely can be adduced before a 
 royal commission. 
 
 "If the sense of injury can be removed by a generous 
 pledges bill and by setting up machinery for the in- 
 vestigation of profiteering and undue profits; if, fur- 
 ther, labor's desire for increased control of its indus- 
 trial life is generously met by rapid extension on the 
 lines foreshadowed by the Whitley report; and if, on 
 the one hand, on all occasions labor is honestly and 
 fairly met and not left with a sense of having been 
 used for a purpose, and, on the other, is not treated like 
 a troublesome and unruly schoolboy who has to be hu- 
 mored by his elders ; if, in fact, labor is understood as 
 having come to manhood — there is every hope that the 
 difficulties of the transition period will be successfully 
 met." 
 
 The president of the National Alliance of Employer 
 and Employed, Frederick Huth Jackson, spoke for this 
 large organization when he said the other day that all 
 men are now agreed that the industrial system of five 
 years ago can never return. 
 
 "A new spirit is emerging out of our perplexities," 
 he said, ' ' the national viewpoint taking the place of the 
 sectional, and men who in past days were as far apart 
 as the poles in their outlook and opinions are trying 
 now to give a practical meaning to that worn phrase, 
 'community of interest.' It is to the work of eliminat- 
 ing bureaucratic control as far as possible and of hu- 
 manizing problems of industrial reconstruction that 
 
AS THE BRITISH EMPLOYER SEES IT 159 
 
 our alliance has set its hand, with results that are en- 
 couraging. ' ' 
 
 A concrete illustration of how this humanizing of in- 
 dustrial relations can be carried out is to be found in 
 the Hans Eenold Works at Manchester.^ In this plant 
 you find a very detailed program of shop and manage- 
 ment relationships, undertaken, as the executives are 
 careful to inform you, merely as experiments. They 
 are not afraid of experiments. The moving spirit of 
 the concern, Charles Eenold, son of the founder, who 
 set his ideals to work at the same time with his me- 
 chanical inventions, is a Cornell graduate, who has the 
 fixed conviction that industrial management is entering 
 on a new stage. And because he has this notion and 
 finds that opposition to it in the trade is disappearing 
 he is hopeful for the nation's industrial future. 
 
 What he is after is to find out by actual trial how far 
 under present conditions the necessary machinery can 
 be set up within an industry for distributing the mana- 
 gerial load. If industrial life fails to satisfy the 
 worker, he argues, even with advances in wages and re- 
 duction of hours, there must be still something left for 
 a manager to do. The Eenold Works use a large num- 
 ber of automatic machines. Apparently every im- 
 provement in the automatic workings of these machines 
 deepened a resentment which the men felt but said little 
 about, at least within hearing of the management ; and 
 Charles Eenold was intelligent enough to sense this 
 feeling or "atmosphere." 
 
 The easy remedy of telling men who didn't like be- 
 coming cogs in a machine to make way for those who 
 
 1 See page 546, Workshop Committees, C. G. Renold. 
 
160 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 did never entered his mind. He enjoyed the initiative, 
 freedom and interest that he found in his daily work, 
 and he saw no reason why some of these benefits might 
 not go even with work on automatic tools. There was 
 no changing the machines of course, or the nature of 
 the work. But there seemed to be opportunities that 
 might offer valuable compensations. And these op- 
 portunities lay in the direction of more democratic 
 methods in conducting the business of production. 
 There was "enough power and responsibility to go 
 round ; the management need never miss a share going 
 to the employee." 
 
 The joint-management scheme of the Eenold plant is 
 divided into two main sections. In the first section are 
 all those items that are accepted as within the unques- 
 tioned rights of the workers. In the first place, when 
 men are members of outside labor organizations there 
 is need of some parallel agency within the plant to 
 supervise agreements negotiated and handle the detail 
 from the intimate shop, rather than from the outside, 
 viewpoint. 
 
 Now the way to act under a system of trade agree- 
 ments is to begin at once making sure that the rates 
 agreed on are actually received by all the individuals 
 concerned; and furthermore, to make sure that rates 
 and scales of wages apply fairly. Nor is this all. 
 Every promise of advances in pay must be fulfilled. 
 Hedging is nowhere so fatal as in industry. In the 
 matter of piece rates, however set, whether by collective 
 or individual agreement, the basis for each price must 
 be such as to leave no doubt or suspicion in the em- 
 ployee's mind. All the data must be placed where men 
 may come freely to examine them. 
 
AS THE BRITISH EMPLOYER SEES IT 161 
 
 The management finds occasion from time to time to 
 instal a new machine or introduce a change in process 
 ■which is likely, for a time at least, to result in cutting 
 down the number of men employed in that process. 
 Here is work cut out for a shop or works committee to 
 advise how the change may be brought about with the 
 least hardship to the men. These changes, too, often 
 require a new classification of the operatives, a new 
 grading of the men on the pay roll. Conference is the 
 obvious method for avoiding the countless disputes in 
 all such innovations. 
 
 Grievances are normal to every aggregation of men. 
 Where means are provided for airing them, checking 
 any petty tyranny which they reveal, there is no reason 
 for any bad feeling in the works ; to the sensible man- 
 ager every grievance freely spoken is a source of help. 
 
 For all those questions which involve what may be 
 called the social life of a factory the Eenold idea is to 
 provide as much self-government as possible — such 
 questions as, for example, restriction of smoking, shop 
 tidiness, cleaning and oiling of machines, care of over- 
 alls, time-checking rules, pay days, use of lavatories, 
 general behavior, meal hours, holiday work, day and 
 night shifts, safety work, medical examination, wash- 
 ing accommodations, drinking-water supply, and a num- 
 ber more — all of them matters in which the employee 
 has more interest to see properly carried out than even 
 the management. 
 
 "More important than any making over of the man- 
 agement machinery," Mr. Renold said; "more impor- 
 tant even than prompt remedying of specific grievances 
 is the establishing of some degree of human touch and 
 sympathy between management and men. I cannot em- 
 
162 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 phasize too strongly that the hopefulness of any experi- 
 ment lies not in any machinery nor even in wideness of 
 power of self-government by the workers, but in the 
 degree to which touch and, if possible, friendliness can 
 be established. 
 
 "In any case of new rules or new developments or 
 new workshop policy there is always difficulty in get- 
 ting the rank and file to know what the management is 
 driving at. The change may be all to the good ; but the 
 mere fact that it is new and not understood may lead to 
 trouble. If wise use is made of committees of workers 
 all such changes would be discussed, explained, and it 
 is not extravagant to expect that these men would soon 
 spread a correct version of the management's inten- 
 tions among their fellow workers. 
 
 "Take the matter of promotions or appointments of 
 foremen. There is usually bad feeling and more. Ex- 
 tremists have urged that workmen should choose their 
 own foremen by election. This may become possible 
 when more experience in self-management is in the 
 possession of the workers, but the present difficulty is 
 that a number of parties and distinct problems are in- 
 volved. A worker is naturally interested in the human 
 qualities of the foreman, his sympathies, fairness or 
 helpfulness. Other foremen size up the technical fit- 
 ness of their new colleague. The manager expects skill 
 in handling men and keeping up the producing require- 
 ments of the plant. Each of these parties is looking 
 for a different set of qualities. Yet it is worth while 
 making an earnest attempt to reach a common under- 
 standing through free discussion. 
 
 "One thing more than any other, however, is of 
 practical help: The management must lay down a 
 
AS THE BRITISH EMPLOYER SEES IT 163 
 
 clear statement of the qualities deemed necessary for 
 such a post. This done, everybody has an impersonal 
 standard to go by. Another vital point: The extent 
 to which management functions can be delegated or 
 policies brought up for discussion with the men de- 
 pends very largely on the degree of completeness with 
 which the management itself is organized. Where 
 this is haphazard only autocratic control is possible. 
 Therefore the better organized and more constitu- 
 tional — in the sense of having known rules and pro- 
 cedures — the management is, the more possible it 
 makes joint action." 
 
 Human nature is on the job at the Eenold works, as 
 it is pretty much everywhere else. The men of the 
 tool-room shops handed in one day the following reso- 
 lution : 
 
 "Whilst agreeing through abnormal conditions to 
 the introduction of women in the tool room we wish to 
 record our objection to any woman being placed in any 
 position of authority for discipline purposes." The 
 men explained that they felt they were "giving a lot 
 away in allowing women to invade their trade and 
 strongly resented any woman coming into a position of 
 authority." Thanks to the attitude of the women 
 there was no further problem. 
 
 What a peep behind the war curtain is a proposition 
 like this, which the Eenold, and many another manage- 
 ment, has had to face: "Payment for stoppage of 
 work in case of Zeppelin raids." 
 
 A delegation representing the two hundred men of a 
 certain shop waited on the joint committee with a pro- 
 posal that the men should have full pay if they re- 
 mained in the factory during air raids ; or be allowed 
 
164. MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 to go home without any record of absence. Think of 
 the squabble, recriminations and bad temper that ques- 
 tions of pay when work ceases through no fault of the 
 men always give rise to. Many a bitter strike dates 
 from such issues, hitting against the stone wall of a 
 deadlock. 
 
 How did the Eenold management and its committee 
 system meet this situation ? The answer was payment 
 in full for the first hour after the stoppage and half 
 pay thereafter for the men who stayed in the works, 
 waiting to restart; "considering that the circum- 
 stances which bring about these stoppages were out of 
 control of both the management and the men, and that 
 the firm stood proportionately to lose more than the 
 men, it is the opinion of the representatives that this 
 is an equitable arrangement." And note the further 
 comment of the men's committee: "Instruction to 
 dissuading people from going home was justified be- 
 cause it generally happened that an early restart was 
 possible, and the loss to both sides would be less than 
 by sending people away immediately warning of a raid 
 was given, and anyway it was generally recognized that 
 it was safer to remain under cover, and it was only 
 serving the enemy's purpose to stop production more 
 than need be. ' ' 
 
 British industry has ground for a hopeful view of 
 the future so long as good sense remains the keystone 
 of its management. The can 't-be-done school among 
 employers is on the way to wholesale conversion. 
 What has been already done, and done so well, leaves 
 little excuse for the industrial laggard. No better 
 friends of British industry exist than the mass of the 
 rank and file. Given reasonable opportunity, as Indus- 
 
AS THE BRITISH EMPLOYER SEES IT 165 
 
 trial leaders have begun to do, for satisfaction with 
 industrial life, and big resources in the way of team 
 spirit, efficiency and sustained good work — the contri- 
 bution of the working force — may be added to the stock 
 of Britain's assets. Failing this there is certain risk 
 of turning friend into foe, a hopeful attitude into one 
 of antagonism, and of loading industry with burdens 
 that it could never so little afford to carry as now. 
 
 Prominent employers say that if only their fellow 
 employers desist from harking back to conditions that 
 have gone for good the future may be made one of big 
 promise. There will be problems without end, and 
 many of them will concern industrial relations, but this 
 need not be disquieting. Industry has always had 
 labor problems to face. There is now more general 
 knowledge to face them with, and perhaps a truer ap- 
 preciation on the part of both management and men of 
 the essential dependence of each upon the other. 
 
 I have been impressed by the utter absence of senti- 
 mentalism in expressions I have heard among employ- 
 ers as to what industrial relations in the near future 
 are to be. This has seemed to me the most promising 
 fact and guaranty in the situation. Cool judgment, 
 instead of a mush of unworkable platitudes and benev- 
 olences, is being brought to bear on questions that call 
 for the same headwork that serious engineering or 
 organization problems demand. To say the least, all 
 such questions are on a par so far as the tax on the best 
 possible brain power is concerned. And on the ques- 
 tion of sound relations in Britain 's workshops you will 
 find first-rate brain power in action now. 
 
 Mr. Gordon Selfridge needs as little introduction in 
 tko United States as he does in England. Holding the 
 
166 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 unique position of a very successful American mer- 
 chant in the center of Britain's retail trade he knows 
 what the merchant and manufacturer as well as the 
 bulk of the population here are thinking of, indus- 
 trially speaking. 
 
 "I think that much of the unrest has been due," Mr. 
 Self ridge said, "to the attitude of some employers. 
 Trouble between labor and capital is frequently due to 
 the employer ; and in so many cases we discover when 
 the employer has grown from the ranks of labor he 
 becomes autocratic, using just those elements which 
 irritate and which give a desire to hit back. 
 
 "Leaders among labor say that in addition to good 
 wages, and so on, the workers feel that as growing 
 human beings and as citizens they ought to have more 
 voice in the management. If I may be personal — in 
 this business, where we have about five thousand em- 
 ployees, the discipline of the house is in the hands of a 
 staff or employee council, which is an elected body and 
 which is entirely independent of the working manage- 
 ment of the house, because the general good judgment 
 of the staff council representing the employees keeps 
 it always in the center of the road. 
 
 "I cannot but feel that the steady, unhysterical, 
 good common sense which permeates this community 
 and practically every member of it this side will not 
 be effected by the Continental upheaval. 
 
 ' ' There is a great difference between a political con- 
 dition and a commercial condition. Commerce is open 
 for any one to employ his ability as he chooses and as 
 he is able, and there is no sovereign state in that great 
 field of occupation. If a manager become bumptious 
 and overimpressed with his authority lie is going to 
 
AS THE BRITISH EMPLOYER SEES IT 167 
 
 do that whicli irritates and which gives the other side 
 the feeling that it has been treated unjustly, and the 
 people of our race and with our lines of thought object 
 above everything else to that which we consider 
 injustice. 
 
 "If the manager employs the same kind of good sense 
 in the careful control and the direction and supervision 
 of those people who are upon his pay roll that he him- 
 self would like under the same circumstances there is 
 likely to be no trouble whatever. 
 
 "We have, however, reached that time when the ab- 
 sence of that good sense is going to make trouble much 
 easier than it was a generation or more ago, because 
 the so-called common people or the multitude are ap- 
 proaching more closely to those who have heretofore 
 been recognized as the favored few. There is less dif- 
 ference to-day between the duke and the street cleaner 
 than there ever was before. 
 
 "As to the question, will there be enough work? — 
 that will depend largely upon the energy that is em- 
 ployed by those who have the thing in hand. There 
 will be no trouble in finding plenty of employment for 
 those who are pressing the opportunities of this empire 
 if those who really are in the position to use energy and 
 enterprise do utilize their ability as they should. In 
 other words, the whole world is Great Britain 's field in 
 which she could trade, and trade and commerce are the 
 things which really keep the country going, because 
 they are the wage earners of the state. If, therefore, 
 they are in a position to do so they should use the enter- 
 prise and the energy which are so desirable and attract 
 the different parts of the world through their mer- 
 chandise, taking up as much as they can of the trade 
 
168 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 which' Germany has sacrificed, at least for the moment. 
 There should be no trouble whatever in a very great 
 era of prosperity for this country. 
 
 "The stores that are dealing locally must look for 
 their results to the general welfare of the country, and 
 if the country as a whole is prosperous they will do 
 well, and vice versa. Our Christmas trade has been 
 very much the biggest, I think, England has ever had. 
 We broke all records in a thousand places, and I think 
 it has been generally good all over the country. The 
 causes of this boom are general light-heartedness of the 
 people, the fact that the shadow of war is removed, the 
 fact that a very large number of the community had 
 been earning excellent wages, and also that Christmas 
 in Great Britain is always a time for demonstrating 
 that feeling of good will, and therefore it was the best 
 time to show its relief. 
 
 "Before the war there was in the industrial life of 
 England very much too much of the conservative spirit 
 which let well enough alone and which said 'Why 
 should we change from the methods of our fathers?' 
 That was undesirable and inefficient spirit, and could 
 only have resulted in a serious setback to England's 
 commercial spirit. It was that spirit which had been 
 allowed to grow that made it very much easier for 
 Germany to get her large trade. The reason that 
 spirit had been allowed to grow was because to many 
 in England the game of success did not seem quite 
 worth the candle, and the spirit of the love of ease was 
 considered more desirable than the love of efficiency. 
 
 "We have learned that the productive ability of this 
 small country is, when pushed hard, very much greater 
 than heretofore has been considered possible. With 
 
AS THE BRITISH EMPLOYER SEES IT 169 
 
 the great manufacturing districts of Northern France 
 in the hands of the soldiers and producing no material, 
 with restrictions which made importation from Amer- 
 ica and other foreign countries practically impossible, 
 the manufacturing sections of this country have geared 
 themselves up to such a rate that th&y have not only 
 supplied us in Great Britain with all the merchandise 
 we want and more, but they have furnished enormous 
 amounts for France, Italy, and so- on. 
 
 "I cannot speak too highly of the splendid work that 
 the women of this country have done at that moment 
 when their assistance was so necessary. They grasped 
 the oar and pulled with all their might to bring this 
 boat into harbor, and they have raised themselves enor- 
 mously in the respect of the entire community as being 
 efficient in those things in which heretofore they have 
 had not much opportunity of proving themselves. 
 
 ' ' General wages, it is hoped, will no-t seriously drop 
 from their present rates. It will become difficult to 
 maintain them artificially ; on the other hand the stand- 
 ards of living must be maintained by every effort which 
 those who are leading in any way in this country can 
 use. As far as we are concerned we shall make no 
 reductions in wages or salaries in this store. 
 
 "There has thus far been no important relaxation 
 in the control of raw material. Certain things have 
 been released and we expect this relaxation to come 
 very quickly; I cannot discover that there is any seri- 
 ous desire on the part of the government to maintain 
 the control, except perhaps in the matter of wool and 
 where the distribution of the raw material must be 
 safeguarded by the state and where manufacturers 
 must be safeguarded for preventing in any way any 
 
170 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 profiteering. The business men of Great Britain have 
 as a very general rule been splendidly patriotic and un- 
 selfish, thinking during the past four years or so that 
 the great thing was to win the war rather than that 
 their individual selves should be protected. 
 
 "The impression that I would convey, if I were 
 speaking to the merchants and business men of Amer- 
 ica, is that the spirit of the business men of Great 
 Britain is right. The present condition of mind is as 
 one would like to see it — in the direction of reasonable- 
 ness, good judgment and the safeguarding of the state ; 
 and the more we men of business recognize that each 
 one of our institutions, or businesses, or whatever we 
 choose to call them, is one of the assets of the state, 
 then the more nearly do we bring our occupation called 
 business into the line of a profession, using the word 
 profession in the highest sense of the term. 
 
 "Every merchant is asking himself, "What about 
 business for the coming months and years? Prophecy 
 is unsatisfactory work, but we have concluded that we 
 shall push business with utmost effort and energy ; that 
 we shall work harder than ever to adopt new ideas." 
 
 Sir Stephenson Kent, one of the big industrial lead- 
 ers and employers in England, is in charge of the in- 
 dustrial demobilization work. During the war his con- 
 ferences with American employers and labor groups 
 were among the most helpful in bringing to light the 
 size of the job we had in hand. Here is his view of the 
 British situation: 
 
 "In making any statement about the industrial situ- 
 ation in England it is inevitable that difficulties should 
 be dwelt upon. The problems with which we are faced 
 are obvious ; solutions are often obscure or only half- 
 
AS THE BRITISH EMPLOYER SEES IT 171 
 
 revealed. But it would be a mistake to infer that be- 
 cause perplexities abound the outlook depresses. The 
 tasks and dangers confronting us at the beginning of 
 the war were of far greater magnitude. Nevertheless, 
 though prophets of evil were not wanting, the tasks 
 have been performed and the dangers overcome. Thus 
 the great experience of the recent past justifies us in 
 turning our faces to the future in a spirit of reasonable 
 optimism. 
 
 "It is not easy to detine briefly the mutual attitude 
 of employer and workman during the war. The com- 
 plicating factor was the interposition of a third party — 
 the state. The improved terms granted by employers 
 — vastly higher wages, shorter hours, improved wel- 
 fare conditions — may be attributed, justly no doubt, in 
 part to the overriding necessity of stimulating output ; 
 in part to the assistance given by the state to employers 
 who initiated welfare work in their factories; and in 
 part to the power of employers to recoup themselves 
 for the grant of higher wages by the adjustment of 
 their contract prices. The workers in pressing for 
 such improvements as I have indicated, as well as a 
 share in factory management, have no doubt been 
 influenced by the bigh price of food, the spectacle of 
 profiteering in some quarters, and apprehensions for 
 their post-war future owing to the transformation of 
 mechanical methods and -the inrush of semiskilled men 
 and women into the highly skilled crafts. 
 
 "But it would be a great mistake to conclude that the 
 workers have been influenced merely by self-interest 
 and that the employers have made only those conces- 
 sions for which they could procure an equivalent from 
 the state. Behind all these superficial indications of 
 
173 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 interested feeling there has undoubtedly been on both 
 sides a conscious working for a great common end, 
 which even divergent interests have notbeen able to ob- 
 scure. Employers — by assenting to a national scheme 
 for the periodic revision of wages in various industries, 
 by conceding greatly reduced hours of work, by agree- 
 ing in many cases to the shop-committee system and in 
 some leading instances strongly promoting it, and by 
 doing what they could amid the rapid turmoil of enor- 
 mous war production to humanize the conditions of 
 factory life — have displayed a spirit of humanity and 
 quickness to appreciate the lessons taught by the con- 
 centrated industrial experience of the last four years. 
 Again, the hard, willing, devoted work of the millions 
 engaged on the output of munitions can be appreciated 
 only by those who have been able to study it at close 
 range; but as strikes which have occurred may have 
 attracted attention disproportionate to their relative 
 significance it is worth pointing out here that notwith- 
 standing the reactions of war strain the time lost 
 through trade disputes during the period of the war 
 has been an exceedingly small fraction of the whole 
 working time. 
 
 "As to how far the better elements of feeling and 
 practical experience produced in the atmosphere of 
 war will be solidified and made permanent in the less 
 acutely idealistic days of peace, much will depend upon 
 the whole conunercial position after the coming period 
 of transition. Prophecies are out of the question. 
 The most hopeful prospect lies in developing the spirit 
 of mutual respect and understanding between employ- 
 ers and their workers to which I have already made 
 reference. Bring parties with competing interests 
 
AS THE BRITISH EMPLOYER SEES IT 173 
 
 round the same table, let them ventilate their differ- 
 ences freely face to face, and we may look for an 
 atmosphere in which fair-minded accommodation be- 
 comes possible. 
 
 "It is with that goal in view that the government is 
 actively promoting the Whitley scheme of joint indus- 
 trial councils, supplemented by industrial-reconstruc- 
 tion committees linking up with the work of the trade 
 boards and existing representative joint bodies. It is 
 also maintaining trade-union advisory committees at 
 the headquarters of government departments, as well 
 as local-labor advisory committees to assist in decen- 
 tralized administration. 
 
 "It may still be possible to discern a really acute 
 difference between the aims of even 'good' employers 
 and 'good' workmen. The employers realize that high 
 wages and attractive conditions are necessary to pro- 
 duce contented workers, but they claim that increased 
 output is an indispensable accompaniment of these. 
 On the other hand the worker is apt to suspect in sug- 
 gestions of payment by results, in scientific manage- 
 ment and in efficiency methods an attack on collective 
 bargaining and the menace of considerable unemploy- 
 ment. The workers ask not only for comfort in the 
 present but security for the future, and for some 
 measure of control of the industry in which they are 
 concerned. It is in this general situation that the pro- 
 motion of direct negotiation and joint action as between 
 the employing and employed classes is seen to be of the 
 first importance. 
 
 "Apart from labor questions perhaps the greatest 
 problem facing British industry at present from the 
 employer's point of view is the fact that while on the 
 
174 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 one hand the costs of raw materials and of production 
 are very high there is on the other hand apprehension 
 that prices of manufactured articles may fall heavily. 
 As a consequence, though the need of the world for 
 manufactured articles has never been greater and 
 masses of orders are waiting to be placed, manufac- 
 turers in many cases are hanging back. 
 
 "The questions of the readaptation of plant and of 
 taxation are also factors in the internal situation, 
 while, looking to the outside, the recovery of markets 
 and trade connections is an issue of prime urgency. 
 From a narrowly national standpoint — such a stand- 
 point as might have seemed natural before we had 
 all learned the lessons of the great war — it might be 
 said that America is not specially interested and con- 
 cerned in our solving these problems of ours. But 
 these are not pre-war days and I think that perhaps 
 in America as well as in England we shall try to sur- 
 vey things in a more comprehensive and generous 
 spirit. No doubt labor policies in England and Amer- 
 ica must sooner or later follow the same broad lines. 
 Interchange of views, experience and experiments 
 should be of great interest and value to both countries. 
 
 "It may be said that industry tends toward inter- 
 nationalization and that the international relations of 
 labor are only less close than those of capital. A de- 
 mand is springing up in all countries — and not only on 
 the side of labor — for an international code of indus- 
 try: a flexible code, susceptible of local modifications, 
 which would remove some of the local fears with which 
 employers listen to the demands of labor. Employers 
 in any one country are deterred from making such 
 concessions by fear of foreign competition. This may 
 
AS THE BRITISH EMPLOYER SEES IT 175 
 
 or may not be a valid argument, but it would clearly be 
 advantageous to all parties to reconstruct the founda- 
 tions of industrial life in such a way as to restore the 
 confidence which is now so often lacking among the 
 three partners in the world's work — employers, em- 
 ployed and the state. 
 
 "It is not for England to teach America. England 
 and America are fellow learners in the school of world 
 experience. We may exchange thoughts, ideas, sug- 
 gestions and records to our mutual and lasting advan- 
 tage, but one would hesitate a long time before assum- 
 ing a didactic attitude on any of the subjects I have 
 touched upon. Closer and more frequent consultation 
 would, I think, be very desirable, and possibly we may 
 in the future see conferences taking place periodically 
 between the Departments of Labor of the United King- 
 dom and the United States. 
 
 "Nothing but good can come from exchange of ideas 
 and experience, and I look forward to the day when 
 such questions as hours of the working week will be a 
 matter of international discussion governed by inter- 
 national experience and by international demand. Se- 
 curity of employment and certainty of market should 
 be our goal, and only by international discussions and 
 agreements shall we be able to achieve our common 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 HOW BRITISH LABOE SEES IT 
 
 EVERY labor question in Great Britain is at the 
 same time a political question. This fact 
 should be kept in mind at all times or much that is go- 
 ing on in the industrial world here in England will not 
 be fully understood. For those of us who look on la- 
 bor matters from the American point of view this ad- 
 monition is especially necessary. In the United States 
 the labor movement and all its particular trade-union 
 activities may be said to be a complete and self-con- 
 tained affair, apart from the currents of politics. La- 
 bor's program is never merged into or wholly identi- 
 fied with that of the existing national parties. 
 
 There is a sense, of course, in which every live indus- 
 trial topic in a free country is also political or govern- 
 mental. When a large body of men press for the set- 
 tlement of any question or the adoption of certain 
 measures, department heads, legislatures, governors, 
 and even Presidents may be moved to take a hand. 
 Still all this, with us at any rate, is more or less acci- 
 dental. It is not supposed to be the business of our 
 public officials, and certainly not the business of party 
 chiefs, to engage very actively in framing or further- 
 ing industrial policies for the labor forces of the coun- 
 try. And we have no distinctive party comprised of 
 Labor representatives for the special purpose of send- 
 ing men of their own choosing to Congress or to state 
 legislatures. 
 
 In Great Britain the line of separation between labor 
 
 i7d 
 
HOW BRITISH LABOR SEES IT 177 
 
 and political machinery is obliterated. Questions like 
 the eight-hour day, minimum wage, child labor, employ- 
 ment of women and collective bargaining are not merely 
 subjects for discussion between employers and em- 
 ployed or between trade unions and employers' asso- 
 ciations ; they are among the principal concerns of the 
 political parties, and the very special concern of one 
 party in particular : The Labor Party.* 
 
 The promotion of specific reforms or legislation in 
 which the manual workers are interested more often 
 takes the form in Great Britain of political than of 
 trade-union action. The campaign is the accepted sub- 
 stitute for the general strike. As a matter of fact 
 both forms of agitation, industrial and political, go on 
 simultaneously, the latter, however, excelling in vigor 
 and in general public interest. Parliamentary action 
 is regarded as by far the more desirable method of 
 getting results, the strike as an inferior and desperate 
 resort. 
 
 To capture Parliament — that is, to win a majority of 
 seats in the House of Commons — is labor's aim. This 
 done, industrial reconstruction may be brought about 
 in a constitutional way, the British way. And when a 
 given course can be described as typically British the 
 last word has been said for it. 
 
 The Labor Party is as characteristic a creation of 
 the British labor movement as is the corresponding 
 industrial body, the Trades-Union Congress. Most of 
 the trade unions of the country are affiliated with both, 
 supply the bulk of the funds by means of a levy upon 
 their local treasuries or assessment on their members, 
 and through delegates selected for the purpose they 
 
 1 See page 572, The Labor Party Constitution. 
 
178 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 direct the affairs of both the Labor Party and the 
 Trades-Union Congress. 
 
 Strictly speaking, the Labor Party is not a political 
 party as we ordinarily understand it. It is, in fact, a 
 federation of labor organizations, plus a number of 
 socialist societies, plus a miscellaneous alliance of trade 
 councils, professional groups and a sprinkling of men 
 and women — ^writers, lecturers, clergymen, social 
 workers, "intellectuals" and others — all of whom com- 
 bine, not as spokesmen for any specific interest such as 
 mining, teaching, printing or the like, but definitely as 
 labor politicians. 
 
 And right here another word of explanation is in 
 order. The term politician as the British use it never 
 carries with it implications of the sort with which we 
 are unhappily familiar. You don't insult anybody 
 here with it. You merely describe an interest of his, 
 or a chief occupation, as if you said of a man that he 
 is a doctor, engineer, journalist or soldier. 
 
 Parliament, as I have mentioned, is the goal of the 
 Labor Party's efforts; the majority of the party's rep- 
 resentatives in the House of Commons have always 
 been trade-union leaders. There have been times when 
 men not members of unions have sat in the House as the 
 party 's spokesmen ; because of their work for the party 
 or for the labor movement in general they were taken 
 into the fold, given a place in the party 's councils, and 
 backed as the party 's candidates in an election. In the 
 general election held last December not one of this out- 
 side group won. Every man of the sixty who were 
 elected on the Labor Party ticket holds some trade- 
 union office or is directly connected with some labor 
 organization. 
 
HOW BRITISH LABOR SEES IT 179 
 
 The newspapers were not slow in seizing on this 
 result the moment the figures were known. "Labor 
 Cleans House," "Loyal Labor Wins," "Pacifism 
 Down and Out" — these are among the milder headlines 
 by which the country was apprised of the verdict. 
 There can be no question as to what the five million 
 and more voters — ^women were among them for the 
 first time — had in mind when they gave victory to the 
 banners of Mr. Lloyd George and his ticket. Much 
 more even than the men the women seem to have made 
 loyalty to the country their acid test in casting their 
 first vote ; and rightly or wrongly they singled out can- 
 didates on the basis of this simple test for slaughter or 
 success. Only a deliberateness of selection such as 
 this can explain the apparently overwhelming victory 
 of the Prime Minister. The country decided to stand 
 by the present government, which had conducted the 
 war to a successful conclusion, and to return only those 
 Labor candidates whose record left no doubt as to 
 their position throughout the war and their intention 
 as regards the fate of its instigators. This much is 
 clear, for all the hubbub of explanation and commen- 
 tary. 
 
 But what the headlines and first impressions failed to 
 show was the very important fact that the aggregate 
 difference in the votes between the winning and the 
 losing parties was not more than half a million, a slen- 
 der enough margin, though, as I have said, by no means 
 controverting the decisiveness of the verdict. 
 
 To understand how labor views the immediate future 
 in Britain, what its policies are and are likely to be, we 
 must go behind the returns and see just what did hap- 
 pen in the election. The topic is as full of life to-day 
 
180 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 as it was in December ; in fact, much more so. Labor 
 has its own idea as to what the verdict of the election 
 meant, and it is proceeding to carry out in a pretty- 
 definite way the mandate that- it believes the country 
 has given it. 
 
 In the United States our habit on the morning after 
 election is to let bygones be bygones and forget poli- 
 ties, unless we have some personal interest or cause at 
 stake, until the open season is on again. It is quite 
 the other way here ; especially so with the Labor forces, 
 which just at present are unusually busy. And labor, 
 or Labor, is on the map these days, politically speak- 
 ing; also industrially and internationally speaking. 
 
 In the British labor movement there have been cycles 
 of interest and of indifference as regards mixing labor 
 and politics. For a long time there was opposition to 
 labor's going out of its regular trade-action course in 
 order to obtain conditions or concessions that it de- 
 manded. At the present moment the pendulum has 
 swung in the direction of great hopes, though some- 
 what modified by the poorer election showing than was 
 expected — hopes of controlling Parliament in the near 
 future and setting up a Labor government for the 
 United Kingdom. 
 
 In 1900 the fusion of trade-union and socialist forces 
 resulted in the birth of the Labor Party. From that 
 time forward the political growth of labor has pro- 
 ceeded apace. In 1906 twenty-nine out of fifty candi- 
 dates on the Labor ticket captured seats in the House 
 of Commons, formed themselves into a parliamentary 
 party with their own whips and officers, and launched 
 the Labor Party as a going concern and political con- 
 
HOW BRITISH LABOR SEES IT 181 
 
 testant. In 1910 the party fighting in seventy-eight 
 constituencies carried forty of them. 
 
 Up to the beginning of the war a generally compact, 
 well-organized group of trade-union and socialist mem- 
 bers in the House of Commons worked with more or 
 less internal harmony to promote industrial measures, 
 such as prevention of unemployment, improvement in 
 factory and mining conditions, nationalization of min- 
 eral resources, and the protection of unions against re- 
 strictions regarded as detrimental to the interests of 
 labor. The war immediately worked confusion and 
 disunity in the ranks of political labor. The partner- 
 ship of labor and socialist groups looked to be at an 
 end. Broadly speaking the line of cleavage between 
 the trade unions and the socialists seemed to be this : 
 The trade unions unhesitatingly sprang to the support 
 of the government in its move against the German 
 peril; they took what was described as the national, 
 the patriotic viewpoint. The socialists, on the other 
 hand, proclaimed their international viewpoint, which 
 was generally branded throughout the country as un- 
 patriotic and pro-German, not even possessing the 
 crude virtues of that large group of German socialists 
 who, misled or coerced into believing that their coun- 
 try was in danger, stood by their own government. 
 
 The Asquith Ministry invited the cooperaition of 
 the trade-union members in Parliament and appointed 
 to various posts men like Arthur Henderson of the 
 Iron-Founders; Eoberts of the Typographical Asso- 
 ciation; and Brace of the Miners. Later, under Mr. 
 Lloyd George, other trade-union men appeared in 
 large numbers as government officials. Clynes, the 
 
182 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 Food. Controller, belongs to the Gas Workers — ^now 
 called the General Workers Union; Hodge, the Pen- 
 sion Minister, to the Steel Smelters; and Barnes, the 
 labor member of the War Cabinet, to the Engineers. 
 
 While the trade-union wing of the party increased 
 and strengthened its connection with the war admin- 
 istration the socialists pursued an opposite course, 
 forming an aggressive left wing, which was bitterly as- 
 sailed by the public in general and more especially by 
 the trade-union leaders of the party. 
 
 Then came the December, 1918, election. You may 
 buttonhole a dozen different individuals and the cer- 
 tainty is that you will get about as many individual 
 explanations as to what the general election in Great 
 Britain really signified. You will soon give up hope 
 of getting anything that might be called a consensus 
 of opinion. 
 
 Lloyd George fathered and headed the so-called 
 Coalition ticket. The Coalitionist will tell you that 
 the country showed that it wanted the Prime Minister 
 in and the "old gang" out. The veteran Liberal 
 maintains that the people \\aYe been pushed off their 
 feet by a forced election, sprung when nobody was look- 
 ing and when there was no real issue before the coun- 
 try. Labor asks you to look at its two and a half 
 million votes, with two-thirds of the soldiers unable to 
 cast their ballot, and say if things are not looking up. 
 
 There is no question that labor on the whole expected 
 a larger result, though the gain is, as we shall see, one 
 to be most respectfully considered. Fewer seats were 
 won than showed in the prospect. To some extent la- 
 bor campaigned on anticoalition lines, which meant, 
 for all practical purposes, anti-Lloyd George. Shortly 
 
HOW BRITISH LABOR SEES IT 183 
 
 before the election Labor Party delegates in an all- 
 day conference decided to withdraw from all participa- 
 tion in the Lloyd George administration. This act, 
 conpled with the fact that it carried among its candi- 
 dates fifty known to be left-wing "radicals and paci- 
 fists," placed the labor campaign under very obvious 
 disadvantage so far as the contest before the country 
 was concerned. 
 
 Nevertheless the Labor Party made a showing which 
 promises to make it the principal opposition party in 
 the next Parliament, a role full of interesting possibili- 
 ties. Only about half of the total electorate went to 
 the polls, and out of that number labor secured nearly 
 one-quarter — that is to say, two and a half million 
 votes out of ten million. The whole of the left social- 
 ist wing was wiped out. There were sixty labor can- 
 didates elected out of the 361 in the field; no fewer 
 than twenty-eight of these come from the miners' 
 unions ; the unskilled workers won five seats ; shipbuild- 
 ing and other crafts, eleven. 
 
 The outstanding fact is the return of trade union- 
 ists and the defeat of all others. Mr. Henderson's 
 defeat despite his war record — the loss of one son in 
 action and the service in the field of his two other 
 sons — was the undoubted result of a misunderstand- 
 ing of his loyalty and intense desire to see Prussianism 
 destroyed. 
 
 Now one reason for stressing this election result is 
 its bearing on the international drama which is about 
 to open both in the Paris Peace Conference and in 
 the labor conference also to be held in Paris. 
 
 By the trade unionists just elected there is no mis- 
 apprehension as to the country's intentions so recently 
 
184 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 registered. Women, six million of them, newly en- 
 franchised, helped to emphasize the decision. The 
 country has swung toward the right, expressing its 
 determination for a clean finish to the war job, still 
 incomplete. There is no escaping that conclusion, 
 whichever way the figures are studied, and whatever 
 may be one's personal feeling as to the justice or in- 
 justice meted out in the case of sundry unsuccessful 
 candidates. Where there were 290 Conservatives in 
 the old House of Commons there are well over 390 in 
 the new House. The Liberal Party has been squeezed 
 out of existence, and though the Labor Party repre- 
 sentation has greatly increased its strength it is dis- 
 tinctly more conservative or moderate in complexion 
 than it was with its mixture of right and left wings in 
 the House. 
 
 On the last Saturday night in December, when the re- 
 turns showed how the country had voted, a discomfited 
 candidate declared : ' ' The people have not been heard 
 from yet." 
 
 His friend quietly rejoined: "Well, there must 
 have been a few people among that five million which 
 went Coalition." 
 
 Mr. Clynes judged the situation more wisely. "Of 
 course we accept the verdict of the poll," he said. 
 "Labor needs no other weapon to secure its ends. 
 The masses of wage earners form the greater part of 
 the electorate, and there is no change in our social or- 
 der, no economic alteration which organized workers 
 desire which they could not obtain from the floor of 
 the House of Commons if they preferred to send their 
 representatives in large enough numbers. 
 
 "Labor, as we desire to see it, should stand for or- 
 
HOW BRITISH LABOR SEES IT 186 
 
 der ; it should stand for the law, because the time may 
 come when labor may have to make the law; and if 
 labor wishes to see that example followed labor must 
 not hesitate to set the example. The verdict of the 
 poll for the time being is a verdict which labor men 
 should accept, and I protest against these open in- 
 vitations to the wage earners to use the weapon of the 
 strike and seek to menace either the public or Parlia- 
 ment with the threat that men will come out in the 
 street and leave the workshops because the men have 
 not been returned to the House of Commons. I do 
 not think that any labor man at any time need fear 
 the loss of anything worth having by indulging in a 
 little candor. Certainly, it is more than possible that 
 in the early years to come public confidence in the 
 capacity of labor to legislate will increase. I hope to 
 see the unity, which in such large degree was shown 
 among all classes for the purposes of the war, continue 
 for the purposes of peace and for the attainment of 
 mutual benefit in the future. ' ' 
 
 Doubtless the words I have just quoted represent 
 what may be called the normal view of labor, both as 
 regards the election and the spirit in which the in- 
 dustrial policies of the near future are to be framed. 
 And yet it must be pointed out that from a survey of 
 the labor viewpoint the present position is both satis- 
 factory and unsatisfactory. Labor has strengthened 
 its position in the House of Commons. This is clear 
 enough. But it has not strengthened it in any rea- 
 sonable proportion to the increase of its voting power 
 in the country. That means that what may not incon- 
 ceivably be a dangerous situation has been created. 
 Labor has made up its mind that certain reforms shall 
 
186 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 become law, and that its voice in the affairs of the na- 
 tion shall be effective in the carrying out of these re- 
 forms. It is coEomitted to the carrying out of these 
 reforms. It is committed to the constitutional method 
 — a large portion of labor is. Another section shows 
 impatience with this legal procedure. They advocate 
 direct action, the weapon of the strike and industrial 
 paralysis. 
 
 On the present moderate group in the House will fall 
 the burden of demonstrating the parliamentary ad- 
 vantage in fighting, for example, for a general eight- 
 hour day. During the election strong labor leaders 
 said that an effective Labor Party inside the House was 
 the surest guaranty against outbreaks of Bolshevism 
 outside. They have now to make their claim good. 
 
 What may be expected to happen? That depends 
 on two or three uncertain factors ; on whether, for ex- 
 ample, Mr. Lloyd George holds his followers or parts 
 company with them. On the face of it the Prime Min- 
 ister 's position is impregnable, for he will have behind 
 him five-sixths of the House of Commons. The Prime 
 Minister's pace is somewhat faster than is usual to 
 some of his supporters, and he may decline to slow 
 down or they to speed up. Such a development may 
 arise, particularly when questions like land national- 
 ization come to be tackled. 
 
 An early approach by the government to the most 
 urgent social-reform problems is certainly to be looked 
 for, with the qualified support of all parties in the 
 House. The Labor Party will support such reforms 
 in principle, but urge that they be made more sweep- 
 ing. How far the Prime Minister's majority will go 
 with him is but guesswork at present. But the Prime 
 
HOW BRITISH LABOR SEES IT 187 
 
 Minister's words the other day have a special sig- 
 nificance — if the government did not do its best to ful- 
 fil the promises made he would no longer be the head 
 of the government, but would go back to the people and 
 ask for a renewal of their confidence. 
 
 On a good many questions the labor members may 
 find themselves very largely at one with the govern- 
 ment. On others they are sure not to be. In such a 
 matter as railway nationalization, for example, dif- 
 ferences are certain to arise on at least two points. 
 The first will be on the issue whether the state shall 
 acquire the railways or control their management, as 
 it has done throughout the war. There are a number 
 of railroad directors in the House of Commons who 
 will resist state ownership and stand out for control 
 exercised through commissions. Labor will be in solid 
 opposition to any such proposal. It is out for full 
 ownership, and demands, moreover, representation for 
 the workers in the management. 
 
 The Prime Minister has pledged himself to full na- 
 tionalization of the railroads. But then will come the 
 second battle — on the question of the price to be paid 
 to the present stockholders. Proposals that touch 
 men's pockets are apt to be looked at from different 
 angles. 
 
 That is one example of the differences that are bound 
 to arise between labor and the government all along 
 the line. They will arise beyond any question on the 
 first budget the Chancellor of the Exchequer presents, 
 for labor is pledged to the proposition of a tax on 
 capital — a proposition which the whole Conservative 
 Party will fight to the death. On Ireland there can be 
 little agreement. Tariff questions will not produce 
 
188 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 quite so acute a division, for labor is not solid on this 
 matter. On tariffs, however, the official labor policy 
 is to press for a system of international industrial 
 legislation which will make measures for the shutting 
 out of "dumped" goods unnecessary. That policy is 
 to be pushed at the Paris Labor Conference. 
 
 But the question on which the most serious attention 
 is fixed is whether there will or will not be a manifesta- 
 tion of what is known as "direct" action — that is to 
 say, strikes and violence — as a means of enforcing the 
 will of labor. All the responsible labor leaders have 
 denounced such action repeatedly and emphatically. 
 Mr. Henderson has condemned the suggestion again 
 and again. So has Mr. J. H. Thomas. So has Mr. 
 Clynes. Practically the whole of the sixty labor mem- 
 bers just returned to Parliament would be against it. 
 But that does not wholly dispose of the danger. The 
 recent election, as Mr. Eamsay MacDonald declared 
 amid a thunder of cheers at one Albert Hall meeting, 
 is an open incentive to direct action. A volume of 
 votes that should have given labor 170 seats in the 
 House of Commons has, by the chances of the ballot 
 box, given it sixty, and those sixty are ranged against 
 a solid majority that constitutes the Prime Minister 
 an unchallenged dictator if he chooses to use his power 
 in that way. Certain sections of labor are taking the 
 view that since the road of political action is barred 
 against them the only hope left is to try some other. 
 
 Bolshevism, however that term is interpreted, has 
 taken firm root nowhere in Great Britain, In 1917, 
 when the Soviets in Eussia were in the first flush of 
 their career, a great labor conference was held at Leeds 
 with the object of establishing a system of workers' 
 
HOW BRITISH LABOR SEES IT 189 
 
 and soldiers' councils throughout Great Britain. The 
 conference had little support from the moderate men in 
 the labor movement and it left no permanent result 
 behind it at all. 
 
 But though there is no Bolshevism in Britain to- 
 day that does not mean that the recurring symptoms 
 of Bolshevism can be ignored. The madness that has 
 made havoc of Eussia has a tendency to blow westward. 
 It may stop at the Rhine, but it will not stop even at 
 the North Sea if unwisely dealt with. 
 
 For that kind of manifestation two or three danger 
 spots have to be noted. One is the South Wales min- 
 ing valleys; another is the shipyards of the Clyde; 
 another the machine shops in the Midlands. There 
 are signs and omens on the Clyde and elsewhere to 
 which all those who are qualified to judge attach im- 
 portance. Bolshevism may or may not increase ; that 
 will be determined largely on industrial grounds. If 
 demobilization is well organized, employment is good, 
 wages are high and management open-minded, there 
 will be no serious fears of grave labor troubles. But 
 if there is any breakdown in the restarting of industry, 
 if there is cause for knots of unemployed to gather at 
 street comers and organize red-flag processions, Brit- 
 ish ministers may find themselves faced with about as 
 big a problem as the war itself. 
 
 One vital factor in the situation is the worker 's real- 
 ization of his place in industry. That is true to-day 
 as it has never been true before. Hitherto the poten- 
 tiality of power has been there, but it could never be 
 realized for lack of efficient organization. The labor 
 movement has passed beyond that point now. Just 
 before the war broke out a huge trade-union merger 
 
190 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 was effected. An amalgamation was carried out bring- 
 ing into one association the federated unions of the 
 miners, the railwaymen and the transport workers — 
 carters, dockers, tramwaymen and others — through- 
 out the kingdom. This "Triple Alliance," as it is 
 termed, embraces something like a million and a quarter 
 workers. 
 
 It cannot be forgotten that there has been some fore- 
 taste, even during the war, of drastic labor action. 
 Last November a big labor demonstration was to be 
 held at the Albert Hall, London's largest auditorium. 
 When everything had been arranged the trustees of 
 the hall canceled the contract on the ground that "no 
 revolutionary sentiments would be encouraged." 
 
 The organizers of the meeting appealed to a certain 
 government department. The department said it could 
 not interfere in the matter. 
 
 At this point the electricians' trade union heard what 
 was happening. They forthwith cut off all the electric 
 light in the hall while a big concert was in progress. 
 That was only a beginning. The second step was to 
 see that all the trains on the Underground Railway 
 passed the stations serving the Albert Hall without 
 stopping, and the third to arrange that no omnibus 
 and no taxicab should put down passengers anywhere 
 within a mile of the hall. There was no need to carry 
 these latter projects into effect, for the government 
 department that had been unable to interfere got busy. 
 The trustees were told they had got to carry out their 
 contract, and the end of the affair was that instead 
 of one labor demonstration two were held, on succes- 
 sive evenings. There was an element of British good 
 humor in the situation that kept everybody cheerful, 
 
HOW BRITISH LABOR SEES IT 191 
 
 but no one who had any knowledge of the situation was 
 blind to the significance of such an incident. 
 
 At present, as has been said, the sky is fairly clear, 
 and if there is a disposition to meet labor's program 
 fairly there is no reason why it should not remain clear. 
 But the situation is emphatically not one that lends 
 itself to bungling or insincerities. 
 
 With the end of the war there came a revival of in- 
 terest in the idea of labor internationalism. Labor 
 is naturally anxious to bring the full weight of its in- 
 fluence to bear upon the making of peace and intends 
 to present to the Peace Congress a comprehensive 
 statement of its view upon the problems of the settle- 
 ment. 
 
 Labor asks in the first place for direct representa- 
 tion in the official Peace Congress, but is not likely to 
 get it in the form for which it asked. It is probable, 
 however, that labor will be represented in the Indus- 
 trial Commission which this country is expected to set 
 up in connection with the Peace Congress, as it has 
 done already with the establishment of a League of 
 Nations section under the chairmanship of Lord Eob- 
 ert Cecil. Its appointment is an earnest on the gov- 
 ernment side that labor questions will receive a proper 
 share of attention in the Peace Congress. Both the 
 British and the French Governments have shown a 
 disposition to consult organized labor on the question 
 of international labor legislation, and even seem pre- 
 pared to associate labor representatives with their own 
 plenipotentiaries in preparing proposals for submis- 
 sion to the Peace Congress. The Paris conference is 
 intended to focus labor opinion on the problem of peace, 
 especially upon two points in regard to which labor is 
 
192 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 extremely anxious to make its influence felt. One 
 point is the formulating of a charter of international 
 labor legislation. Henderson, the leader of British la- 
 bor, who is chiefly responsible for the promotion of the 
 conference, has stated in the course of the last few 
 days the labor view on this matter as follows : 
 
 ' ' Labor 's view is that the adoption of the charter of 
 international labor legislation which it will be the task 
 of the conference to formulate is one of the necessary 
 safeguards of future peace. Economic antagonisms 
 between nations, unfair competition in trade, all help 
 to intensify national jealousies and sow the seeds of 
 war. The way to deal with this problem is to work for 
 an approximate equality of conditions in all countries 
 and to maintain these conditions by the authority and 
 influence of the League of Nations." 
 
 These are the ideas with which labor men approach 
 the question of peace. The purpose of the coming 
 conference is to give effect to labor's conception of a 
 satisfactory settlement of the war. In this confer- 
 ence all the working-class organizations of the several 
 countries will be represented. It will probably sit in 
 two sections : A trades-union conference composed of 
 representatives from national bodies like the American 
 Federation of Labor, the Confederation Generale du 
 Travail, the British Trades Union Congress, possibly 
 also the British General Federation of Trade Unions, 
 and other bodies from Scandinavia, Belgium and else- 
 where ; and a political section of the conference, organ- 
 ized to some extent on the basis of the old Interna- 
 national Socialist Bureau. Joint sessions are to be 
 arranged between the industrial and political sections 
 in order to compare notes and present a common pro- 
 
HOW BRITISH LABOR SEES IT 193 
 
 gram to the Peace Congress. Together the two groups 
 or sections will produce a program of international 
 labor legislation which the Peace Congress will be in- 
 vited to incorporate in the Peace Treaty, and will sug- 
 gest machinery for maintaining and extending these 
 international provisions in connection with the League 
 of Nations. The program has yet to be worked out. 
 What is in the minds of the leaders is first of all pro- 
 tection for the women and children in industry, meas- 
 ures against sweating, and the limitation of hours of 
 work, and factory legislation for the protection of the 
 workers generally under international auspices. 
 What is expected to result from the discussions upon 
 this phase of the peace problem is some form of in- 
 ternational machinery for purposes of supervision 
 and control, in connection with the League of Nations, 
 over the national industries. 
 
 It is obvious that labor attaches to the League of 
 Nations power to deal with questions not usually re- 
 garded as coming within its scope. Ultimately, it is 
 evident, labor expects to see the league become the 
 great authority in the world, dealing not only with 
 political matters and questions of foreign policy but 
 with economic problems and the trade relations of one 
 country with another and the world at large. 
 
 In any international program or body representa- 
 tive of labor forces the dominating influences will 
 doubtless be the British and the American contingents. 
 The purposes and the organization of the American 
 Federation of Labor are well known, the policy thus 
 far pursued being one of straight trade-union activity, 
 free from national politiqal affiliations. 
 
 In Britain, on the other hand, the labor forces al- 
 
194 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 "ways present a dual character, as we have seen — ^the 
 political and the industrial. There is no such simplic- 
 ity either of purpose or of organization so character- 
 istic of the American labor movement, and because of 
 this fact there is a good deal of bewilderment in the 
 mind of the average onlooker here; one is never sure 
 of unanimity, never sure that the pronouncement of 
 one group one day will not be offset by the counter 
 manifesto of other groups on succeeding days. 
 
 The truth is that there are several labor movements 
 in Great Britain, held together by the slenderest of 
 threads and presenting a united front mainly for the 
 accomplishment of specific ends. All the while these 
 movements and forces are contending for mastery. 
 To be sure, one 's reliance is always on the trusted and 
 tried leaders, who represent the prevailing moderate 
 spirit of the British worker and the tendency of most 
 people here to seek to win whatever ends they have 
 in view through constitutional methods. 
 
 But an appreciation of labor's view of the indus- 
 trial future in the country, and of its coming activities 
 in the larger arena of European politics and industrial 
 policy, requires a brief explanation of what the Brit- 
 ish labor movement really is. 
 
 The total trade-union membership of the country is 
 five million and a quarter. The General Federation 
 of Trade Unions includes about one hundred and fifty 
 unions belonging to some twenty industries. The 
 more important unions outside of this federation are 
 the Amalgamated Society of Engineers, the Miners' 
 Federation of Great Britain, and the National Union 
 of Railwaymen, with a membership of more than a 
 million and a half. 
 
HOW BRITISH LABOR SEES IT 195 
 
 The General Federation is an industrial body look- 
 ing after purely trade-organization interests. The 
 Trades Union Congress, with a more complete trade- 
 union representation, is the general forum and policy- 
 declaring body for the labor movement, with a Parlia- 
 mentary section, in which matters of legislation and 
 relations with various governmental agencies are con- 
 sidered. 
 
 Within the unions themselves vital differences of 
 opinion prevail. There is the endless contest between 
 organization along craft lines and along industrial 
 lines. The question of labor merged into larger groups 
 is a source of much controversy; and finally the re- 
 verse question of splitting up into smaller units, such 
 as shop-steward groups, a tendency away from strong 
 central control, constantly threatens the stability of 
 the bigger unions. 
 
 A special instance of the movement toward large 
 units is the Triple Industrial Alliance I have already 
 mentioned, of the National Union of Eailwaymen, the 
 Miners' Federation of Great Britain and The Na- 
 tional Transport Workers' Federation. This body is 
 designed to insure joint action where joint interests 
 are concerned, and though its members are not bound 
 to support each other in a strike it is planned that all 
 members should be informed of any strike which is 
 contemplated and all should then discuss the desirabil- 
 ity of joint action. Here is, in fact, a tentative step 
 toward the "one big union"; and though its power 
 would be almost invincible if joint action occurred it 
 shows no sign of absorbing other unions, and it there- 
 fore stands outside the main conflicts of the trade- 
 union world referred to above. It may be noted that 
 
196 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 the three members of it are already practically in- 
 dustrial unions in the full sense. The cotton industry 
 and the mining industry are almost unique in being able 
 to draw for their officials on men who have had any 
 kind of special training. In the cotton industry the 
 complications of price lists has led to the appointment 
 of experts in every district, who are chosen practically 
 on the basis of a competitive examination. In the 
 mining industry miners' agents and check weighers 
 also require considerable technical knowledge beyond 
 that of mere industrial skill. 
 
 This is perhaps the reason why the organization in 
 these two industries has been so complete and effective. 
 Again, in the mining industry certain districts, in par- 
 ticular South Wales and Lanarkshire, have shown a 
 tendency in their industrial organization to adopt ex- 
 tremist leaders and to press on the national organiza- 
 tion an extreme industrial program. The fact that in 
 both South Wales and Lanarkshire conditions of life 
 are exceptionally bad is probably more than a coinci- 
 dence, and though certain propagandist efforts cannot 
 be left out of account the evil conditions which made 
 these districts a fertile field for agitation must be con- 
 sidered as one, at least, of the factors in their irrecon- 
 cilable attitude. 
 
 To sum up, therefore, labor industrially is repre- 
 sented by a very complicated set of organizations. 
 There is a tendency in them toward larger units, but 
 there are forces which tell powerfully against it and 
 which at least will make it a slow process. There is 
 a weakness in the lack of trained administrative of- 
 ficials and there is a grave danger in the overcentral- 
 ization of the machinery of many of the big unions. 
 
HOW BRITISH LABOR SEES IT 197 
 
 There is, in brief, a lack of cohesion in the movement 
 as a whole, even on questions of purely trade-union 
 policy. 
 
 These weaknesses are not new. They were, in fact, 
 inevitable in the condition in which trade unions took 
 their birth and grew to their present stature. For 
 that reason there have been those periods during which 
 industrial labor has oscillated between the two methods 
 of attaining its ends — the industrial and the political. 
 A perfect industrial organization would be supreme at 
 all times but the weaknesses of imperfect organization 
 gave success to the industrial struggle only when other 
 circumstances were favorable to its ends. When, how- 
 ever, such conditions told against it and its efforts 
 resulted in failure there was a natural reaction toward 
 those who insisted that greater results might be ob- 
 tained by the political method. The story of labor in 
 this country may be regarded on the broadest lines as 
 falling into three stages, of which two are complete. 
 It had first to fight for the right to organize. Only 
 a short time ago trade unions were illegal associations, 
 and leaders of such illegal movements were liable to 
 deportation and were actually deported for their ac- 
 tivities. When the right to organize had been gained, 
 the next step was to organize up and down the land. 
 The legal position of a trade union is still a somewhat 
 indefinite thing. But it may be said that substantially 
 trade unions have a large measure of freedom. Now 
 that that freedom has been gained, the next stage, of 
 which we have seen only the beginning, is the stage in 
 which the masses are groping for the effective control 
 of industrial power. 
 
 Labor's organization has grown out of a myriad 
 
198 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 scattered organizations, each jealous of its own rights ; 
 its political machinery is based on the acceptance of 
 candidates by an affiliated union or other affiliated body 
 and by the local organization of the party. These con- 
 siderations once more emphasize the importance of 
 continually bearing in mind the dual organization of 
 labor, the two phases, industrial and political, which 
 continually react, neither of which can be appreciated 
 without a consideration of the other. 
 
 A word must be said concerning connections with 
 organized labor outside the United Kingdom. Here 
 again the two phases of industrial and political organ- 
 ization are apparent. Industrially, international or- 
 ganization has not yet become of much importance. 
 International organization exists in some thirty-two 
 British trades or crafts, of which the most important 
 are the International Miners' Federation and the In- 
 ternational Textile Workers' Federation. Besides 
 these there is the general body known as the Interna- 
 tional Federation of Trade Unions, which covers 
 twenty-one countries, including practically all those in 
 which there is a trade-union movement. The func- 
 tions of this body are mainly confined to the holding 
 of an annual conference and to an attempt to arrange 
 for an interchange of industrial information between 
 the organized workers of the various countries. It has 
 also attempted to produce a uniform set of labor sta- 
 tistics, though without much success. Great Britain 
 is represented on it by the General Federation of Trade 
 Unions, which, as has been seen, covers only a portion 
 of the organized workers in the kingdom and does not 
 include some of the biggest and most powerful unions. 
 It seems possible, however, that this body may gain 
 
HOW BRITISH LABOR SEES IT 199 
 
 a new importance and may wield more practical in- 
 fluence in the future if, as is anticipated, international 
 labor legislation becomes a regular function of a 
 League of Nations. 
 
 The political organization of labor internationally is 
 of much greater importance. The origin of the Inter- 
 national was due to Karl Marx, and it is interesting 
 to remember that its genesis took place in London in 
 1864, though it is only since 1889 that regular meetings 
 have been held and it was in 1900 that was formed the 
 permanent body known as the International Socialist 
 Bureau. The connection between the bureau and the 
 labor and socialist organizations of Great Britain 
 is secured by a joint committee known as the 
 British section of the International Socialist Bu- 
 reau. This body consists of five delegates from 
 the Labor Party: two from the Independent Labor 
 Party, two from the British Socialist Party and 
 one from the Fabian Society, together with the three 
 British delegates to the central body. The apparent 
 collapse of the whole international movement when 
 faced with the outbreak of a European war can easily 
 be exaggerated; strong common elements on which it 
 could be rebuilt subsisted, except in the case of the 
 Germans ; and the efforts which were made from time 
 to time to secure its resurrection have not been without 
 their effect. 
 
 Many circumstances now continue to secure for it a 
 new and more promising future, though it has also to 
 face new difficulties. On the one hand there is the 
 increasing feeling of solidarity among the workers of 
 the various nations, on the other the sharper differ- 
 ences among the labor and socialist bodies; and just 
 
200 MANAGEMENT AND MEM 
 
 as the Labor Party in Great Britain has had to find 
 a working arrangement with the industrial organiza- 
 tion, so too the International on the question of inter- 
 national labor legislation will have to secure coopera- 
 tion with the International Trade-Union Federation. 
 In Great Britain the coordination was easy since the 
 personnel, industrial and political, is so largely the 
 same. Internationally there is greater divergence, 
 and the great labor movement of America, though 
 represented on the International Trade-Union Federa- 
 tion, has not so far a separate political organization, 
 and if it had it would probably find the atmosphere of 
 the International much too extreme. Hence the In- 
 ternational will find it difficult to secure a real coher- 
 ence on industrial matters. 
 
 A much more serious difficulty in the way of inter- 
 national solidarity is the split within the national or- 
 ganizations as regards the attitude toward the Eussian 
 Bolsheviki and their claims to represent the Russian 
 people. So far as this country is concerned, its ver- 
 dict is on record. The moderate and dominant sec- 
 tions of the labor movement, opposed to anarchy, have 
 carried the day, and credentials from Bolshevist 
 sources will be most critically examined. It is the con- 
 viction of more than one leader here that the greatest 
 menace to the success of the Eussian Eevolution has 
 been the terrorists who seized the reins, kept the people 
 in check by a liberal sprinkling of funds and machine 
 gnus, and who have no hope of remaining in control 
 except as they can duplicate the Eussian chaos, de- 
 struction of industry and capture of all labor organiza- 
 tions in other countries. Hope lies in the solid centre 
 bloc typified by men like J. H. Thomas and Clynes and 
 
HOW BRITISH LABOR SEES IT 201 
 
 Henderson. The lurking danger lies in the smaller 
 revolutionary bodies, often fortunate in clever political 
 leadership, and their power to exploit industrial fric- 
 tion or political discontent. 
 
 The danger of revolution is, however small, never 
 negligible. At a time when the apparently unassail- 
 able autocracy of Russia has crumbled away, when 
 Europe almost from end to end is in chaos, it is no 
 longer safe to regard even the soundest of systems as 
 exempt from assault. The revolutionary spirit is 
 abroad and the international organization of labor 
 provides numerous channels for its transference here 
 if circumstances not now apparent make British labor 
 a suitable host for infection. 
 
 It is necessary to point out briefly what are the 
 characteristics of the labor movement in Europe. In 
 France we have again the duality of an industrial and 
 a political movement. The Confederation Generale 
 du Travail is the iadustrial organization and the Parti 
 Sociahste the political. Both are small, measured by 
 membership — about 600,000 in the case of the C. G. T., 
 and 60,000 in the case of the Parti — ^but their influence 
 and importance are not to be gaged in this way. The 
 Socialist Party, for example, obtained 102 seats in the 
 Chamber of Deputies, the total number of deputies be- 
 ing 602. Besides the 102 members of the Socialist 
 Party there are thirty "Independent" Socialist depu- 
 ties. 
 
 Both organizations — that is, the Parti and the C. Gr. 
 T. — represent broadly the same point of view. This 
 year arrangements have been made for the closer union 
 of the two organizations and for better cooperation in 
 their joint aims. The political movement differs from 
 
202 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 the British labor movement, however, most character- 
 istically in the nature of its leadership and in its 
 theory. It is essentially doctrinaire, its leaders "in- 
 tellectuals," with a distinct philosophic bent in their 
 writings and propaganda; its general policy and atti- 
 tude are in this country regarded as extreme. 
 
 The Italian labor movement is in outline very sim- 
 ilar to the French. On the industrial side is the Con- 
 federazione Generale de Lavoro, and on the political, 
 the Socialist Party. Political unity is not so marked 
 as in the case of France, and during the war the gov- 
 ernment received support from some elements of the 
 extreme left as well as from the right. The general 
 tendencies in both the industrial and political move- 
 ments, however, arfe very extreme, more so even than 
 of the French, and approximate closely to those of 
 the Socialist Labor Party in England. 
 
 In Norway and Sweden the radical movement is 
 strong and is in close alliance with the labor organiza- 
 tions. Having been subjected to Bolshevik propa- 
 ganda it has become more extreme and may develop 
 dangerously in spite of the moderation of its best- 
 known leaders, such as Branting. The movement has 
 also gained ground in Denmark. 
 
 Eecent events in Holland have served to bring into 
 prominence the divisions of the movement — a right 
 group, the center, and the party generally, led by 
 Troelstra; and the left or extremist wing — and have 
 given some indication of its aims and strength. The 
 revolutionary movement commanded the adhesion of 
 only a minority of the workers ; had Troelstra not been 
 so sure of his victory as to announce publicly when 
 the revolution would begin the revolutionaries might 
 
HOW BRITISH LABOR SEES IT 20S 
 
 have been temporarily succe'ssful in a oaup d'etat. As 
 it was, the result was an overwhelming demonstration 
 of loyalty to the constitution and the Queen. 
 
 The labor organizations themselves can claim to 
 have been the first to direct attention to the necessity 
 for international labor legislation, and recently in 
 England, France, Italy, the Scandinavian countries 
 and in Belgium they have either urged in general or 
 indicated in detail the problems to be tackled — the right 
 of trade-union combination, the restriction of danger- 
 ous trades, the provision of holidays and leisure, in- 
 surance, the regulation of the employment of juvenile 
 and female labor and so on. The practical accomplish- 
 ment of the international regulation of these, and of 
 humane conditions of industry in general, means an 
 infinite accumulation of detailed knowledge ; and none 
 is better fitted by experience and by interest to assist 
 in its collection and to interpret it for the guidance 
 of legislatures than is organized labor. If, therefore, 
 this problem is tackled by a League of Nations as one 
 of its essential functions, one at least of the main 
 present mistrusts of labor will have been removed. 
 Moderate labor leaders in all the European countries 
 will be able to strengthen their position by the solid 
 argument of something done. 
 
 There is one final factor which cannot be left out of 
 account, and that is Eussia. It should be first of all 
 noted that Eussia — or at all events the Bolshevik ele- 
 ments which now control it — has no place or function 
 in the securing of better industrial conditions by means 
 of international legislation. The Bolshevik theory 
 does not allow of any compromise with existing govern- 
 ment or of any action which would involve any recogni- 
 
204 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 tion of its rights. International legislation or agree- 
 ment binding the individual states to place certain re- 
 strictions on industry is something to which Russian 
 representatives could not subscribe, since in their po- 
 litical and industrial system the employer or manage- 
 ment as we know it does not exist. It is not, therefore, 
 in this practical field that Russian influence may be felt. 
 
 Its importance lies in its determined propaganda, the 
 destructiveness of which it would be fatal to underesti- 
 mate. 
 
 All parties, political or industrial, are striving to- 
 ward ideals which even their most fervid adherents 
 admit are incapable of attainment except by slow 
 progress. Their policy is to make that progress as 
 rapidly as possible, but step by step. Even the so- 
 cialistic theory of Marx looked to an evolution in 
 which industrialism must live its full life — and collapse 
 eventually. It was in fact this argument which the 
 majority socialists in Germany employed to fortify 
 their support of German imperialism during the war, 
 urging that the sooner Germany reached the dominant 
 position to which she was undoubtedly progressing, 
 the sooner would capitalism have run its course ; and 
 in the face of this universal doctrine of slow evolution 
 — toward whatever end — the extremist who demanded 
 a sudden overthrow of industrial organization at one 
 blow laid himself open to the charge of the maddest 
 unreasdn. 
 
 Bolshevism in Russia, however, has persuaded a cer- 
 tain type of mind that the apparently impossible can 
 be done, and that the results, good or ill, can be sus- 
 tained. Adherents of extreme doctrines are doubting 
 now whether they should not revise their ideas as to 
 
HOW BRITISH LABOR SEES IT 205 
 
 the means by which their ideals can be attained, and 
 this attitude of doubt is fertile soil for Bolshevik prop- 
 aganda. In England, where most of the leaders of 
 labor are hard-headed men from the industries, not 
 prone to vague enthusiasms, there is naturally a ten- 
 dency to judge by results and to refuse to be stam- 
 peded into support of the Bolshevik method or end, 
 with news daily flowing into England of atrocities, 
 famine and industrial chaos in Eussia. But it must 
 not be forgotten that the declared intention of the 
 Bolshevik Government is to secure international rev- 
 olution, and that it is led by men who are experts 
 trained for the purpose. They count it a gain to split 
 any movement, provided one section be more extreme 
 than the original was as a whole. 
 
 He would be a wizard indeed who attempted to chart 
 or predict the course of industrial events for the 
 months to come. There is still too much confusion; 
 our knowledge of the situation in various countries is 
 too incomplete for any clear indication of the direction 
 in which the discordant forces covered by the phrases 
 "labor movement" and "labor viewpoint" are mov- 
 ing. We are certain of the course that American 
 labor will pursue both in its home and its international 
 policy. Behind Mr. Gompers and his colleagues there 
 stands a solid body of trade-union opinion and sup- 
 port, the fruit of years of growth and experience. 
 
 Back of the elected leaders and spokesmen of the 
 British labor forces there is a powerful body of mod- 
 erate, typically British workers who will resist to the 
 utmost any excursions into unknown fields of industrial 
 experimenting at the expense of a movement which 
 took a century of struggle to bring to its present stage. 
 
206 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 Cooperating with these forces for constructive meth- 
 ods are the most respected employers and managers, 
 and a body of public opinion favorable to the cause of 
 labor's advance. 
 
 Britain and America will no doubt have more to do 
 with shaping the course of events in Europe than all 
 other countries combined. But the path of labor's 
 representatives from the English-speaking countries 
 will not be an easy one. Plans or traps, as one may 
 choose to view them, have been laid for the capture of 
 the delegations. Rumors will soon fly thick; propa- 
 gandists are on the job ; nothing will be overlooked that 
 may give the impression in Great Britain and in Amer- 
 ica that trusted leaders have succumbed to the pro- 
 jects of upheaval. But Continental Europe will find 
 that neither British nor .Aanerioan representatives are 
 novices. Labor in both countries not only looks for- 
 ward to a peace period marked by orderly progress in 
 industrial relations but is especially impressed by the 
 tremendous importance of maintaining industry in- 
 tact in order to save the victims of Europe 's industrial 
 chaos. 
 
 That a new international note is coming into the 
 English-speaking labor world is obvious. There is 
 a tendency to regard the results of the recent general 
 election as a condemnation of international entangle- 
 ment. To the extent that such entanglement imports 
 an alien spirit into labor policy and implies a disre- 
 gard of natural typical loyalties of the people there 
 were indeed both condemnation and repudiation. 
 
 Yet even during the war British labor kept alive the 
 idea of international labor relations through the inter- 
 
HOW BRITISH LABOR SEES IT 207 
 
 allied conferences, which were held in London in 1915, 
 1917 and 1918. At these conferences labor's views on 
 the meaning of the world war and its solutions of the 
 problems raised by it were set forth in the well-known 
 Memorandum of War Aims. 
 
 Summing up the labor viewpoint and situation in 
 Great Britain I should say that the outstanding event 
 that will make the year 1919 a landmark in these mat- 
 ters is the definite emergence of the Labor Party as 
 the government's chief alternative and opposition 
 party. It is the old labor party enlarged and definitely 
 reconstituted. 
 
 About a year ago the party constitution was changed 
 in order to strengthen the membership and give it 
 greater weight in political life. One innovation was 
 the formal recognition of the interest of "all pro- 
 ducers by hand or brain.'* Unlike Bolshevists, the 
 Labor Party does not regard the industrial organizer, 
 specialist and manager as anathema. He is an in- 
 dispensable factor in production, unless, as in Eussia, 
 industry is to be reduced to primitive conditions of 
 barter. It is of interest to note that lately Lenine has 
 been pleading with his coadjutors to entice the fugitive 
 employers and managers back by most extravagant 
 sums of money, in order to resurrect the dead in- 
 dustries of his country. 
 
 The present leaders of the Labor Party are clear- 
 headed patriotic men, with experience in building up 
 and with a keen industrial sense. Backed by the 
 strong Trades-Union Congress, which recently sig- 
 nalized its fiftieth birthday by sending a message of 
 congratulation to the Forces, the prospects on which 
 
ms MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 the majority of the labor forces base their hopes are 
 jood. It is not conceivable that the present govern- 
 ment will disappoint these hopes. 
 
 Signs point to a far-reaching program of national 
 reforms on which labor, government and thinking em- 
 ployers wiU unite. The keynote is: "Make Britain 
 a good country to live in; its industries fit places to 
 work in." 
 
APPENDIX A 
 
 WITH ILLUSTEATIVE MATEBIAL 
 
 LABOR'S STATEMENT 
 
 ON 
 
 THE HOUSING PROBLEM AFTER THE WAR 
 
 THE EXTREME 'OEGENCT 
 
 On no subject — not even that of demobilization — is it so urgent 
 that Parliament and the Government should come to a decision of 
 policy as on housing. Once a decision has been come to with re- 
 gard to the method of demobilizing the Army, or with regard to the 
 transfer of the 3,000,000 munition workers to productive employ- 
 ment, there need be no delay in carrying out the decision. But 
 houses do not become instantly ready for occupation on the Gov- 
 ernment giving the order. Many months must necessarily elapse 
 between the decision to provide dwellings and the entry of the 
 families into these new homes. It is emphatically a matter for the 
 present War Cabinet within the next few weeks. If the Labor 
 Party is unable to get the Government to decide its housing policy 
 many months in advance of peace, the new houses will not be in 
 existence for the soldiers to return to. 
 
 THE EXTENT OP THE SHORTAGE 
 
 What creates the urgency is, in most parts of Great Britain and 
 in Dublin and Belfast, the appalling shortage of houses for the wage 
 earners, and the consequent overcrowding, notwithstanding the tem- 
 porary absence of 5,000,000 men in the Army and Navy. This 
 shortage is due to three causes — 
 
 (a) We were already overcrowded ten years ago. No family, 
 large or small, ought anywhere to be living more than two persons 
 to a room — yet the census of 1901 showed that, in England and 
 Wales alone, there were then no fewer than 2,667,506 persons living 
 (in tenements of one to four rooms) more than two to a room. In 
 the southern half of Scotland and in some parts of Ireland (nota- 
 bly Dublin and Belfast) conditions were even worse. In Glasgow, 
 
 209 
 
210 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 for example, where every room in the artisan's house is used as 
 a bed-room, no less than 55.7 per cent, of the whole population were 
 living more than two persons to a room, and 27.9 per cent, actually 
 more than three persons to a room. Overcrowding is even worse 
 amongst the metal workers and miners of Coatbridge, where more 
 than three-fourths of the population (76.7 per cent.) were living 
 in one and two-roomed houses; nearly half (45 per cent.) were 
 living more than three persons to a room; and 71.2 per cent, more 
 than two persons to a room. There was thus already in 1901, a 
 shortage of many hundred thousand rooms; and the 80,000 new 
 working-class dwellings that were then being put up annually did no 
 more than keep pace with the increase of population. 
 
 (6) The speculative builder gradually gave up the building of 
 working-class cottages and tenements; and from 1907 onward the 
 number of new houses built to let at less than 10s. per week rapidly 
 declined, and (including all municipal, rural landlord, and philan- 
 thropic building) it has latterly, taking the country as a whole, 
 year by year fallen far short of the annual increase of population. 
 Thus the shortage in all the districts in which the population has 
 been increasing became acute. 
 
 (c) During the three years of war all such building (except in 
 about a dozen "munition areas," specially subsidized by the Gov- 
 ernment) has ceased — it has, in fact, been prohibited. 
 
 The result is that, in nearly all the towns of Great Britain, as 
 also in Dublin and Belfast, in all the mining districts, and in nearly 
 all the agricultural areas of England and Wales, and in parts of 
 Scotland the overcrowding has become intensified. Even the Presi- 
 dent of the Local Government Board for England and Wales (Mr. 
 Hayes Fisher), when acting as Parlimentary Secretary, was driven 
 to estimate the deficiency of working-class cottages and flats at 
 half-a-million. This is well below the truth. Including Scotland 
 and Ireland, at least 1,000,000 new dwellings, to be let at not more 
 than a few shillings a week, according to size, are urgently required. 
 
 WHAT WILL HAPPEN WHEN THE RENT RESTRICTION ACT EXPIRES? 
 
 At present (although the Act is often evaded) landlords are pre- 
 vented from raising rents above the pre-war figure by the Restric- 
 tion of Rent and Mortgages Act. These landlords complain that 
 the Act is depriving them of several million pounds a year of in- 
 come. It is due to expire six months after peace is proclaimed. 
 Unless something is done there will then be, in many towns, and 
 in many mining and agricultural districts, a bound up in rents, 
 
APPENDIX A 211 
 
 sometimes of as much as 5s. a week ! Such a rise, just in the midst 
 of the industrial dislocation caused by the discharge of' h^lf the en- 
 tire wage-earning class from the munition works and the Army, 
 would cause the most severe distress. 
 
 Of course, the Rent Restriction Act might, by a new Statute, be 
 continued in force. But the Act cannot be continued indefinitely. 
 The only way to prevent "scarcity rents" is to get the requisite mil- 
 lion new dwellings actually ready for occupation. 
 
 WHO IS TO BUILD THE NEW COTTAGES? 
 
 The times will be bad for speculative building; all materials will 
 continue dear for years to come ; loans of capital will be hard to get, 
 and the rate of interest will remain high. If speculative builders 
 found no profit in putting up working-class dwellings before the 
 war, it is plain that they will be quite unable to do so under the 
 more adverse conditions that will now prevail. We cannot possibly 
 allow grants of public money to private builders. Cooperative so- 
 cieties will find it equally impossible to build without loss. We 
 cannot rely on philanthropic landowners and charitable trusts for 
 more than a trifling proportion of the need. What are called "pub- 
 lic utility societies" (in which the shareholders content themselves 
 with 5 per cent, dividends) cannot now operate without subsidies 
 from public funds. 
 
 It seems clear that no one but the municipalities and the National 
 Government can possibly shoulder the task of building 1,000,000 
 new rural and urban dwellings — 5,000,000 additional rooms — which 
 may cost at the high prices that will prevail, at least £250,000,000. 
 
 THE GOVERNMENT POLICY 
 
 The duty of providing houses for the people is at present placed 
 on the local authorities (Town and District Councils; in London the 
 L. C. C. and Metropolitan Borough Councils; in Scotland the 
 Burgh Councils), which have very large powers under the Housing 
 Acts. But the Councilors (who often have houses of their own 
 to let) are usually unwilling to proceed at all; they are very much 
 afraid of any charge on the rates; and they never decide to make 
 anything like an adequate increase in the number of dwellings avail- 
 able for wage-earning families. In face of the high prices for ma- 
 terials and the increased rate of interest for loans no local authority 
 can nowadays put up working-class dwellings of any kind — any 
 more than the speculative builder can — otherwise than with a heavy 
 
212 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 annual deficit, which would become a change on the rates. No 
 local authority will incur this loss. 
 
 The Government accordingly adopted the policy (announced in 
 the House of Commons 27th November, 1914) of a Tree Grant from 
 the Exchequer (in addition to loans at cost price) of such a propor- 
 tion of the cost of each housing scheme by a local authority as 
 would enable the local authority to charge the customary rents and 
 yet avoid loss. As publicly declared by Lord Rhondda, this is still 
 the Government policy, but during the war it has been put in opera- 
 tion only in about a dozen "munition areas" where additional houses 
 were most urgently required. In these cases the Free Grant from 
 the Exchequer has been, on an average, about 20 per cent, of the 
 total cost. In no other way could the Government get these houses 
 built. It is plain that, after the war, there will, equally, be no other 
 way. 
 
 What we have to secure is that the absolutely necessary 1,000,000 
 new dwellings shall be built, where they are wanted, of the kind that 
 is wanted, as soon as they are wanted. The rate at which the whole 
 1,000,000 can be put up must depend on the materials and labor 
 being available. But assuming that sufficient materials can be pro- 
 vided, and that men of the building trades would otherwise be un- 
 employed, the whole 1,000,000 new houses ought to be completed 
 within four years from the declaration of peace. It must be remem- 
 bered that, after the war, the population of the United Kingdom 
 will be fully as large as it was before the war. Great as have been 
 the losses by war, they are more than counterbalanced by the almost 
 complete stoppage of emigration during the war. Emigration will 
 doubtless begin again when peace comes, but it is very doubtful 
 whether it will at once assume its former proportions. Hence we 
 shall still be needing at least 100,000 additional new houses a year, 
 even after the present shortage of 1,000,000 is made up, as long as 
 the population continues to increase at its present rate. 
 
 WHAT THE GOVERNMENT OUGHT TO BE CALLED UPON TO DO AT ONCE 
 
 What is urgently needed is an immediate decision as to the Gov- 
 ernment housing policy, so that all the necessary preparations can 
 be made in advance, ready for the actual building to begin the day 
 after peace is declared. 
 
 (a) The Government must promptly inform all the local authori- 
 ties that the requisite 1,000,000 new dwellings have got to be bmlt, 
 and that each place will have its assigned quota. 
 
APPENDIX A 213 
 
 The local authorities will certainly hang back ; some will not want 
 to have any more working-class dwellings; property owners will 
 everywhere prefer to let rents go to scarcity figures; hardly any 
 Council will be ready to build either quickly or enough. The three 
 Local Government Boards for England and Wales, Scotland, and 
 Ireland ought to fix and officially proclaim the quota of new dwell- 
 ings that each local authority must, within four years, get built — 
 taking into account, for each place, such statistics as (i.) the num- 
 ber of persons living more than two to a room at the census of 
 1911; (ii.) the subsequent estimated .increase or decrease of popu- 
 lation; (iii.) the estimated number of dwellings needed to be closed 
 as insanitary; and (iv.) the number of dwellings to let. 
 
 (6) The local authority should everywhere he required to decide, 
 within one month, whether or not it will undertake to build the quota 
 thus fixed, upon the terms offered by the Government. 
 
 It is better that the local authority should build for its own dis- 
 trict than that the Central Government should have to undertake 
 the task; and the local authority should, therefore, be given the 
 option of doing its duty. But it is, in the national interest, impera- 
 tive that the full number of new dwellings of the kind required 
 should actually be put up within the allotted time; and if any local 
 authority (which is now temporarily outside the control of the local 
 electorate) will not undertake its share of the task, the Central 
 Government will simply have to do the work itself. A declaration 
 to this effect will bring most recalcitrant Councilors to reason. If 
 they find that the new dwellings will anyhow be built in their dis- 
 trict, they will prefer the work to be undertaken by their own 
 CouncU rather than by the Government Department. 
 
 But the Local Government Board must make it clear that the 
 scheme will involve no charge on the rates. The Free Grant from 
 the Exchequer (in addition to the loan of the rest of the cost on the 
 best possible terms) must be sufficient to enable the balance sheet to 
 show no annual deficit, counting on rents within the actual means of 
 wage-earning tenants and certainly no more than those customary 
 in the locality, and providing for the actual cost of the sites, the 
 swollen expense of building, sufficient allowance for management 
 and repairs, and whatever interest and sinking fund the Government 
 requires. 
 
 (c) The land must be at once secured {or a legal option obtained) 
 under the summary process of the Defense of the Bedim Act or some 
 equally speedy procedure. 
 
 If land has to be acquired under the Housing Acts, not only is 
 the compensation sometimes excessive (which will now be a matter 
 
214 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 for the Government to consider), but — what is more important — the 
 delays are interminable. It often takes a local authority a couple 
 of years between deciding on a housing scheme and getting posses- 
 sion of the site chosen. Unless the Government sees to it that the 
 sites for the 1,000,000 new dwellings are secured at once, or at any 
 rate during the war, there will be no new homes for the soldiers to 
 come back to. 
 
 (d) The plans must equally he prepared and approved in advance; 
 and the local authorities should he required to have them read/if 
 within three months of the deaision to provide so many dwellings. 
 
 The Local Government Board might, for the sake of expedition 
 and economy, supply every local authority with alternative sets of 
 model plans; but we do not want a uniformly ugly "Government 
 cottage" dumped down all over the country! The model plans 
 should be sent only as suggestions for the assistance of the local 
 authority, to be adapted to local conditions, or to be improved on. 
 
 The plans must, of course, provide for cottages or other dwellings 
 of different sizes and accommodation, of up-to-date sanitary con- 
 struction; each home to be "self-contained"; with rooms of adequate 
 floor space, height, and window lighting; properly equipped with 
 kitchen range with hot water fittings, stoves, sinks, and gas and 
 water laid on (where available) ; with sufficient cupboards and 
 storage for food and coal; and invariably with a fitted bath. Every 
 cottage must stand in its own garden of not less than one-eighth 
 of an acre. We ought to determine that the 1,000,000 "Dwellings 
 of the Great Peace" shall be a model for the ensuing generation. 
 
 (e) The Government must for four years secure "priority" for 
 these 1,000,000 working-class dwellings as regards all building ma- 
 terials. 
 
 When peace comes there wiU be a general shortage of all building 
 materials all over the world (notably timber, cement, bricks and 
 building stone, builders' ironwork, and house fittings). As between 
 nations, there will probably have to be an international control of 
 exportable surpluses, so that each can get its share. Within each 
 nation the Government will have to control all supplies, and assign 
 what can be spared to the different objects, on the principle of 
 "first things first." Thus the only building that can be permitted 
 (until supplies become abundant) will be that which is urgently 
 required, not for private profit or the personal comfort of the rich, 
 but in the public interest. Along with the necessary renewing or 
 enlarging of factories, railways, public enterprises, etc., must come, 
 in the first rank of priority, the 1,000,000 new working-eltiss dwell- 
 
APPENDIX A 215 
 
 ings that are so urgently needed. For a long time to come there 
 can clearly be no using of materials for palaces, hotels, or any 
 "luxury" buildings until the shortage in cottages has been made 
 good. This "priority" needs to be emphasized. 
 
 (/) The 1,000,000 new dwellings should be everywhere begun the 
 day after peace is declared; but should be proceeded with, month 
 by month, strictly in correspondence with the supply of building 
 trades workmen, so as to leave practically none of them at any time 
 unemployed. 
 
 The sooner the whole 1,000,000 new dwellings are completed the 
 better for the nation (and the earlier we can let the Rent Restric- 
 tion Act expire and safely restore to the property owner his free- 
 dom to charge whatever rent he can get!). But it will depend on 
 the War Office how quickly the hundreds of thousands of brick- 
 layers, masons, carpenters, plasterers, plumbers, and building la- 
 borers are released from the Army, or from the other occupations 
 to which they have had to turn. The Emplojonent Exchanges, which 
 will have to pay these building operatives their unemployment 
 benefit, should, therefore, report to the Local Government Board, 
 week by week, how many are available and in what towns; and the 
 Government should arrange for all public building works to proceed 
 at a greater or less rate, in exact correspondence with the available 
 supply of labor and thus prevent unemployment. 
 
 (g) Where the local authority obstinately refuses to build the 
 quota assigned to it, the Local Government Board should itself 
 undertake the building, placing the work under the supervision of a 
 local committee appointed by itself, on which the Trades Council, 
 the local Trade Union branches, and the local women's industrial 
 organizations should be represented. 
 
 The nation cannot afford to permit the shortage of working-class 
 dwellings to continue, even where the local Councilors (not having 
 to run the gauntlet of an election ) refuse to undertake the necessary 
 housing scheme. The Government must be prepared, in these eases, 
 itself to build. It can offer the local authority the dwellings when 
 completed, either at cost price less the usual Free Grant, or at a 
 valuation. 
 
 THE COST 
 
 To build, properly and healthily, 1,000,000 new working-class 
 dwellings in all parts of the United Kingdom in both rural and 
 urban areas may probably cost, at the high prices that will prevail, 
 £250,000,000 (the cost of five or six weeks of the War). But even 
 
216 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 charging no more than the rents customary in each locality, prob- 
 ably £200,000,000 of this cost would be no more than a sound finan- 
 cial investment, covering not only repairs, management, and interest, 
 but also a sinking fund to repay the whole debt within 60 years. The 
 real expense would be represented by the Free Grant from the Ex- 
 chequer to enable the several housing schemes to pay their way. If 
 the Government were to lend the whole capital free of interest (thus 
 permitting an actual reduction of rent), this would involve a cost to 
 the Exchequer in the first year (assuming that the Government bor- 
 rows at 5 per cent.) of £12,500,000. If the Government, as an 
 alternative, makes the same sort of Free Grant as it has done in a 
 dozen "munition areas," just suflBcient to enable the local authorities 
 to avoid any charge on the rates at rents not exceeding those here- 
 tofore customary (putting this Free Grant at an average of 20 per 
 cent.), we get a total expense, once for all, of no more than £50,000,- 
 000 — less than ten days' cost of the war; less even than would be 
 covered by a continuation for three months of the excess profits tax ! 
 The nation cannot afford not to do it. 
 
 REPORT BY MINISTRY OF RECONSTRUCTION 
 
 ON 
 
 HOUSING IN ENGLAND AND WALES 
 
 I. A Large Task 
 
 One of our greatest and most urgent tasks after the war will be 
 to secure good and healthy homes for all. We should aim that the 
 houses of the future be well built, have sufficient accommodation, 
 and that there be enough of them to prevent overcrowding. They 
 should have sufficient light and air and not be built in long monoto- 
 nous rows. Sufficient open space, not merely for health but for 
 amenity, should be provided, and adequate gardens. Moreover, in 
 the plans of the houses and the lay-out of the land regard must be 
 had to beauty as well as health. Not merely should the planning of 
 the new houses and their surroundings satisfy this high standard, 
 but existing houses, which are defective or insanitary, should be 
 made thoroughly fit or be demolished. The crowded slum areas and 
 narrow courts which disfigure so many of our towns and which have 
 caused so much disease and sufEering should be cleared or properly 
 restored. 
 
 All this may sound ideal, but the gigantic transformations which 
 have taken place during the war give hope that in time we may 
 achieve the whole of this task. Of course, it will take time, and we 
 
APPENDIX A 217 
 
 shall have to work by stages and must make sure that each step is a 
 safe and sure one. But if we set out with that earnestness of 
 purpose and energy which we have shown in the war, this transfor- 
 mation of Britain will be accomplished. This is a duty we owe to 
 ourselves, but stiU more to the men serving overseas who have given 
 up so much and who must be assured of decent and healthy homes 
 when their fighting is over. 
 
 The Housing problem has not arisen out of the war, but has merely 
 been rendered more urgent and more difficult by its effects. Even 
 before the war the housing of the workers was very far short of a 
 decent standard. A. certain proportion, and in some cases a con- 
 siderable proportion, of the population were living under over- 
 crowded conditions in narrow streets of houses or tenements with- 
 out adequate light and air or open spaces. Many of the houses 
 and tenements themselves were quite unfit for human beings to live 
 in. Each year of the war made conditions considerably worse, and, 
 as we shall show, the present Housing problem may be now stated 
 as consisting in: 
 
 (a) A shortage of houses amounting to between 300,000 and 
 400,000 for England and Wales. This is quite apart from any 
 further shortage which would be created by the closing of slum 
 houses. 
 
 (6) A large number of defective and insanitary houses which are 
 imfit for human beings to live in. 
 
 (o) In many towns slum areas consisting of crowded and narrow 
 courts and streets. 
 
 To solve the problem, therefore, it will be necessary first to have 
 sufficient houses well planned and well laid out; secondly, to close 
 and demolish unfit houses, or to see that they are properly and 
 thoroughly repaired; and thirdly, to clear and improve the slum 
 areas which disfigure so many of our towns. It is the object of this 
 booklet to show the measures which will be necessary in order to 
 achieve this. But to do so, it is first necessary to review briefly 
 the position before the war and to see what steps were being taken 
 to improve conditions, and why they had failed to attain their 
 object. 
 
 II. Housing Before the War 
 
 THE SHORTAGE OF HOUSES 
 
 According to the Report of the Census of 1911 no fewer than 
 one-tenth of the population were living under overcrowded condi- 
 tions. It must be remembered that the standard for overcrowding 
 
218 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 adopted by the Census Authorities is a low one. People are only 
 regarded as being overcrowded if they are living more than two to 
 a room, including living-rooms. Thus, if a cottage or tenement 
 consists of two bedrooms and living-room it is only regarded as 
 overcrowded if there are more than six persons living in it. Fur- 
 ther, children under fourteen are only counted as half a person. 
 To find that one-tenth of the population were overcrowded on this 
 standard gives some idea how serious was the shortage of houses. 
 It is true that in some cases overcrowding was due to the fact that 
 the family could not afford to pay for suflScient rooms, and that 
 until the causes of poverty are removed no final solution of the 
 housing problem can be attained. But even when this is allowed 
 for, it undoubtedly remains a fact that large masses of people were 
 overcrowded simply because there was not sufficient house room. To 
 quote a well-known* phrase, there was "no room to live." 
 
 The shortage of houses was not confined to the towns or to any 
 one part of the country, but existed in towns and villages through- 
 out the length and breadth of Great Britain. It is true there were 
 some places and districts which were well supplied with houses, but 
 the evidence of the census figures and of the reports of Medical 
 Officers of Health clearly showed that the shortage was widespread. 
 
 DEFECTIVE AND INSANITARY DWELLINGS 
 
 The trouble did not end with the mere shortage of houses and the 
 consequent overcrowding. A large number of the inhabited houses, 
 both in town and country, were dilapidated or insanitary, and in 
 many cases also dark and damp. The reports of the Medical Officers 
 of Health of the various Borough, Urban, and Rural District Coun- 
 cils testified to these defective conditions. In many cases the houses 
 could not by any possible method of repair have been put into a 
 satisfactory condition, and in a still larger number of cases, though 
 capable of repair, they were, in fact, not touched, and in their exist- 
 ing state were not reasonably fit for human beings to dwell in. 
 Here again it is important to remember that the conditions existed 
 both in town and country. 
 
 SLUM AREAS 
 
 In many towns there were whole areas, sometimes large, sometimes 
 small, which were overcrowded with houses and in which there was a 
 deficiency of adequate air and light. In these districts the streets 
 and courts were narrow and sunless, and the conditions could not be 
 dealt with merely by improving the individual houses but required 
 
APPENDIX A 219 
 
 the clearance and improvement of the whole area. These slum areas, 
 in the main, were to be found in the larger towns, but they also 
 existed in quite small country towns, and even in villages. They 
 fostered the spread of disease and prevented healthy life both physi- 
 cal and moral. 
 
 SOME ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 To illustrate the conditions we have described the official and pub- 
 lished reports of Medical OfScers of Health of two towns and two 
 rural districts may be quoted. They are selected at random and, as 
 they present facts neither better nor worse than hundreds of reports 
 of Medical Officers for other districts, the names of the towns and 
 districts are not mentioned. To mention the names might imply that 
 the conditions of these particular places were worse than elsewhere, 
 and this is far from being the case. 
 
 TOWNS 
 
 "There are probably between 40,000 and 50,000 back-to-back 
 houses, a large number of which are in courtyards, or in short ter- 
 races shut in behind houses which face the street. Much of this 
 class of property is becoming worn out, and as a result owners are, 
 to an ever-increasing extent, lessening their expenditure on its up- 
 keep. During 1912 there were 926 houses 'represented' as unfit for 
 human habitation. 
 
 "The condition of many of the older houses in the district cannot 
 be considered satisfactory. Sunlight and fresh air are prime neces- 
 sities for ensuring health and minimizing disease, but these are un- 
 attainable in the crowded slum, and in the houses with no through 
 ventilation, of which there are many in your district. 
 
 COUNTRY DISTRICTS 
 
 "There is in many villages a clamant need for new and better 
 dwellings, and after these have been erected, for the closure and 
 demolition of many of the old ones. Certain villages have suffered 
 evident demoralization as a result of the slow deterioration of the 
 housing conditions of the people. 
 
 "There were forty-nine cottages inspected last year in which noth- 
 ing short of pulling down and entirely rebuilding could make them 
 habitable. And besides these things were discovered forty-four 
 cases of overcrowding. ... In nearly all these eases it was almost 
 impossible to abate the overcrowding as there were no other cottages 
 available for the tenants to go into. It must be borne in mind that 
 were it not that cottages are so scarce throughout the district, a 
 
220 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 much laxger number would be condemned and really required to be 
 closed." 
 
 This, then, was the housing situation before the war. Let us 
 now see what steps were being taken to remedy this state of affairs, 
 as the success or failure of these steps has an important bearing on 
 the program for housing reform which we hope to see in the future. 
 
 III. Attempts to Impeove Housing Conditions 
 
 Various Acts of Parliament were passed during the nineteenth 
 and the present century for the purpose of improving the condi- 
 tions under which the workers were housed. The basis of the pres- 
 ent law is the Housing Act of 1890, but its provisions have been 
 amended and enlarged by various other Acts, particularly the Hous- 
 ing and Town Planning Act of 1909. In addition, many of the 
 provisions of the Public Health Acts (particularly the Act of 1875) 
 deal with housing questions. 
 
 Under all these Acts the Local Authority — i.e., the Borough or 
 Urban District Council in the towns and the Rural District CouncU 
 in the counties, and in London for some purposes the County Coun- 
 cil — ^is the responsible authority for carrying out the law, subject to 
 the general supervision of the Local Government Board. (The 
 Local Authorities employ Medical Officers of Health, Surveyors, and 
 Sanitary Inspectors to assist them in carrying out their duties.) 
 
 THE provision Or HOUSES 
 
 Under the present Housing Acts Local Authorities have very wide 
 powers of providing houses for the working-classes. They may 
 purchase or lease existing houses, and adapt, improve, and furnish 
 them. They may purchase land (eompulsorily, if necessary) and 
 build houses themselves, or they may simply purchase the land, 
 make streets and sewers, and lease it upon condition that the lessees 
 erect and maintain on it approved dwellings for the Working-classes. 
 They have powers not only to build dwelling-houses, but also to pro- 
 vide shops, recreation grounds, and gardens for the benefit of the 
 tenants of the dwelling-houses. For all these purposes they may 
 borrow the full amount from the State at the lowest rate at which 
 the State can afford to lend. Any four inhabitant householders in 
 the district may complain to the Local Government Board that the 
 Local Authority has failed to exercise the above powers, whereupon, 
 after a public inquiry, the Local Government Board may order it 
 to do so. 
 
APPENDIX A 221 
 
 In addition to conferring these powers upon Local Authorities the 
 Housing Acts also make provision for the granting of loans by the 
 State to societies and individuals erecting houses for the working- 
 classes. Loans can be obtained by companies or private individuals 
 for this purpose up to 50 per cent, of the value of the premises. 
 Public Utility Societies (that is to say, cooperative or other societies 
 registered under the Industrial and Provident Societies Acts and 
 limiting their profits to 5 per cent.) may obtain such advance up to 
 66% per cent. 
 
 In the aggregate relatively little use has been made of these powers, 
 though in the few years immediately before the war the activities of 
 Local Authorities in the way of buUding were rapidly increasing. 
 The number of houses for which loans to Local Authorities were 
 sanctioned in the years ending 31st March, 1911, to 1915, were 464, 
 1,021, 1,880, 3,335 and 4,408 respectively. These figures show an 
 encouraging increase. But it still remained true that the number 
 buUt even in the last year before the war was only a small propor- 
 tion of the total required to make up the shortage of working-class 
 dwellings. 
 
 THE IMPROVEMENT 01" EXISTING HOUSING AND THE REMOVAL OF 
 
 SLUMS 
 
 There are extensive powers for improving the standard of existing 
 houses. Local Authorities have power to make by-laws for pre- 
 venting overcrowding and ensuring a certain minimum of sanitation 
 and convenience. The Housing Acts require the Local Authorities 
 to cause inspections to be made of the houses in their area. If any 
 dwelling-house it found to be in a state so dangerous or injurious to 
 health as to be unfit for human habitation the Local Authority must 
 make a closing order prohibiting the use of the dwelling-house for 
 human habitation until it is rendered fit. If, after a time, the house 
 has not been made fit, and is not reasonably likely to be or cannot be 
 made fit, the authority must make a "demolition order." 
 
 In addition, in the case of houses under certain rentals which are 
 "not reasonably fit for human habitation," the Local Authority must 
 give notice to the landlord requiring him to do specified repairs, and 
 if these are not done by the landlord the authority may do them 
 and charge him with the cost. 
 
 In the case of a house which, though not in itself unfit, obstructs 
 other houses, they may order it to be pulled down, paying the owner 
 reasonable compensation. 
 
 Considerable and growing use has been made of the powers of 
 
%m MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 dealing with individual houses, particularly since the passing of the 
 Act of 1909. Thus the number of houses made fit in this way at 
 the expense of the owners was increased from 19,463 in 1911 to 
 67,065 in 1914. Though the improvement has been considerable and 
 is encouraging, yet a great deal remains to be done. Many Local 
 Authorities, in spite of pressure from the Local Government Board, 
 failed to make any use whatever of their powers, and many have 
 made quite inadequate use of them. The problem is closely bound 
 up with the question of shortage of houseroom. So long as tenants 
 have no alternative accommodation, Local Authorities will hesitate 
 to close houses, even though convinced of their unfitness. 
 
 Where the powers of dealing with individual houses are inade- 
 quate owing to the whole area being so congested and so badly 
 planned that only a complete clearance and rebuilding of the area 
 will remedy the mischief, the Local Authority may prepare a scheme 
 for that purpose. In that case compensation must be paid to the 
 owners for the premises demolished, except in the cases of particular 
 houses which could not reasonably be made fit for habitation. 
 
 The expense of purchasing whole areas (including often factories 
 and other good buildings) and of clearing and improving them has 
 been so great that schemes have been carried out in only very few 
 cases. Only two or three schemes a year were submitted in the years 
 before the war. 
 
 There is urgent need for devising some fair method of dealing with 
 these plague-spots of our cities in some more economical way. 
 
 THE CONTROL OP BUILDING AND TOWN PLANNING 
 
 During the nineteenth century increasing control over the erection 
 of new houses was established. Local Authorities were empowered 
 (and in some instances required) to make by-laws for that purpose. 
 In this way a control (varying with the different districts) was im- 
 posed over, for example, water-supply and drainage for houses, the 
 materials employed in their construction and height of rooms. In 
 consequence of these provisions a great improvement was obtained 
 in the character of the individual houses erected by private enter- 
 prise, although considerable hardship and expense is alleged to have 
 arisen in some cases from the inelasticity of the by-laws. (A special 
 committee, under the Chairmanship of Mr. Stephen Walsh, M.P., 
 is now considering the whole question of by-laws.) 
 
 Valuable though these provisions were in raising the standard of 
 individual houses, they still left the planning and lajang-out of areas 
 to the accident of circumstances. No proper foresight was exer- 
 cised in regard to the future development of a district. Areas were 
 
APPENDIX A 223 
 
 used indifferently for industrial and residential purposes, to the 
 detriment of both the manufacturer and the resident. Finally, 
 houses were crowded on sites in dreary monotonous rows, to the 
 saeriflee both of health and amenity. 
 
 In 1909 the first statutory provision on the subject of Town Plan- 
 ning was made in the Housing and Town-Planning Act. Power was 
 given to Local Authorities, with the consent of the Local Govern- 
 ment Board, to prepare a town-planning scheme as respects any 
 land in course of development or likely to be used for building pur- 
 poses. The subject of Town Planning is dealt with in a separate 
 pamphlet. 
 
 IV. The Effect of the Wab 
 
 The effect of the war has been 
 
 (1) to increase considerably the shortage of houses; 
 
 (2) to suspend practically all work in connection with the closing 
 and repairing of unfit houses and the clearing of slums; 
 
 (3) to increase the cost of building and the rate of interest on 
 capital ; 
 
 (4) to produce an acute shortage of building materials. 
 
 SHORTAGE 
 
 Since 1915 very few working-class houses have been built except 
 in certain munition and shipbuilding areas. Even in these areas 
 houses have only been built where absolutely essential and in insuf- 
 ficient quantities. 
 
 The Local Government Board have recently been making an 
 inquiry from the Local Authorities of England and Wales as to the 
 shortage of houses in their districts. They were asked to state the 
 number of new houses which (a) were required now, and (b) should 
 be built at the close of the war, to provide the necessary accommo- 
 dation for the working classes in their districts. Up to date returns 
 have been received from about 1,500 Authorities. They show a 
 total of 170,000 in regard to (a), and 190,000 in regard to (b). 
 Thus, if the war were to end at once there would be an immediate 
 necessity for building between 300,000 and 400,000 houses. 
 
 defective houses and slums 
 
 At the same time, owing to the shortage of labor and materials 
 only the most necessary repairs have been effected. Local Authori- 
 ties have been unable to issue Closing Orders in the case of defective 
 houses, or to give notice to owners to repair. In 1915 the Local 
 
224* MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 Government Board issued a circular to Local Authorities suggesting 
 that 
 
 "whilst not unduly relaxing the standard of public health adminis- 
 tration in their area, Local Authorities should, as far as possible, re- 
 frain from requiring the execution of work the cost of which has to 
 be borne by private individuals unless the work is urgently necessary 
 for the removal of nuisances or the protection of health." 
 
 The special circumstances due to the war have made this necessary, 
 but the general effect has been that the quality of existing houses has 
 steadily deteriorated. Very few slum areas have been cleared or 
 improvement schemes started. 
 
 THE COST OP BUILDING 
 
 The cost of building rose considerably during the ten years before 
 the war. Since the outbreak of war the increase has been very great, 
 and it is now nearly twice as great as it was before the war. And it 
 is calculated that even when peace is restored the cost will still be 
 half as much again as it was in 1914. Thus, a house which would 
 have cost £200 before the war will probably cost at least £300 after. 
 Further, owing to the immense amount of borrowing for war pur- 
 poses the rate of interest on capital has very much increased. 
 Before the war the State was lending money for housing purposes to 
 Local Authorities at 3% per cent., while now it can only lend at 5V3 
 per cent. In this connection it must be borne in mind that as the 
 result of the Increase of Rent and Mortgage Interest (War Restric- 
 tions) Act, 1915, the rents of houses in existence before the war have 
 remained at the same level as they were in 1914. 
 
 SUPPLY OP MATERIALS 
 
 Owing to the great demand for timber and the scarcity of labor 
 for brickyards and other building material industries, the supply has 
 been very much reduced. This whole question is being investigated 
 by a special committee. 
 
 We now propose to show how important it is to make early ar- 
 rangements for the building of the large number of houses required 
 in the years immediately after the war, and then to show the lines 
 upon which our policy must be framed in order to secure that the 
 houses are in fact built. 
 
APPENDIX A 225 
 
 V. The Need fob Action 
 
 Thus the housing situation, bad as it was in 1914, is far more 
 serious as the result of the war, and the importance of dealing rap- 
 idly and effectively with the problem after the war cannot be exag- 
 gerated. Bad and inadequate housing has serious effects on both 
 social and industrial conditions. It is one of the chief causes of the 
 spread of disease, of infant mortality, and of physical deterioration, 
 and also of social and industrial unrest. On the other hand, to build 
 a large number of new houses is essential for increased food produc- 
 tion and rapid demobilization, and will assist in preventing unem- 
 ployment after the war. 
 
 EFFECT OF BAD HOUSING ON HEALTH AND LIFE 
 
 It is well known that overcrowding and bad housing conditions 
 have a very serious effect upon health. Where there is confined 
 space, insufficient air, lack of sunlight, dampness, bad drainage or 
 overcrowding, disease spreads more rapidly and there is a serious 
 increase both of infant mortality and the general death rate. Thus, 
 Dr. Mair, who made a special investigation into the subject, found 
 that the number of deaths from pulmonary disease and the diseases 
 of young children were half as much again in back-to-back houses 
 as in ordinary dwelling-houses. 
 
 The effects of overcrowding and insanitary dwelling-houses upon 
 tuberculosis are notorious. An examination of the reports of the 
 London Tuberculosis Dispensaries shows that one-half of the pa- 
 tients under the care of these institutions live in dwellings with one 
 or two rooms only. In the report of one of these dispensaries we 
 find: 
 
 "Only 134 out of 766 patients suffering from definite signs of pul- 
 monary tuberculosis occupied separated rooms at night time. The 
 others were sleeping in rooms shared by one or more persons, and 
 of these only 179 slept in separate beds, the remaining 453 actually 
 sleeping in the same beds as one or more members of the family." 
 
 What bad housing conditions mean in individual cases may be 
 illustrated from the following quotation from the report of another 
 dispensary : 
 
 "At No. 181 Mrs. Simms will be found, but she is in such deep 
 trouble that we hardly like to knock. For this morning early, Simms 
 woke up, and coughed and died. Uninsured, with no savings or 
 
226 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 earnings, there poor Simms lies, and the five small children stand 
 round, looking wide-eyed and wondering on their first sight of Death. 
 A starved fire flickers in the grate. The windows are not merely 
 closed, but round the edges of each sash is pasted tight a double 
 strip of paper. For through the old and loosely-fitted woodwork 
 come otherwise piercing draughts on winter nights. These win- 
 dows have for long been sealed with paper so as to keep out both 
 winter draughts and summer breezes. The paper was fixed by the 
 preceding tenants, who when they were evicted were found to num- 
 ber fourteen in all. Fourteen souls in two small rooms with sealed 
 windows. The seeds of Death were sown thick and fast on the floors 
 of No. 181." 
 
 Bad housing conditions affect not merely physical health but the 
 general standard of life. How is it possible to keep a home clean 
 and comfortable if it consists of two rooms only, while the family 
 number fourteen? How is it possible to maintain decency when 
 there are insufficient bedrooms to separate the sexes, or when^ — as is 
 not uncommon in some of our towns — there is only one sanitary 
 convenience to six tenements'? 
 
 HOUSING AND INDUSTRIAL UNREST 
 
 Last year a Royal Commission was appointed to inquire into the 
 causes of Industrial Unrest. Great Britain was divided into eight 
 areas and separate Commissions examined the causes of unrest in 
 each of these areas. In their reports the Commissioners in seven 
 out of the eight districts specifically drew attention to the fact of 
 insufficient and bad housing being a cause of unrest. 
 
 Thus, those for the North-Eastem area say that they "have thought 
 it right to point out that the housing question was put forward as one 
 of the general causes of industrial unrest, which should in the na- 
 tional interest be dealt with at an early date." The report for the 
 Yorkshire area emphasizes the necessity for a large program of 
 social reform after the war, "including especially sufficient increase 
 in and improvement of housing accommodation." And the Com- 
 missioners for Wales say "it is clear from the large amount of evi- 
 dence received that unsatisfactory surroundings and inadequacy of 
 housing accommodation is a factor of great importance in the causa- 
 tion of unrest." 
 
 POOD PRODUCTION AND THE RETURN TO THE LAND 
 
 We have come to realize the importance of increasing the produc- 
 tion of home-grown food. At present we are not getting the full ' 
 
APPENDIX A 227 
 
 produce of the land owing to lack of labor. But when the war is 
 over it will be possible to have a sufficient supply of labor provided 
 that the conditions are such as to attract the returning soldier back 
 to the land and give him reasonable prospects. But men are not 
 going back to the land whatever the attractions of an open-air life 
 unless they are reasonably sure of decent and healthy homes. WhUe 
 married soldiers, who were formerly on the land, in many cases have 
 cottages to return to, single men who are desirous of marrying will 
 be unable to find homes in the country districts unless effective steps 
 are taken. It must be remembered, too, that the policy of plowing 
 up two million additional acres of grass land will necessitate in- 
 creased labor and therefore more cottages. Thus it is essential that 
 a large number of good cottages with reasonable gardens should be 
 built in the country districts as early as possible. 
 
 DEMOBILIZATION AND UNEMPLOYMENT 
 
 At the end of the war we hope to see the soldiers and sailors 
 demobilized as soon as possible, both for their sakes and our own. 
 Apart from military exigencies and the difficulties of transport there 
 will be two questions having a very important bearing upon the speed 
 with which demobilization can take place. One is the question 
 whether there are houses for the soldiers to go to when discharged. 
 The other is whether there is employment available. The transition 
 from a war to a peace basis will cause, at the least, very great dis- 
 location in industry and finance, and at the same time there may be 
 considerable unemployment. 
 
 It will not be possible to reestablish quickly those industries for 
 which raw materials are scarce, or have to be imported. Shipping 
 will be short and will be largely occupied in the transport of troops 
 and food. But building materials can be produced almost entirely 
 in this country. It is true that there will be a shortage of timber, 
 but experiments are now being made for reducing to a minimum the 
 quantity of timber used in the building of cottages. In all prob- 
 ability it may be said that at least nine-tenths of the necessary mate- 
 rials for building, such as brick, cement, iron-mongery, slate, tiles, 
 can be produced in the country. 
 
 If schemes for building as many of the necessary houses as prac- 
 ticable were ready to be put into operation immediately after the 
 declaration of peace, it would materially assist in solving the unem- 
 ployment problem. Work would be provided for brickmakers and 
 others engaged in the manufacture of building material : for brick- 
 layers, masons, carpenters, joiners, and plumbers, and all others 
 
228 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 taking part in the actual building of houses. It would also provide 
 direct employment for a large number of workers in roadmaking, 
 sewering, and estate development; and indirect employment to others 
 in the furnishing and other trades. It is not exaggerating to say 
 that, having regard to the large number of houses required, work 
 might be provided in this way for over one million men, and this 
 would be the largest single contribution to the unemployment prob- 
 lem. The State must see that its citizens are maintained after the 
 war. It will be much better to do this by employing them on vitally 
 necessary and useful work than by keeping them when no longer 
 wanted in the Army or granting them insurance doles to walk the 
 streets. 
 
 A proper housing scheme, therefore, will not only fill an urgent 
 need, but will accelerate demobilization and reduce unemployment. 
 If a further reason be wanted for a progressive housing policy there 
 is one more convincing than all others. It is that as a bare measure 
 of justice, every man who has given of his best in fighting or working 
 for his country should be regarded as entitled as of right to a decent 
 home in pleasant surroundings. As Mr. Walter Long, when Presi- 
 dent of the Local Government Board, said in reply to a deputation 
 on "Housing After the War" : 
 
 "It would indeed be a crime — a black crime — if reading as we do 
 the wonderful accounts of the sufferings which our heroes have to 
 undergo in the trenches ... we sat still now and did nothing. . . . 
 To let them come from horrible water-logged trenches to something 
 little better than a pigsty here Would indeed be criminal on the part 
 of ourselves, and would be a negation of all we have said during this 
 war, that we can never repay these men for what they have done 
 for us." 
 
 Or as Dr. Addison, Minister of Reconstruction, puts it: "Those 
 who have suffered the hardships of war and the long bitterness of 
 separation deserved better of us than to have to pass their lives in 
 a slum." 
 
 VI. The Housing Pouct After the War 
 
 We have shown that the situation at the end of the war will con- 
 sist in a shortage of housing amounting to between 300,000 and 
 400,000 for England and Wales alone, and in the existence of large 
 numbers of slum dwellings and slum areas. This housing problem 
 
APPENDIX A 229 
 
 must be solved as early as possible if we are to secure homes for 
 returning soldiers. The solution is also essential if we are to prevent 
 industrial unrest, to secure adequate employment, and to remove one 
 of the greatest causes of infant mortality and the spread of disease. 
 
 What steps are the Government taking to deal with this difficult 
 situation 1 
 
 The whole question is being carefully considered by both the Local 
 Government Board and the Ministry of Eeconstruction, each of whom 
 have strong advisory committees on the subject. In some directions 
 active steps have already been taken, while in others schemes are 
 being formulated. At the outset it is important to emphasize that 
 the building of new houses is the most urgent matter. It is no good 
 thinking of clearing slum areas or of issuing Closing Orders in the 
 case of individual bad houses imless there is sufficient alternative 
 accommodation. 
 
 LOCAL GOVERNMENT BOARD INQUIRY 
 
 Therefore, the first step was to ascertain where the new houses 
 were required. For this purpose the Local Government Board, on 
 28th July, 1917, sent an inquiry form to all the Local Authorities in 
 town and country asking them to state how many houses will be 
 needed in their districts. We have shown that returns have been 
 received from over 1,500 authorities showing an immediate shortage 
 of 170,000, which will be increased by another 190,000 on the conclu- 
 sion of the war. This affords a good basis for preparing plans, but, 
 of course, it must be remembered that while many Local Authorities 
 have made adequate returns, in some districts the inhabitants feel 
 that the Local Authority has under-estimated the shortage, while one- 
 sixth of the Authorities have made no returns at all. Probably the 
 Authorities in some of these cases have been awaiting a decision as 
 to the form and extent of the financial assistance which was to be 
 given. This has now been announced. 
 
 It should be added that 900 Local Authorities have reported that 
 they have already prepared, or are in course of preparing, or are 
 willing to prepare schemes for the erection of more than 150,000 
 houses in all. 
 
 The President of the Local Government Board has stated recently 
 that: 
 
 "All were conscious of the terrible shortage of houses and the fact 
 that the private builder could not be relied upon to make good the 
 deficiency. Hence they could only turn to the Local Authorities." 
 
230 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 As we showed, the financial difficulties, owing to the increased cost of 
 building and rate of interest, will be considerable. 
 
 It was decided by the War Cabinet in July, 1917, that substantial 
 financial assistance would be given "to those Local Authorities who 
 are prepared to carry through without delay, at the conclusion of 
 the war, a program of housing for the working classes which is ap- 
 proved by the Local Government Board." 
 
 In a circular issued by the Local Government Board it is stated 
 that this assistance is to take the following form. An annual grant 
 is to be made for not less than seven years suflEicient to relieve the 
 Local Authority of three-quarters of the estimated annual loss on 
 the housing scheme. At the end of that time the property is to be 
 valued, and three-quarters of the excess of the amount of the loan 
 outstanding over the then value of the property will be met by the 
 State. Briefly, therefore, in the case of approved schemes the State 
 will bear three-quarters of the loss and the Local Authority the 
 remainder. But there are some districts where it would be a serious 
 burden for the Local Authority to have to bear even a quarter of any 
 loss. In all cases where one quarter of the estimated annual deficit 
 would involve the levying of a rate of more than a penny in the £ 
 the Local Government Board is to have discretion to increase the 
 Government grant. But the loss to be borne by the Local Authority 
 in such case must not be reduced below the produce of a rate of a 
 penny in the £. 
 
 This assistance is only to be available for a limited time after the 
 war and subject to the condition that in all ordinary cases building 
 shall be commenced within two months, and completed within twelve 
 months, from the date of the Local Government Board sanctioning 
 the loan for the scheme. 
 
 As regards the loans for the schemes it is stated that "any loans by 
 the State for the purpose of assisted schemes would be made at the 
 full market rate of interest current from time to time, and not at 
 the preferential rates ordinarily allowed for housing loans, in order 
 (1) that the whole of the State assistance may be given under one 
 head, and (2) that Local Authorities may be encouraged to borrow 
 on their own credit rather than to have recourse to State capital 
 funds." And again, the Treasury ask that "It may be made quite 
 clear that the precise date at which the execution of any schemes 
 approved by the Board can be commenced must depend on circum- 
 stances which cannot at present be foreseen, and that the financial 
 position may be such that it may be necessary to give precedence to 
 the more urgent eases, even to the exclusion for the time being of the 
 less urgent." 
 
APPENDIX A 231 
 
 In the circular Mr. Hayes Fisher expresses the hope that in every 
 case where there is need for houses not likely to be met by any form 
 of private enterprise the Local Authority will see that a housing 
 scheme is prepared with as little delay as possible. 
 
 Where the Local Authorities, in spite of an admitted need, fail to 
 take adequate steps Mr. Fisher has plainly hinted in public speeches 
 that they will be supplanted by some other authority who will see 
 that houses are built. 
 
 PLANS AND AERANGEMENTS OF THE HOUSES 
 
 As regards the plans for the construction of the houses and the 
 laying-out of the land, the Local Government Board have recently 
 issued a memorandum containing advice to Local Authorities and 
 plans. 
 
 It is not possible to quote more than a few extracts from this 
 interesting document, but the following quotations show that in sanc- 
 tioning schemes the Local Government Board will require a high 
 standard to be adopted : 
 
 "The type of dwelling required in ordinary circumstances is the 
 self-contained house. Occasionally there may be a demand for ac- 
 commodation of a limited character — e.g., accommodation for newly- 
 married couples or for aged persons without a family — and in such 
 eases it may be desirable to meet the demand by the provision of 
 two-story houses consisting of two self-contained dwellings; but, 
 generally, it would seem desirable to avoid the erection of blocks of 
 buildings containing a series of tenements. 
 
 "It is desirable that simplicity of design and economy in construc- 
 tion and general arrangements should be aimed at, but it would be 
 well to bear in mind that houses erected by a local authority ought 
 generally to be such as will be a model or standard for working- 
 class dwellings which may be erected by private persons. 
 
 "The house should be designed to meet the reasonable needs of the 
 prospective occupants, and the internal arrangements will, no doubt, 
 be influenced to some extent by custom of the locality and by the 
 habits of the population." 
 
 In order that no stone may be left unturned to secure the best 
 advice obtainable both as regards economy of construction (which 
 is particularly important in present circumstances) and the best 
 possible types of plans, special inquiries have been instituted. To 
 deal with the first point, the Local Government Board have appointed 
 a committee under the chairmanship of* Sir Tudor Walters, M.P., 
 who are asked: 
 
232 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 "To consider questions of building construction in connection with 
 the provision of dwellings for the working classes in England and 
 Wales, and report upon methods of securing economy and despatch 
 in the provision of such dwellings." 
 
 A Sub-Committee of this Committee is making practical experiments 
 into the methods of cheapening construction and of getting over the 
 difiiculty with regard to the shortage of timber and certain other 
 materials. 
 
 By arrangement with the Local Government Board the Institute of 
 British Architects has been conducting a competition for the best 
 types of cottage plans. For this purpose the country has been 
 divided up into various districts and plans for each of the districts 
 asked for, so that regard may be had to special local requirements 
 and supply of materials. Further, it has been recognized that in 
 considering the plans of new cottages, and particularly the internal 
 arrangements, regard must be had to the convenience and comfort of 
 the housewife, and that the best way of ensuring this was to inspect 
 various types of houses and to consult with the housewives them- 
 selves. For this purpose, therefore, a Women's Committee has been 
 appointed by the Minister of Reconstruction, with Lady Emmott as 
 chairman, to consider the whole question from the point of view of 
 the housewife. 
 
 AERANGEMENT OF STHEETO AND BUILDINGS AND LAY-OUT OF 
 
 ESTATES 
 
 The Local Government Board memorandum, already quoted, draws 
 attention to the necessity for securing a good lay-out of land which 
 is being developed by Local Authorities. In this connection regard 
 must be had both to health and amenities, as the following extracts 
 show: 
 
 "The arrangements of houses on the site, and to some extent the 
 design of the houses, will depend upon the size, situation, and char- 
 acter of the landj but the site should be so utilized as to secure ample 
 open space in connection with the houses and the best possible aspect 
 for the living-rooms. The latter point should be borne in mind in 
 fixing the direction of any new streets required to be constructed. 
 
 "Overcrowding of houses on a site should be avoided. Although 
 some regard must be paid to the cost of the site and the extent to 
 which street works will be necessary, the number of houses to be 
 erected on each acre of land shovdd be kept within strictly reasonable 
 limits. 
 
 "It is desirable that houses should be set back from the street-line, 
 
APPENDIX A 
 
 so as to allow smaU gardens or forecourts to intervene between the 
 houses and the streets. 
 
 "It is undesirable that long rows of houses without a break should 
 be constructed; and, as a rule, the number of houses in a continuous 
 row should not exceed eight or ten. Long rows are open to objec- 
 tion, not only because overcrowding of houses on the site may be 
 the result, but also because they give a monotonous and depressing 
 appearance and prevent easy inter-communication between streets." 
 
 No definite rule has been laid down as to the number of houses 
 which should be allowed to be buUt on a given area of land. But 
 in the circular of the 18th March, 1918, mentioned above, it is stated 
 that "the aim should be to provide that in ordinary circumstances 
 not more than twelve houses (or in agricultural areas eight houses) 
 should be placed on an acre of land wherever this is possible without 
 materially increasing the cost of the scheme. This will give sufQcient 
 land for gardens, allotments, and open spaces." 
 
 PRIVATE ENTERPRISE 
 
 It should be pointed out that while the great urgency of the 
 problem will make it necessary to rely on Local Authorities for pro- 
 viding a large proportion of the houses required there is no proposal 
 to rule out private enterprise. On the contrary, it has been definitely 
 stated by the Local Government Board that : 
 
 "the complete solution of the housing problem is not likely to be 
 accomplished except with the cooperation of private enterprise, in- 
 cluding public utility societies, and that in order to secure the full 
 advantage of their help it may be advisable for the State to offer 
 them assistance in one or other of the directions which are now under 
 the consideration of a Conference sitting at the Local Government 
 Board." 
 
 No definite statement can yet be made as to the form of assistance 
 which could be given to private enterprise, or what conditions would 
 have to be imposed. But a Committee has been appointed by the 
 Minister of Reconstruction, with the Right Hon. Henry Hobhouse as 
 chairman, "To consider and advise on the practicability of assisting 
 any bodies or persons (other than Local Authorities) to build dwell- 
 ings for the working classes immediately after the war, whether by 
 means of loans, grants, or other subsidies, and whether through the 
 agency of the State or Municipal Banks or otherwise." 
 
234 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 SOME OTHER IMPORTANT COMMITTEES 
 
 We have shown that the supply of building materials and their 
 price will be a most important factor in housing after the war. 
 The Ministry of Reconstruction, therefore, has appointed a Com- 
 mittee, under the chairmanship of Mr. J. P. Carmichael, to inquire 
 into the whole question of supply and price of materials. 
 
 Acquisition of land is also an important matter in connection with 
 housing, and there is a Committee of the Ministry of Reconstruction 
 under the chairmanship of Mr. Leslie Scott, K.C., M.P., inquiring 
 into the methods of acquiring land and of valuing it so as to insure 
 that land can be obtained at reasonable prices. 
 
 As already stated, there is a Committee on the question of by-laws 
 under the chairmanship of Mr. Stephen Walsh, M.P. 
 
 A Committee, too, has recently been appointed (of whom Lord 
 Hunter is Chairman) to consider the legislation embodied in the 
 Increase of Rent and Mortgage Interest (War Restrictions) Act, 
 1915, and its amendments, in relation to housing after the war, and 
 to recommend what steps should be taken to remove any difficulties 
 which may arise in connection with it. 
 
 While it is necessary to regard the provision of new houses as the 
 first call upon the efforts of Local Authorities, it must be remem- 
 bered that it will be necessary also to deal with slum dwellings and 
 slum areas. 
 
 Among other matters under consideration are possible amendments 
 of Part I. of the Finance (1909-10) Act, of Rating, and of adapta- 
 tion of middle-class houses to meet the requirements of workers. 
 
 CONCLUSION 
 
 It will be seen that the Government is taking active steps to 
 prepare to deal with the vast housing problem which will arise at the 
 conclusion of the war, but it cannot be stated too strongly that much 
 of the success of the schemes under consideration will depend upon 
 the active cooperation of the people generally. It is important that 
 all citizens should be fully alive to the largeness of the task to be 
 accomplished. The matter should be discussed and considered from 
 every point of view. Local considerations should be taken into 
 account, and where necessary pressure should be brought to bear 
 upon members of Local Councils where it is felt that they are not 
 sufficiently active. It is only by the cooperation of all that the ideal 
 will be achieved. 
 
APPENDIX B 
 
 REPORT BY MINISTRY OF RECONSTRUCTION 
 
 ON 
 
 RAW MATERIALS AND EMPLOYMENT 
 
 The supply of raw materials for industry is a fundamental prob- 
 lem of reconstruction. Demobilization, resettlement, the revival of 
 industry both for home consumption and for export, all depend upon 
 an adequate supply and a reasonable distribution of raw materials. 
 When the men and women who have been doing munition work have 
 been discharged and when the men return from the Army, it will be 
 absolutely essential that cotton and wool and leather and iron ore and 
 other raw materials should be obtainable in large quantities. 
 
 No one can foresee exactly what the situation will be for some 
 months to come, but we can make estimates of our probable needs 
 and we can make provision for possible dangers of the transition 
 from war to peace. The problems interlock one with another. One 
 industry can go ahead only if others also are at work, and all our 
 British industries are dependent ultimately upon the supply of raw 
 material from abroad, and, therefore, upon our ships. But we must 
 concentrate our attention here upon the material, leaving the position 
 with regard to shipping for consideration elsewhere. 
 
 We shall pass by for our present purpose all raw material which 
 is not imported into the United Kingdom. Some of our ore and 
 some wool is produced here ; and its production is largely dependent 
 upon the amount of labor available. The same is true of brick and 
 cement, the raw materials for the building trades. But as soon as 
 demobiUzation begins we shall probably have enough labor to put 
 into our home production, and therefore it is only imported raw 
 materials which constitute a problem. It is possible, however, to 
 state that the situation will not be so difficult as it was, until a few 
 months ago, expected to be. The supply of raw materials is not 
 likely to be seriously deficient, even in regard to those industries for 
 which it will fall short of the normal supply. What is needed is 
 careful supervision to avoid waste rather than any drastic measures 
 of Government control. 
 
 There are many different aspects of this problem of the supply of 
 imported raw material. Our financial standing as a nation is de- 
 
 235 
 
236 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 pendent upon imported raw material for the production of goods for 
 export. Our cotton trade, for example, is a great part of our export 
 trade, and cotton manufacture in England is entirely dependent upon 
 imports. Again, if we do not secure a supply of imported raw 
 material for the boot and shoe trade, or the woolen trade, our manu- 
 facturers of machinery will, be unable to find sufficient orders. 
 
 Employment, however, is a more urgent problem than the problem 
 of finance and commerce; and employment depends upon imported 
 raw material. It is therefore onl^ from this point of view that we 
 shall here attempt to describe the situation with which we shall be 
 faced during the transition from war to peace. There were about 
 2,300,000 men and 700,000 women in the metal and chemical trades 
 during the War. Most of these women and about 200,000 of these 
 men will be leaving their occupation and seeking for non-munitions 
 work. About three or four million men will come back from the 
 fighting forces; and there will be a considerable transference from 
 one industry to another. But the industries which now have less 
 labor than they had in July, 1914, are precisely those which need 
 imported raw material. For example, the building industry has 
 about 460,000 men less than it then had, the textile industries 200,000 
 less, the paper and printing industries 100,000 less. Those numbers 
 show that there will be work for all returning men and ex-munition 
 workers if we have raw materiai. We need cotton, wool, timber, 
 wood-pulp, and many other materials from abroad. That is the 
 general nature of the problem: but We can be yet more precise; and 
 for this purpose it will be necessary to review shortly the probable 
 position at the end of the War in the chief industries which depend 
 upon imported raw material. 
 
 METAL TRADES 
 
 Our Iron and Steel and Engineering industries depend upon 
 about 7,000,000 tons of iron ore imported in a year. In 1913 out of 
 the 7,442,249 tons imported 4,714,039 tons came from Spain, and 
 since the proportion of ore in our imports has been maintained 
 during the War for the sake of munitions, there will certainly be no 
 shortage. If, however, the German demand revives after the War, 
 and unless the present control is retained, the price of Spanish ore 
 may rise considerably. 
 
 The problem on which employment depends in the engineering 
 and allied industries is that of price and distribution. Great num- 
 bers of men and women wiU naturally leave the metal trades now 
 that the urgent need for munitions has ceased; but because of the 
 
APPENDIX B 237 
 
 need for engineering products throughout the world there will prob- 
 ably be more employment in engineering than there was in 1914. 
 The various metal trades then employed about 1,634,000 men and 
 170,000 women ; and, so far as the supply of material goes, the only 
 problem will be that of the price of imported ore. 
 
 With regard to the supplies of material for the metal trades, the 
 Minister of Reconstruction spoke as follows in the House of Com- 
 mons, on November 12th : — 
 
 ". . . There has been a great increase in our capacity for the 
 utilization of home ore and arrangements are being made by the 
 Shipping Controller which wiU render it possible to import as large 
 a quantity of foreign ore as was imported prior to the War. It is 
 proposed to release iron and steel forthwith. The difficulties which 
 may arise owing to the fact that through the exigencies of war the 
 price of steel now stands at an artificial level have not been over- 
 looked, and it is intended to continue orders fixing for a period a 
 maximum price for steel, though this may involve continuing some 
 measure of Government assistance for that period. 
 
 "With regard to other metals, I am glad to be able to assure the 
 House that there is a sufficient supply available to render it possible 
 to release some from control now and nearly all the rest within six 
 months. I am convinced after a close survey of the position that we 
 shall be able to meet the demands which reconstruction will make on 
 our resources. But while I am satisfied that there wiU be enough 
 for all if it is equitably divided, there must be no selfish attempts 
 on the part of individuals to secure more than their share, and for 
 this purpose it may be necessary to take precautions against hoard- 
 ing. 
 
 "Steps are being taken in the meantime to secure the release of 
 much usable stock and to grant further supplies of metals to those 
 industries now limited to a fixed ration. Great discrimination will 
 be required in the discharge of this duty, but the various Controls will 
 call into counsel representatives of the trades concerned and ease 
 their own task by setting Industry to govern itself." 
 
 As regards the non-ferrous metals, a very smaU amount of tin or 
 copper, for example, gives employment to great numbers, for many 
 industries use a little of each of these metals, and without a supply 
 of them many in the engineering or brass-working trades would be 
 without employment. There is, however, no reason to fear a short- 
 age of non-ferrous metals, and it remains only to supervise the dis- 
 tribution. 
 
238 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 TEXTILE INDUSTRIES 
 
 Our great Cotton industry is entirely dependent upon imported 
 raw" materials. Various kinds of raw cotton come to us from the 
 U. S. A., from Egypt, India, Brazil, and West Africa. In 1913 our 
 cotton mills in Lancashire consumed 3,281,509 bales of American 
 cotton and 400,000 bales of Egyptian cotton. 
 
 The number of spindles at work on August 31st, 1913, in the 
 United Kingdom was 55,653,000, which was 39 per cent, of all the 
 spindles in the world. 
 
 In July, 1914, cotton spinning and weaving employed about 274,- 
 000 men and 415,000 women; but in 1918 there are only 157,000 
 men and 379,000 women employed. Therefore, 117,000 men and 
 36,000 women less than in 1914 are dependent upon our present sup- 
 plies, and of those many are working on short time. Will those 
 who have gone out of the industry and wish to return find a place as 
 soon as the War is ended ? Will the manufacturers begin at once to 
 work their machines fully? 
 
 It is unlikely that any diflSculty will occur in jSnding a market for 
 our cotton goods, although it is true that some other countries, par- 
 ticularly Japan, have enlarged their place in the world-market dur- 
 ing the War. The general shortage of the last few years in the 
 supply of cotton goods has created a large demand, and therefore 
 the problem of finding employment in the cotton trade reduces itself 
 to a problem of the supply of raw material. First, the allocation of 
 immediately available supplies will be necessary, for even before we 
 import more we can use our stocks more rapidly as soon as peace is 
 secure. During the War the Cotton Control Board has regulated 
 the consumption of raw material, and it will probably continue to 
 control the situation during the transition to peace. The Board 
 consists of representatives of employers and workers in the Cotton 
 industry, together with some Government officials. It has introduced 
 the principle of payment to those workers who are put on short 
 time owing to a lack of raw material; and it practically insures the 
 workers against unemployment and under-employment. 
 
 The available supplies will probably be increased very rapidly 
 now that peace is in sight and we can release ships from carrjdng 
 munitions of war; and the remaining problem of allocation to the 
 different mills will then become easier. There will be a world de- 
 mand for raw cotton from America, but so long as the price is not 
 prohibitive there should be enough to supply our industries. The 
 supply in Egypt is less than it was in 1914 — about 800,000 bales in 
 the place of one million — since wheat had to be grown in Eg3?pt in- 
 
APPENDIX B 239 
 
 stead of cotton; but there is a Control Commission in Alexandria 
 which will presumably continue to exist for a short time after the 
 War in order that the most may be made of such supplies as exist. 
 In the case of cotton, the shortage of supply in other countries will 
 have to be considered, and that problem we shall refer to below. 
 But from what has been so far said it will be clear that adequate 
 employment in the trade cannot be secured unless there is some 
 supervision and control of supplies. 
 
 The woolen and worsted industry, chiefly in Yorkshire, employed 
 in July, 1914, about 134,000 men and 170,000 women. It now em- 
 ploys about 100,000 men and about the same number of women as 
 in 1914. There is therefore not much room to take on more workers ; 
 and the raw material now used for army purposes can probably be 
 used for peace production. But we must allow for the fact that the 
 returning armies in all countries will need civilian clothing, that 
 stocks of clothing are low and that foreign markets are clamoring 
 for woolen goods. Clearly, therefore, if material is adequate there 
 may be more employment in the industry than in 1914. No special 
 problem arises except in regard to future supplies and prices and the 
 possible danger to the trade if the wool supplies of the world are 
 competed for after the War. Other countries are in desperate need 
 of wool; and we are now protected by the circumstances of the War 
 from feeling the effect of an abnormal world-shortage of wool. 
 Therefore, although there is no immediate danger of unemployment 
 in this trade owing to lack of raw material in England, some kind of 
 international organization may be necessary soon after the War. 
 
 We have now the Wool Control Board, which will probalily con- 
 tinue its operations during the transition from war to peace; and 
 there will be the Wool Council to look after the interests of all 
 concerned. 
 
 BOOT AND SHOE INDUSTET 
 
 The problem for the Boot and Shoe industry will be the supply of 
 hides from America, of calf-skins from the Continent, of goat-skins 
 from India and South America. Our net imports in 1913 were as 
 follows :— hides worth £3,000,000, skins worth £1,749,000, and leather 
 worth £5,057,000. The quantities in 1913 of our net imports of 
 hides were 727,000 cwts., and of leather 771,000 ewts. ; but in 1915 
 the net imports had risen to 1,375,000 ewts. of hides and 1,316,000 
 ewts. of leather. Special efforts had been made to secure leather for 
 army boots, not only for our own soldiers but for our Allies, and 
 some of the stocks accumulated may be suitable for civilian needs. 
 
240 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 Probably there ■will not be any lack of heavy leathers, although light 
 leather and skins may be deficient in quantity. 
 
 The trade employed about 110,000 men and 56,000 women in 1914, 
 and now employs about 81,000 men and 71,000 women. Many of the 
 men, however, are unskilled substitutes, and they will probably be 
 replaced by skilled men, for the unskilled man may have been able to 
 work at the standardized patterns of Army boots and civilian war- 
 time boots, but his place will have to be taken by the skilled man 
 when leather is available for the better class of boots after the War. 
 There should be so great a civilian demand that probably all men in 
 the boot and shoe trade before the War will easily find employment. 
 The transition to peace production will be very rapid and there will 
 probably follow a time of good employment — possibly an expansion 
 of the numbers employed in 1914. The raw material problem is re- 
 duced to maintaining generally the present supply of hides which 
 are required for the tanning of sole leather, and obtaining more of 
 the lighter dressed upper leathers. 
 
 TIMBER 
 
 The housing program for after the War depends partly upon the 
 supplies of timber; and, of course, the building trade cannot re- 
 sume its full activities until we have timber enough in the United 
 Kingdom. Building has practically ceased during the War. In 
 July, 1914, 758,000 men and 5,900 women were employed, and there 
 are now employed only about 400,000 men and 25,000 women. 
 Those who have left for the Army or for munitions will desire to 
 come back, and the urgent need for houses makes it a national inter- 
 est that building should revive speedily. We should need about 
 100,000 standards of timber a month, without regard to pit-props 
 and other uses for wood. We have now on hand only enough for 
 three months' use under peace conditions. 
 
 The supply depends upon shipping, and this may very well be 
 available; but we have to be on the look-out to secure vtliat timber 
 can be had. In Sweden and Finland there are about 2,000,000 
 standards; and some 600,000 standards are sawn and ready for ship- 
 ment from Canada, Mexico and Scandinavia. 
 
 The Minister of Reconstruction, in the speech already referred to, 
 said : — 
 
 "The position as regards timber is difficult. It is bulky and our 
 tonnage has to be economized, but apart from this there is little 
 doubt that events in Russia, which has so far been our largest source 
 of supply, will seriously affect the situation. Arrangements are in 
 
APPENDIX B 241 
 
 hand to provide supplies from overseas, but it is clear that continued 
 felling will be necessary at home for some time to come, and with 
 this need in view woods have been purchased ahead by the Timber 
 Supplies Department." 
 
 PAPER-MAKING 
 
 The important raw materials for Paper-making are wood-pulp 
 and Esparto grass. We were using before the War about 81,500 
 tons of wood-pulp a month, but only one-sixth of that amount is 
 now available in the United Kingdom. The Paper Controller was 
 compelled to restrict the use of paper and the import of pulp ; and 
 other countries have set up industries in paper and printing since 
 the War. 
 
 In the paper-making and printing trades in July, 1914, there were 
 employed about 260,000 men and 147,000 women, and now there are 
 employed 160,000 men and 143,000 women. The restricted employ- 
 ment is largely due to the lack of raw materials ; and there is urgent 
 need for an increase in supply before the men of these trades are 
 demobilized from the Army. 
 
 OTHER INDUSTRIES 
 
 The industries shortly reviewed above are not the only industries 
 dependent upon imported materials. In the first place, material 
 such as rubber takes little tonnage and gives a large proportion of 
 employment as compared to some other materials^ and yet the supply 
 may be deficient in view of the immense demand consequent on the 
 War. And rubber is important not only for those who work at 
 rubber manufactures, but because so many other trades depend upon 
 or are closely connected with its use. Motor and cycle makers, for 
 instance, are in that position; and these trades before the War em- 
 ployed about 118,000 men and 10,500 women. 
 
 The food production industries are largely dependent upon im- 
 ported raw material; and quite apart from the maintenance of food 
 supplies the import of sugar, cocoa and other such articles is neces- 
 sary for the employment of thousands of workers. 
 
 In this connection we may note the peculiar problem of women's 
 employment. Most women in industry before the War were em- 
 ployed in the textile, clothing, and food-production industries; and 
 these are precisely the industries which are most dependent upon 
 imported raw material. Now, during the War about a million more 
 women have come into industry than were in industry in 1914. 
 Many of these went from dress-making and millinery, many from 
 
242 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 domestic service, many from their home-work. The number of 
 women employed outside their own homes and exclusively of domes- 
 tice service in 1914 was 3,276,000. It is estimated that about 400,000 
 during the War have left domestic service and dress-making in order 
 to enter industry, and at the close of the War about 4,809,000 
 women were employed in industry and commerce. But even if those 
 who were employed at home and in domestic service return to their 
 former work, there will still be a surplus of women in industry on 
 the pre-war basis. If men are unemployed, work may be found in 
 road-making or in building or in other "heavy" occupations. But 
 none of these occupations provides employment for women; and, 
 indeed, the truth is that there is no "stop-gap" occupation which may 
 be used if great numbers of women are unemployed. The only im- 
 mediate remedy for possible unemployment is the expansion of the 
 demand for women in the careers they normally followed before the 
 War. 
 
 The supply of imported raw materials is therefore of the first 
 importance for the employment of women. The more textile and 
 food material we have, the more easily we shall be able to find places 
 for all the women who wish to continue in the mills and the work- 
 shops. 
 
 Again, we cannot afford to neglect the situation outside the United 
 Kingdom, if we are to understand the problem of raw materials. 
 The sources of our supply are in many instances the same as the 
 sources of supply for France and Italy. France, for example, im- 
 ported 346,160,000 kilograms of raw cotton in 1912, and Italy 214,- 
 086,000 kilograms. France had in 1912 about seven million spindles 
 and Italy four and a half millions. According to the 1906 Census 
 the number of persons employed in France in the Cotton industry 
 was 167,000, and in the Clothing trades, which depended on Cotton 
 and Wool, about 938,900 were employed. The textile industries in 
 Italy in 1911 employed only 30,780 persons, so some of the Italian 
 imports must have gone elsewhere to be manufactured. It is, how- 
 ever, obvious that the supplies of cotton should not be thought of 
 simply in the terms of our own needs. We owe it to our Allies to 
 see that they too have employment. And even if we allow for 
 destruction of machines and men during the War, it is clear that in 
 those countries also the Governments will desire raw material to 
 give employment before they demobilize their armies and discharge 
 their munition workers. 
 
 We should also consider the position of Germany, should she be 
 without raw material for the textile industries. In 1913 Germany 
 imported cotton worth 600 million marks and wool worth 400 mil- 
 
APPENDIX B 243 
 
 lion marks. In Saxony, where the textile industry is chiefly carried 
 on, in 1912 there were 255,766 persons employed in various textile 
 trades. They now have no cotton. But if we want them all to con- 
 tribute to the restoration of devastated territories, we shall have to 
 give them employment. Whatever policy, therefore, is adopted, full 
 consideration must be given to the position of the various nations. 
 To leave the situation uncontrolled might be disastrous. Of 
 course, there may be enough material to go round; it may be that 
 no one will try to "corner" supplies ; and it may be that prices will 
 not rise rapidly as a result of competitive buying. But we cannot 
 rely upon merchants loving one another; still less can we rely on 
 their loving the manufacturers. Therefore, without being unduly 
 suspicious, we may have to make preparations for supervision and 
 control of the supplies of raw material on an international scale. 
 
 GENERAL CONCLUSIONS 
 
 The important point which must be realized is that the normal 
 organization of trade has been so disturbed by War conditions that 
 the supply of raw materials cannot be left to depend upon the 
 operation of forces at work before the War. The transition from 
 war to peace adds new problems to those of supply during the War; 
 and for this reason the Government has given special consideration 
 to the question of raw material supply. The first danger to be 
 avoided is a general scramble. But this involves some Government 
 control or supervision, to be gradually relaxed as the supplies be- 
 come more adequate. The control will exist only where there is a 
 shortage of supply or if there is a shortage of ships; and it will 
 exist only for the assistance of the industries in the general inter- 
 ests of the nation. The next step must be to secure that materials 
 are provided for the industries somewhat in advance of the demo- 
 bilization of men from the Army or the discharge from war work. 
 The Government will therefore hasten the importation of material 
 in order to shorten the period of demobilization. 
 
 In view of the danger of unemployment, special consideration 
 must be given to those trades which give employment to a large num- 
 ber of persons. Cotton, for example, may have to take precedence 
 of timber. And secondly, if great numbers are employed in any 
 trade on raw material which does not take up much tonnage, some 
 precedence should be given to such raw material. The principle, 
 therefore, according to which we must allocate our tonnage for im- 
 ports of raw material must involve a consideration of employment. 
 
 But the problem cannot be solved by simply counting the number- 
 employed in one industry, since the raw material for one industry 
 
24.4! MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 may set going many other subordinate trades. From this point of 
 view timber may be more important than cotton, if the building 
 trades can set going all dependent trades such as furnishing, sanitary 
 engineering, and the rest. 
 
 It will be understood that it is no part of our purpose here to 
 decide which trades should take precedence or which imported mate- 
 rial will employ most labor. It is sufficient if it be recognized by the 
 public that the problem is both urgent and very complex. It is 
 likely, as we may learn from our English habits, and, indeed, from 
 the history of all successful administration, that the organization to 
 control the situation must be tentative at first and flexible enough 
 to be modified as the situation changes. We cannot have a Code 
 Napoleon for raw materials. 
 
 THE ORGANIZATION OF CONTROL 
 
 How is the allocation of tonnage and the distribution of material 
 among the trades to be done? The Government has established a 
 Priorities Committee of Cabinet Ministers on the model of the 
 present War Priorities Committee. This will be the ultimate au- 
 thority for allocating raw materials; and it will naturally see that 
 the needs of the State take precedence of the requirements of in- 
 dustry; for example, in the case of material for building. 
 
 Secondly, a Standing Council has been established consisting of 
 leading men in industry and commerce, together with representa- 
 tives of labor and of the departments chiefly concerned. This 
 Council will advise the Cabinet Committee on the allocation of ton- 
 nage to the different materials and the distribution of them to the 
 industries. It will practically decide on the amount which industry 
 can have. 
 
 The Standing Council will naturally take account and make use 
 of the organization for the control of raw material which already 
 exists. 
 
 During the war period the principal of raw materials of in- 
 dustries have been in various ways under strict Governmental con- 
 trol. This control has been vested for the most part in three 
 departments : — 
 
 Ministry of Munitions Metals and ore. 
 
 War Office Wool, hemp, flax, jute, hides and 
 
 skins, and tanning materials. 
 Board of Trade Cotton (and miscellaneous). 
 
 The control of materials required for building has been dis- 
 
APPENDIX B 245 
 
 tributed as follows: Ministry of Munitions, steel and bricks; War 
 Office, cement; the Timber Controller (working under the direction 
 of the Board of Trade), timber. 
 
 The central direction of all these control departments now lies 
 with the newly constituted Standing Council which meets at the 
 Ministry of Reconstruction, 2 Queen Anne's Gate Buildings, S. W. 
 This Council, which is responsible to the Committee of Cabinet 
 Ministers (with offices at 11, Pall Mall, S. W. 1), will be charged 
 with the decision of all questions relating to the priority and the 
 allocation of materials in the Reconstruction period, and will de- 
 termine whether, in any given material control is necessary, and if so, 
 to what extent and in what form. It is hoped that such control as 
 may be necessary may be gradually more and more devolved upon 
 organizations representing the trades concerned. At present it is 
 arranged that the Control Authorities which have, during the War, 
 controlled particular materials should "carry on" under a general 
 instruction that applications for materials should be considered by 
 them sympathetically and upon a new basis. The Standing Coun- 
 cil has been in almost daily session since it was formed; but it is 
 obvious that an estimate, both of the requirement and supply of 
 materials, can only be formed after a very wide and careful survey. 
 Pending the completion of such a survey, it is possible to speak only 
 in a very general fashion as to the probable situation with regard 
 to the supply of materials in the immediate future, and any state- 
 ment must be necessarily of a very guarded character. 
 
 The industries themselves will provide organizations for advising 
 on the demand for material among the firms concerned. There will, 
 therefore, be Trade Organizations — Industrial Councils or Commit- 
 tees in each industry — whose advice will be sought by the Govern- 
 ment when the controlling authorities are considering the needs of 
 this or that trade. 
 
 Such is the organization; but in order to understand its working 
 it is necessary to reverse the order we have named, for the success 
 of the scheme will depend upon the vitality and energy of those 
 actually engaged in industry. 
 
 If the industries are prepared to say what material they need 
 and what number they can employ, the organization we have briefly 
 described will be able to set to work in the early days of peace; 
 and it is hoped that the procedure will be of the following kind. 
 
 The industries should each have some fully representative organ- 
 ization which will put before the Government, among other things, 
 the need for raw material. Presumably a Joint Industrial Council 
 will have a Committee to consider this need ; and special Committees 
 
246 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 will be set up in those industries in which no Joint Industrial 
 Council exists. It will be for the industries to arrange the com- 
 position of the Committees; but most of those so far set up and 
 recognized by the Government are joint Committees, containing 
 both labor representatives and representatives of the employers. 
 It will be easily understood that since employment in so many cases 
 depends upon the amount of raw material obtained and the method 
 of its distribution, representatives of labor are very much inter- 
 ested in raw material supply. The Government has accepted the 
 recommendations of the Whitley Committee in regard to Joint In- 
 dustrial Councils; and the Ministry of Labor has been able to pro- 
 mote organization in many industries. The Ministry of Recon- 
 struction meanwhile has brought into existence various joint Com- 
 mittees known as Interim Industrial Reconstruction Committees. 
 All such bodies, therefore, wiU naturally give attention to raw ma- 
 terial supply. 
 
 Some of the work of reviewing the need for raw materials has 
 already been done; and various special Committees of representa- 
 tives of industry have already made recommendations to the Ministry 
 of Reconstruction. The problems these Committees have consid- 
 ered are indicated in their terms of reference, which were generally 
 as follows: — 
 
 To consider and report upon — 
 
 The nature and amount of supplies of materials and foodstuffs 
 which in their opinion will be required by the United Kingdom dur- 
 ing the period which will elapse between the termination of the War 
 and the restoration of a normal condition of trade; and the steps 
 which should be taken to procure these supplies, having regard to : — 
 
 (a) The probable requirements of India, the Dominions and 
 Crown Colonies for such supplies at the close of hostilities. 
 
 (6) The probable requirements of belligerents and neutrals for 
 such supplies at the close of hostilities. 
 
 (c) The sources from which, and the conditions under which such 
 supplies can be obtained and transported and, in particular, the ex- 
 tent to which they might be obtained from the United Kingdom or 
 within the Empire or from Allied or Neutral countries. 
 
 Representative joint Committees of the different trades will have 
 to consider similar problems; but their first task will be to collect 
 from the firms or associations concerned information as to the 
 amount of labor they can employ, the rapidity with which their 
 machinery can be set going on "peace" production, and the amount 
 of raw material they could use on this machinery. If the full 
 amount cannot be supplied at once, the responsible organization 
 
APPENDIX B 247 
 
 representing the industry may have to allocate a proportion to the 
 different firms, perhaps following the plan adopted by the Cotton 
 Control Board. It will obviously be more in the national interest 
 if many firms employ many persons working on short time rather 
 than that a few firms should be working a few employees very hard 
 while no employment is obtainable under other firms in the same 
 trade. 
 
 If we suppose, then, that the trades have made a review of their 
 needs and have indicated to the Ministry of Labor the number of 
 persons they can employ and the rate at which new employees can 
 be taken on, the representative Committee then passes on to the 
 Standing Council the statement of the requirements of the industry 
 for raw material. 
 
 The Standing Council will have to adjust the claims of the dif- 
 ferent industries. The members of that Council will be informed 
 of the supplies available and, presumably, of any questions of 
 general policy which will affect the raw material supply. It is 
 contemplated that there shall be an Imperial Board to consider in 
 relation to the problems of the Standing Council the supplies ob- 
 tainable within the Empire. The Dominions Royal Commission has 
 already reported on certain improvements which may be undertaken 
 in coordinating the commerce and industry of the British Empire; 
 and in their reports will be found further details as to the raw 
 material we usually imported before the War from other parts of 
 the Empire and from foreign countries. 
 
 It will be the task of the Standing Council not only to allocate 
 as much raw material as can be carried between the different in- 
 dustries, but also to see that there is an organization for arranging 
 for the distribution of the material within each industry which 
 needs to be rationed. Thus, as far as possible, advice on the need 
 for supplies will be sought from representatives of the industries. 
 The principle of control where control exists will be quite different 
 from the war-time control by the State, for the State in time of war 
 is buyer and user of most of the commodities controlled, but as 
 soon as peace is secured, private purchase and private use will 
 begin again to dominate the markets. 
 
 It is, therefore, essential that the control should not be from 
 above, but should be exercised by those immediately concerned in 
 industry; and, further, obviously fewer materials will need to be 
 controlled in proportion as We return to normal life. The findings 
 of the Standing Council will be put before the Cabinet Committee 
 for post-war priorities; and this Cabinet Committee will have the 
 duty of finally deciding the proportion of tonnage to be allotted 
 
248 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 to the different imported raw materials. It is to be hoped that in 
 the case of most of the raw materials the need for this allocation will 
 pass very soon after peace is secured. The critical time comes with 
 the demobilization of the Forces and the discharge of civil war- 
 workers. It is clear that coordination between the rate of discharge 
 and the amount of raw material to give employment can be secured 
 only by a large view of the whole problem. But as soon as the 
 returning soldiers and the discharged munition workers obtain em- 
 ployment they will provide employment for others. For example, 
 the more speedily our textile manufacture turns to full "peace" 
 production, the more workers will be required in the clothing trades 
 and in the various occupations, in shops and stores, by which goods 
 are distributed. 
 
 Not only will the different industries have to be thought of, but 
 also the different localities. It may in some cases be necessary to 
 give opportunities for employment in places in which none of the 
 greater industries is found. Therefore the raw material supplies 
 may have to be so distributed that certain towns may have a share 
 quite apart from their importance as industrial centers. Lace, for 
 example, is not an urgently needed article for reconstruction, but 
 the lace trade employs so many that it may be in the national in- 
 terest to give it priority to some non-essential trade which employs 
 few, and the lace trade is in certain districts which may need special 
 consideration. 
 
 It will be understood that the examples we have given are purely 
 hypothetical, as there is no reason to expect any particular crisis 
 in this or that industry or in this or that district. The organiza- 
 tion which we have described is to work for the avoidance of a 
 danger; it is not created to cure an evil already in existence. Fore- 
 sight is what is required. 
 
 Over all control there will remain for a time some of the present 
 inter- Ally machinery for securing supplies; for we must suppose 
 that in obtaining and allocating supplies to our own industries 
 due regard will be paid to the needs of the devastated territories 
 of Belgium, France, and Serbia. Moreover, we are bound in honor 
 to consider the needs of French and Italian industry. 
 
 The organization of the control by which food and raw materials 
 will be distributed by the Allies is the subject of another pamphlet 
 in this series. But a short summary of the situation may be given 
 here in order to complete the description of the supply of raw ma- 
 terials. We have had during the War an Allied Maritime Trans- 
 port Council, which allocated the tonnage for the various imports 
 to the countries of the alliance. This Council was advised by Pro- 
 
APPENDIX B 249 
 
 gram Committees, which drew up lists of the requirements of the 
 different nations for this or that material. But there have been also 
 organizations for the joint purchase of foods needed by all the Allies. 
 It was found that if each country attempted to buy separately in 
 North or South America, the price was forced up : and yet it was 
 not to the advantage, for example, of France or England that either 
 should pay more because the other was buying. An arrangement 
 was, therefore, made for joint purchases, and this has been effective 
 chiefly in regard to foodstuffs. In regard to wool for army cloth- 
 ing the British Government has had control of most of the sup- 
 plies, and an adjustment is made between the needs of the different 
 Allies. In regard to cotton, the United States Government con- 
 trols the sale in the States, and the British Government controls 
 the whole of the Egyptian crop. But it has been recognized during 
 the War that such material as was available was to be allocated 
 according to the needs of the different countries, and this principle 
 cannot cease to be applied in the difficult time of transition from 
 war to peace. We must therefore expect to find for some time an 
 international arrangement for the control of raw materials. 
 
 The whole scheme involves much difficult adjustment of claims, 
 and an organization equal to the problem is now being worked out. 
 This is already partly in existence; some of the War organization 
 needing only modification to adapt it to peace. But the greatest 
 need will be public and general cooperation among all concerned in 
 industry. The ordinary citizen can do very much to smooth the 
 crossing from war to peace. 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 THE EMPLOYMENT EXCHANGE FROM WITHIN 
 
 A DAT WITH THE MANAGER 
 
 (From Report to Ministry of Labor) 
 
 Managers of Employment Exchanges, in the variety, number and 
 novelty of the things which fill their crowded hours, yield to no 
 other class of public servant. Take these leaves from the life of 
 one amongst them. A mass of correspondence reaches him daily. 
 Most of it will deal with routine matters, but each letter must be ex- 
 amined, and 20 or 30 will require personal attention. Meanwhile the 
 telephone will have rung and various que.stions have been answered, 
 necessitating reference to a volume of instructions, an Act of Parlia- 
 ment, a Statutory Order or a file of papers. The questions are 
 varied, and will range from a request for advice about an opening 
 for a son to an employer asking "What's this about 12% per 
 cent.?" 
 
 The post-bag is always interesting, if rather overwhelming. The 
 following will indicate the variety of the inquiries which reach an 
 Exchange. An Englishwoman in California desires to return to 
 England, and is refused a passport unless she has a guarantee of 
 work; will the manager say whether the Consul is entitled to make 
 this stipulation? Another lady seeks war work for her dog. A 
 wife, whose husband has failed to communicate with her, inquires 
 for his address. Then there are the people who, needless to say, 
 will "write to the Government about it," all of which communica- 
 tions come to the Manager for investigation and report; and no 
 communication from an ambassador could receive more punctilious 
 attention. 
 
 Department circulars and instructions will usually occupy the 
 next hour or two. Meantime the Manager has smoothed out some 
 difficulty about a War Munition Volunteer, Women for the Land, or 
 some other of the many corps recruited through an Exchange. 
 The next item is visits to local firms to clear up matters requiring 
 a personal interview. 
 
 250 
 
APPENDIX C 251 
 
 Arriving back, he finds a workman waiting. The man is badly 
 needed at a distance, but prefers a job nearer home. The clerk 
 has been trying to persuade him to take up the more urgent work. 
 There is no power to compel it, and the Manager has only his own 
 personality to depend upon in such cases. Presently he finds him- 
 self with a non-union workman complaining that favor is shown to 
 Society men at the Exchange (or it may equally likely be a Society 
 man complaining of favor in the reverse direction). The Manager 
 usually has the matter cleared up sooner or later, for the com- 
 plaining workman, once he is shown the actual working of the 
 Exchange system, and treated as a sort of partner in the concern, 
 is usually a fair-minded man and open to conviction. 
 
 Meals are hurried matters in Exchanges, and our Manager will 
 probably have other visits to firms to pay after his lunch. On his 
 return to the Exchange he finds a mass of correspondence, reports 
 and returns to be examined and sent away. Somehow he will find 
 time to consult with the Military Tribunal, the Food Control Com- 
 mittee, or some other Department with which his work is associated. 
 Questions wUl arise as to Unemployment Insurance, Military Service, 
 Restricted Occupations, permits for aliens to work upon munitions, 
 transfer of Munition Volunteers desiring a change. Men in all 
 parts of the kingdom, and even abroad, will write to their Exchange 
 as to being released for work upon munitions or farms. Occasion- 
 ally a soldier wiU write to ask why his wife has been recruited for the 
 Women's Army Corps. Another — such is the contrariety of hu- 
 man nature — will ask why his wife has not been recruited. Scores 
 of questions arise outside the business of an Exchange altogether — 
 Health Insurance is a favorite — and one Manager has been threat- 
 ened with serious trouble because he had not removed the dust of 
 an irate householder. All these questions must receive careful at- 
 tention before an answer is given. The mistakes of the public 
 servant do not end quietly or quickly; they meander on for months 
 around Whitehall, in and out of the newspapers, and perhaps into 
 the House of Commons. 
 
 The Manager of an Exchange must make himself master of a 
 dozen or twenty Acts of Parliament, with all their attendant Regu- 
 lations. The Statutory Orders touching his work are numbered in 
 hundreds. Not only must he know these, but he must be able to 
 explain them — quite another quality — and to explain them in such 
 a way that workers unaccustomed to legal phrases and formulae 
 may be able to understand them. War legislation is a hurried 
 matter, and consequently teems with difficulties, but your Exchange 
 Manager has to see it through. That writer who described ofScials 
 
252 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 as never taking responsibility or acting without precedent would re- 
 ceive a shock from a day with the Manager of an Exchange. 
 
 The evenings are frequently occupied with Committee meetings, 
 and it is a tired man who finds himself about 9.30 P. M. eating the 
 meal which should have been consumed several hours earlier. Many 
 Managers serve upon six committees in addition to their ordinary 
 duties. 
 
 Even in sleep their trials are not ended. One was aroused at 2 
 A. M. by twenty fitters, arrived to carry out urgent work in a dock- 
 yard, and the Manager, pausing only to add to his scanty night attire, 
 set out to conduct them thither. 
 
 Somewhere amongst all this our Manager must find time to see 
 to repairs of his premises, applications by his staff, supplies of 
 furniture and of stationery, of coals, soap and candles, for no 
 servant of the Empire, from Governor-General to village policeman, 
 is more completely responsible for his district. But they are mostly 
 men accustomed to responsibility from their early days. Some have 
 been heads of departments in commercial life, others were fore- 
 men in workshops, and many were leaders and organizers of trade 
 unions. 
 
 Life for a Manager is never dull, whatever else it may be. Here 
 and there they are wearing out; they will never rust out. 
 
APPENDIX D 
 
 REPORT OF A CONFERENCE 
 
 Between Organizers op Trade Unions, Bristol Employers and 
 others concerned with the industrial employment of 
 Women, convened by The Bristol Association por Indus- 
 trial Reconstruction, on the 16th and 17th March, 1918, 
 on The Position op Women in Industry Apter the War. 
 
 I. general considerations 
 
 (1) At the present time it is estimated that not less than 4,713,- 
 000 women are engaged in industrial occupations, covering well- 
 nigh the whole field of industry. At the end of the War a very 
 large number of these women will be displaced as war industries 
 are shut down and factories gradually pass from a war to a peace 
 footing. As soon as an armistice is declared a large number of 
 women will be discharged from the various munition factories, and 
 on the declaration of peace, factories in every part of the country 
 will discharge many thousands of women workers. 
 
 (2) The absorption of scores of thousands of women thus dis- 
 placed from occupations which they have followed for a prolonged 
 period will create a series of industrial problems of an exceedingly 
 grave character. 
 
 A large number of women now employed in industry have en- 
 tered industrial life for the first time since the outbreak of war. 
 While, doubtless, many at the termination of hostilities will be 
 anxious to resume their normal mode of life, and leave industrial 
 occupations, it seems clear that a very large number, for one reason 
 or another, will elect to remain in industry. Some have found a new 
 freedom in their work, and are disinclined to return to the com- 
 parative monotony which is the lot of the "stay-at-home" woman. 
 Others, having developed a real liking for their work, will wish 
 to continue it. Others, owing to the necessity of supporting, or 
 helping to support, male relations who have been incapacitated in 
 the War, or owing to the increased cost of living, or other pecuniary 
 reasons, will of necessity have to earn their own living. Others 
 will have to do so because their men folk will return no more. For 
 
 253 
 
254 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 these and other reasons we are of opinion that the number of women 
 desiring to remain in industry after the War, both actual and rela- 
 tive, will very greatly exceed the number of women engaged in in- 
 dustrial occupations before the outbreak of hostilities. 
 
 (3) From these premises a number of problems emerge: — 
 
 (i.) Into what industries should the women displaced at the con- 
 clusion of peace be directed? 
 
 (ii.) In what industries should women be retained, and from 
 which should they retire in favor of male labor? 
 
 (iii.) What is the best type of industrial organization for women 
 workers ? 
 
 (iv.) Upon what lines should we proceed in the great task of 
 industrial reorganization which will follow the War? 
 
 (v.) Upon what principle should the remuneration of women 
 workers be based? 
 
 (vi.) How far is welfare work necessary or desirable? 
 
 (4) If a solution is to be found for these, and kindred problems, 
 a definite industrial policy, as to the position of women workers 
 after the War, is needed. 
 
 II. THE INDUSTRIAL EMPLOYMENT OV WOMEN AFTER THE WAR 
 
 (1) The underlying fact in relation to the position of woman in 
 industry is that her position as an industrial worker is, and always 
 must be, of secondary importance to her position in the home. To 
 provide the conditions which render a strong and healthy family 
 life possible to all is the first interest of the State, since the family 
 is the foundation stone of the social system. 
 
 (2) It is, accordingly, the duty of the State to ensure that women 
 are only employed as factors in industrial efficiency in so far as 
 the interests of family life and the healthy development of the race 
 are not prejudiced. 
 
 (3) Whilst the experience of the War has shown that women 
 can adapt themselves to the needs of almost any calling, it is clear 
 that many occupations now being followed by women are unsuitable 
 for the permanent employment of female labor. 
 
 We welcome the admirable series of Reports issued by the Health 
 of Munition Workers' Committee and, in our opinion, a thorough 
 inquiry into the effect of different occupations on the health and 
 physique of women should be imdertaken, at the earliest possible 
 date, as a necessary part of the preparation which is made for the 
 task of Demobilization. It is obvious that a final decision as to the 
 effect of many occupations on the health of women engaged therein 
 
APPENDIX D 255 
 
 can only be arrived at after the lapse of a considerable period of 
 time, but, in view of the importance of the issues involved, we feel 
 that sufficient experience has now been gained to justify such an 
 inquiry being instituted. Such an investigation would probably 
 result in certain occupations being ruled out, on physical grounds, 
 as unsuitable for the employment of women. After the War, it 
 should be made illegal for women to be employed in such occupa- 
 tions. 
 
 (4) The entry of women workers into, or their continuance in, 
 industries suitable, so far as questions of health and physique are 
 concerned, for the employment of women involves the consideration 
 of wider problems. Before setting out our conclusions as to the 
 employment of women after the War in such industries it will be 
 convenient to place on record certain facts: — 
 
 (i.) It is estimated that the total number of women employed 
 in industrial and commercial occupations, other than do- 
 mestic occupations, was 4,713,000 in October, 1917, as 
 compared with 3,287,000 in July, 1914 — an increase of 
 1,426,000. 
 (ii.) Of the 4,713,000 women engaged in industrial and com- 
 mercial occupations, 1,413,000 were directly replacing men. 
 (iii.) The number of women employed solely on munitions work 
 was 704,000 out of a total of 1,400,000 employed in the pro- 
 duction and distribution of commodities for the British and 
 Allied Governments, 
 (iv.) The following table shows in detail the estimated distribu- 
 tion among the various industries of the women engaged 
 therein, in July, 1914, and October, 1917, respectively, 
 namely : — 
 
 Number employed in 
 Occupation. July, 1914 Oct., 1917. 
 
 Controlled and Private Industries 2,176,000 2,706,000 
 
 Government Establishments 2,000 216,000 
 
 Gas, Water and Electricity (Local Authorities) 600 4,600 
 
 Agriculture (Great Britain), Permanent Labor ^80,000 189,000 
 Transport, including Tramway Services 
 
 (Estimated) 18,200 111,200 
 
 Finance (Banking, Insurance, etc.) 9,500 67,500 
 
 Commerce 496,000 831,000 
 
 Professions 67,500 89,500 
 
 Hotels, Public Houses, Cinemas, Theaters, etc. 176,000 200,000 
 
 1 Numbers vary according to the season of the year. 
 
£56 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 Civil Service (Post Office) 60,500 107,000 
 
 Other Civil Services 4,500 51,000 
 
 Other Services under Local Authorities 196,200 226,200 
 
 (v.) The figures given in the above table do not include domestic 
 workers, women employed in certain small workshops and 
 workrooms, or women working in Naval, Military or Red 
 Cross hospitals. In pre-war days domestic service provided 
 employment for a far larger number of women than any 
 other form of occupation. The number so employed in 1911 
 was 1,620,000. It is estimated that since the outbreak of 
 war there has been a displacement of some 400,000 women 
 from domestic service and small workshops. 
 
 (5) In estimating the extent of the problems raised by the em- 
 ployment of women after the war, it may be assumed that a propor- 
 tion of the 1,426,000 women who have entered industry since the 
 outbreak of war will return to their homes, or will be able to do so 
 without suffering any great hardship, at the termination of hostili- 
 ties. It is, however, impossible to form any estimate as to what 
 proportion will be able to do so. 
 
 Presumably it will be possible for 400,000 women to return to 
 domestic service or small workshops, from which they have been 
 withdrawn, either by the attraction of higher remuneration or the 
 needs of the country. If, however, women are to be persuaded to 
 enter these occupations in large numbers, the wages, hours and con- 
 ditions of work will require very considerable amendment. In par- 
 ticular, the conditions of domestic service will have to be greatly im- 
 proved, especially on the side of allowing a much greater amount of 
 freedom to those engaged therein. 
 
 (6) It may be anticipated that the 704,000 women now engaged 
 on munitions work will either have to seek other employment or 
 cease to be industrial workers, at any rate for a time, after the 
 war is terminated; and, in addition to this number, a considerable 
 percentage of the 696,000 who are at present engaged on Govern- 
 ment work other than munitions work will no longer be needed. 
 On the other hand, workers in such industries as the manufacture 
 of clothing and footwear will probably merely be transferred from 
 war to civilian production, unless this transfer is delayed or pre- 
 vented owing to shortage of raw materials. 
 
 (7) Many women who are replacing men in Government offices 
 and works will have to be willing to give place to the men as they 
 return from their military duties, and a definite policy of regarding 
 the right of the men now serving in the Navy or Army to return to 
 their former occupations should be insisted upon as a simple act 
 
APPENDIX D 257 
 
 of justice. This policy, in pur opinion, should be applied generally 
 in all cases where women have replaced men for reasons attributable 
 directly or indirectly to the war. Women have helped, and are 
 helping, the Nation splendidly, but they must realize that men have 
 not forfeited their right to their jobs by answering their Country's 
 call and doing work which women cannot undertake. 
 
 (8) Consideration of the foregoing facts appears to justify the 
 conclusion, already stated in the first Section of this Report, that 
 the cessation of hostilities will be followed by a great dislocation 
 of female labor, involving the necessity of providing fresh occupa- 
 tion for the greater part of 1,426,000 Women and girls. 
 
 (9) The problem thus presented will be rendered more difficult 
 of solution by reason of the shortage of wellnigh every class of raw 
 material (except steel and certain chemicals), which appears in- 
 evitable in consequence of retarded production, depletion of stocks, 
 and destruction of shipping. Time will also be required to re- 
 organize the workshops and factories for the requirements of normal 
 commercial production. 
 
 (10) For these, amongst other reasons, it appears certain that 
 there must be a period after the war, of how long duration it is 
 impossible to say, during which a reduction of the demand for labor 
 is inevitable. We have considered the line of policy which should 
 be followed in order to endeavor to meet the situation which will 
 arise in consequence, and our conclusions are as follows: 
 
 (i.) That the first consideration should be to arrange for the 
 suitable employment of all demobilized men, and men dis- 
 charged from industrial establishments engaged upon the 
 production of munitions of war. 
 
 (ii.) That women should, as a matter of course, relinquish 
 the jobs in which they have replaced men for reasons di- 
 rectly or indirectly attributable to the war, so long as men 
 are available to fill them. 
 
 (iii.) That the school-leaving age should be raised to 15, in or- 
 der that juvenile labor may not compete with adult labor 
 during the period of demobilization and the readjustment 
 of industry to peace conditions. 
 
 We note with satisfaction that the Education (No. 2) Bill, 1918, 
 now before Parliament proposes to confer upon Educational 
 Authorities power to raise the school-leaving age to 15, and 
 we feel that this power should be exercised in the interests 
 alike of the Nation and of Industry. 
 
 (iv.) A determined and sustained effort should be made to at- 
 tract as large a number of women as possible into those 
 
258 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 industries which, by reason of their nature, are more par- 
 ticularly suitable for the employment of female labor. 
 Such industries are incapable of exact definition, since the 
 suitability or otherwise of any industry for the employment 
 of women is constantly altering as new processes and meth- 
 ods of manufacture are introduced. Certain industries, 
 nevertheless, stand out as those for which women are spe- 
 cially adapted. A complete list of such industries is im- 
 possible; but by way of illustration we would instance the 
 textile industries, the boot and shoe trade, the printing and 
 allied trades, laundry, garment making, millinery, confec- 
 tionery, tobacco, the paper, stationery and allied trades, 
 sections of the pottery industry, work in retail shops, clerical 
 occupations, and domestic service. 
 
 Many of our schools are understaffed, and the teaching profes- 
 sion, consequently, can absorb a great many women; and 
 if the school-leaving age is raised to 15, as we think it 
 should be, many thousands of extra teachers will be required 
 immediately. 
 
 It has, moreover, become clear that the land, especially the less 
 heavy and more skilled processes of dairy work, gardening, 
 fruit growing, etc., offers an expanding sphere of employ- 
 ment for women workers. The wage rates and conditions 
 of work in these and other occupations suitable for the 
 regular employment of women should receive the immediate 
 consideration of those who, by reason of the general dis- 
 placement of labor at the end of the war, will then be avail- 
 able to return to or enter into them, 
 (v.) The extent to which married women are engaged in in- 
 dustrial employment should be reduced to the narrowest pos- 
 sible limits. Women with dependents (children or inca- 
 pacitated husbands) should receive adequate pensions, so 
 as to avoid the necessity of their being forced to enter in- 
 dustrial occupations in order to live. 
 
 (vi.) The hours of labor for women engaged in industrial occupa- 
 tions, permitted under the Factory Act, 1901, should be dras- 
 tically reduced. Under the law as it now stands, women 
 may be employed (except on Saturday or its equivalent) 
 for a working day of 12 hours, subject to one-and-a-half 
 hours for meals (or two hours in textile and certain other 
 factories), and for unbroken spells of five hours' duration, 
 save in textile factories, in which case the unbroken spell 
 must not exceed four-and-a-half hours. 
 
APPENDIX D 259 
 
 These hours, in our opinion, are much too long, both in the ag- 
 gregate and in the length of the spell which may be worked 
 without a break. 
 We are of opinion that the policy of an eight-hour day on five 
 days a week, and four hours on Saturday or its equivalent, 
 making a total working week of 44 hours, should be adopted. 
 We believe that these hours of labor would in no way re- 
 duce the productive capacity of factories if properly or- 
 ganized. Indeed, the evidence afforded by the Health of 
 Munition Workers' Committee tends to show that the pro- 
 ductive capacity of the workers would rather be increased. 
 In our opinion four hours is the maximum length of time 
 which should be worked by a woman without a break, and 
 we think that the best results would be obtained if un- 
 broken spells of work did not extend beyond three hours. 
 Our experience leads us to believe that most women cannot 
 work properly without a break for a longer period. 
 While we do not feel able to express a final opinion upon the 
 suggestions recently made for the reorganization of factory 
 practice on the basis of two shifts of six hours each, we think 
 such suggestions are worthy of serious consideration. 
 (11) We have, in the preceding paragraphs, outlined the policy 
 which we think should be followed at the end of the war. There is, 
 however, in our judgment one essential condition to any hope of a 
 satisfactory solution of the many problems involved, namely, that 
 the organization of women workers in properly constituted Trade 
 Unions must be proceeded with as rapidly as possible. Many 
 women, however, will inevitably have to face a period, and prob- 
 ably a long period, of unemployment. The provision made under 
 the National Insurance Acts, 1911-17, will help to tide them over 
 this period of enforced inactivity, but we feel that the amount of 
 benefit, 7/-per week, paid under the Unemployment Insurance 
 Scheme contained in these Statutes, is quite inadequate, and steps 
 should, we think, be taken to supplement the statutory benefit by 
 voluntary insurance, under schemes promoted and administered by 
 the Trade Unions concerned. 
 
 III. THE ORGANIZATION OP VFOMEN WORKERS 
 
 (1) Upon the question of the industrial organization of women 
 two divergent views were expressed: — 
 
 (i.) That the peculiar needs of women can be best met by the 
 organization of women workers into separate Women's 
 
 Unions. 
 
260 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 (ii.) That the only satisfactory mode of organization for women 
 is to incorporate them, on equal terms with the men, into 
 Unions, based on the several industries. 
 
 (2) In support of the first view, it was urged that, while men 
 have had long experience of industrial organization, women are 
 only just beginning, and at present lack any developed social con- 
 sciousness, and are much behind men in education, experience and 
 breadth of outlook. Accordingly, a large part of the work which 
 must be undertaken by women's organizations is educational, and 
 the necessary educative work can best be carried out in organiza- 
 tions specially constituted and administered for women. 
 
 (3) In support of the second view, it was urged that the su- 
 periority of men in the matter of education and intelligence was 
 to a great extent imaginary, and that the same might be said as 
 to the extent to which any considerable social consciousness had been 
 attained in men's organizations. At any rate, the difference be- 
 tween men and women in these respects was not suf&ciently great 
 to prevent the effective association of men and women in the same 
 Union organization. The branch life of the men's Union is a great 
 educational force, and the best results would be attained by intro- 
 ducing women on equal terms with men into the same organizations. 
 
 (4) We have given careful consideration to the .issues thus raised, 
 and the majority of those attending the Conference are of opinion 
 that the interests of women will be best served if the operatives in 
 the several industries are organized in Unions constituted on the 
 basis of the industry in which their members are employed, irre- 
 spective of sex, and that women should be accorded an equal status 
 with men in the branch life and organization of the Unions. 
 
 (5) As a result of the discussion which has taken place, we feel 
 that there is urgent need for drastic simplification of Trade Union 
 organization. The number of Unions at present existing — over 
 1,100 — together with the complexity which inevitably results from 
 so large a number of organizations, many of which overlap and com- 
 pete with one another, creates great and needless administrative 
 difficulties, and constitutes a serious handicap to the solidarity of 
 Labor. We understand, for instance, that there are 187 operatives' 
 Unions in the Engineering and allied trades. 
 
 (6) We think that many considerations make it desirable that 
 there should be a reorganization of the Unions, with the object (a) 
 of reducing their numbers, and (b) of reorganizing the workers on 
 the basis of the industry in which they are employed. 
 
 (7) The Employers' Associations are in much the same position 
 as the Trade Unions. They are for the most part very ineom- 
 
APPENDIX D 261 
 
 plete, and often inefiEective, and require coordination and extension. 
 
 (8) We are of opinion that the first essential step towards a 
 policy of Industrial Reconstruction is to organize all operatives in 
 their respective Trade Unions, and all employers in appropriate 
 Trade Associations. 
 
 (9) A Trade Union, whether of employers or operatives, does 
 not exist solely to further the purely economic interests of its mem- 
 bers, important as these undoubtedly are. A Trade Union fulfils, 
 or is capable of fulfilling and should fulfil, wider functions. If it is 
 to play its proper place in the organized life of the Nation, a Trade 
 Union must aim at associating its members for the better discharge 
 of their duties to the community at large, as well as for the pursuit 
 of their individual or sectional interests and rights. A Trade Union 
 should fulfil important social and educational functions as well as 
 economic. It should aim at affording to its members an opportunity 
 to gain a deeper social consciousness and to enter upon a life of 
 richer and fuller experience. It is of the greatest importance, there- 
 fore, that care should be taken to see that the ideal side of Trade 
 Unionism is kept well to the fore in Union propaganda. We feel 
 that the best interests of Unionism will not be served by enrolling 
 large numbers of new members who have not grasped the under- 
 lying ideals of the movement, and join a Union solely on a "bread 
 and butter" basis. Such a policy is bound to render Trade Union 
 organization fatally unstable and immensely difficult to maintain. 
 Those charged with the duty of organizing women should, therefore, 
 leave no stone unturned to bring home to the women concerned the 
 high ideals for which modem Unionism should stand, and to impress 
 upon them the essential importance of personal loyalty to their 
 fellow-members, to the industry of which they form part, and to the 
 community of which they are citizens. 
 
 10. Great as have been the services rendered by the Trade Unions 
 to the Nation in the past, and during the war, we feel that in the 
 future they are destined to render yet greater service. The battle 
 for recognition is well-nigh won. By adopting the first Whitley 
 Report the present Government, on behalf of the Nation, has defi- 
 nitely recognized Trade Unions as essential factors in the industrial 
 organization of the national life and the starting-point of Industrial 
 Reconstruction. This action on the part of the Government fur- 
 nishes an additional reason for a great and rapid extension and 
 simplification of Trade Union organization for both employers and 
 operatives. 
 
262 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 IV. THE WHITLEY REPORTS 
 
 (1) We have given careful consideration to the three Whitley Re- 
 ports, and the policy outlined therein of constituting a new control 
 in industry by establishing, in each industry, a system of industrial 
 self-government through the medium of Joint Standing Industrial 
 Councils, equally representative of the organized employers and 
 operatives engaged in the industry. We are of opinion that the 
 proposals contained in the Reports afford a practical basis for the 
 reorganization of industry, and indicate a sound line of advance 
 towards Industrial Reconstruction. 
 
 (2) We welcome the proposals of the second Whitley Report, 
 which aim at bringing all unorganized industries under the control of 
 Trade Boards, having powers extended to questions affecting both 
 wages and hours of labor, and questions cognate to wages and hours. 
 For reasons which are set forth in the section of the present Report 
 dealing with the remuneration of women workers, we are of opinion 
 that there is urgent need for a very wide extension of Trade Boards. 
 
 (3) We notice with interest and endorse the stress laid in the 
 Reports upon the importance of Works Committees. In our opin- 
 ion the principle of Works Committees is sound and the formation 
 of such Committees should be encouraged, quite apart from their 
 operation as a part of the Whitley Scheme of industrial self-govern- 
 ment. Such committees are, in our judgment, of the greatest pos- 
 sible service for the satisfactory conduct of industry, and afford one 
 of the best practical methods of securing better relations between 
 management and the operatives. 
 
 V. THE REMUNERATION OF WOMEN WORKERS 
 
 (1) It is generally admitted that a considerable number of women 
 engaged in industry before the war were not paid a living wage. 
 There were several causes which seem to us to have contributed to 
 bring this about. 
 
 (i.) Until recently comparatively few women were organized, and, 
 consequently, they were obliged to accept whatever wages 
 were offered them, 
 (ii.) Women were mainly employed in the less skilled or un- 
 skilled trades, the work required of them being of a repe- 
 tition character which was easily and quickly picked up. 
 The supply of labor suitable for work of this character 
 tended, in many localities, to exceed the demand, conse- 
 
APPENDIX D 263 
 
 quently a low rate of wage sufficed to command the services 
 of a sufficient number of women, 
 (iii.) Many girls entered industry with no intention of remaining 
 for any great length of time; it was merely necessary to 
 bridge the gap between school days and marriage. The 
 amount of wages received was in many cases not a matter 
 of serious concern. They were content with the equivalent 
 of pocket money. It was impossible for the employers to 
 distinguish or differentiate between women who entered in- 
 dustry for the purpose of earning their own living, and, 
 possibly, supporting not only themselves but dependents as 
 well, and the "pocket-money" entrants, and the presence of 
 the latter inevitably operated to depress wages, 
 (iv.) Although many women have dependents to support, the 
 majority have not. They are, consequently, able to main- 
 tain a fairly satisfactory standard of life on a lower wage 
 than a man usually requires to maintain a similar standard, 
 (v.) There would appear to be in the minds of some employers 
 an element of prejudice against the employment of women, 
 because they are less physically fit than men for some occu- 
 pations. In accordance with this view, the work of women 
 is regarded as of less worth than that of men, and should 
 be rewarded therefore at a rate of remuneration substan- 
 tially lower than that which men can rightly claim, 
 (vi.) It has been very generally assumed that a woman can live 
 on a smaller income than a man. We believe that this as- 
 sumption is erroneous, 
 (vii.) Trade Boards, on being constituted, have tended to fix 
 minimum rates for women workers with regard to the wages 
 actually received by the lower-paid workers, in the indus- 
 tries concerned, before the Boards were established. The 
 rates fixed, consequently, were low. 
 (2) For the reasons already given in the earlier sections of this 
 Report, the war has materially affected the economic position of 
 women. Many of the causes which formerly tended to maintain 
 the wages paid to women operatives at a low figure will no longer 
 operate in the post-war period. Moreover, during the war large 
 numbers of women have grown accustomed to earn comparatively 
 high wages, and the rates of wages paid to women generally have 
 risen considerably in consequence of the standards established by 
 the Orders made by the Ministry of Munitions, under Section 6 of 
 the Munitions of War Act, 1916, fixing the rate of remuneration for 
 
264. MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 women employed on various kinds of munitions work. For these 
 reasons, it is certain that women will in the future demand, and are 
 justly entitled to receive, a much higher rate of remuneration for 
 their services than in pre-war days. Women are now presented 
 with a unique opportunity to raise permanently the standard of 
 women's remuneration in industrial occupations. The standards 
 established by the Government during the war will afford very im- 
 portant precedents, and steps should be taken without delay to pre- 
 vent the rates obtained during the past three years being lowered. 
 The first essential step to this end is thorough and efficient organiza- 
 tion. The second is to formulate some definite principle on which 
 to proceed in future negotiations on wage questions. 
 
 (3) With the necessity and form of organization we have already 
 dealt in the second section of this Report. It remains to consider 
 what basis should be adopted when fixing the rate of remuneration 
 to be paid to women workers. 
 
 Now that women are rapidly becoming organized, either in Trade 
 Unions of their own or in men's Unions, standard rates will grad- 
 ually become established in the organized industries by collective 
 bargaining, either on the lines hitherto practised, or upon the Joint 
 Industrial Councils, National and District, proposed by the Whitley 
 Committee. In unorganized industries the same result will be ob- 
 tained by the decisions of Trade Boards. The fact, however, that 
 machinery exists for fixing standard or minimum rates of wages 
 does not in any way dispense with the necessity of arriving at some 
 intelligible principle as the basis upon which such rates should be 
 fixed. 
 
 (4) A demand is at present made in many quarters, on behalf of 
 women workers, for equal pay for equal work for men and women 
 alike. This principle is, however, much easier to assert than to 
 apply. It is not always easy to say when equal work is performed. 
 It is, moreover, by no means clear that, if applied, the principle will 
 always operate to the pecuniary advantage of the woman. Many 
 employers, if faced with the necessity of paying equal rates to men 
 and women, would prefer to employ men. On the other hand, if 
 women can be employed on the same work as men at lower wages 
 than those demanded by men, the men's standard of life is endan- 
 gered. This last point is of such great importance that, notwith- 
 standing the difficulties involved, we think that the principle of equal 
 pay for equal work, in the sense that a woman should receive the 
 same rate of pay as a man for the same volume and quality of 
 work, assuming equal adaptability to other necessary work, should 
 
APPENDIX D 
 
 be adopted as the basis of -women's remuneration in all cases where 
 women are employed on work which has been hitherto regarded as 
 men's work. 
 
 (5) In other occupations followed by women we favor the follow- 
 ing principle, namely, that in determining the rate of wage which 
 should be paid, a distinction should be drawn between a minimum 
 or "basic" wage and additional wages above the minimum, which 
 may conveniently be termed "secondary" wages. The former should 
 be determined primarily by human needs; the latter by the value of 
 the service rendered, as compared with the value of the services 
 rendered by workers who are receiving the basic or minimum wage. 
 
 (6) The "basic" wage for a woman of average industry and ca- 
 pacity should be the sum necessary to maintain her in a decent 
 dwelling and in a state of full physical efficiency, and to allow a 
 reasonable margin for recreation and contingencies. 
 
 (7) The "secondary" wage should be determined by the cash value 
 to be placed upon any special gift or qualification required for the 
 performance of the work undertaken. 
 
 (8) The cash equivalent of the "basic" and "secondary" wages 
 in any industry or particular instance must be determined, in the 
 organized industries, by agreement, either between the Unions and 
 the Employers' Association or the individual employers, as the case 
 may be, by the ordinary processes of collective bargaining as at 
 present practised, or upon the Joint Industrial Councils which we 
 hope will be established in the near future, and in unorganized in- 
 dustries, by Trade Boards established under statutory powers. 
 Some organization for the purpose is imperatively needed in every 
 industry if much confusion, bitterness and strife is to be avoided. 
 We should prefer to see the work of fixing rates undertaken by the 
 self-governing industrial bodies proposed in the first Report of the 
 Whitley Committee, but, failing these, we feel that it is necessary 
 that immediate steps should be taken to extend the Trade Boards 
 Act to all industries, and to enlarge the powers of the Boards on the 
 lines suggested in the second of the Reports of the Whitley Commit- 
 tee. We note with satisfaction that legislation to this end is con- 
 templated in the near future. There is no reason, in the nature of 
 things, why a Trade Board should fix minimum rates with reference 
 to the rates paid in the poorly-paid shops. In the future we do 
 not believe that they will be so fixed. Minimum rates should, we 
 think, be determined with reference to the wages paid by "good 
 employers," the standard adopted in the Pair Wages Clauses ap- 
 proved by resolution of the House of Commons. 
 
266 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 (9) We favor some such plan as above set forth to any attempt 
 to define a "Jiving wage" in terms of money. This cannot be done 
 satisfactorily, since values are constantly changing. It seems to us 
 better to lay down the main factors which should be considered in 
 determining what is a "living wage," and embody these factors in 
 a formula such as that set out above. The formula can then be 
 "priced out," so to speak, and adjusted from time to time as occa- 
 sion demands. 
 
 (10) The proposals outUned above do not fully meet the case of 
 women with dependents. We are unable to come to any satisfactory 
 conclusion as to how this very serious question should be dealt with. 
 The basic wage for women will inevitably be fixed with reference to 
 the needs of a single and unencumbered woman of average capacity. 
 No other course, indeed, appears to be possible. If she has depend- 
 ents, they must be otherwise provided for. It seems to us that such 
 provision is an obligation which should rest upon the community as 
 a whole, and must be made irrespective of industrial relationships. 
 We are entirely opposed to the recent tendency in industrial legis- 
 lation to complicate industrial questions by throwing upon industry 
 non-industrial functions. 
 
 VI. VSTELPABE V70RK 
 
 (1) While we recognize that the development of Welfare Work 
 in recent years is part of the general movement which aims at 
 humanizing industrial life, we nevertheless feel that the lines upon 
 which this work is developing are very far from satisfactory. 
 
 (2) In the first place, we think that the phrases "Welfare Work," 
 "Welfare Supervisor," etc., are unfortunate, and lead to grave mis- 
 apprehension as to the objects sought to be attained by the work 
 with which these terms are associated. They are held to imply the 
 idea of patronage. We think that it is very desirable that a new 
 designation should be applied to this branch of industrial organiza- 
 tion. Again, largely in consequence of the greatly increased need 
 for work of this description entailed by the war, a large number of 
 women appointed as Welfare Supervisors have been quite unsuited 
 for the work. They have lacked experience and understanding of 
 industrial conditions, and have often been tactless in exercising the 
 very delicate tasks entrusted to them. For these reasons the whole 
 idea of welfare work is misunderstood, and has come to be regarded 
 with suspicion, by large numbers of operatives. There is grave 
 danger of the whole movement falling into serious disrepute in 
 consequence. This, we think, would be a great misfortune, inas- 
 
APPENDIX D 267 
 
 much as, when its proper function is understood, we believe that 
 there is a great field of usefulness open to welfare work, conducted 
 by suitable and properly trained persons. 
 
 The appointment of Welfare Supervisors marks a new idea in 
 Factory organization. It denotes a new sense of responsibility on 
 the part of those who employ the labor of others for the well-being 
 of those whom they employ. The function, accordingly, of a Wel- 
 fare Supervisor is to see that proper attention is paid to the "hu- 
 man," as contrasted with the productive, aspects of factory life and 
 work. 
 
 (3) Girls fresh from the discipline of a well-ordered school need 
 help and friendly supervision in the unfamihar turmoil of their new 
 surroundings. They are not women, and cannot be treated as such. 
 High wages, and in many cases the absence of the father, tend to 
 relax home control. Healthy and organized recreation is frequently 
 diffleult or impossible to obtain. If smooth working is to be secured, 
 the real causes of discontent and trouble must be ascertained and 
 appreciated. The problems involved are a special branch of factory 
 administration, and they are likely to remain unsolved unless suitable 
 women are specially trained and deputed for the purpose. They in- 
 clude questions of character and behavior; the maintenance of suit- 
 able and convenient sanitary accommodation; the maintenance of 
 health under the strain and stress of industrial work, which re- 
 quires constant oversight of hours, rest periods, overtime and night 
 work. 
 
 (4) For these reasons we are of opinion that, under present con- 
 ditions, Welfare Supervisors are desirable wherever girls under 18 
 years of age are employed. 
 
 (5) We are also of opinion that Welfare Supervisors will in many 
 cases be found desirable in works where adult women are employed. 
 As businesses are at present organized a woman is rarely, if ever, 
 found among the active body of Directors, and many questions con- 
 stantly arise in the daily routine of factory management, where 
 women are employed, which it is exceedingly difficult and ofttimes 
 impossible for a man to deal with satisfactorily, and consequently 
 the presence of a well-trained ■ and sympathetic woman, entrusted 
 with the duties specified above, is of the greatest possible assistance, 
 both to the women employed and to the management. 
 
 (6) Generally, in our opinion, a Welfare Supervisor should be re- 
 sponsible to the principals only, and the greatest possible care should 
 be taken to appoint only suitable and specially trained persons for 
 undertaking these delicate and responsible duties. The officer ap- 
 pointed should be a woman of good standing and education, sympa- 
 
268 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 thetic, tactful and sensible in dealing with others, and having, if not 
 actual experience, at least a good understanding of industrial con- 
 ditions. 
 
 (7) A Welfare Supervisor should not, in our judgment, generally 
 undertake home visiting, except at the request of the person to be 
 visited, or his or her parents or guardians in the case of young 
 people. 
 
APPENDIX E 
 
 LABOR'S PRONOUNCEMENT ON THE RESTORATION OF 
 TRADE UNION CUSTOMS AFTER THE WAR. 
 
 The Government has guaranteed the restoration of Trade Union 
 rights after the war, and this guarantee has been the material factor 
 in inducing Trade Unions to suspend their rules for the period of 
 the war. It is, therefore, of the greatest importance that the Trade 
 Unions should have the fullest possible knowledge of the scope and 
 substance of the Government guarantees. In the following memo- 
 randumthe attempt is made to set out all the definite guarantees that 
 have been given, together with some of the most important pro- 
 nouncements of leading Ministers with regard to them. 
 
 Though the guarantees are most clearly set out in the Second 
 Schedule to the Munitions of War Act, 1915, it has been thought 
 well to begin with a short historical introduction, showing how the 
 need for the guarantees first arose and received recognition. 
 
 I. — BEFORE THE MUNITIONS ACT 
 
 The shortage of labor began to be felt in the engineering industry 
 as early as November, 1914. By that time, unemployment among 
 skilled engineers had practically disappeared, and the enlistment of 
 skilled men had aggravated a shortage Which in any case would have 
 become serious. On November 26th a Composite Conference was 
 held between the A.S.E., the Toolmakers, and the Engineering Em- 
 ployers' Federation to discuss the introduction of female labor on 
 certain machines at Messrs. Vickers, Crayford. An agreement was 
 finally secured by which women in this firm were allowed on purely 
 automatic machines only, the settlement to be — 
 
 "observed until the termination of the war, when the whole ques- 
 tion shall be discussed, if desired, without the foregoing settlement 
 being urged to the prejudice of either party." 
 
 This purely local settlement was no sooner secured than the En- 
 gineering Employers' Federation approached the Trade Unions and 
 asked them to refrain from pressing to an issue during the war any 
 question of the manning of machines or hand operations, demarca- 
 tion, employment of non-unionists or women, and working of un- 
 
 269 
 
no MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 limited overtime. The only guarantee suggested by the employers 
 was in the following terms : — 
 
 "The following arrangements shall have effect during the war, and 
 shall in no way prejudice any of the parties on any of the points 
 covered, and the parties shall at the termination of the war, as the 
 Federation and the Unions now undertake, revert to the conditions 
 which existed in the respective shops on the outbreak of hostihties." 
 
 These proposals were rejected by the Trade Unions, and it was 
 after their rejection that the Government first formally intervened. 
 Already, on January 2nd, the War Office and the Admiralty had 
 written to the Trade Unions asking them to accelerate production, 
 and the Board of Trade had urged the importance of a settlement. 
 On February 4th the Government appointed the Committee on Pro- 
 duction, which, during the following months, issued a series of re- 
 ports on which subsequent Government action was largely based. 
 In addition, on February 8th, Mr. Tennant made in the House of 
 Commons his much criticized speech calling for the relaxation of 
 Trade Union rules. 
 
 The most important Memoranda of the Committee on Production 
 were issued on February 20th. They dealt respectively with the 
 Production of Shells and Fuses, with the Avoidance of Disputes, 
 and with the following suggested form of guarantee to workpeople : — 
 
 "In order to safeguard the position of the Trade Unions and of 
 the workpeople concerned we think that each contracting firm should 
 give an undertaking, to be held on behalf of the Unions, in the follow- 
 ing terms: — 
 "To His Majesty's Government: 
 
 "We hereby undertake that any departure during the War from the 
 practice ruling in our workshops and shipyards prior to the war 
 shall only be for the period of the war. 
 
 "No change in practice made during the war shall be allowed to 
 prejudice the position of the workpeople in our employment or of 
 their Trade Unions in regard to the resumption and maintenance 
 after the war of any rules or customs existing prior to the war. 
 
 "In any readjustment of staff which may have to be effected after 
 the war, priority of employment will be given to workmen in our em- 
 ployment at the beginning of the war who are serving with the colors 
 or who are now in our employment. 
 
 "Name of firm 
 
 "Date " 
 
APPENDIX E 271 
 
 This suggested guarantee forms the basis of the safeguarding 
 clauses of the Treasury Agreement. 
 
 The first fruits of the activity of the Committee on Production was 
 the Shells and Fuses Agreement, concluded on March 5th at a Con- 
 ference between the Engineering Employers' Federation and the 
 Trade Unions concerned. Only the clauses in this agreement which 
 deal with restoration after the war are here quoted : — 
 
 "(6) Operations on which skilled men are at present employed, 
 but which, by reason of their character can be performed by semi- 
 skilled or female labor, may be done by such labor during the war 
 period. 
 
 "Where semi-skilled or female labor is employed in place of skilled 
 labor the rates paid shall be the usual rates of the district obtaining 
 for the operations performed. 
 
 "(7) The Federation undertakes that the fact of the restrictions 
 being temporarily removed shall not be used to the ultimate prejudice 
 of the workpeople or their Trade Unions. 
 
 "(8) Any federated employer shall at the conclusion of the war, 
 unless the Government notify that the emergency continues, reinstate 
 the working conditions of his factory on the pre-war basis, and as far 
 as possible afford reemplo3rment to his men who are at present serv- 
 ing with His Majesty's Forces. 
 
 "(9) These proposals shall not warrant any employer making such 
 arrangements in the shops as will effect a permanent restriction of 
 employment of any trade in favor of semi-skilled men or female 
 labor. 
 
 "(10) The employers agree that they will not, after this war, take 
 advantage of this agreement to decrease wages, premium bonus times, 
 or piecework prices (unless warranted by alteration in the means 
 or method of manufacture) or break down established conditions, 
 and will adopt such proposals only for the object of increasing out- 
 put in the present extraordinary circumstances. 
 
 "(13) In the event of semi-skiUed or female labor being employed 
 as per the foregoing clauses they shall first be affected by any neces- 
 sary discharges either before or after the war period. 
 
 "(14) The liberty of any employer to take advantage of these 
 proposals shall be subject to acquiescence in all the provisions thereof 
 and to intimation of his acquiescence to the local representatives of 
 the Unions through his local association." 
 
 The last of the series of special Memoranda by the Committee on 
 Production was published on March 4th. Acting upon these Memo- 
 
272 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 randa, the Government summoned the first Treasury Conference for 
 March 17th. The Conference, which was addressed by Mr. Lloyd 
 George, appointed a special sub-committee, which afterwards became 
 the National Labor Advisory Committee. This Committee drew up 
 proposals, largely based on the reports of the Committee on Produc- 
 tion, and these reports, after amendment, were endorsed by the full 
 Conference with the exception of the Miners' Federation of Great 
 Britain, whose delegates refused to accept compulsory arbitration, 
 and the Amalgamated Society of Engineers, who demanded further 
 safeguards. As we shall see, the second of these bodies subsequently 
 accepted the agreement, these further safeguards having been 
 promised. 
 
 It is necessary to set out in full the clauses of the Treasury Agree- 
 ment dealing with the restoration of Trade Union conditions after 
 the war, as these form the first substantial guarantee afforded to 
 Labor. 
 
 (4) Provided that the conditions set out in paragraph (5) are ac- 
 cepted by the Government as applicable to all contracts for the exe- 
 cution of war munitions and equipments the workmen's representa- 
 tives at the Conference are of opinion that during the war period the 
 relaxation of the present trade practices is imperative, and that each 
 Union be recommended to take into favorable consideration such 
 changes in working conditions or trade customs as may be necessary 
 with a view to accelerating the output of war munitions or equip- 
 ments. 
 
 (5) The recommendations contained in paragraph (4) are con- 
 ditional on Government requiring all contractors and sub-con- 
 tractors engaged on munitions and equipments of war or other work 
 required for the satisfactory completion of the war to give an un- 
 dertaking to the following effect : — 
 
 (i.) Any departure during the war from the practice ruling in our 
 workshops, shipyards, and other industries prior to the war 
 shall only be for the period of the war. 
 
 (ii.) No change in practice made during the war shall be allowed 
 to prejudice the position of the workpeople in our employ- 
 ment, or of their Trade Unions in regard to the resumption 
 and maintenance after the war of any rules or customs exist- 
 ing prior to the war. 
 
 (iii.) In any readjustment of staff which may have to be effected 
 after the war priority of emplojTnent will be given to work- 
 men in our employment at the beginning of the war who are 
 
APPENDIX E 273 
 
 serving with the colors or who are now in our employment. 
 
 (iv.) Where the custom of a shop is changed during the war by 
 the introduction of semi-skilled men to perform work 
 hitherto performed by a class of workmen of higher skill, 
 the rates paid shall be the usual rates of the district for 
 that class of work. 
 
 (v.) The relaxation of existing demarcation restrictions or ad- 
 mission of semi-skilled or female labor shall not affect 
 adversely the rates customarily paid for the job. In cases 
 where men who ordinarily do the work are adversely affected 
 thereby, the necessary readjustments shall be made so that 
 they can maintain their previous earnings. 
 
 (vi.) A record of the nature of the departure from the conditions 
 prevailing before the date of this undertaking shall be kept 
 and shall be open for inspection by the authorized repre- 
 sentative of the Government. 
 
 (vLi.) Due notice shall be given to the workmen concerned wherever 
 practicable of any changes of working conditions which it is 
 desired to introduce as the result of this arrangement, and 
 opportunity of local consultation with men or their repre- 
 sentatives shall be given if desired. 
 
 (viii.) All differences with our workmen engaged on Government 
 work arising out of changes so introduced or with regard to 
 wages or conditions of employment arising out of the war 
 shall be settled without stoppage of work in accordance with 
 the procedure laid down in paragraph (2). 
 
 (ix.) It is clearly understood that except as expressly provided in 
 the fourth paragraph of clause 5 nothing in this undertaking 
 -is to prejudice the position of employers or employes after 
 the war. 
 (Signed) D. Llotd George. 
 Walter Runciman. 
 Arthur Henderson 
 
 (Chairman of Workmen's Representatives). 
 Wm. Mosses 
 
 (Secretary of Workmen's Representatives). 
 March 19th, 1915. 
 
 For convenience, the material difference between the clauses of this 
 undertaking and those of Schedule II. of the Munitions Act are set 
 out here, although Schedule II. itself is quoted on a later page. 
 
274 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 Tbkasuet Ageeement Schedule II. 
 
 Clause (iii.) "or who are now in "or who were in the owners' em- 
 our employment." ployment when the establish- 
 
 ment became a controlled 
 establishment." 
 
 Clause (vi.) "conditions prevail- "conditions prevailing when the 
 ing before the date of this establishment became a con- 
 
 undertaking." trolled establishment." 
 
 Clause (vii.) "desired to intro- "desired to introduce as f fee resitZ* 
 duce as a result of this ar- of the establishment becoming 
 
 rangement." a controlled establishment." 
 
 Clause (viii.) "in accordance "in accordance with this Act 
 with the procedure laid down without stoppage of work." 
 
 in paragraph (2)." 
 
 There are other small verbal changes; but these alone affect the 
 meaning of the document. The net effect of the changes is this: — 
 
 (1) Under the Munitions Act a statutory guarantee is given apply- 
 ing only to controlled establishments and dating only from the day 
 on which any particular establishment becomes controlled. 
 
 (2) Under the Treasury Agreement, this guarantee is dated back 
 to March 19th, 1915, in the case of all establishments which availed 
 themselves of the Treasury Agreement, whether they subsequently 
 became controlled or not. But this guarantee has no statutory force, 
 and rests only on an undertaking given by firms to the Government. 
 
 It will be seen that the acceptance of the Treasury Agreement by 
 the Unions was conditional upon the employer giving a guarantee to 
 the Government that Trade Union rules and customs should be re- 
 stored after the war. It would be desirable to discover from the 
 Government the number of guarantees from individual firms under 
 the Treasury Agreement which they secured on behalf of the Unions 
 between the date of the agreement and the passage of the Act. 
 
 Mr. Arthur Henderson, speaking during the Committee stage of 
 the Munitions Bill on July 1st, 1915, used these words: — 
 
 "We have to keep in mind that this schedule has been operating 
 since the the 19th of March, and has been made a condition of Gov- 
 ernment contracts that have been given out since that date." 
 
 The passage of the Munitions Act, it wiU be understood, did not 
 remove the necessity for these guarantees, which serve to pre-date the 
 provisions of Schedule II. by a number of months. Moreover, the 
 Treasury Agreement applied to certain trades and industries which 
 
APPENDIX E 275 
 
 did not come under the provisions of Schedule II. of the Munitions 
 Act, and in their cases the Treasury Agreement still holds good as a 
 guarantee of restoration. In order that the importance of this point 
 may be realized a list of the Unions which accepted the agreement, 
 divided into large groups, is given. It will be seen that textile 
 workers, railwaymen, transport workers, boot and shoe operatives, 
 and others are included. 
 (A.) General. 
 
 The Parliamentary Committee of the Trades Union Congress. 
 
 The General Federation of Trade Unions. 
 (B.) Engineering. 
 
 Amalgamated Society of Engineers. 
 
 Steam Engine Makers. 
 
 United Machine Workers. 
 
 Amalgamated Toolmakers. 
 
 United Patternmakers. 
 
 Friendly Society of Ironfounders. 
 
 Associated Ironmolders of Scotland. 
 
 Associated Blacksmiths and Ironworkers. 
 
 Electrical Trades Union. 
 
 Federation of Engineering and Shipbuilding Trades. 
 (C.) Shipbuilding. 
 
 United Boilermakers and Iron and Steel Shipbuilders. 
 
 Shipconstructors' and Shipwrights' Association. 
 
 Sheet Iron Workers and Light Platers. 
 
 Shipbuilding Trades Agreement Committee. 
 (D.) Iron and Steel Trades. 
 
 British Steel Smelters. 
 
 Associated Iron and Steel Workers. 
 (E.) Other Metal Trades. 
 
 National Amalgamated Sheet Metal Workers. 
 
 General Union of Braziers and Sheet Metal Workers. 
 
 Operative Plumbers. 
 (P.) Woodworkers. 
 
 Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners. 
 
 General Union of Carpenters and Joiners. 
 
 House and Ship Painters and Decorators. 
 
 Scottish Painters. 
 
 Furnishing Trades Association. 
 
 Woodcutting Machinists. 
 
 Amalgamated Cabinet Makers. 
 (G.) Laborers. 
 
 National Union of Gasworkers and General Laborers. 
 
276 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 Workers' Union. 
 
 National Amalgamated Union of Labor. 
 (H.) Transport. 
 
 National Union of Railwaymen. 
 
 National Transport Workers' Federation. 
 (I.) Woolen. 
 
 General Union of Textile Workers. 
 (J.) Boot and Shoe. 
 
 National Union of Boot and Shoe Operatives. 
 The Amalgamated Society of Engineers, as we have seen, was not 
 satisfied with the safeguards provided by the Treasury Agreement. 
 Accordingly, on March 25th, 1915, a Special Conference was held 
 between the A.S.E. and the Government, at which Mr. Lloyd George 
 gave, on behalf of the Government, a further undertaking in the 
 following terms: — 
 
 ACCELERATION OF OUTPUT ON GOVERNMENT WORK 
 
 At a meeting held at the Treasury on March 25th, 1915, between 
 the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the President of the Board of 
 Trade and the Executive Council and Organizing District Delegates 
 of the Amalgamated Society of Engineers, the Chancellor explained 
 the circumstances in which it had become essential for the successful 
 prosecution of the war to conclude an agreement with the Trade 
 Unions for the acceleration of output on Government work. After 
 discussion, the representatives of the Amalgamated Society of Engi- 
 neers resolved that in the light of the Chancellor of the Exchequer's 
 statement and explanations the agreement be accepted by the Union, 
 and expressed a desire that the following statements by the Chancel- 
 lor of the Exchequer in answer to questions put to him as to the 
 meaning of various clauses in the memorandum agreed upon at a 
 conference with workmen's representatives on March 17th-19th be 
 put on record : — 
 
 1. That it is the intention of the Government to conclude ar- 
 rangements with all important firms engaged wholly or mainly upon 
 engineering and shipbuilding work for war purposes, under which 
 their profits will be limited, with a view to securing that benefit 
 resulting from the relaxation of trade restrictions or practices shall 
 accrue to the State. 
 
 2. That the relaxation of trade practices contemplated in the agree- 
 ment relates solely to work done for war purposes during the war 
 period. 
 
 3. That in the case of the introduction of new inventions which 
 
APPENDIX E 277 
 
 ■were not in existence in the pre-war period, the class of workmen to 
 be employed on this work after the war should be determined accord- 
 ing to the practice prevailing before the war in the case of the class 
 of work most nearly analogous. 
 
 4. That on demand by the workmen the Government Department 
 concerned will be prepared to certify whether the work in question 
 is needed for war purposes. 
 
 5. That the Government will undertake to use its influence to se- 
 cure the restoration of previous conditions in every case after the 
 war. 
 
 D. Lloyd Geoege. 
 
 Walter Runciman. 
 
 J. T. Brownlib, Chairman. 
 
 W. Haeold Hutchinson, Executive Council. 
 
 George Ryder, Organizing District Delegate. 
 
 Robert Young, General Secretary. 
 
 n. — THE munition op war act, 1915 
 
 No further pledges were given until the passage of the Munitions of 
 War Act in July, 1915. The effect of this Act was to create a special 
 class of controlled establishments in which profits were limited, and 
 "any rule, practice, or custom not having the force of law which tends 
 to restrict production or employment" was suspended for the period 
 of the war. The provisions for suspension of Trade Union customs 
 and the guarantees of restoration under the Act are alike limited to 
 controlled establishments. 
 
 The passage in the Act itself which makes provision for restoration 
 is as follows: — 
 
 4. (4) The owner of the establishment shall be deemed to have 
 entered into an undertaking to cajry out the provisions set out in 
 the second Schedule to this Act, and any owner or contractor or sub- 
 contractor who breaks or attempts to break such an undertaking 
 shall be guilty of an offense under this Act. 
 
 20. (2) This Act shall have effect only so long as the office of 
 Minister of Munitions and the Ministry of Munitions exist: — 
 
 Provided that [Part I. of] i this Act shall continue to apply for a 
 period of twelve months after the conclusion of the present war to 
 any difference arising in relation to the performance by the owner 
 of any establishment of his undertaking to carry out the provisions 
 
 1 The words in square bra/ckets were struck out in the Amending Act 
 of 1916. 
 
278 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 set out in the second Schedule to this Act, notwithstanding that the 
 oflSce of Minister of Munitions and the Ministry of Munitions have 
 ceased to exist. 
 
 14. (1) Any person guilty of an offense under this Act — 
 (a) shall, if the offense is a contravention of or failure to comply 
 ■with an award, be liable to a fine not exceeding £5 for each day or 
 part of a day during which the contravention or failure to comply 
 continues, and, if the person guilty of the offense is an employer, 
 for each man in respect of whom the contravention or failure takes 
 place. 
 
 (2) A fine for any offense, under this Act, shall be recoverable only 
 before the munitions tribunal established for the purpose. 
 
 Schedule II. 
 
 1. Any departure during the war from the practice ruling in the 
 workshops, shipyards, and other industries prior to the war, shall 
 only be for the period of the war. 
 
 2. No change in practice made during the war shall be allowed 
 to prejudice the position of the workmen in the owners' employment, 
 or of their Trade Unions in regard to the resumption and main- 
 tenance after the war of any rules or customs existing prior to the 
 war. 
 
 3. In any readjustment of staff which may have to be effected after 
 the war priority of employment will be given to workmen in the 
 owners' employment at the beginning of the war who have been serv- 
 ing with the colors or who were in the owners' employment when the 
 establishment became a controlled establishment. 
 
 4. Where the custom of a shop is changed during the war by the 
 introduction of semi-skilled men to perform work hitherto performed 
 by a class of workmen of higher skill, the time and piece rates paid 
 shall be the usual rates of the district for that class of work. 
 
 5. The relaxation of existing demarcation restrictions or admission 
 of semi-skilled or female labor shall not affect adversely the rates 
 customarily paid for the job. In cases where men who ordinarily do 
 the work are adversely affected thereby, the necessary readjustments 
 shall be made so that they can maintain their previous earnings. 
 
 6. A record of the nature of the departure from the conditions 
 prevailing when the establishment became a controlled establishment 
 shall be kept, and shall be open for inspection by the authorized 
 representative of the Government. 
 
 7. Due notice shall be given to the workmen concerned wherever 
 practicable of any changes of working conditions which it is desired 
 to introduce as the result of the establishment becoming a controlled 
 
APPENDIX E 279 
 
 establishment, and opportunity for local consultation with workmen 
 or their representatives shall be given if desired. 
 
 8. All differences with workmen engaged on Government work 
 arising out of changes so introduced or with regard to wages or con- 
 ditions of employment arising out of the war shall be settled in 
 accordance with this Act without stoppage of work. 
 
 9. Nothing in this Schedule (except as provided by the third para- 
 graph thereof) shall prejudice the position of employers or persons 
 employed after the war. 
 
 In September the Minister of Munitions set up the Central Labor 
 Supply Committee in order to give greater effect to the suspension of 
 Trade Union rules. This Committee, on which employers and em- 
 ployed were represented, together with the Ministry of Munitions, 
 drew up the Dilution of Labor Scheme, and the Circulars L. 2 and 
 L. 3, which lay down rates of wages for women on men's work and 
 for unskilled and semi-skilled men on skilled men's work. These 
 Circulars contain no new guarantees; but, in issuing them, the Min- 
 istry of Munitions expressly drew attention to the fact that they 
 were "strictly confined to the war period and subject to the observ- 
 ance of Schedule II. of the Munitions of War Act." 
 
 III. — THE MUNITIONS OP WAK (AMENDMENT) ACT, 1916 
 
 Most of the new guarantees given to Labor in connection with the 
 amendment of the Munitions Act at the close of 1915 dealt rather 
 with the rates of wages to be paid during the war and with the actual 
 administration of the Act than with the question of restoration. At- 
 tempts were made to introduce a new clause greatly extending the 
 scope of the records of departures from Trade Union custom which 
 must be kept under Schedule II. This, however, was opposed by the 
 Government, and negatived without a division. The only clause 
 containing an important new guarantee had to do with the question 
 of non-union labor i : — 
 
 15. Where non-union labor is introduced during the war into any 
 class of work in a controlled establishment in which it was the prac- 
 tice prior to the war to employ union labor exclusively, the owner 
 of the establishment shall be deemed to have undertaken that such 
 introduction shall be only for the period of the war, and if he breaks 
 or attempts to break such an undertaking he shall be guilty of an 
 offense under the principal Act and liable to a fine not exceeding 
 
 1 Two purely drafting amendments designed to remedy technical flaws 
 in the principal Act have been ignored, and, in describing the principal 
 Act, it has been assumed that these amendments have taken effect. 
 
280 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 £50 ; but, subject as aforesaid, such introduction shall not be deemed 
 to be a change of working conditions. 
 
 IV. — SUMMARY OF THE GUARANTEES 
 
 1. A general promise has been given, and many times repeated, 
 that all changes made during the war are only for the period of the 
 war, and that restoration will take place in all cases when the war is 
 over. 
 
 2. Statutory form has been given to this promise in the ease of 
 establishments which are controlled under the Munitions of War 
 Acts. Only in such establishments are Trade Union rules suspended 
 by law, and only in such establishments is there a legal guarantee of 
 restoration. 
 
 3. In other cases, i.e., in regard to establishments which are not 
 controlled and in industries outside the scope of Part II. of the 
 Munitions Act, the guarantees of restoration depend on the Treasury 
 Agreement and on undertakings entered into by firms and by the 
 Government. These guarantees are obligations of honor ; but are not 
 legally enforceable. 
 
 4. Priority of employment after the war is guaranteed by law in 
 the ease of controlled establishments to men serving with the colors, 
 and to men who were employed in any establishment when it became 
 controlled. 
 
 5. A similar guarantee, resting upon the Treasury Agreement and 
 not legally enforceable, exists in the ease of establishments which are 
 not controlled. This guarantee also holds good as from March 19th, 
 1915, in the case of establishments which subsequently became con- 
 trolled (i.e., a man who was employed between March and July in an 
 establishment which became controlled under the Munitions Acts is 
 guaranteed priority of employment under the Treasury Agreement). 
 
 6. The Government has given a promise, which has not the force 
 of law, that where new inventions are introduced, the class of work- 
 men to operate them after the war shall be determined according to 
 the practice prevailing before the war in the nearest analogous class 
 of work. 
 
 7. It is guaranteed by law that where non-union labor is introduced 
 on any class of work in a controlled establishment, in which it was 
 the practice prior to the war to employ union labor exclusively, the 
 introduction of such labor shall be only for the war period. 
 
APPENDIX E 281 
 
 V. — NOTE ON GOVERNMENT ESTABLISHMENTS 
 
 The question has arisen whether the Government itself, in its 
 capacity as employer, is bound by the above pledges. The following 
 answer, given by the Prime Minister on August 21st, 1916, in answer 
 to a question by Mr. Duncan, explains the position: — 
 
 "The Crown, not being expressly named in the Munitions of War 
 Act, 1915, is not as a matter of law bound by its provisions. There 
 is a special machinery for settling such questions in the dockyards to 
 which it seems desirable to resort in the first instance. There are 
 other cases in which it is practically impossible to arbitrate in regard 
 to isolated classes without reference to the interest of others. It is 
 quite recognized that, subject to exceptional cases, the spirit of this 
 provision of the Act should be observed by Government Depart- 
 ments." 
 
 The question and answer in this case refer only to "the pro- 
 visions for the avoidance of disputes enforced upon private em- 
 ployers" ; but it is to be presumed that the answer applies in principle 
 to the restoration of Trade Union conditions after the war. 
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 In the following Appendix there have been gathered together for 
 reference the most important statements made by responsible mem- 
 bers of the Government on the question of Trade Union rules. Ex- 
 tracts from the early speeches of Mr. Tennant and Mr. Harold Baker, 
 on behalf of the War Office, in February, 1915, though they con- 
 tain no reference to guarantees, have been given because they are 
 the earliest Government pronouncements on the matter of Trade 
 Union rules. Apart from these two extracts, only passages contain- 
 ing explicit promises of restoration after the war are included : — 
 
 Mb. Tennant's Speech, House or Commons, Fbbeuart 8th, 
 1915 :— 
 
 "I would appeal to the hon. gentlemen below the gangway (the 
 Labor Party) to help us to organize the forces of labor, to help us so 
 that where one man goes to join the colors his place may be taken by 
 a man who is not of military age, or of military physique, or by a 
 woman. I believe that might be done. 
 
 "I would ask them to assist the Government also in granting only 
 for the period of the war some form of relaxation of their rules and 
 regulations. 
 
282 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 "In the works of many firms, not so much armament firms as cloth- 
 ing firms, Factory Act rules and regulations have been largely abro- 
 gated already, and I would seriously ask the Labor Party -whether 
 they could not prevail upon the Trade Unionists in this country to 
 adopt a measure of a purely temporary kind for the relaxation of 
 some of the more stringent regulations." 
 
 Mb. Harold Baker's Speech, House of Commons, February 9th, 
 1915:— 
 
 "There are certain steps which may be considered desirable. The 
 Trade Unions have a perfectly proper desire to safeguard their in- 
 terests against the time when peace returns. If we leave these 
 things to be settled by fair and proper discussion outside we shall 
 be more likely to achieve the result desired." 
 
 Lord Kitcheker's Speech, House of Lords, March 15th, 1915 : — 
 
 "It has been brought to my notice on more than one occasion that 
 the restrictions of Trade Unions have undoubtedly added to our difiB- 
 culties, not so much in obtaining sufficient labor, as in making the 
 best use of that labor. I .am confident, however, that the seriousness 
 of the position as regards our supplies has only to be mentioned and 
 all concerned will agree to waive for the period of the war any of 
 those restrictions which prevent in the very slightest degree our 
 utilizing all the labor available to the fullest extent that is possible." 
 
 "The second proposition is the suspension where necessary during 
 the war of restrictions of output. Here, again, I want to make it 
 perfectly clear that I am only discussing this suspension during the 
 war. The increase in output is so essential to us, where we have to 
 turn out munitions of war not merely for ourselves but to help our 
 Allies, that I do hope you will help us for the moment by suspend- 
 ing the operation of any rules or regulations which tend to diminish 
 the output. I know it is a very difficult question for you to decide 
 upon, but it is very important for the State at the present juncture." 
 
 Mr. Asquith's Speech, March 20th, 1915: — 
 
 "What are those sacrifices? They may, I think, be summarized 
 under three heads — limitation of profits, the temporary suspension of 
 restrictive rules and customs, and the provision of reasonable com- 
 pensation in cases of proved injury or loss. The first, you observe, 
 falls upon the employer, and the second upon the men — especially 
 upon those men who are members of Trade Unions — and the third 
 
APPENDIX E 
 
 upon the State. Let me deal with each of them in a single sentence. 
 As to profits, I believe we shall all agree that the firms and com- 
 panies who are supplying the State with munitions of war should 
 not be entitled thereby to make undue profits out of them. That we 
 know is the opinion, and is going to be the practice of some of the 
 greatest and most representative of those bodies. Under the second 
 head, I believe there is an equally general agreement, and I hope and 
 trust that that agreement will be translated into practice, and that 
 restrictive regulations, whether as regards output or as regards 
 demarcation of different classes of labor — regulations on long expe- 
 rience, which we may without prejudice agree to be quite appropriate 
 to normal conditions — may be suspended while war lasts, to be 
 resumed thereafter. I know well that an agreement to that effect 
 has been come to between the Federation of Engineering Employers 
 and the great Trade Union, the Amalgamated Society of Engineers, 
 which is the custodian and the experienced and tried trustee of the 
 interests of the men, and I would venture to express a strong appeal 
 that the agreement may be carried out not only as between the 
 parties to it, but with the general assent of all men who in this 
 critical stage of our fortunes are engaged in the fabrications of muni- 
 tions of war. They will suffer for nothing in the long run. 
 
 "I am not one of those, if there be such, who think that in these 
 matters the Trade Unions have been pursuing chimeras or indulging 
 in a passion for domineering and restrictive regulation. I believe, 
 on the contrary, that the great bulk, I won't say all — many of them 
 are much open to argument — but the great bulk of the rules and 
 customs which they have adopted as the fruit of long experience are 
 justified by that experience, and have tended not to diminish but to 
 increase the output of our industries. But we are living in ex- 
 ceptional times. We have to meet a special emergency, and you may 
 be sure they will not be prejudicing the interests of their Unions or 
 the cause which the Union represents if they consent, so long as 
 those critical conditions prevail, to a temporary waiving and sus- 
 pension of those customs and rules." 
 
 Mr. Lloyd George, Teeastjbt Conferen'Oe, Maech 22nd^ 1915: — 
 
 "As to that ... we realized that when Labor was making con- 
 cessions to us by relaxing certain rules during the period of the war 
 Labor was quite right in insisting on the strictest safeguards against 
 those concessions being abused. I think you may say that we have 
 practically accepted the safeguards suggested by the delegates; we 
 were so entirely in agreement with them as to the desirability 
 of protecting the workmen's interests in the matter." 
 
284 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 Mb. Lloyd George's Speech, Hoxjse op Commons, introducing the 
 Munitions BiiaL, June 23ed, 1915. 
 "The next thing is the suspension during the war, on the honor and 
 pledge of the nation that things would be restored exactly to the 
 position they were in before the suspension, of all these restrictions 
 and practices that interfere with the increase of the output of war 
 materials." 
 
 The Home Seceetaby (Sib John Simon), speaking on the Second 
 Reading op the Munitions Bill, June 28th, 1915. 
 "In the first place, you must make it plain, and you must not only 
 make it plain, but as far as may be you must provide in your Statute 
 that this concession that workpeople make in the crisis of the war for 
 the country's sake is a temporary concession, which does not in the 
 least prejudice their established rights so hardly won after, in many 
 cases, a long struggle in times past. This is a provision for the war, 
 and for the war only, and it is an essential condition of that which we 
 are asking, that when the war is over the honor of the House of Com- 
 mons is pledged, the promise of the Government is given, and all 
 who really try to carry this Bill undertake that organized workpeople 
 are not to suffer because of the temporary abandonment of Trade 
 Union restrictions." 
 
 Mr. Lloyd George's Statement in the House op Commons on 
 Peogbess op Munitions Department, July 28th, 1915. 
 "I hope they will take not merely a promise, but a solemn under- 
 taking put in an Act of Parliament by which not merely the Govern- 
 ment, but the whole of the House of Commons and the House of 
 Lords undertook that at the end of the war the fact of their abandon- 
 ing those practices now will not prevent them restoring the practices 
 at the end of the war. It is so vital that this should be done during 
 the war that even an undertaking of that kind must be honored." 
 
 Me. Lloyd Geoege's Speech to the Trades Union Congress, 
 September 9th, 1915 : — 
 "The next undertaking we gave was that we would give a guarantee 
 that at the end of the war the pre-war conditions would be restored. 
 How have we done that? We have done it, not merely by solemn 
 declaration on the part of the Government, but we have embodied 
 them in an Act of Parliament. We have a statutory guarantee car- 
 ried unanimously by Parliament, by men of all parties — employers, 
 workmen. Liberal, Unionist, conseriptionist, anti-conscriptionist, pro- 
 German, and anti-German — all sorts and conditions of men. They 
 are all in it, and they are all committed to that guarantee." 
 
APPENDIX E 285 
 
 Mr. Asquith's Reply to the Triple Alliance Deputation, Aug- 
 ust 3ed, 1916. ("Times" Report.) 
 "Mr. Asquith said they were already taking steps to collect and 
 classify the various war pledges, if he might so describe them, which 
 had been given affecting Trade Union practices. So far as some- 
 thing like 4,000 controlled establishments were concerned. Part I. of 
 the Munitions Act provided for the continuance of an arbitration 
 machinery for the interpretation of these agreements for a year after 
 the war, and the Government were carefully considering what ma- 
 chinery was required to dispose of differences of interpretation, if 
 there be such, in agreements affecting other works and establish- 
 ments. Speaking generally on this point, he wished to say that the 
 pledges which had been given, and the obligations incurred under 
 them, were, in the view of the Government, obligations of honor and 
 indisputably valid, and nothing but the assent of all the parties con- 
 cerned could vary them or dispense with their complete fulfilment." 
 
 ("Daily Chronicle" Report.) 
 "On the first of the five proposals put before him (restoration of 
 Trade Union practices after the war) the Prime Minister said that 
 most explicit and emphatic pledges had been given that all Trade 
 Union conditions should be restored after the war, and the Govern- 
 ment had no intention of departing from that pledge Ln the least 
 degree. Provision was made for the interpretation of these agree- 
 ments in all controlled establishments, and the Government was care- 
 fully considering the kind of machinery to be set up to dispose of 
 the difSculties of interpretation in other establishments." 
 
 Me. Montagu's Speech, House op Commons, August 15th, 1916. 
 
 "But the cessation of disputes and the postponement of the re- 
 forms which slowly emerged from the clash of conflicting interests 
 do not exhaust the full measure of the sacrifices which organized 
 Labor has made. The Trade Unions place on one side the whole 
 armor of Trade Union regulations upon which they had hitherto re- 
 lied. For the weapons slowly forged during long years of struggle 
 — rules and customs relating to hours of labor, overtime, the right 
 of entrance to trades, demarcation of industry, the regulation of boy 
 labor, and the exclusion of women from certain classes of occupa- 
 tions — all these, directly or indirectly, might have tended to reduce 
 the output during the war. The Government asked Labor to put all 
 these on one side. It was a great deal to ask. I doubt if any com- 
 munity has ever been asked for greater sacrifices, but with a loyalty 
 and statesmanship which cannot be over-estimated the request waa 
 
286 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 readily granted. The Trade Unions required, and they were right 
 to require, a scrupulous record and recognition of what they were 
 conceding. It was promised to them as a right, but they will receive 
 more, not only the restoration of the system they temporarily aban- 
 doned, but the gratitude of the Army and of the nation, and they 
 will, I trust, place the nation still further in their debt by playing an 
 important part in devising some system which will reconcile in the 
 future conflicting industrial interests." 
 
APPENDIX F 
 THE LABOR PARTY'S STATEMENT 
 
 ON 
 
 THE LABOR PROBLEMS AFTER THE WAR 
 
 DEMOBILIZATION 
 
 (i.) That when peace comes the demobilization and discharge of 
 the seven or eight million wage-earners now paid from public funds, 
 either for service with the Colors or on munition work and other war 
 trades, will bring to the whole wage-earning class grave peril of Un- 
 employment, Reduction of Wages, and a lasting Degradation of the 
 Standard of Life, which can be prevented only by deliberate National 
 Organization ; 
 
 (ii.) That this Conference accordingly calls upon the Government 
 to formulate its plan, and make in advance all arrangements neces- 
 sary for coping with so unparalleled a dislocation of industry ; 
 
 (iii.) That regard should be had, in stopping Government orders, 
 reducing the staff of the National Factories, and demobilizing the 
 Army to the state of the Labor Market in particular industries and 
 in different districts, so as both to supply the kinds of labor most 
 urgently required for the revival of peace production, and to prevent 
 any congestion of Unemployed ; 
 
 (iv.) That it is imperative that suitable provision against being 
 turned suddenly adrift without resources should be made not only 
 for the soldiers, but also for the three million operatives in muni- 
 tion work and other war trades, who will be discharged before most 
 of the Army can be disbanded; 
 
 (v.) That the Conference, noting the month's furlough, gratuity, 
 free railway ticket, and a year's Unemployment Benefit if out of 
 work already promised to the soldier, urges that (a) there should be 
 no gap between the cessation of his pay and separation allowance 
 and the beginning of his Unemployment Benefit, and (6) that this 
 special ex-soldier's Unemployment Benefit given to all should be ad- 
 ditional to any Benefit under the National Insurance Act, to which 
 many men are already entitled in respect of contributions deducted 
 from their wages; and 
 
 (vi.) That any Government which allows the discharged soldier to 
 
 287 
 
288 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 fall into the clutches of the Poor Law should be instantly driven 
 from office by an outburst of popular indignation. 
 
 THE MACHINERY FOR SECURING EMPLOYMENT 
 
 (i.) That the Conference emphatically protests against the work of 
 re-settling the disbanded soldiers and discharged munition workers 
 into new situations — ^which is a national obligation — being deemed 
 * matter for charity ; and against this public duty being handed over 
 either to committees of philanthropists or benevolent societies, or to 
 any of the military or recruiting authorities ; 
 
 (ii.) That in view of the fact that the best organization for plac- 
 ing men in situations is a national Trade Union having local 
 Branches throughout the Kingdom, every soldier should be allowed, 
 if he chooses, to have a duplicate of his industrial discharge notice 
 sent through, one month before the date fixed for his discharge,- to 
 the Secretary of the Trade Union to which he belongs or wishes to 
 belong ; 
 
 (iii.) That, apart from this use of the Trade Union, it is necessary 
 to make use of some such public machinery as that of the Employ- 
 ment Exchanges, but that before the existing Exchanges (which 
 would need to be greatly extended) can receive the cooperation and 
 support of the organized Labor Movement, without which their oper- 
 ations can never be fully successful, it is imperative that they should 
 be drastically reformed on the lines laid down in the Demobilization 
 Report of the Labor after the War Committee, and, in particular, 
 that each Exchange should be placed under the supervision and con- 
 trol of a Joint Committee of Employers and Trade Unionists, in 
 equal numbers. 
 
 (iv.) That no Trade Union shall be brought within Part II. of the 
 National Insurance Act, whether administered by the Employment 
 Exchanges or otherwise, unless it has been first consulted, and agrees 
 to its inclusion therein. 
 
 THE RESTORATION OP TRADE UNION CONDITIONS 
 
 (i.) That this Conference reminds the Government that it is 
 pledged unreservedly and unconditionally, and the nation with it, in 
 the most solemn manner, to the Restoration after the War of all the 
 rules, conditions and customs that prevailed in the workshops before 
 the War ; and to the abrogation, when peace comes, of all the changes 
 introduced not only in the, National Factories and the 4,500 Con- 
 trolled Establishments, but also in the large number of others to 
 which provisions of the Munitions Acts have been applied; 
 
APPENDIX F 289 
 
 (ii.) That the Conference places on record its confident expecta- 
 tion and desire that if any employers should be so unscrupulous as 
 to hesitate to fulfil this pledge, the Government will see to it that, 
 in no industry and in no district, is any quibbling evasion permitted 
 of an obligation in which the whole Labor Movement has an in- 
 terest. 
 
 (iii.) In view of the unsatisfactory character of the provisions in 
 the Munitions Act dealing with the restoration of Trade Union 
 customs after the war, the Conference calls upon the Government to 
 provide adequate statutory machinery for restoration: 
 
 "(a) By securing that all provisions in the Acts necessary to en- 
 force restoration shall continue in operation for a full year after the 
 restrictive provisions abrogating Trade Union rules (Section 4 (3), 
 and giving Munitions Tribunals disciplinary powers over workmen 
 (Section 7) have been terminated. 
 
 "(b) By removing all restrictions upon the right of the workmen 
 to strike for the restoration of the customs which have been abro- 
 gated. 
 
 "(e) By limiting Compulsory Arbitration strictly to the War 
 period and providing fully that the right to prosecute an employer 
 for a failure to restore Trade Union customs shall continue for a 
 full year after the termination of the restrictive powers in the Acts. 
 
 "The Conference further calls upon Parliament to Umit all re- 
 strictive legislation directed against workpeople strictly to the War 
 period, and, subject to the above exceptions, calls for the abrogation 
 of restrictive clauses in the Munitions of War Acts and in the De- 
 fense of the Realm Acts, immediately upon the conclusion of hos- 
 tilities." 
 
 THE PREVENTION OP UNEMPLOYMENT 
 
 (i.) That in the opinion of this Conference it is the duty of the 
 Government to adopt a policy of deliberately and systematically 
 preventing the occurrence of Unemployment, instead of (as hereto- 
 fore) letting Unemployment occur, and then seeking, vainly and 
 expensively, to relieve the Unemployed; 
 
 (ii.) That the Government can, if it chooses, arrange the public 
 works and the orders of National Departments and Local Authori- 
 ties in such a way as to maintain the aggregate demand for labor 
 in the whole Kingdom (including that of capitalist employers) ap- 
 proximately at a uniform level from year to year; and it is there- 
 fore the first duty of the Government to prevent any considerable 
 or widespread fiuctuations in the total numbers employed in times 
 of good or bad trade. 
 
290 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 (iii.) That in order to prepare for the possibility of there being 
 extensive UnemplojTnent, either in the course of demobilization, and 
 in the first years of peace, it is essential that the Government should 
 make all necessary preparations for putting instantly in hand di- 
 rectly or through the Local Authorities, such urgently needed public 
 works as (a) the rehousing of the population alike in rural districts, 
 mining villages and town slums, to the extent, possibly, of 200 
 millions sterling; (6) the immediate making-good of the shortage of 
 schools, training colleges, technical colleges, etc.; (c) new roads; 
 (d) light railways; (e) the reorganization of the canal system; 
 (/) afforestation; (g) the reclamation of land; (h) the develop- 
 ment and better equipment of our ports and harbors; (i) the open- 
 ing up of access to land by small holdings and other practicable 
 ways. 
 
 (iv.) That in order to relieve any pressure of an overstocked 
 Labor Market, the opportunity should be taken (a) to raise the 
 school-leaving age to 16; (6) to increase the number of bursaries 
 for Secondary and Higher Education; and (c) to shorten the hours 
 of labor of all young persons to enable them to attend technical and 
 other classes in the daytime. 
 
 (v.) That wherever practicable the hours of labor should be re- 
 duced to not more than 48 per week, without reduction of the 
 standard rates of wages; and that legislation should be introduced 
 accordingly. 
 
 THE MAINTENANCE OF THE STANDARD OF LIFE 
 
 (i.) That it is of supreme national importance that there should 
 not be any Degradation of the Standard of Life of the popula- 
 tion; and it is accordingly the duty of the Government to see to it 
 that, when peace comes, the Standard Rates of Wages in all trades 
 should, relatively to the cost of living, be fully maintained. 
 
 (ii.) That is should be made clear to employers that any attempt 
 to reduce the customary rates of wages when peace comes, or to 
 take advantage of the dislocation of demobilization to worsen the 
 conditions of labor, will certainly lead to embittered industrial strife, 
 which will be in the highest degree detrimental to the national in- 
 terests; and the Government should therefore take steps to avert 
 such a calamity. 
 
 (iii.) That the Government should not only, as the greatest em- 
 ployer of labor, set a good example in this respect, but should 
 also seek to influence employers by proclaiming in advance that it 
 will not attempt to lower the Standard Rates or conditions in public 
 
APPENDIX F 291 
 
 employment, by announcing that it will insist on the most rigorous 
 observance of the Fair Wages Clause in public contracts, and by 
 recommending every Local Authority to adopt the same policy. 
 
 THE LEGAL MINIMUM WAGE 
 
 (i.) That the Coal Mines (Minimum Wage) Act should be main- 
 tained in force, and suitably amended so as to ensure greater uni- 
 formity of conditions among the several districts, and so as to make 
 the District Minimum in all cases an effective reality; 
 
 (ii.) That in view of the fact that many millions of wage- 
 earners, notably, women, carmen, agricultural laborers, and work- 
 men in various occupations, are unable by combination to obtain 
 wages adequate for decent maintenance in health, the Trade Boards 
 Act should be amended and made to apply to all industrial em- 
 ployments in which the bulk of those employed obtain less than 30s. 
 per week. 
 
 (iii.) That this minimum of not less than 30s. per week be a 
 statutory minimum for all trades. 
 
 THE NATIONALIZATION Off RAILWAYS 
 
 (i.) That the Conference most emphatically protests against the 
 Railways, which are under Government control, being handed back 
 after the war to the control of the shareholders, whose only interest 
 is that of extracting the largest possible dividend; 
 
 (ii.) The Conference asks that the partial Nationalization which 
 has taken place should be completed and extended to those canals 
 which are still outside railway control; and the shareholders should 
 be got rid of by taking over their present property at its fair mar- 
 ket value; and that the transformation of the railways and canals 
 into a unified public service of transport and communication, ad- 
 ministered solely in the public interest with arrangements for the 
 participation in the managements, both local and central, of all 
 grades of employees, should be one of the first tasks of the Govern- 
 ment after the war. 
 
 THE NATIONALIZATION OF MINES 
 
 (i.) That in the opinion of this Conference the time has come 
 when this country should no longer be dependent for its coal supply 
 on a small number of capitalist colliery proprietors, coal-merchants 
 and dealers, among whom there is an increasing tendency to com- 
 binations and price-arrangements, by which the consumer is made to 
 pay a quite unnecessary price for coal; and that the Government 
 
292 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 should at once take over all coal and other mines, work them as a 
 national enterprise, and appropriate to the nation all rents and 
 profits; 
 
 (ii.) That in organizing the nation's coal supply on the basis 
 of production for use instead of production for profit, due arrange- 
 ments should be made for the participation in the management, both 
 local and central, of the employees of all grades; 
 
 (iii.) That the Government Coal Department might undertake 
 the supply for export and shipping, the Local Authorities and all 
 industrial consumers of any magnitude; delivering the coal for 
 domestic consumption to any railway station at a fixed price, as 
 unalterable and as uniform as that of the postage stamp, for re- 
 tailing and delivery at a fixed additional charge just covering cost. 
 
 AGRICUI/rURB 
 
 (i.) That the present arrangements for the production and dis- 
 tribution of food in this country amount to nothing short of a na- 
 tional disgrace, and must be radically altered without delay; 
 
 (ii.) That it is imperative that the Government should promptly 
 resume control of the nation's agricultural land, and organize its 
 utilization not for rent, not for game, not for the social amenity of 
 a small social class, not even for obtaining the largest percentage 
 on the capital employed, but solely with a view to the production of 
 the largest possible proportion of the foodstuffs required by the 
 population of these islands at a price not exceeding that for which 
 they can be brought from other lands; 
 
 (iii.) That this can probably best be attained by a combination 
 of (a) Government farms, administered on a large scale, with the 
 utmost use of machinery; (6) Small Holdings made accessible to 
 practical agriculturists; (o) Municipal enterprises in agriculture, 
 in conjunction with municipal institutions of various kinds, milk 
 depots, sewage works, etc.; (d) farms let to Cooperative Societies 
 and other tenants, under covenants requiring the kind of cultivation 
 desired ; 
 
 (iv.) That under all systems the agricultural laborer must be se- 
 cured a decent cottage, an allotment, and a Living Wage; 
 
 (v.) That the distribution of foodstuffs in the towns — from milk 
 and meat to bread and vegetables — should be taken out of the 
 hands of the present multiplicity of dealers and shopkeepers, and 
 organized by Democratic Consumers, Cooperative Societies and the 
 Local Authorities working in conjunction. 
 
APPENDIX F 293 
 
 TAXATION 
 
 (i.) That in view of the enormous debts contracted during the 
 war and of the necessity to lighten national financial burdens in 
 order to enable the country to compete successfully on the markets 
 of the world so soon as peace comes, this Conference demands that 
 an equitable system of conscription of accumulated wealth should 
 be put into operation forthwith, believing that no system of income 
 tax or excess profits duties will yield enough to free the country 
 from oppressive debts, and that any attempt to tax food or the 
 other necessities of life would be unjust and ruinous to the masses 
 of the people; 
 
 (ii.) That the only solution of the diflSculties that have arisen is 
 a system of taxation by which the necessary national income shall 
 be derived mainly from direct taxation and imposts upon luxuries, 
 and that the taxation upon unearned incomes should be substantially 
 increased and graded so that on the higher scales it should be not 
 less than 15s. in the pound; 
 
 (iii.) That the whole system of land taxation should be revised 
 so that effect should be given to the fact that the land of the nation, 
 which has been defended by the lives and sufferings of its people, 
 shall belong to the nation and be used for the nation's benefit. 
 
 (iv.) That as during the war the Government has had to come 
 to the assistance of the banking institutions of the country, and that 
 it has been found necessary to pay very high rates for the money 
 raised, adding considerably to the annual burden resulting from the 
 war, every effort should be made to nationalize the banking system 
 of the country in order to free the community from private ex- 
 ploitation. 
 
 "That this Conference emphatically protests against the repeated 
 attempts to bring Cooperative dividends within the scope of the 
 Income Tax." 
 
 "That this Conference, recognizing that the huge national ex- 
 penditure, caused by the War, has to be met by increased taxation, 
 declares that those who claim the ownership of the land of the 
 country should be required to make a special contribution towards 
 its defense. It therefore calls upon the Government to impose a 
 direct tax on land values in the next Budget, and to enable this to 
 be done, to use the powers conferred by the Defense of the Realm 
 Act to compel all owners of land to furnish an immediate declara- 
 
294. MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 tion of the present value, extent, and character of all land in their 
 possession. 
 
 "That this Conference aflarms that such a tax, in addition to pro- 
 viding a large amount of revenue, would open up the land to the 
 people, increase the production of home grown food, and thus 
 materially reduce the prevailing high cost of living, tend to raise 
 wages, and lessen the evil of unemployment which threatens on the 
 close of the war." 
 
 FRANCHISE 
 
 (i.) That this Conference declares that the war has made ob- 
 solete all our past system of enfranchisement and registration; 
 
 (ii.) That the only solution of the diifieulties that have arisen 
 is Adult Suffrage, including women; 
 
 (iii.) That registration should be so conducted that every properly 
 qualified person should have the opportunity to vote at elections, and 
 that this entails both a short period of qualification and continuous 
 registration ; 
 
 (iv.) That soldiers and munition workers should not only have 
 the right of voting conferred upon them, but that arrangements 
 should be made by which that right can be exercised, including the 
 provision of facilities for all candidates to put their views fairly 
 before these electors; and that as far as possible similar arrange- 
 ments should be made for the convenience of seamen and other 
 electors necessarily absent from thir constituencies; 
 
 (v.) That redistribution of electorates should take place at once; 
 
 (vi.) That no election conducted on the present register, or before 
 the above changes have been made, can return a Parliament which 
 represents the nation. 
 
 THE POSITION OF WOMEN AFTER THE WAE 
 
 "That in view of the great national services rendered by women 
 during this time of war, and of the importance of maintaining a 
 high level of wages for both men and women workers, this Confer- 
 ence urges: 
 
 "(i.) That work or maintenance at fair rates should be provided 
 for all women displaced from their employment to make way 
 for men returning from service with the forces or other 
 national work, 
 "(ii.) That full inquiry should be made into trades and processes 
 previously held to be unhealthy or in any way unsuitable 
 for women, but now being carried on by them, with a view 
 to making recommendations as to their further employ- 
 ment in such trades. 
 
APPENDIX F 
 
 "(iii, ) That all women employed in trades formerly closed to 
 them should only continue to be so employed at Trade 
 Union rates of wages. 
 
 "(iv.) That Trade Unions should accept women members in all 
 trades in which they are employed." 
 
 EDUCATION AND CHILD WELPABE 
 
 Admmistrative 
 
 "Such alterations of the Education Act of 1902 as shall secure 
 full public responsibility for the maintenance and control of all 
 grades of schools, colleges and universities. 
 
 "Abolition of all education fees. 
 
 "Raising of the school leaving age to 16, with increased number 
 of maintenance grants, graded according to age and circumstances. 
 
 "Universal free compulsory secondary education. 
 
 "No partial or half time exemptions before fulfilment of regular 
 secondary course, and not then unless agreed to by the school 
 doctor. 
 
 "Education Authority to have equal jurisdiction over part time 
 factory emplojrment as over non-factory employment. 
 
 "Larger proportion of local education costs to be borne by Na- 
 tional Treasury. 
 
 "Pensions for secondary teachers, as in case of elementary teach- 
 ers in England. 
 
 Hygienic 
 
 "Hygienic conditions in elementary schools to be brought up to 
 minimum standard of best secondary schools. 
 
 "School Doctor to be certifying surgeon for half-timers and young 
 persons in employment. 
 
 "Full scheme of free public medical service to expectant and 
 nursing mothers and their children; in the case of the latter, to be 
 continued up to school age and properly coordinated with the school 
 medical service. 
 
 "Swimming baths, gymnasia, and the best known scheme of phys- 
 ical training for every child passing through the schools. 
 
 "A scheme of physical instruction for all young people from 16 
 to 20 years of age. 
 
 "Amendment of Provision of Meals Act, so as to provide meals 
 out of public funds for all school children certified by the school 
 doctor to be improperly or insufficiently nourished. 
 
296 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 EDUCATIONAL 
 
 "Higher scale of teachers' salaries and higher minimum standard 
 of equipment for teachers, with fuller provision of facilities for in- 
 tending teachers, and more generous public help for all accepted 
 candidates. 
 
 "Reduction of size of classes in elementary schools to that of 
 secondary schools. 
 
 "Playing fields to be provided for elementary schools. 
 
 "All higher forms of education, Technical and University, to be 
 coordinated under public control and entirely free to all pupils de- 
 sirous of undertaking the course provided. 
 
 "Principle of open-air schools to be adopted for all schools at 
 earliest possible moment. A great increase of the system of camp 
 schools, vacation centers. Travel studies by sea and land. 
 
 "No specialization until last year of secondary school course, 
 ■when bias given in direction, Technical, Professional or Commercial, 
 as part of a general education." 
 
APPENDIX Q 
 
 INDUSTRIAL REPORTS. NUMBER I. 
 INDUSTRIAL COUNCILS 
 
 The Whitley Report, together with the Letter of the Minister of 
 Labor explaining the Government's view of its proposals. 
 
 I. LETTER ADDRESSED BY THE MINISTER OF LABOR 
 TO THE LEADING EMPLOYERS' ASSOCIATIONS AND 
 TRADE UNIONS 
 
 Ministry op Labor, 
 
 Montagu House, 
 
 Whitehall, S.W. 1. 
 
 20th October, 1917. 
 Sir, 
 
 In July last a circular letter was addressed by the Ministry of 
 Labor to all the principal Employers' Associations and Trade 
 Unions asking for their views on the proposals made in the Report 
 of the Whitley Committee on Joint Standing Industrial Councils, a 
 further copy of which is enclosed. As a result of the replies which 
 have been received from a large number of Employers' organiza- 
 tions and Trade Unions generally favoring the adoption of tliose 
 proposals, the War Cabinet have decided to adopt the Report as part 
 of the policy which they hope to see carried into effect in the field 
 of industrial reconstruction. 
 
 In order that the precise effect of this decision may not be mis- 
 understood, I desire to draw attention to one or two points which 
 have been raised in the communications made to the Ministry on the 
 subject, and on which some misapprehension appears to exist in some 
 quarters. 
 
 In the first place, fears have been expressed that the proposal to 
 set up Industrial Councils indicates an intention to introduce an ele- 
 ment of State interference which has hitherto not existed in in- 
 dustry. This is not the case. The formation and constitution of 
 the Councils must be principally the work of the industries them- 
 selves. Although, for reasons which will be explained later, the 
 
 297 
 
298 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 Government are very anxious that such Councils should be estab- 
 lished in all the well-organized industries with as little delay as 
 possible, they fully realize that the success of the scheme must de- 
 pend upon a general agreement among the various organizations 
 within a given industry and a clearly expressed demand for the 
 creation of a Council. Moreover, when formed, the Councils would 
 be independent bodies electing their own oflBcers and free to deter- 
 mine their own functions and procedure with reference to the 
 peculiar needs of each trade. In fact, they would be autonomous 
 bodies, and they would, in effect, make possible a larger degree of 
 self-government in industry than exists to-day. 
 
 Secondly, the Report has been interpreted as meaning that the 
 general constitution which it suggests should be applied without 
 modification to each industry. This is entirely contrary to the 
 view of the Government on the matter. To any one with a knowl- 
 ■edge of the diverse kinds of machinery already in operation, and 
 the varying geographical and industrial conditions which affect 
 different industries it will be obvious that no rigid scheme can be 
 applied to all of them. Each industry must therefore adapt the 
 proposals made in the Report as may seem most suitable to its own 
 needs. In some industries, for instance, it may be considered by 
 both employers and employed that a system of Works Committees 
 is unnecessary owing to the perfection of the arrangements already 
 in operation for dealing with the difficulties arising in particular 
 works between the management and the trade union ofi&cials. In 
 others Works Committees have done very valuable work where they 
 have been introduced and their extension on agreed lines deserves 
 every encouragement. Again, in industries which are largely based 
 on district organizations it will probably be found desirable to assign 
 more important functions to the District Councils than would be 
 the case in trades which are more completely centralized in national 
 bodies. All these questions will have to be threshed out by the 
 industries themselves and settled in harmony with their particular 
 needs. 
 
 Thirdly, it should be made clear that representation on the In- 
 dustrial Councils is intended to be on the basis of existing organiza- 
 tions among employers and workmen concerned in each industry, 
 although it will, of course, be open to the Councils, when formed, 
 to grant representation to any new bodies which may come into ex- 
 istence and which may be entitled to representation. The authority, 
 and consequently the usefulness of the Councils will depend en- 
 tirely on the extent to which they represent the different interests 
 
APPENDIX G 299 
 
 and enjoy the whole-hearted support of the existing org'anizations, 
 and it is therefore desirable that representation should be determined 
 on as broad a basis as possible. 
 
 Lastly, it has been suggested that the scheme is intended to pro- 
 mote compulsory arbitration. This is certainly not the case. What- 
 ever agreements may be made for dealing with disputes must be left 
 to the industry itself to frame, and their efflcacy must depend upon 
 the voluntary cooperation of the organizations concerned in carrying 
 them out. 
 
 I should now like to explain some of the reasons which have made 
 the Government anxious to see Industrial Councils established as 
 soon as possible in the organized trades. The experience of the 
 war has shown the need for frequent consultation between the Gov- 
 ernment and the chosen representatives of both employers and work- 
 men on vital questions concerning those industries which have been 
 most affected by war conditions. In some instances different Gov- 
 ernment Departments have approached different organizations in 
 the same industry, and in many cases the absence of joint representa- 
 tive bodies which can speak for their industries as a whole and 
 voice the joint opinion of employers and workmen, has been found 
 to render negotiations much more difScult than they would other- 
 wise have been. The case of the cotton trade, where the industry is 
 being regulated during a very difilcult time by a Joint Board of 
 Control, indicates how greatly the task of the State can be alleviated 
 by a self-governing body capable of taking charge of the interests 
 of the whole industry. The problems of the period of transition 
 and reconstruction will not be less difficult than those which the 
 war has created, and the Government accordingly feel that the task 
 of rebuilding the social and economic fabric on a broader and surer 
 foundation will be rendered much easier if in the organized trades 
 there exist representative bodies to which the various questions of 
 difficulty can be referred for consideration and advice as they arise. 
 There are a number of such questions on which the Government will 
 need the united and considered opinion of each large industry, such 
 as the demobilization of the Forces, the re-settlement of munition 
 workers in civil industries, apprenticeship (especially where inter- 
 rupted by war service), the training and employment of disabled 
 soldiers, and the control of raw materials; and the more it is able 
 to avail itself of such an opinion the more satisfactory and stable the 
 solution of these questions is likely to be. 
 
 Further, it will be necessary in the national interest to ensure 
 
300 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 a settlement of the more permanent questions which have caused 
 differences between employers and employed in the past, on such 
 a basis as to prevent the occurrence of disputes and of serious stop- 
 pages in the difficult period during which the problems just referred 
 to will have to be solved. It is felt that this object can only be 
 secured by the existence of permanent bodies on the lines suggested 
 by the Whitley Report, which will be capable not merely of dealing 
 with disputes when they arise, but of settling the big questions at 
 issue so far as possible on such a basis as to prevent serious con- 
 flicts arising at all. 
 
 The above statement of the functions of the Councils is not in- 
 tended to be exhaustive, but only to indicate some of the more im- 
 mediate questions which they will be called upon to deal with when 
 set up. Their general objects are described in the words of the 
 Report as being "to offer to workpeople the means of attaining 
 improved conditions of employment and a higher standard of com- 
 fort generally, and involve the enlistment of their active and con- 
 tinuous cooperation in the promotion of industry." Some further 
 specific questions, which the Councils might consider, were indi- 
 cated by the Committee in paragraph 16 of the Report, and it will 
 be for the Councils themselves to determine what matters they shall 
 deal with. Further, such Councils would obviously be the suitable 
 bodies to make representations to the Government as to legislation, 
 which they think would be of advantage to their industry. 
 
 In order, therefore, that the Councils may be able to fulfil the 
 duties which they will be asked to undertake, and that they may have 
 the requisite status for doing so, the Government desire it to be 
 understood that the Councils will be recognized as the official stand- 
 ing Consultative Committees to the Government on all future ques- 
 tions affecting the industries which they represent, and that they 
 will be the normal channel through which the opinion and experience 
 of an industry will be sought on all questions with which the in- 
 dustry is concerned. It will be seen, therefore, that it is intended 
 that Industrial Councils should play a definite and permanent part 
 in the economic life of the country, and the Government feels that 
 it can rely on both employers and workmen to cooperate in order 
 to make that part a worthy one. 
 
 I hope, therefore, that you will take this letter as a formal re- 
 quest to your organization on the part of the Government to con- 
 sider the question of carrying out the recommendations of the Re- 
 port so far as they are applicable to your industry. The Ministry 
 of Labor will be willing to give every assistance in its power in the 
 establishment of Industrial Councils, and will be glad to receive 
 
APPENDIX G 301 
 
 suggestions as to the way in -which it can be given most effectively. 
 In particular, it will be ready to assist in the convening of repre- 
 sentative conferences to discuss the establishment of Councils, to 
 provide secretarial assistance and to be represented, if desired, in 
 a consultative capacity at the preliminary meetings. The Ministry 
 will be glad to be kept informed of any progress made in the direc- 
 tion of forming Councils. Although the scheme is only intended, and 
 indeed can only be applied, in trades which are well organized on 
 both sides, I would point out that it rests with those trades which 
 do not at present possess a sufficient organization to bring it about if 
 they desire to apply it to themselves. 
 
 In conclusion, I would again emphasize the pressing need for the 
 representative organizations of employers and workpeople to come 
 together in the organized trades and to prepare themselves for the 
 problems of reconstruction by forming Councils competent to deal 
 with thejn. The Government trust that they will approach these 
 problems not as two opposing forces each bent on getting as much 
 and giving as little as can be contrived, but as forces having a com- 
 mon interest in working together for the welfare of their industry, 
 not merely for the sake of those concerned in it, but also for the 
 sake of the nation which depends so largely on its industries for 
 its well-being. If the spirit which has enabled all classes to over- 
 come by willing cooperation the innumerable dangers and difficulties 
 which have beset us during the war is applied to the problems of 
 Reconstruction, I am convinced that they can be solved in a way 
 which will lay the foundation of the future prosperity of the country 
 and of those engaged in its great industries. 
 
 I am. Sir, 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 Geo. H. Roberts. 
 
 INDUSTRIAL COUNCILS 
 
 Report of the Reconstruction Committee on Relations Be- 
 tween Employers and Employed 
 
 The Committee consisted of the following members: — 
 The Right Hon. J. H. Whitley, M.P., Chairman. 
 
 (Chairman of Committees, House of Commons.) 
 Mr. r. S. Button (formerly Member of Executive Council, Amal- 
 gamated Society of Engineers). 
 
302 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 Sir G. J. Carter, K.B.E. (Chairman, Shipbuilding Employers' 
 
 Tederation). 
 Professor S. J. Chapman, C.B.E. (Professor of Political Economy, 
 
 University of Manchester). 
 Sir Gilbert CiiAUGHton, Bart. (Chairman, London and North 
 
 Western Railway Company). 
 Mr. J. R. Cltnes, M.P. (President National Union of General 
 
 Workers). 
 Mr. J. A. HoBSON. 
 Miss Susan Lawrence (Member of London County Council and 
 
 Member of the Executive Committee of the Women's Trade 
 
 Union League). 
 Mr. J. J. Mallon (Secretary, National Anti-Sweating League). 
 Sir Thos. A. Ratcliffe-EuliIS (Secretary, Mining Association of 
 
 Great Britain). 
 Mr. Robert Smillie (President, Miners' Federation gf Great 
 
 Britain). 
 Mr. Allan M. Smith (Chairman, Engineering Employers' Federa- 
 tion). 
 Miss MoNA Wilson (National Health Insurance Commissioner). 
 
 Mr. H. J. Wilson, Ministry of Labor, 
 Mr. Arthur Greenwood, 
 
 Secretaries. 
 
 To the Right Honorable D. Lloyd George, M.P., Prime Minister. 
 Sir, 
 
 We have the honor to submit the following Interim Report on 
 Joint Standing Industrial Councils. 
 
 2. The terms of reference to the Sub-Committee are: — 
 
 "(1) To make and consider suggestions for securing a per- 
 manent improvement in the relations between employers and 
 workmen. 
 
 "(2) To recommend means for securing that industrial con- 
 ditions affecting the relations between employers and workmen 
 shall be systematically reviewed by those concerned, with a 
 view to improving conditions in the future.'' 
 
 3. After a general consideration of our duties in relation to the 
 matters referred to us, we decided first to address ourselves to the 
 problem of establishing permanently improved relations between 
 employers and employed in the main industries of the country, in 
 which there exist representative organizations on both sides. The 
 present report accordingly deals more especially with these trades. 
 
APPENDIX G 303 
 
 We are proceeding with the consideration of the problems connected 
 with the industries which are less well organized. 
 
 4. We appreciate that under the pressure of the war both em- 
 ployers and workpeojile and their organizations are very much 
 pre-occupied, but, notwithstanding, we believe it to be of the high- 
 est importance that our proposals should be put before those con- 
 cerned without delay, so that employers and employed may meet in 
 the near future and discuss the problems before them. 
 
 5. The circumstances of the present time are admitted on all sides 
 to oifer a great opportunity for securing a permanent improvement 
 in the relations between employers and employed, while failure to 
 utilize the opportunity may involve the nation in grave industrial 
 difficulties at the end of the war. 
 
 It is generally allowed that the war almost enforced some re- 
 construction of industry, and in considering the subjects referred to 
 us we have kept in view the need for securing in the development 
 of reconstruction the largest possible measure of cooperation be- 
 tween employers and employed. 
 
 In the interests of the community it is vital that after the war 
 the cooperation of all classes, established during the war, should 
 continue, and more especially with regard to the relations between 
 employers and employed. For securing improvement in the latter, 
 it is essential that any proposals put forward should offer to work- 
 people the means of attaining improved conditions of employment 
 and a higher standard of comfort generally, and involve the enlist- 
 ment of their active and continuous cooperation in the promotion 
 of industry. 
 
 To this end, the establishment for each industry of an organiza- 
 tion, representative of employers and workpeople, to have as its 
 object the regular consideration of matters affecting the progress and 
 well-being of the trade from the point of view of all those engaged 
 in it, so far as this is consistent with the general interest of the 
 community, appears to us necessary. 
 
 6. Many complicated problems have arisen during the War which 
 have a bearing both on employers and workpeople, and may affect 
 the relations between them. It is clear that industrial conditions 
 will need careful handling if grave difBculties and strained rela- 
 tions are to be avoided after the war has ended. The precise na- 
 ture of the problems to be faced naturally varies from industry 
 to industry, and even from branch to branch within the same in- 
 dustry. Their treatment consequently will need an intimate knowl- 
 edge of the facts and circumstances of each trade, and such knowl- 
 
304 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 edge is to be found only among those directly connected with the 
 trade. 
 
 7. With a view to providing means for carrying out the policy 
 outlined above, we recommend that His Majesty's Government should 
 propose without delay to the various associations of employers and 
 employed the formation of Joint Standing Industrial Councils in 
 the several industries, where they do not already exist, composed of 
 representatives of employers and employed, regard being paid to 
 the various sections of the industry and the various classes of la- 
 bor engaged. 
 
 8. The appointment of a Chairman or Chairmen should, we think, 
 be left to the Council who may decide that these should be — 
 
 (1) A Chairman for each side of the Council; 
 
 (2) A Chairman and Vice-Chairman selected from the mem- 
 bers of the Council (one from each side of the Council) ; 
 
 (3) A Chairman chosen by the Council from independent 
 persons outside the industry; or 
 
 (4) A Chairman nominated by such person or authority as 
 the Council may determine or, failing agreement, by the Gov- 
 ernment. 
 
 9. The Council should meet at regular and frequent intervals. 
 
 10. The objects to which the consideration of the Councils should 
 be directed should be appropriate matters affecting the several in- 
 dustries and particularly the establishment of a closer cooperation 
 between employers and employed. Questions connected with de- 
 mobilization will call for early attention. 
 
 11. One of the chief factors in the problem, as it at first pre- 
 sents itself, consists of the guarantees given by the Government, 
 with Parliamentary sanction, and the various undertakings entered 
 into by employers, to restore the Trade Union rules and customs 
 suspended during the war. While this does not mean that all the 
 lessons learnt during the war should be ignored, it does mean that 
 the definite cooperation and acquiescence by both employers and em- 
 ployed must be a condition of any setting aside of these guarantees 
 or undertakings, and that, if new arrangements are to be reached, 
 in themselves more satisfactory to all parties but not in strict ac- 
 cordance with the guarantees, they must be the joint work of em- 
 ployers and employed. 
 
 12. The matters to be considered by the Councils must inevitably 
 differ widely from industry to industry, as different circumstances 
 and conditions call for different treatment, but we are of opinion 
 that the suggestions set forth below ought to be taken into account, 
 
APPENDIX G 305 
 
 subject to such modification in each case as may serve to adapt them 
 to the needs of the various industries. 
 
 13. In the well-organized industries, one of the first questions to 
 be considered should be the establishment of local and works or- 
 ganizations to supplement and make more effective the work of the 
 central bodies. It is not enough to secure cooperation at the center 
 between the national organizations; it is equally necessary to en- 
 list the activity and support of employers and employed in the dis- 
 tricts and in individual establishments. The National Industrial 
 Council should not be regarded as complete in itself; what is needed 
 is a triple organization — in the workshops, the districts, and na- 
 tionally. Moreover, it is essential that the organization at each of 
 these three stages should proceed on a common principle, and that 
 the greatest measure of common action between them should be 
 secured. 
 
 14. With this end in view, we are of opinion that the following 
 proposals should be laid before the National Industrial Councils: — 
 
 (a) That District Councils, representative of the Trade Unions 
 and of the Employers' Association in the industry, 
 should be created, or developed out of the existing 
 machinery for negotiation in the various trades. 
 (6) That Works Committees, representative of the management 
 and of the workers employed, should be instituted in 
 particular works to act in close cooperation with the 
 district and national machinery. 
 As it is of the highest importance that the scheme making pro- 
 vision for these Committees should be such as to secure the support 
 of the Trade Unions and Employers' Associations concerned, its de- 
 sign should be a matter for agreement between these organizations. 
 Just as regular meetings and continuity of cooperation are es- 
 sential in the case of the National Industrial Councils, so they seem 
 to be necessary in the case of the district and works organizations. 
 The object is to secure cooperation by granting to workpeople a 
 greater share in the consideration of matters affecting their in- 
 dustry, and this can only be achieved by keeping employers and 
 workpeople in constant touch. 
 
 15. The respective functions of Works Committees, District 
 Councils, and National Councils will no doubt require to be deter- 
 mined separately in accordance with the varying conditions of dif- 
 ferent industries. Care will need to be taken in each case to delimit 
 accurately their respective functions, in order to avoid overlapping 
 and resulting friction. For instance, where conditions of employ- 
 ment are determined by national agreements, the District Councils 
 
306 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 or Works Committees should not be allowed to contract out of con- 
 ditions so laid down, nor, where conditions are determined by local 
 agreements, should such power be allowed to Works Committees. 
 
 16. Among the questions with which it is suggested that the Na- 
 tional Councils should deal or allocate to District Councils or Works 
 Committees the following may be selected for special mention : — 
 
 (i) The better utilization of the practical knowledge and 
 experience of the workpeople. 
 
 (ii) Means for securing to the workpeople a greater share 
 in and responsibility for the determination and observance of 
 the conditions under which their work is carried on. 
 
 (iii) The settlement of the general principles governing the 
 conditions of emplojTnent, including the methods of fixing, pay- 
 ing, and readjusting wages, having regard to the need for se- 
 curing to the workpeople a share in the increased prosperity 
 of the industry. 
 
 (iv) The establishment of regular methods of negotiation 
 for issues arising between employers and workpeople, with a 
 view both to the prevention of differences, and to their better 
 adjustment when they appear. 
 
 (v) Means of ensuring to the workpeople the greatest possi- 
 ble security of earnings and employment, without undue re- 
 striction upon change of occupation or employer. 
 
 (vi.) Methods of fixing and adjusting earnings, piecework 
 prices, etc., and of dealing with the many difl&culties which arise 
 with regard to the method and amount of payment apart from 
 the fixing of general standard rates, which are already covered 
 by paragraph (iii). 
 
 (vii) Technical education and training. 
 
 (viii) Industrial research and the full utilization of its re- 
 sults. 
 
 (ix) The provision of facilities for the full consideration 
 and utilization of inventions and improvement designed by work- 
 people, and for the adequate safeguarding of the rights of the 
 designers of such improvements. 
 
 (x) Improvements of processes, machinery and organization 
 and appropriate questions relating to management and the ex- 
 amination of industrial experiments, with special reference to 
 cooperation in carrying new ideas into efiEect and full considera- 
 tion of the workpeople's point of view in relation to them. 
 
 (xi) Proposed legislation affecting the industry. 
 
 17. The methods by which the functions of the proposed Councils 
 should be correlated to those of joint bodies in the different districts. 
 
APPENDIX G 307 
 
 and in the various works -within the districts, must necessarily vary 
 according to the trade. It may, therefore, be the best policy to 
 leave it to the trades themselves to formulate schemes suitable to 
 their special circumstances, it being understood that it is essential 
 to secure in each industry the fullest measure of cooperation be- 
 tween employers and employed, both generally, through the National 
 Councils, and specifically, through district Committees and work- 
 shop Committees: 
 
 18. It would seem advisable that the Government should put the 
 proposals relating to National Industrial Councils before the em- 
 ployers' and workpeople's associations and request them to adopt 
 such measures as are needful for their establishment where they do 
 not already exist. Suitable steps should also be taken, at the proper 
 time, to put the matter before the general public. 
 
 19. In forwarding the proposals to the parties concerned, we 
 think thp Government should offer to be represented in an advisory 
 capacity at the preliminary meetings of a Council, if the parties so 
 desire. We are also of opinion that the Government should under- 
 take to supply to the various Councils such information on in- 
 dustrial subjects as may be available and likely to prove of value. 
 
 20. It has been suggested that means must be devised to safe- 
 guard the interests of the community against possible action of an 
 anti-social character on the part of the Councils. We have, how- 
 ever, here assumed that the Councils, in their work of promoting 
 the interests of their own industries, will have regard for the Na- 
 tional interest. If they fulfil their functions they will be the best 
 builders of national prosperity. The State never parts with its 
 inherent over-riding power, but such power may be least needed 
 when least obtruded. 
 
 21. It appears to us that it may be desirable at some later stage 
 for the State to give the sanction of law to agreements made by the 
 Councils, but the initiative in this direction should come from the 
 Councils themselves. 
 
 22. The plans sketched in the foregoing paragraphs are applicable 
 in the form in which they are given only to industries in which 
 there are responsible associations of employers and workpeople 
 which can claim to be fairly representative. The case of the less 
 well-organized trades or sections of a trade necessarily needs further 
 consideration. We hope to be in a position shortly to put forward 
 recommendations that will prepare the way for the active utilization 
 in these trades of the same practical cooperation as is foreshadowed 
 in proposals made above for the more highly-organized trades. 
 
 23. It may be desirable to state here our considered opinion that 
 
308 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 an essential condition of securing a permanent improvement in the 
 relations between employers and employed is that there should be 
 adequate organization on the part of both employers and work- 
 people. The proposals outlined for joint cooperation throughout 
 the several industries depend for their ultimate success upon there 
 being such organization on both sides; and such organization is 
 necessary also to provide means whereby the arrangements and 
 agreements made for the industry may be effectively carried out. 
 
 24. We have thought it well to refrain from making suggestions 
 or offering opinions with regard to such matters as profit-sharing, 
 co-partnership, or particular systems of wages, etc. It would be 
 impracticable for us to make any useful general recommendations 
 on such matters, having regard to the varying conditions in different 
 trades. We are convinced, moreover, that a permanent improve- 
 ment in the relations between employers and employed must be 
 founded upon something other than a cash basis. What is wanted 
 is that the workpeople should have a greater opportunity of par- 
 ticipating in the discussion about and adjustment of those parts of 
 industry by which they are most affected. 
 
 25. The schemes reconunended in this Report are' intended not 
 merely for the treatment of industrial problems when they have be- 
 come acute, but also, and more especially, to prevent their becom- 
 ing acute. We believe that regular meetings to discuss industrial 
 questions, apart from and prior to any differences with regard to 
 them that may have begun to cause friction, will materially reduce 
 the number of occasions on which, in the view of either employers 
 or employed, it is necessary to contemplate recourse to a stoppage 
 of work. 
 
 26. We venture to hope that representative men in each industry, 
 with pride in their calling and care for its place as a contributor 
 to the national well-being, will come together in the manner here 
 suggested, and apply themselves to promoting industrial harmony 
 and efficiency and removing the obstacles that have hitherto stood 
 in the way. 
 
 We have the honor to be. Sir, 
 Your obedient Servants, 
 
 J. H. Whitley, Chairman. 
 
 F. S. Button. 
 Geo. J. Carter. 
 S. J. Chapman. 
 
 G. H. Claughton. 
 J. R. Clynes. 
 
 J. A. HOBSON. 
 
APPENDIX G S09 
 
 A. Susan Lawebktcb. 
 
 J. J. Mallon. 
 
 Thos. E. Ratclipfb-Ellis. 
 
 RoBT. Smillie. 
 
 Allan M. Smith. 
 
 MoNA Wilson. 
 
 H. J. Wilson, 
 Arthur Greenwood, 
 
 Secretaries. 
 8th March, 1917. 
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 The following questions were addressed by the Reconstruction 
 Committee to the Sub-Committee on the Relations between Employ- 
 ers and Employed in order to make clear certain points which ap- 
 peared to call for further elucidation. The answers given are sub- 
 joined. 
 
 Q. 1. In what class of Industries does the Interim Report pro- 
 pose that Industrial Councils shall he established? What basis of 
 classification has the Sub-Committee in viewf 
 
 A. 1. It has been suggested that, for the purpose of considering 
 the establishment of Industrial Councils, or other bodies designed to 
 assist in the improvement of relations between employers and em- 
 ployed, the various industries should be grouped into three classes — 
 (a) industries in which organization on the part of employers and 
 employed is sufiflciently developed to render the Councils representa- 
 tive; (b) industries in which either as regards employers and em- 
 ployed, or both, the degree of organization, though considerable, is 
 less marked than in (a) and is insufficient to be regarded as repre- 
 sentative; and (c) industries in which organization is so imperfect, 
 either as regards employers or employed, or both, that no Associa- 
 tions can be said adequately to represent those engaged in the trade. 
 
 It will be clear that an analysis of industries will show a number 
 which are on the border lines between these groups, and special con- 
 sideration will have to be given to such trades. So far as groups 
 (a) and (c) are concerned, a fairly large number of trades can 
 readily be assigned to them; group (b) is necessarily more inde- 
 terminate. 
 
 For trades in group (a) the Committee have proposed the es- 
 tablishment of Joint Standing Industrial Councils in the several 
 trades. In dealing with the various industries it may be necessary 
 
310 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 to consider specially tlie case of parts of industries in group (o) 
 where organization is not fully developed. 
 
 Q. 2. Is the machinery proposed intended to be in addition to or 
 in substitution for existing machinery? Is it proposed that exist- 
 ing machinery should be superseded? By "existing machinery" is 
 meant Conciliation Boards and all other organizations for joint 
 conference and discussion between Employers and Employed. 
 
 A. 2. In most organized trades there already exist joint bodies 
 for particular purposes. It is not proposed that the Industrial 
 Councils should necessarily disturb these existing bodies. A coun- 
 cil would be free, if it chose and if the bodies concerned approved, 
 to merge existing Committees, etc., in the Council or to link them 
 with the Council as Sub-Committees. 
 
 Q. 3. 7s it understood that membership of the Councils is to be 
 confined to representatives elected by Employers' Associations and 
 Trade Unions? What is the view of the Sub-Committee regarding 
 the entry of new organizations established after the Councils have 
 been set up? 
 
 A. 3. It is intended that the Councils should be composed only 
 of representatives of Trade Unions and Employers' Associations, 
 and that new organizations should be admitted only with the ap- 
 proval of the particular side of the Council of which the organiza- 
 tion would form a part. 
 
 Q. 4. (a) — Is it intended that decisions reached by the Councils 
 shall be binding upon the bodies comprising them? If so, is such 
 binding effect to be conditional upon the consent of each Employers' 
 Association or Trade Union affected? 
 
 A. i. (a) It is contemplated that agreements reached by Indus- 
 trial Councils should (whilst not, of course, possessing the binding 
 force of law) carry with them the same obligation of observance as 
 exists in the ease of other agreements between Employers' Associa- 
 tions and Trade Unions. A Council, being on its workmen's side 
 based on the Trade Unions ooncemed in the industry, its powers 
 or authority could only be such as the constituent Trade Unions 
 freely agreed to. 
 
 Q. 4. (b) In particular, is it intended that all pledges given either 
 by the Government or employers for the restoration of Trade Union 
 rules and practices after the war shall be redeemed without quali- 
 fication unless the particular Trade Union concerned agrees to al- 
 teration; or, on the contrary, that the Industrial Council shall have 
 power to decide such question by a majority vote of the workmen's 
 representatives from all the Trade Unions in the industry? 
 
 A. i. (6) It is clearly intended that all pledges relating to the 
 
APPENDIX G 311 
 
 restoration of Trade Union rules shall be redeemed without quali- 
 fication unless the particular Trade Union concerned agrees to al- 
 teration; and it is not intended that the Council shall have power to 
 decide such questions by a majority vote of the workmen's repre- 
 sentatives from all the Trade Unions in the industry. 
 
 INDirSTEIAL REPORTS. NUMBER 2. 
 
 WORKS COMMITTEES 
 
 REPORT OP AN ENQUIRY MADE BY THE MINISTRY Or LABOR 
 
 PREFACE 
 
 Owing to the great changes in industry which the war has pro- 
 duced, particularly in engineering, the need for closer relations be- 
 tween employer and workmen has become increasingly felt. The 
 old trade union machinery has often been overburdened and has 
 not always suflSced to deal with the innumerable questions arising 
 from day to day in the shops. These conditions have encouraged 
 the growth of Works Committees as a means of direct and constant 
 communication between employer and workmen, and as the forma- 
 tion of such Committees in industries where the conditions require 
 or favor them has been recommended by the Whitley Committee as 
 part of the industrial organization of the future, it was thought 
 that it would be useful to collect particulars of existing Works 
 Committees and to publish them for the information of those who 
 might be interested in the matter. 
 
 The following report is based on an inquiry made by members 
 of the Department as to the constitution and working of Works 
 Committees in a number of different industries, including Engi- 
 neering, Shipbuilding, Iron and Steel, Boot and Shoe, Mining, 
 Printing, Woolen and Worsted, Pottery, and Furniture. The en- 
 quiry did not aim at being exhaustive, but an attempt was made 
 to examine carefully typical committees in the chief industries where 
 they were known to exist, with a view to bringing out the different 
 objects, functions, methods of procedure, and constitutions which 
 have been tried in actual practice. The opinions of those interested 
 in the Committees, on the side both of the management and of 
 the workmen, have been sought, and the sincere thanks of the De- 
 partment are due to Directors, Managers, Trade Union officials, 
 Shop Stewards, and others for their courtesy and the trouble they 
 
312 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 have taken to help the enquiry at a time when all were burdened by 
 the extra duties imposed on them by the war. Our special thanks 
 are also due to the Ministry of Munitions of War and the Admiralty 
 Shipyard Labor Department, and to those individuals, firms. Com- 
 mittees and Associations who have given permission for the publica- 
 tion of the particulars of Works Committees which appear in the 
 Appendices. 
 
 No attempt has been made to draw any general conclusions or 
 to sketch any ideal form of Works Committee. The object aimed 
 at has been to present the facts as accurately as possible, to point 
 out the various difficulties which have been encountered and the 
 various methods which have been devised to meet them. In this way 
 it was hoped that this Report might be of some value as furnish- 
 ing guidance and suggestions to those who are concerned with 
 working out the problem of Works Committees for their own indus- 
 try or their own establishment. 
 
 Since this volume was prepared, the Whitley Committee have is- 
 sued their Third Report which deals with Works Committees and 
 which recommends the collection of information regarding exist- 
 ing Works Committees. 
 
 D. J. Shackleton. 
 
 Ministry of Labor. 
 March, 1918. 
 
 WORKS COMMITTEES 
 
 I. — INTRODUCTION 
 
 The extent of the existence of Works Committees before the war 
 is largely a matter of definition. Our estimate of their scope will 
 vary according as we give the term a wide interpretation, or confine 
 it to committees representative of all the workpeople in an es- 
 tablishment. Works Committees in this latter sense of the term 
 existed before the war in various industries, and in some instances 
 they bad been in existence for many years. If the term is in- 
 terpreted in a wide sense, and taken to include various kinds of 
 committees, such as those representative of individual trades or 
 departments, or those which have come into existence at particular 
 times and for limited purposes, the number in existence before the 
 war is greatly increased. In certain industries, however, notably 
 engineering, the conditions of war have produced such a change in 
 both the form and function of workshop organization, that the dis- 
 cussion of the general idea of Works Committees may be said to 
 
APPENDIX G 313 
 
 have developed out of those conditions. Since, however, the Works 
 Committee, on the whole, springs from the common methods of 
 trade union organization inside the workshop, as they existed long 
 before the beginning of the war, some reference to these methods 
 is necessary as an introduction to this report upon some of the com- 
 mittees which are now in operation. 
 
 Before this works organization is considered, it may be noted 
 that certain of the immediate causes which have led to the rise of 
 works committees during the war — the methods of remuneration 
 (piecework or profit-sharing or bonus on output), welfare, collec- 
 tions for charity, and, to some extent, dilution also — were already 
 operative in the formation of earlier Works Committees. 
 
 Works Committees before the War. 
 
 The majority of Trade Unions have ofBcial shop stewards, though 
 these officials may be known by some other name — such as "shop 
 delegates," "works representatives," "collectors," "yard committee- 
 men," or, in one case at least, "works directors." In certain cases 
 also the name committee — Watch or Vigilant Committee — is at- 
 tached to the body of shop stewards in an establishment. It may 
 even be said that the Works Committee is older than trade union- 
 ism; the "chapel," for instance (the ancient organization of the 
 workmen in each printing office), goes back much farther than the 
 end of the 17th century. Such shop clubs were not confined to any 
 one industry. They were, however, quite different things from a 
 works organization formed of representatives of permanent Trade 
 Unions, and would now be represented by a committee of workers 
 in a non-Union shop. To-day the duties of the "chapel," as laid 
 down in the rules of various unions in the industry, include those 
 discharged by shop stewards in many other trades. Apart from 
 (1) functions obviously intended to sustain the fabric of the Trade 
 Union — the collection of dues, the interrogation of defaulters and 
 newcomers, and the like — the duties of shop stewards are stated in 
 the rules of different Unions to include (2) the regular supply to 
 the branch or district committee of information respecting any 
 encroachment upon recognized Trade Union conditions, participa- 
 tion in deputations to the management in connection with griev- 
 ances,! the calling of shop meetings of the members to discuss 
 
 1 Participation in deputations to the management has naturally 
 tended to the formation of committees. This may have happened when 
 representatives of different trades joined together to present common 
 grievances; the management may again have suggested the formation 
 of a committee as an alternative to a number of sectional deputations. 
 
314. MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 grievances, etc. The stewards are in one case held "responsible for 
 the conduct of the shop aceording to rules." The actual degree of 
 organization of the shop stewards varies among the Trade Unions. 
 In some cases all the shop stewards of a Union in a district hold 
 regular meetings once a month with the district committee of the 
 Union. Certain Unions supply their shop stewards with official 
 cards. In other eases, however, there is no regular machinery for 
 consultation between the shop stewards and the Union officials, and 
 no certificates of official recognition are supplied to the shop 
 stewards. There is variety also in regard to the election and the 
 deposition of shop stewards; some hold office for a definite period, 
 while others may be deposed at any time. Most commonly the 
 election is made in the department by the men of the Union, though 
 there are cases in which appointment to the office is made by Trade 
 Union branches. 
 
 (1) In regard to the first-mentioned duties of shop stewards — ^the 
 collection of subscriptions and the examination of credentials of 
 membership — two facts may be noted. The first is that such meth- 
 ods of organization are not confined to workers whose daily work is 
 done in a fixed establishment, but are also used on certain forms of 
 more or less migratory work, such as building construction. The 
 "ticket" steward commonly examines new men taken into employ- 
 ment on a building job. The second fact to be noted is that in 
 certain industries, in a number of areas, a regular system of Works 
 Committees, linked together in district organizations, had developed 
 several years before the war for the purpose of the more efficient 
 achievement of these objects. 
 
 (2) But both in theory and in practice the work of shop stew- 
 ards — or of committees of shop stewards — has generally extended 
 beyond these functions. As an example of practice, the apparently 
 unsuitable case of building work may first be taken. Committees — 
 somewhat loosely organized it may be, but nevertheless committees, 
 and so considered by those responsible for their formation — have 
 been formed in the building trade; and the scope of these commit- 
 tees has embraced the second and wider class of duties mentioned 
 above. It has for years been common in certain districts for the 
 
 The appointment of deputations of workpeople to meet the management 
 is, of course, not confined to trade unionist workmen; it has always 
 been a feature of modern industry in both organized and unorganized 
 establishments. In organized establishments, however, there has always 
 been a tendency for the shop stewards to be represented on such depu- 
 tations. 
 
APPENDIX G 315 
 
 "ticket" stewards on a big building job to come together, and to 
 elect a secretary, who in some cases (it may be noted) has been a 
 representative of the laborers. Such a committee of stewards may 
 make representations to, or be consulted by, the employer on ques- 
 tions such as the proper allocation of work in order that sufi&cient 
 inside operations may be reserved for wet weather. Another ques- 
 tion which such committees have been known to bring forward is 
 that of extra payment in consequence of the inconvenient situation 
 of some particular job. (This, perhaps, is strictly Trade Union 
 business.) In demanding adequate provision for the heating of 
 tea cans and for the enjoyment of meals such committees may be 
 said to have anticipated in their own way the modem Welfare 
 Committee. In many industries the same combination of shop 
 stewards and the same practice of making united representations 
 to the employer — a practice not necessarily "recognized" — ^have been 
 attempted at different times and with varying degrees of success. 
 In some cases in which such methods have been successfully applied 
 in engineering and shipbuilding the initiative has come from the 
 side of the management. It remains true, of course, that the shop 
 steward system up to the present has been in the main only a trade 
 system, and that the committees formed under it can be classed 
 under Works Committees only if the term is given the wide scope 
 mentioned at the beginning of this report. If the term is used in 
 this wider sense, committees will be found to have existed for many 
 years in a number of industries where piecework is in operation. 
 Some of these are dealt with in a later paragraph. 
 
 Another of the functions of shop stewards — ^the calling of shop 
 meetings — appears to form the basis of a system of Works Com- 
 mittees in certain industries, which include, at any rate in some 
 districts, the furnishing trades. The shop meeting, for which the 
 rules of most Trade Unions make provision, is a meeting of the 
 members of a Union; but the term has another meaning which has 
 gained currency during the war — viz., a meeting of all the trades 
 in a works — and it is interesting to note that, in part, at least, of 
 the furnishing industry, this has long been the recognized meaning. 
 Here the meetings are regular (monthly), and the stewards, not 
 necessarily drawn from all the trades, make their report about mem- 
 bership and the like. The shop stewards in a furnishing works 
 may in this way form a Works Committee with a secretary. At the 
 same time it would appear that for the settlement of piece prices 
 certain Unions in the furnishing trades, such as that of the up- 
 holsterers, work through their own shop stewards.! 
 
 1 The poBition in the furnishing trade ie somewhat indefinite. Some 
 
316 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 Committees for the arrangement of piece prices, which are found 
 in a great variety of industries, are convenient examples of (a) 
 trade or departmental organization as contrasted with works or- 
 ganization; and (fo) the informal nature and composition of many 
 committees. In regard to (a), the method of the upholsterers has 
 already been mentioned. Usually there are only a small number of 
 upholsterers in any one establishment; fifteen would mean a very 
 considerable firm. In smaller establishments the shop steward or 
 stewards of the Union usually carry through the negotiations for any 
 new work not covered by the shop "log," or list of piece prices. If 
 they are unsuccessful, the full-time Trade Union ofiBcial comes into 
 the bargaining operations. In one establishment, however, in which 
 an exceptionally large number of upholsterers are employed in 
 several departments or "floors," the Departmental or Trade Com- 
 mittee has been in existence for many years. This is composed of 
 all the stewards — three elected from each of the "floors" — and from 
 this committee again three head stewards are chosen. For the par- 
 ticular work of any floor the appropriate stewards undertake the 
 preliminary negotiations; but if these are unsuccessful, the ques- 
 tion in dispute will come before the committee, and be dealt with 
 by the head stewards in consultation with the management before 
 it is — probably with the assent of a shop meeting — given into the 
 hands of the Trade Union official. The pottery industry supplies 
 examples of both (a) and (b). Pricing Committees are found in 
 most sections of the trade; and there may be several committees in 
 a single factory. In the sanitary trade a standing committee is 
 usual. In many factories, however, the method employed is for 
 the operative concerned to call in two or three mates to assist him 
 in arranging the price of a new job. The men called in need not 
 be the same on each occasion. The existence of several committees 
 in one factory may be exemplified by an establishment in the Jet and 
 Rockingham branch of the industry, in which there have been for 
 many years Pricing Committees for jiggerers (makers), turners 
 and handlers. In this case none but Trade Unionists can sit on the 
 
 years ago there would appear to have been Joint Committees of employ- 
 ers and employees in several districts, but these have disappeared. A 
 system of Departmental Committees for the fixing of rates for sub- 
 normal workers is still in operation in certain districts, and was more 
 common until quite recently, when piecework was abolished in some 
 areas. In a few establishments these committees appear to have been 
 Works and not Departmental Committees. These committees are ad- 
 hoc bodies, called into being for a particular purpose by the shop 
 steward (or stewards) who form the element of continuity. 
 
APPENDIX G 317 
 
 committee; but this is by no means a universal rule. In works, 
 however, in which there are Trade Unionists the pra'ctice is to elect 
 to the committee one (or more) of them, who is expected to serve 
 as a connecting link between the committee and the District Com- 
 mittee of the Trade Union. 
 
 The position of the "chapel" in relation to the London com- 
 positors' scale is an old and well-established case of a works organi- 
 zation taking part among other functions in the regulation of piece- 
 work. 
 
 In other trades in which piecework is in operation, and where 
 complete standardization of lists has been found impracticable, meth- 
 ods more or less similar to those mentioned above are found. In 
 this connection the development of Works Committees in engineer- 
 ing establishments during the war is significant. The engineering 
 trades have always resisted piecework; but, at the same time, they 
 have generally bargained on an individual basis for any work 
 done on this system. The extension of piecework and the growth 
 of the method of collective bargaining in the shop — by Works Com- 
 mittees or stewards — have gone on side by side; and it would 
 appear that, to a considerable degree, the one is the immediate 
 cause of the other. Even in industries in which price lists for 
 piecework are used there are commonly occasions on which a par- 
 ticular job is not covered by the list, and in certain cases jobs can- 
 not be listed at all. In this connection it may be noted that in 
 mining the method of joint pit committees — as well as the Joint 
 District Board — has been in operation in certain districts for a 
 long time, and the method is embodied in the rules of various dis- 
 tricts under the Coal Mines (Minimum Wage) Act of 1912. In 
 several districts disputes as to whether a workman has forfeited 
 his right to the minimum must be discussed by two officials of the 
 mine and two representatives of the local lodge of the Union before 
 they are taken to the district Joint Board committee, and in one 
 district the representatives from each side are four in number. 
 
 The fact that in many mining districts the Trade Union branch — 
 or lodge — is composed only of the men working in one pit makes 
 the Lodge Committee in effect a Pit Committee.^ It is not a com- 
 plete Works Committee — in the stricter sense of the term — except 
 in those places in which the enginemen and certain other workers, 
 who commonly belong to other Unions, are members of the local 
 
 1 Even where the basis of the miners' branch is not the pit but, say, 
 the village, each of the several pits in the village commonly has its com- 
 mittee. 
 
318 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 Miners' association. The tendency of certain other Unions — e. g., 
 those in the iron and steel industry — to organize on the basis of 
 the works is interesting from the same standpoint.^ 
 
 It may be noted that in many cases Conciliation Boards are really 
 Works Committees. This is so when the joint board is composed 
 of representatives of the workpeople in one establishment and of 
 members of the firm. Such boards — with varying degrees of con- 
 nection between the workmen's side and the Trade Unions — have 
 been formed in individual establishments belonging to a variety of 
 industries. 
 
 Nomenclature. 
 
 A distinction must be drawn between "Works Committees" and 
 "Shop Committees." The former cover the whole of a works (or 
 even, in some cases, the whole of two or three contiguous works) ; 
 the latter cover a particular department or shop in a works. Among 
 Works Committees it is possible to distinguish three varieties. The 
 first and main variety may be called the "Industrial Committee." 
 Such a committee, generally constituted on a Trade Union basis, 
 deals with particular questions affecting the conditions and re- 
 muneration of labor in a given works — questions of principle being 
 reserved for the district or national organizations concerned. It is 
 this variety which, being the most important, is often called by the 
 general name of Works Committee. A second variety may be called 
 the "Welfare Committee." Such a committee, representing as a 
 rule all the workers in a given works, deals with what may be termed 
 works amenities — ^ventilation, sanitation, and the like. A third va- 
 riety, which may be merged with the second, or may be distinct, is 
 the "Social Union," or, more exactly, the committee governing the 
 Social Union, where one exists, of the workers employed in the 
 same establishment. Such a committee is concerned with games, 
 recreations, study-circles, .picnics and the like. 
 
 Apart from these main types there are, of course, local varieties 
 of all sorts. There may be, for instance, a separate "Mess-room 
 Committee"; or, again, there may be a separate "Women's Com- 
 mittee." There may be a committee peculiar to a small section of 
 workers {e.g., tool-makers), which handles a large and important 
 area of functions in regard to those workers. Finally, even though 
 there is no regular or standing Works Committees, it may be the 
 
 1 It may be noted that the circumstances of industry in general in the 
 18th and early 19th century made for a greater correspondence between 
 organization by locality and organization by establishment than exists 
 to-day. 
 
APPENDIX G SI 9 
 
 case that committees are created ad hoc whenever an important 
 question arises in a works, and that these committees are consulted 
 by the management with a view to settling such questions. This 
 indeed is the procedure followed in some of the works where the re- 
 lations of management and men are most amicable. In some eases, 
 the committee so formed consists of the shop stewards of the separ- 
 ate trades. 
 
 It may be added that some committees are "joint/' and embrace 
 representatives of both men and management, meeting together in 
 regular session; while others (and this is the general rule) are com- 
 mittees of workmen only, but meet the management from time to 
 time (sometimes regularly, and sometimes occasionally; sometimes 
 directly, and sometimes tlirough their chairman or secretary) to 
 settle grievances and to give or receive information. 
 
 Various names have been applied to committees formed during 
 the war, particularly to those formed to deal with such questions 
 as timekeeping. Among the names are "Workers' Advisory Board," 
 "Works' Tribunal," "Vigilant Committee," and "Works' Council." i 
 
 II. ORIGINS AND INFLUENCE OF WAR DEVELOPMENTS 
 
 The causes which have brought Works Committees into existence 
 during the war, and the circumstances attending their origin, are 
 naturally very different. A classification of origins may, however, 
 be attempted under the following heads: — 
 
 (1) Shop stewards. 
 
 (2) Dilution. 
 
 (3) Methods of remuneration. 
 
 (4) Timekeeping. 
 
 (5) Welfare. 
 
 (6) War charity. 
 
 (7) Other causes. 
 
 Shop Stewards. 
 
 To a very considerable extent the first three headings must be 
 treated together. This is particularly true of engineering works. 
 It has already been pointed out that shop stewards with a con- 
 siderable range of duties were a normal feature of Trade Union 
 organization before the war. It has also been seen that, though 
 
 1 "Works Committee," iti may be noted, is sometimes taken to mean 
 only a Joint Committee of management and employees. The name is 
 not used in this narrow sense in this report. "Shop Committee" is 
 sometimes used in the sense in which "Works Committee" is defined 
 above, i.e., for a committee covering not merely a department but the 
 whole of a works. 
 
320 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 for the most ^art these stewards acted only for their own separate 
 organizations, this was not their only method of operation. One 
 effect of the war has been to enhance the position and prestige of 
 the shop stewards. The loss of the right to strike has depressed 
 the position of Trade Union officials, who were thus deprived of 
 the chief weapon they controlled and, if they had organized strikes, 
 would have been liable to prosecution. Under these conditions the 
 shop stewards, more unknown and therefore less exposed, began to 
 exercise more power. Nor was this all. In an industry such as 
 engineering, questions of dilution and, again, of payment by results 
 raised matters of detail which needed some shop machinery for 
 their solution. Such questions often concerned the members of 
 several Unions in the same establishment; and the common interest 
 of men working side by side often led to concerted action. Though 
 many Works Committees instituted during the war can be traced 
 to one or other of these sources, and though most of the committees 
 thus called into existence may be said to have worked to the satis- 
 faction of all grades of workpeople, it is true that in certain cases 
 the question of dilution has produced committees of shop stewards 
 with conflicting interests. In certain places two committees have 
 been formed, one composed of the shop stewards of the skiUed 
 trades, and the other confined to the stewards of the Unions repre- 
 senting the unskilled and semi-skilled men. 
 
 It may be added that this tendency among workpeople to bring 
 their organization more closely to bear upon workshop conditions 
 is to be seen in industries which have been much less affected by 
 the war than engineering. The tendency preceded, but has been 
 strengthened by the war. 
 
 Dilution. 
 
 To gain the consent of the National Unions was not in itself 
 enough to settle the question of dilution; for it is obvious that in 
 a complicated trade such as engineering, with its many varieties, 
 questions of detail might arise in almost every works which needed 
 some machinery for their solution. This has led to the introduction 
 of Dilution Committees in many establishments. These committees, 
 consisting of representatives of the workers (mainly, of course, 
 the skilled workers), discuss with the management on what ma- 
 chines or processes, to what extent, and under what conditions dilu- 
 tion shall be introduced. Committees of this character, dealing 
 with an important range of economic questions, have often been 
 led to raise other questions than that of dilution, and to bring for- 
 ward for discussion with the management, with which they were 
 
APPENDIX G 321 
 
 being brought into constant contact by the problems of dilution, 
 questions and grievances of a general character. Sometimes the 
 committee has remained in name a Dilution Committee, while it 
 was in reality a Works Committee. Sometimes a definite change 
 has been made, and the Dilution Committee, with more or less 
 change in its composition, has been turned into a Works Commit- 
 tee. In any case, the problem of dilution has been one of the most 
 potent forces in forwarding the movement towards Works Commit- 
 tees. Though there has been a marked tendency for Dilution Com- 
 mittees to develop into Works Committees, it may be noted that 
 in one or two cases the Dilution Committee was formed after, and 
 as a sub-committee of, the Works Committee. 
 
 The importance of the connection between a Works Committee 
 and the Trade Unions is indicated by complaints that Dilution 
 Committees' negotiations have violated Trade Union agreements. 
 
 Methods of Remuneration. 
 
 One of the necessities of the war has been to increase output; 
 and one method which suggested itself for this purpose was that of 
 payment by results in trades where timework was the normal prac- 
 tice. In many trades any system of piecework is very unpopular, 
 and, in the past, has been strongly opposed. This is true of engi- 
 neering, where the Unions had left any piecework which was intro- 
 duced to the control of individual bargaining. The rapid extension 
 of piecework in such trades has led to a variety of forms of col- 
 lective bargaining. In some establishments a new piece-price is 
 submitted to the Works Committee before it is discussed with the 
 individual workman. In others an Appeals Committee has been 
 instituted to consider and bring forward complaints against piece- 
 prices or premium bonus times fixed by the management. In others, 
 again, something on the lines previously mentioned as existing in 
 parts of the pottery industry has been developed; and prices have 
 been discussed, not with the individual workman, but with the 
 workman and two or three of his mates on similar work. In other 
 establishments various forms of collective or group bonus on output 
 (or output value) have been adopted; and in some of these cases 
 committees have been formed either temporarily, in order to dis- 
 cuss the introduction of the new method, or permanently, in order 
 to supervise its working. In other cases committees have been 
 formed to deal with timekeeping bonuses or profit-sharing schemes.* 
 
 1 A great variety of bonus schemes is in operation in munitions fac- 
 tories, many of which are not understood by the workpeople concerned. 
 It would appear to be necessary that not only should there be a com- 
 
322 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 Committees connected with methods of remuneration are not, in 
 themselves, Works Committees proper. They may be committees 
 representing only a small section of the establishment {e.g., the 
 toolmakers), while the rest of the workmen in the establishment 
 are not concerned and are represented by no committee. They 
 may, again, be partial in scope as well as in membership, and deal 
 with no other matters than that of a bonus. This, however, is un- 
 likely and seems unusual. A committee connected with a bonus 
 system often comes to embrace a wider scope, and will bring forward, 
 or be consulted by the management about, other matters. 
 
 Timekeeping. 
 
 Committees whose sole function, or one of whose main functions, 
 is the improvement of timekeeping, have been instituted in the coal 
 mining industry, at the ironworks in Cleveland and Durham, and in 
 a number of engineering and munitions factories. The Pithead, 
 or Output, or Absentee, Committees, as they are variously called, 
 commonly deal with the negligence of mine officials as well as with 
 cases of absenteeism. The committees at the Cleveland and Dur- 
 ham blast furnaces are confined to the one function of improvement 
 of timekeeping. 
 
 Welfare. 
 
 The strain of the war has introduced conditions which have made 
 it necessary to consider ways of promoting the physical welfare 
 of the workers. Long hours have been worked; night shifts have 
 been added to day shifts; workshops have sometimes been crowded; 
 the introduction of women workers by the side of men, in occu- 
 pations where women had not previously been employed, has raised 
 a number of questions. Matters such as the best distribution of 
 working hours, the provision of canteens and mess-rooms, and the 
 improvement of ventilation and sanitation, have all demanded at- 
 tention. On such matters, where the interest of the workers is 
 paramount, the simplest course is obviously to consult them, and to 
 receive their complaints and suggestions through their own ac- 
 credited representatives. This course has been adopted in a number 
 of establishments; and the result has been the institution of a Wel- 
 fare Committee, which has eased the situation by removing, or pre- 
 venting the rise of, a number of grievances. The workmen have 
 
 mittee to supervise such schemes, but that a "Particulars Clause" should 
 be made obligatory on the employer. Arbitration awards have in Indi- 
 vidual cases made one or both of these methods of control part of their 
 findings. 
 
APPENDIX G 
 
 thus been allowed a voice in regard to the conditions under which 
 they labor, and these Welfare Committees, though they can hardly 
 be called Works Committees, may be said to prepare the ground. 
 They serve to engender something of a spirit of community in the 
 works, and to help the workmen to feel that they have a common 
 interest as workers in the same establishment. 
 
 War Charity. 
 
 In several ".ases (for instance in the Glasgow district) commit- 
 tees have been formed to administer funds raised in the works for 
 the purpose of lielping dependents of workmen who have joined the 
 Colors. These committees form a germ which may develop, and 
 here and there has developed, into Works Committees capable of 
 entertaining grievances or raising general questions and bringing 
 them to the notice of the management. Where the firm has sub- 
 scribed to the works' fund, and has been represented on the Com- 
 mittee of Management, the nucleus of a Joint Committee is ob- 
 viously present. 
 
 Other Causes. 
 
 In much the same way committees formed in an establishment 
 for social purposes prepare the ground, if they do nothing more, 
 for the institution of Works Committees. They help to create the 
 habit of common action through representatives; and accustoming 
 the men of different crafts and different Unions to act together 
 for purposes of a social nature, they gradually lead to the adoption 
 of the idea that a certain range of industrial questions may be 
 treated in the same way. In some of the best establishments which 
 have recently instituted Works Committees the success of these 
 committees is largely attributed to the work which committees of a 
 social character have done in preparing the ground. 
 
 It is believed that the ways indicated are those in which Works 
 Committees have mainly tended to arise. In a subject of such 
 variety, however, it is impossible to make any exhaustive enumera- 
 tion. Often the institution of a Works Committee is due to the 
 initiative of an employer or manager who desires to give the work- 
 people a larger control over working conditions or who finds that 
 his task is greatly eased if he can deal with an accredited repre- 
 sentative of the workmen. Sometimes a committee may have arisen 
 in connection with a particular dispute and for negotiating a set- 
 tlement, and may then, in the issue, be adopted as a permanent 
 mode of working. In certain cases during the war, as before it, 
 
324 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 the creation of a Works Committee has been one of the terms of 
 settlement of a dispute. 
 
 III. — CONSTITUTION 
 
 The constitution of a Works Committee naturally varies with its 
 functions. A Welfare Committee, handling questions in which the 
 difference between unionist and non-unionist workmen, or again the 
 difference between different Unions of workmen, hardly arises, will 
 tend to be composed of representatives of all the workers, elected 
 without regard to differences of craft or grade or occupation. An 
 Industrial Committee, handling as it does questions in which differ- 
 ences of skill or of craft are concerned, will involve a new range of 
 considerations. It may be necessary to consider the relation of 
 such a committee, if one is instituted, to the existing industrial 
 organization of the workmen in the works in the shape of shop stew- 
 ards or delegates; and, again, it may be necessary to consider 
 whether management and labor should sit together as a Joint Com- 
 mittee (and, if so, in what proportions), or whether the Works Com- 
 mittee should be one of workers only, with opportunities of ready 
 access to the management — and ultimately, it may be, to the di- 
 rectors — when such access is desired. 
 
 The last point may be taken first. Joint Committees are rare.^ 
 There are some committees of this nature, containing two or three 
 representatives of the management and about a dozen representa- 
 tives of the workmen, which meet at regular intervals — in one case 
 from week to week, but more often at longer intervals. Even when 
 the Committee is a Joint Committee, however, some provision has 
 generally to be made for separate meetings of the representatives 
 of the workers; and, as a rule, Works Committees appear to be 
 committees of the workers only, with regular facilities for consulta- 
 tion with the management, either at fixed intervals or whenever oc- 
 casion arises. Joint Committees may ultimately come to be the 
 normal form, but in the preliminary stage of development it seems 
 likely that committees of workers only, with regular facihties for 
 access to the management, will generally be the form adopted. 
 
 Where the committee is a Joint Committee, the idea of the joint 
 meeting is probably first mooted by the management; and unless 
 the workers' side is already in existence the management may sug- 
 
 1 This statement applies to committees whose work is not strictly lim- 
 ited to one or two functions. The actual number of Joint Committees 
 is large if we include the "Absentee" Conunittees at coal mines and the 
 Timekeeping Committees at ironworks. 
 
APPENDIX G , 325 
 
 gest the basis of composition and the methods of election of the 
 committee. Where, however, the committee is a committee of work- 
 men only, it is advisable (whether the idea of such a committee 
 is suggested by the management or develops spontaneously among 
 the workmen), that the workmen should be left to determine the 
 basis of its composition and the method of its election for them- 
 selves. 
 
 Two main methods appear to prevail in regard to the composition 
 of a Works Committee of the second type mentioned above. 
 
 (a) The committee may be elected by all the workmen employed, 
 each department or shop being treated as a constituency, and re- 
 turning a number of members, perhaps in proportion to its size. 
 This appears to be the simplest method and is found even in works 
 in which the workers have already an industrial organization in the 
 shape of shop stewards or delegates.^ This is the case in most 
 works, and in such cases it may be advisable to build on the existing 
 organization. This brings us to the second main possibility. 
 
 (6) The committee may be a committee of the shop stewards 
 of the different Unions represented in the works, or, in a large 
 works where shop stewards are numerous, a committee elected by 
 the shop stewards. In one works, for instance, which employs about 
 3,000 workmen, the Works Committee (in this case a Joint Com- 
 mittee) contains 12 representatives of the workmen elected by the 
 shop stewards (some 40 in number) of the various Unions repre- 
 sented in the works. In another works a committee of seven 
 shop stewards meets the management monthly and discusses ques- 
 tions which its members and the management have asked to have 
 placed on the agenda. 
 
 The two methods which have just been described represent the 
 two possibilities at either end of the scale; but various methods 
 may be employed which combine, or come as it were between, these 
 two possibilities. Even where the committee is elected by all the 
 workmen, unionist or non-unionist, voting by departments, the ten- 
 dency, if the works is strongly unionist, is towards the election of 
 representatives who are all unionists and are also, either altogether 
 or in part, shop stewards of their Unions. In one works with 
 4,000 workmen the Works Committee of 21 members, elected by a 
 general vote of the men workers, is entirely composed of shop stew- 
 
 1 This method of departmental election commonly results in a commit- 
 tee, all the members of which are shop stewards. But even when this 
 ig so, a majority of the shop stewards may not be on the committee; 
 and the members may be drawn from a minority of the Unions. 
 
326 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 ards. In another works, with 3,500 workmen, in which a Works 
 Committee has existed for about 10 years, all the workmen in any 
 department may vote, but only unionist workmen can be elected, 
 and half of the members of the Works Committee are shop stewards. 
 
 Another method which deserves special notice is that of election 
 on the basis of Unions, all the members of a Union in the works 
 electing a certain number of representatives. The number of mem- 
 bers to which a Union is entitled may vary in direct proportion (or 
 in some other way) with its membership in the works. Thus, in a 
 scheme under consideration for an engineering works, representation 
 on this basis gives seven members to three General Labor Unions, 
 eight members to the largest Union of skilled men, two members 
 10 each of two other Unions of skilled men, and one member to each 
 of seven otlier skilled Unions. This method — since in an engineer- 
 ing establishment the members of a Union may be distributed 
 through several departments, in each of which there may be a shop 
 steward or stewards of the Union — is not necessarily identical with 
 that in which the shop stewards of the different Unions in each 
 department form the committee. In several iron and steel works 
 the method of election appears to be by the members of each branch 
 of a Union who are working in the establishment. 
 
 In one such case the right to representation is stated to belong 
 to the branch because it has members in the works. The statement, 
 however, is qualified in order to cover the case of a Trade Union 
 branch — e. g., of the Amalgamated Society of Engineers or the 
 Bricklayers' Union — only some of whose members may be employed 
 in the particular works. In their case only the members of the 
 branch employed in the works make the appointment; and from the 
 nature of the ease the representative so appointed is almost bound 
 to be the person acting as shop steward for the Union in the 
 works. This, combined with the fact that the branches of the iron 
 and steel Trade Unions correspond to sections or departments of 
 workers in a single works, makes such branch representation sim- 
 ilar to departmental representation. Another feature of this sys- 
 tem is that the secretary of any branch who is working in the 
 establishment — this is almost bound to be the case with branches 
 the membership of which is confined to the works — is, ex officio, a 
 member of the committee. The draft proposals for representation 
 now being discussed by the shipbuilding trades in one district are 
 to the effect that each Works Committee should be composed of a 
 certain number of representatives from the men of each trade or 
 Union employed in the yard, and that among the representatives 
 
APPENDIX G 327 
 
 of each trade or Union one at least should be an official shop 
 steward. Some of the Unions in the shipbuilding industry include, 
 it may be noted, several trades, and the official yard delegates (or 
 shop stewards) of the several trades in one Union often form a 
 Yard Committee for such functions as the inspection of Union cards. 
 
 Other methods found in practice are election of all the members 
 by the whole of the employees in an establishment voting as one 
 constituency, and election by occupations or trades. 
 
 In some works there is one committee for skilled men and another 
 for unskilled or semi-skilled. In several large engineering es- 
 tablishments, for instance, there are two Committees of Shop Stew- 
 ards, one for craftsmen, and another for semi-skilled men and la- 
 borers. Generally, however, there is only one committee for both 
 sets of workmen. 1 The persons elected to such a committee are in 
 certain cases drawn solely from the ranks of the skilled craftsmen, 
 though there may be unskilled men (and stewards of unskilled 
 Unions) in the works. The exclusion of any direct representation 
 of the unskilled men in such circumstances is generally due to the 
 same cause as the absence of any direct representation of the 
 smaller craft Unions, viz., the fact that a department's repre- 
 sentative tends to belong to the Union which has most members in 
 the department. There are certainly cases in which this apparent 
 exclusion of representation of the interests of the unskilled is a 
 source of friction between the different classes of workers; and the 
 presence in some works of separate committees is the extreme ex- 
 pression of such difference in interest. It is argued that the un- 
 skilled men — though they may be excluded by exactly similar cir- 
 cumstances — are in a different position from a minority of skilled 
 men who may be excluded from direct representation, in that the 
 interests of the latter, being akin to their own, are better under- 
 stood by, and receive more sympathetic consideration from, the 
 
 1 A Works Committee in a Midlands munitions factory has just been 
 reconstituted. Previously departmental election had produced a com- 
 mittee all the members of which were skilled trade unionists. The new 
 method gives separate representation to (i) skilled men, (ii) semi- 
 skilled and unskilled men, and (iii) women employees. This scheme, 
 advocated and carried through by the secretary, who is an official of his 
 own Union, is designed to give all grades in the works an active interest 
 in the committee. It is hoped that later the separate representation of 
 the different grades in each department may not be necessary; previ- 
 ously the grades not directly represented have not opposed the commit- 
 tee, which has been very successful, but they have not shown as much 
 interest in it as is desired. 
 
328 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 skilled men on the committee. It would nevertheless appear that 
 most committees appointed on a departmental basis do succeed in 
 representing fairly the interests of all their constituents; and it is 
 claimed that the committee member tends to look upon himself not 
 as the representative of a particular craft or section in the depart- 
 ment, but as the representative of the department as a whole. 
 
 The position of women workers is in some respects analogous to 
 that of unskilled workmen. In some cases they have a vote for 
 the Works Committee elected by the various departments, and they 
 may have a representative of their own on that committee; in 
 other cases representation is secured to women's departments as 
 such. Sometimes, even where women are excluded from voting, the 
 Works Committee may represent their interests; and it may en- 
 tertain and bring before the notice of the management grievances 
 of women workers and questions affecting their interests and the 
 conditions of their labor. Occasionally, though this is rare, there 
 is a separate committee to represent the interests of women workers. 
 
 From what has been said it is obvious that the constitution of a 
 Works Committee raises a number of questions. (1) In the first 
 place, there is the question whether the committee should be based 
 on the industrial organization of shop stewards, where such or- 
 ganization is in existence, or should be based on a general vote. 
 (2) In the next place, assuming the latter alternative to be adopted, 
 there is the question whether all the workers should vote, and, if so, 
 how the constituencies should be arranged, or whether only unionist 
 workers should vote, and, if so, how and in what proportions the 
 different Unions should be represented. (3) Further, there is the 
 question whether there should be a single committee, or one com- 
 mittee for skilled and another for unskilled workers; and (4) finally, 
 there is the question whether women workers should have a sepa- 
 rate committee or be represented through the general committee 
 of the works. 
 
 No general answer can be given to any or all of these questions. 
 The circumstances of different works vary, and each type has 
 to find its own solution. 
 
 Wherever it is possible, a committee of shop stewards or Trade 
 Union representatives would appear to be the best solution. i At 
 the same time, it is important to secure that the size of the commit- 
 tee, while large enough to be representative, should not be so large 
 
 1 As will be seen from the appendices, individual committees formed 
 on very different lines have been in every way successful. Since, how- 
 ever, the problem from the point of view of the well organized indus- 
 
APPENDIX G 329 
 
 as to make it unwieldy, and that, as far as possible, there should 
 be direct representation of each department. The size of the com- 
 mittees actually in existence varies; some committees have 12 mem- 
 bers, some have upwards of 30. The smaller number seems more 
 likely to be effective. It may be necessary, therefore, that a Works 
 Committee, if it contains a large number of members, should ap- 
 point a smaller committee of itself; and that, while the manage- 
 ment should be in regular contact with the smaller committee, ques- 
 tions of difficulty should be referred by the smaller committee to 
 the larger, the management meeting the larger committee in case of 
 need. In its choice of the smaller committee the Works Commit- 
 tee could allocate a place, or a number of places, to each depart- 
 ment or group of departments. Another method of electing a 
 committee of manageable size would be that from the stewards in 
 each department (or, in certain cases, groups of departments) one 
 should be appointed by a general election held in the department 
 or by the departmental stewards themselves. In certain cases, in 
 large works, it may be desirable that the stewards in each depart- 
 ment should form Shop Committees, with which the general com- 
 mittee could keep in touch and from which its members could 
 learn the needs and the complaints of each department. Another 
 variant is that sub-committees instead of being departmental should 
 be functional, i.e.j should each deal with a particular matter or 
 set of matters such as dilution, piecework, suggestions of improve- 
 ments, etc. 
 
 The existing Works Committees have generally two officers, a 
 chairman and a secretary. The tenure of office of the committee 
 is often unfixed. Where it is fixed, it may be for six months or 
 
 tries is complicated by the existence of poorly organized areas, a 
 pioposal under consideration by a. firm in which considerably less than 
 half of the employees are trade unionists may be noted. The proposal 
 is that the Works Committee should be composed of departmental rep- 
 resentatives, who will include the shop stewards, and that from this 
 committee as a whole, or from the shop steward and the non-shop stew- 
 ard sections of it separately, there should be elected a small number of 
 representatives of the workers to sit on a .Joint Committee. The pro- 
 posal was made as a means of combining (a.) the recognition of shop 
 stewards and (6) the representation of all the workpeople on the Joint 
 Committee, without duplication of committees for different functions. 
 The firm, which recognizes the Unions and whose conditions are above 
 the district standards, intends that the Joint Committee should deal 
 with a very wide range of subjects, only some of which are shop steward 
 questions. 
 
330 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 for a year.i A fixed tenure, provided that it is not too short, 
 seems desirable; a new election will reinvigorate the committee 
 and if the workmen in general have any feeling which the com- 
 mittee has failed to express, it will give a chance for its expres- 
 sion. 
 
 The desirability of election by secret ballot has been emphasized 
 by many employers and by some Trade Unionists. 
 
 rV. — PROCEDURE 
 
 Some Works Committees have regular meetings with the man- 
 agement, at intervals of a week, a fortnight or a month. A list 
 of agenda is circulated and regular minutes are kept. In one es- 
 tablishment where this is done the men's chairman presides at one 
 fortnightly meeting and a representative of the manajiement at the 
 next. In other cases the meetings are not regular, but are held 
 whenever occasion arises. Arguments may be used both for and 
 against a system of regular meetings. It may be urged in their 
 favor that they provide a known and regular time for raising a 
 question; that they enable questions to be raised in their initial 
 stages, whereas, if meetings are not held until occasion arises, a 
 question may have grown acute before a meeting is held; and, 
 finally, that by bringing representatives of the management and 
 the men into constant contact, they accustom either side to seeing 
 and understanding the point of view of the other. It may be urged, 
 on the other hand, that if meetings are regular, and at frequent 
 intervals, there may often be no business to be done, and that 
 the effect may be either to make the committee slack, or to induce 
 the more restless members to manufacture business by finding 
 grievances and discovering difficulties. In any case it may be sug- 
 gested that the main thing is not so much regularity of meetings, as 
 what may be called the principle of the open door. If the men 
 know that their representatives have access to the management, 
 and if they know that the management, on its side, is ready to 
 consult their representatives, the success of the main function of 
 the committee is secured. The number of times at which a gen- 
 eral Works Committee needs to meet the management will vary 
 with the type of works and with the degree to which sectional 
 questions can be handled by such a committee. One committee, in 
 an establishment in which relations have always been good, has 
 
 - In certain exceptional cases committee members are elected monthly 
 and the secretary quarterly. 
 
APPENDIX G 331 
 
 met the management on an average three times a year in the last 
 twenty-four years, though in the last three years, owing to the 
 number of questions raised by the war, the average number of 
 meetings in each year has been seven. During the whole existence 
 of the committee, however, the right of the separate trade delegates 
 to meet the management has been freely used. Employers com- 
 plain that workpeople tend to want all questions settled offhand, 
 and fail to realize that investigation may be necessary; and one 
 argument in favor of regular meetings is that they form a perma- 
 nent and businesslike substitute for frequent sectional deputa- 
 tions. There would appear to be many questions which can be set- 
 tled in a more satisfactory way if they are discussed and investi- 
 gated at regular joint meetings. This method, however, cannot be 
 applied indiscriminately; there will always be matters of urgency 
 which must be taken up as they arise; and sectional questions may, 
 in certain eases, be better treated apart from the regular meetings 
 of a general Works Committee. 
 
 One other caution may be suggested in this connection. Works 
 Committees instituted in engineering establishments during the 
 course of the war have naturally found abundant work. The same 
 will probably be true of the period of reconstruction after the end 
 of the war. It is possible, however, that under normal conditions 
 a system of weekly or fortnightly meetings might prove unneces- 
 sary. It may be suggested, therefore, that a distinction may be 
 drawn, on the point of frequency of meetings, between what may 
 be called "the emergency period" and the period of normal condi- 
 tions. 
 
 Another question of procedure, which also bears on the matter 
 of frequency of meetings, is connected with the position of the sec- 
 retary of a AVorks Committee. In many establishments which have 
 Works Committees a large part of the active work which they entail 
 is done by the secretary. Difficulties are reported to him by the 
 workmen concerned either directly or through a member of the 
 committee, and he, after consultation with the committee (or, it 
 may be, in lesser matters, immediately), brings the difficulties be- 
 fore the management. Such difficulties may often be settled at 
 once, and their settlement simply reported to the Works Committee. 
 A great deal of work may thus be thrown upon the secretary in 
 consulting the workmen concerned and in interviewing the manage- 
 ment, and the position is thus one which offers a great deal of scope 
 to a man of capacity. Such a man may largely carry on his shoul- 
 ders the current work, and the committee may only need to deal 
 with larger questions. But the position has its difficulties, and 
 
332 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 there are two matters which deserve particular notice. One of 
 these is the question of the secretary or chairman's moving about 
 the works during working hours, and entering departments other 
 than his own, for the purpose of interviewing any workman who 
 has preferred a complaint. If the secretary is bound to ask the 
 consent of a foreman or overlooker before he enters a department, 
 and if that consent may be refused, the work which the secretary 
 can do in investigating and removing grievances is liable to be 
 hindered. If, on the other hand, he can enter any department 
 (without any formality, or on simple notification of his wish) 
 and engage in discussion with a workman, the work of the depart- 
 ment may be held to be likely to suffer. From the experience of 
 several works, however, it would appear that this freedom of move- 
 ment is found to be an essential condition of the success of a com- 
 mittee. The extent of freedom necessary, and the members of the 
 committee to whom it should be allowed, will vary with the size and 
 the other circumstances of a works. 
 
 The other matter which arises in connection with the position 
 of the secretary is concerned with his remuneration. His secre- 
 tarial duties may interfere with his own work. He is bound to 
 lose time, and, consequently, unless some arrangement is made to 
 indemnify him, he is bound to lose wages. In one case, in which, 
 it is true, the work is specially complicated and onerous, the amount 
 of time spent on secretarial work is said to amount to a total of 
 30 hours in the week; in another ease the loss of wages involved 
 has, over a period of several weeks, amounted to £2 a week. In 
 one large works, wh«re the committee is engaged to a great extent 
 with questions arising from charitable work, the secretary now gives 
 his whole time to the duties of his position, and is paid by the 
 firm. In some cases it would appear that the secretary is paid 
 ordinary time-wages for the time he spends on secretarial business 
 in working hours ; in other cases, where the work is premium bonus 
 or piece-work, he may receive the average earnings, or, again, his 
 companions may keep his machine running in his absence. It 
 seems, however, that some arrangement is necessary to meet what 
 is often a real difficulty. It may be argued that the management 
 should pay the secretary i the full wages which he would otherwise 
 
 - In certain cases the secretary's ( or chief shop steward's ) guarantee 
 of average earnings appears to depend upon the will of a foreman or 
 ratefixer. Thus in one large establishment, where the premium bonus 
 system is in operation, a chief shop steward is paid his time for periods 
 during which he is engaged on negotiations with the management; it is 
 usual, however, for the ratefixer to see that suflScient "extras" are added 
 
APPENDIX G 
 
 have made, since the work he does conduces to the better running 
 of the establishment. On the other hand, the men might object to 
 such a course, on the ground that it tended to make the secretary 
 more dependent on the management and less of a fellow-workman. 
 Another method, which is employed in some eases, is that the secre- 
 tary should be reimbursed for lost time by the workmen. In cer- 
 tain cases it may be noted that weekly contributions are paid by 
 the workpeople to meet the expenses of meetings, etc. 
 
 Another question, which is somewhat analogous, concerns the 
 time of the meetings of the Works Committee. Under one plan the 
 meetings may be held in the employer's time, and the members may 
 be paid full rates during the time they spend in attendance. 
 This is a plan which is often adopted when there are regular meet- 
 ings with the management. Many committees which have no regu- 
 lar meetings with the management meet after working hours. 
 Another plan, which has been suggested, is that the meetings should 
 be held partly in the employer's time (the members being paid full 
 rates during that time) and partly in the time of the men, or, in 
 other words, after working hours. This may present some di£&- 
 culties, as some of the members may find it inconvenient to stay 
 after working hours. On the other hand, it is argued that this 
 course best corresponds to the logic of the situation; management 
 and men both gain from the work of a committee, and it seems 
 logical that either side should surrender a part of its time. The 
 solution of the problem depends to some extent on the length of 
 the working day. Members of committees have complained that 
 to meet at 8 or 8.30 p. m., after 3 hours of overtime, was "a bit 
 hard." Under normal hours the attitude would have been different. 
 In the matter of procedure in the stricter sense of the term 
 there is at present a good deal of variety. Generally the pro- 
 cedure is somewhat informal, and this, in the earlier stages of a 
 Works Committee, is perhaps to the good. The normal procedure, 
 so far as one can speak of a normal procedure, is some^viliat as 
 follows : — 
 
 (1) A workman who has a grievance will report it, directly 
 or through the committeeman in his department, to the 
 secretary. Lesser grievances, which do not affect a 
 number of men or raise a general question, may be set- 
 to the man's bonus earnings to neutralize the difference between the time 
 wages and what might have been earned on bonus for the periods in 
 question. This more or less casual arrangement does not appear to be 
 a very satisfactory solution of the difficulty. 
 
384 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 tied at once by the secretary with the foreman or de- 
 partmental manager concerned. 
 
 (2) Grievances which are not thus settled are taken up by the 
 
 committee, and brought by the committee before the 
 management. 
 
 (3) If grievances or disputes are not settled with the man- 
 
 agement, they are carried to the branch or the district 
 organization of the Trade Union or Trade Unions con- 
 cerned, and they go henceforth along the ordinary chan- 
 nels of Trade Union organization. 
 The effect of this procedure can best be seen by comparing it 
 with the procedure which is followed in the absence of a Works 
 Committee or of recognized shop stewards for the separate trades. 
 Where there is no Works Committee, the individual workmen, or a 
 delegation of Workmen, will bring their case to the management, if 
 they can get admission; and failing any agreement, the matter 
 will go straight to the Trade Union. Where there is a Works 
 Committee the difference is this: first that there is a certainty of 
 admission to the management; secondly, that instead of the onus of 
 stating their case being thrown on the individuals concerned, there 
 is a regular machinery (the officers and the committee) to sift the 
 case and to state it formally; thirdly, that, instead of the action 
 taken being individual or sectional, it is the general action of a 
 body representative of all the works; and, finally, that there are 
 two chances of a settlement being attained in the works (first be- 
 tween the secretary and the foreman or departmental manager, 
 and, failing that, between the committee and the management) be- 
 fore the question goes outside for settlement. The main difference 
 between this procedure and that adopted when trade shop stewards 
 are recognized is much less, and only arises on the third of the 
 points just mentioned. This difference, however, is important, be- 
 cause it involves the problem of the delimitation of a Works Com- 
 mittee's functions. It may also be noted that, in certain cases at 
 least, the machinery of the Works Committee is brought into opera- 
 tion not as a preliminary to the question going before a Trade 
 Union branch, but in support of a decision previously come to by 
 a branch. This is so in certain iron and steel works. The differ- 
 ence, it may be said, is more apparent than real, because many 
 of the branches (and these the strongest in numbers) are in such 
 cases works branches — that is to say, the membership of the branch 
 is confined to men employed in the works. On the other hand, 
 certain branches extend their membership beyond the works; and, 
 in so far as the Works Committee takes up a case already enter- 
 
APPENDIX G 335 
 
 tained by such a branch as union business, there is another form 
 of procedure. This procedure appears to have been adopted in 
 certain cases with the acquiescence of the Trade Union branch con- 
 cerned. It seems important that the place of the Works Commit- 
 tee in relation to trade questions should be properly defined; other- 
 wise there may be dangers of overlapping and confusion through 
 (a) the diversion of a purely trade question to the Works Com- 
 mittee, when it ought to go through the ordinary Trade Union 
 channels, or (b) the use by a Trade Union branch of the Works 
 Committee in support of a case which it should properly call upon 
 the officials of its Union to handle. 
 
 Three other matters of procedure call for notice. One of these 
 is the use of what may be called "the referendum." A Works Com- 
 mittee, when its members feel that a matter is important, and that 
 it is necessary that they should ascertain and carry with them 
 the opinion of the workers either in a department or in all the 
 works, may summon a general meeting and bring the matter for- 
 ward for discussion in that meeting. There may be no rules to 
 decide when this should be done, and it may be done at different 
 stages, either before a matter has been discussed with the man- 
 agement or subsequently to such discussion; but the possibility of 
 such a general meeting enables the committee to make sure that its 
 policy will be adopted by the workmen concerned, and it puts it in 
 a position to assure the management that a policy thus confirmed 
 can really be carried into effect. In certain industries the regular 
 shop meeting is a feature of shop organization. This is so, for 
 example, in furnishing and in the woodworking side of the air- 
 craft industry in London. The shop meeting is really a factory 
 meeting, and is held once a month. 
 
 Another matter of procedure is one which touches the manage- 
 ment and directors of a firm. It is important that the representa- 
 tives of the firm, who meet the committee, or (if it is a joint body) 
 sit on the committee, should belong to the highest rank, and should 
 include the general works manager (or, if there is one, the labor 
 superintendent )i and one or more of the directors. A great part 
 of the value of the Works Committee, from the point of view of 
 the men, is that it brings them into contact, and gives them an 
 opportunity of discussion, with the authorities with whom, in its 
 
 1 A particularly interesting development during the war has been the 
 appointment to the management staffs of several establishments of per- 
 sons whose chief function is to deal with labor questions. The success 
 of a Works Committee may to a considerable extent depend upon the 
 status and qualifications of such an official. 
 
336 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 absence, they seldom get into close touch, and then only on points 
 of difference. Nor is it only the workmen who stand to gain if the 
 highest rank of management is represented. Members of the firm 
 who are primarily occupied with finance or technique will be 
 brought into contact with those questions of labor which are the 
 fundamental problems of industry, and in discussing these ques- 
 tions with the representatives of the workmen they are likely to 
 gain a deeper insight into the best methods of conducting the in- 
 dustry. 
 
 Lastly, there are questions connected with the keeping of min- 
 utes, the drawing up of agenda, the presentation of complaints, 
 and the like. Where regular joint meetings are held it is com- 
 mon for a complete record of each meeting to be made in short- 
 hand by a member of the staff and for the workpeople's secretary 
 to make notes of the proceedings; minutes based on the complete 
 record may be circulated among the members of the committee after 
 the meeting. Even where the committee of workpeople as a whole 
 does not meet the management, it may supply the latter with copies 
 of the minutes which concern the management. It is common for 
 the management to supply typing facilities for the duplication of 
 minutes and of agenda. In some works complaints made to the 
 committee must be in writing. This rule has sometimes been in- 
 troduced in order to check the making of frivolous complaints or 
 inaccurate statements; it may be compared with a method of the 
 "chapel," where a member may call a special meeting by placing 
 a shilling (or other sum) "on the stone" on pain of forfeiting his 
 shilling if the chapel decides that his complaint is groundless. 
 
 V. — FUNCTIONS 
 
 Since Works Committees are of different types, it is obvious 
 that their functions vary considerably. In the first place there is 
 the distinction already mentioned under the head of nomenclature. 
 A Welfare Committee is concerned with all questions that affect 
 the comfort and physical well being of the workman while he is 
 engaged on his occupation; an Industrial Committee is concerned 
 with industrial conditions in general. Often a Works Committee 
 will undertake hoth sets of functions, but some committees may be 
 confined, primarily at any rate, to the working of a system of bonus 
 on output or premium bonus or piece-rates; others may be confined 
 to questions of dilution; others may have a general and undefined 
 scope which depends on an unwritten understanding between man- 
 agement and men. 
 
APPENDIX G 337 
 
 There are several questions of a general character which deserve 
 some attention, before we turn to the detailed functions actually 
 discharged by various Works Committees. Are these functions 
 always consultative, or are they sometimes executive? This raises 
 another question — is it possible, in the strict sense of the word, to 
 speak of a Joint Works Committee? What, again, are the func- 
 tions of the management, and how far may a Works Committee 
 trench on these functions ? Finally, what is meant by "recognition," 
 and what is the effect of recognition on the functions and powers of 
 a Works Committee? 
 
 As far as the first question is concerned, it would appear that 
 the functions of a Works Committee are practically always con- 
 sultative. Usually a Works Committee can bring matters before 
 the management and discuss them with the management; it can 
 press its views about these matters on the management; in the last 
 resort, it can induce the Trade Union organization to call a strike. 
 But the Works Committee cannot usually, as such, carry its views 
 into action, or ensure that they shall be carried into action, by any 
 direct machinery. The management has the executive power, and 
 unless the management is impressed by the representations of the 
 members of the committee, or by the sanction which lies behind 
 them, those representations will not lead to executive action.^ This 
 would appear to be usual even where the Works Committee is a 
 Joint Committee. There are, indeed, certain cases in which the 
 decision of a majority of the members of such a Joint Committee 
 is carried into effect. This is so in the Pit-head and certain other 
 committees which have the power to fine bad timekeepers; and 
 in certain engineering establishments the question of prosecuting 
 bad timekeepers before the Munitions Tribunal is decided by Joint 
 Works Committees. But, so far as can be discovered, the general 
 custom is to the contrary. Unanimity must be attained; the man- 
 agement must be convinced, and both sides must freely agree to- 
 gether, before executive action is taken. The operation of a Joint 
 Committee is really in the nature of consultation between two 
 parties — consultation which, if it results in unanimity, results in 
 
 1 In one establishment, however, decisions upon disciplinary and time- 
 keeping cases made by a committee wholly composed of workpeople are 
 accepted by the firm. In some cases such functions as the day to day 
 administration of a mess-room are discharged by committees wholly 
 composed of workpeople. Even in such cases, however, an Important 
 decision — for example, one involving capital expenditure — would usu- 
 ally have to meet with the approval of the management before it could 
 be put into force. 
 
338 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 action, but not otherwise. It would be a mistake to think in terms 
 of voting, or to think that even if there is voting, its result is a 
 formal decision by a majority vote. What happens is rather dis- 
 cussion by which misunderstanding is often removed, and upon 
 which, if unanimity is attained between the two sides, action will 
 ensue. It follows, therefore, that generally we cannot speak of 
 Joint Committees, if by Joint Committees we understand joint 
 executive councils acting by the vote of the majority. On the other 
 hand, there are Joint Committees, if by Joint Committees we un- 
 derstand deliberative meetings of both sides, always attended by 
 both sides, though often accompanied by separate meetings of the 
 two sides.i 
 
 A question of importance, when we are considering the functions 
 of a Works Committee, is the definition of the term "manage- 
 ment." It may be urged, on the one side, that the functions of a 
 Works Committee should not be such as to interfere with man- 
 agement; it may be urged, on the other, that if a Works Com- 
 mittee is to be debarred from questions of management it loses 
 reality and becomes a mere form. Much, therefore, depends on 
 the sense in which the term management is used. Is the work of 
 the foremen part of management? Or does the word denote the 
 higher organization of industry? It would appear that a Works 
 
 1 The division between executive and advisory powers in a scheme now 
 under consideration for an engineering works may be noted. It is pro- 
 posed that the former should include ( 1 ) those powers conferred by the 
 Trade Unions and in accordance with the constitution or resolutions of 
 the local Allied Engineering Trades and ( 2 ) those conferred by the firm. 
 The suggested first list of executive powers contains the following: — 
 determination of hours of work (with minimum of 50 per week) ; mess- 
 room; heating, lighting, sanitary matters, etc.; ambulance; collections, 
 supervision of notice boards, entertainments, etc. ; proposed technical 
 lending library and works magazine; and organization of the Sports 
 Association. The advisory functions include the regulation of piece- 
 work; the engagement, discharge, dilution and transfer of labor (ex- 
 cluding disciplinary discharges) ; training and education of apprentices; 
 suggestion of improvements in methods; timekeeping, etc. It is pro- 
 posed that seven sub-committees be formed, each sub-committee to deal 
 with one or more of the above-mentioned functions, e.g. a sub-committee 
 for hours of work, engagements and discharges, and timekeeping; a sub- 
 committee for messroom; and a sub-committee, advisory and negotia- 
 tory, for piecework. There is this reservation in regard to executive 
 functions that if capital expenditure is involved authority should be 
 obtained from the firm before such expenditure is incurred. 
 
APPENDIX G 339 
 
 Committee, if it is to be of any value in ventilating and removing 
 grievances, must be in a position to ventilate grievances arising 
 from the conduct of foremen or overlookers. Such grievances touch 
 the worker most closely in his daily work, and if they cannot be 
 discussed the committee loses a sphere of action in which it might 
 be of the greatest service. It is true that if a committee has the 
 right of criticizing the action of foremen, difficulties may arise. 
 Foremen may feel that their authority is undermined; they may 
 feel that they are being made responsible not only, as heretofore, 
 to the management (a responsibility they know and understand), 
 but also to the committee; they may feel that, with a dual re- 
 sponsibility, their position becomes exceedingly difficult. These are 
 real problems. In many instances, however, they seem to have 
 been surmounted; and if they prove serious, they may perhaps be 
 met, to some extent, if the general manager arranges to meet the 
 foremen in advance, and to discuss with them criticisms and griev- 
 ances which have come from the Works Committee. 
 
 The last of the general questions raised by a consideration of 
 the functions and position of a Works Committee is that of 
 "recognition." This, again, is a term which seems to be under- 
 stood in different senses, and which it is difficult to define. A 
 committee may be held, from the point of view of the manage- 
 ment, not to be recognized, even when the management is in 
 constant touch with its secretary, and even when it consents 
 to meet those members of the committee who represent a depart- 
 ment which has a grievance. Here the point would appear to be 
 that the management does not, as such, formally meet the whole 
 committee. In another case a system almost exactly parallel — a 
 system under which the management interviews four or five mem- 
 bers of the committee — is described as one of "recognition." The 
 term "recognition" thus appears to have no fixed meaning; and it 
 may be concluded that what matters is the fact of consultation be- 
 tween a committee and the management rather than any formal 
 pronouncement about the fact. 
 
 In the preceding paragraphs the functions of a Works Com- 
 mittee have been discussed with reference to the management. It 
 is obvious that they must also be discussed with reference to Trade 
 Union organization. A Works Committee must stand in some sort 
 of relation to the district committees of the Unions to which the 
 workmen in the works belong, and some demarcation of functions, 
 whether explicit or implicit, has to be made. The relations vary, 
 and the demarcation is not always easy to make. Generally the 
 division is said to be that questions of general application — district 
 
340 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 rates of wages, hours of work, and other district or national con- 
 ditions of work — are regarded by Works Committees as outside 
 their sphere, and such questions are left to be settled by the em- 
 ployers or associations of employers with the Trade Unions, i On 
 the other hand, questions of a particular application relating to a 
 works — for example, a piece-rate for a particular job for which 
 it is impossible to lay down any general piece-rate for the district — 
 are regarded as belonging to the functions of a Works Commit- 
 tee. Such a committee may thus deal (1) with the particular 
 application in the works of a principle general to the district, and 
 (2) with questions which are entirely peculiar to the works. But 
 the general problem of the relations of. Works Committees and 
 Trade Union organization is one that demands separate treatment, 
 and it will accordingly be treated in a subsequent section. 
 
 The powers of the management and the powers of the local 
 Trade Union organization may be said to constitute two points 
 more or less fixed, and the powers of a Works Committee are 
 naturally determined with reference to these two points in ways 
 that vary according as those points vary. Turning to the Works 
 Committee in itself, we may distinguish two main types of func- 
 tion. In the first type a committee is primarily concerned with 
 some one particular thing — a scheme of dilution, a system of bonus, 
 or a method of profit-sharing. This does not prevent such a com- 
 mittee from dealing incidentally with other things. On the con- 
 trary, a committee on dilution will be led to discuss the wages of 
 dilutees and other questions; a committee on a bonus system will 
 be led to deal with time-keeping and other matters which affect the 
 bonus. A committee, therefore, which is primarily and formally 
 concerned with a particular thing may actually be something of 
 the nature of a general Works Committee. When once an or- 
 ganization is created, if only for a single activity, it will naturally 
 become a center for other activities; the management, finding a rep- 
 resentative organization which it can consult, may consult it on 
 broader issues; and vice versa the representative organization, meet- 
 ing the management to discuss one issue, may readily tend to bring 
 forward other issues. The tendency for this to come about is 
 greater if the committee is one of shop stewards who are charged 
 by their Unions with a general supervision of conditions. 
 
 In the second type a committee is from the first general in its 
 
 1 This does not mean that the Works Committee may not consider 
 an alleged infringement of such conditions. This, as we saw previously, 
 is one of the usual duties of shop stewards. 
 
APPENDIX G 34.1 
 
 range, and is formed to deal with the general industrial conditions 
 of a works. One such committee has for its province (1) to inquire 
 into grievances reported by workmen; (2) to bring before and dis- 
 cuss with the management grievances that it considers genuine; (3) 
 to consider complaints about wages and piece-rates which concern 
 individuals; (4) to consider questions relating to the health and 
 safety of the workmen; (5) to consult with the management on the 
 interpretation of awards, orders and circulars; and (6) to consider 
 generally the conditions of work in the establisment. This may 
 be considered to be fairly typical. Another committee, primarily 
 concerned with piece-rates, has also dealt with questions of ventila- 
 tion and sanitation, complaints about the decisions of foremen, ar- 
 rangement of shifts and of hours of admission to the works, the 
 allocation of piece-work and time-work, and the interpretation of 
 official orders and circulars. Other matters, handled by Works Com- 
 mittees include works discipline, especially timekeeping, methods of 
 paying wages, hours of overtime, and the like. 
 
 Instances may be cited of committees which are tending to exer- 
 cise, or actually exercise, peculiar and interesting functions. In 
 several cases Works Committees have made suggestions for 
 economies in the running of machinery, and it is agreed on both 
 sides that the committees have brought to light weak spots in or- 
 ganization.! A striking feature is the keenness of certain commit- 
 tees, or of the more active members of these committees, to discuss 
 the after-war situation, and this in relation not only to working 
 conditions, but also to such problems as the proper employment of 
 plant. Another case is equally interesting. This is the case of 
 a works in which a Works Tribunal has been instituted in lieu of the 
 Local Munitions Tribunal. The men elect a jury of twelve and a 
 chairman; and this tribunal has been successful in bringing about 
 a great improvement in discipline and time-keeping.i An incident 
 in this works, though it does not bear directly on the matter of 
 Works Committees, is indirectly of value as showing that consulta- 
 tion with the workmen may be of great service to the management. 
 A question arose of the introduction of dilution into the works, and 
 the men in the pattern-making shops objected to its introduction. 
 They were interviewed by the managing director, who asked what 
 alternative suggestion they could make for increasing output. They 
 answered that they believed they could easily increase their output 
 
 1 The same is said of Pit-head Committees — a form of colliery com- 
 mittee to ensure increased out-put. 
 
 1 This is a very interesting matter, especially in view of the argument 
 in the report of the N.W. Commission on Industrial Unrest, that joint 
 
342 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 if they had additional equipment. A tool catalogue was put before 
 them: they suggested the purchase of a number of tools costing in 
 all nearly £2,000. The tools Were bought, and the output was in- 
 creased by 50 per cent, without dilution. 
 
 The range of functions which a Works Committee can efficiently 
 undertake is necessarily indefinite, and a subject of contention not 
 only between employers and workpeople but also between different 
 groups both of employers and of workpeople. Some of the ques- 
 tions on which there is considerable difference of opinion may be 
 noted; they include questions affecting promotion, dismissal, the 
 suggestion of improved processes, lectures and education in trade 
 technique, and work* discipline. 
 
 The question of alleged wrongful dismissal is already handled by 
 the Trade Unions, and there is a considerable body of opinion 
 among both workpeople and employers that, at least in the first 
 instance, it is a suitable function for a Works Cemmittee. Dismissal 
 for such a reason as alleged disobedience, it is argued, may be only 
 a cloak for victimization; reasons may be invented by a foreman 
 in order to get rid of particular men. The claim is made that the 
 other workpeople are likely to understand the psychological in- 
 fluences underlying such action, and that no such dismissal should 
 be made until the circimistances have been discussed with the Works 
 Committee. The situation in which slackness of work compels a 
 considerable reduction in the number of employees is more com- 
 plicated; on the one hand, workpeople complain that the oppor- 
 tunity is used by certain employers to get rid not only of the less 
 efficient employees but also of those who have shown themselves 
 active in support of their fellows — that is, to cover up victimiza- 
 tion; on the other hand, employers complain that workpeople are 
 exclusively biased in favor of the claims of seniority, and make little, 
 if any, allowance for differences in efficiency. There would ap- 
 pear to be some truth in both contentions. A frank discussion 
 would probably tend to remove the causes of the workpeople's com- 
 plaints and, at the same time, to produce a balance between the 
 
 committees of employers and employed would administer "industrial 
 law" better than legal tribunals. The existence of a number of Joint 
 Committees which exercise such functions has been mentioned. The 
 particular interest of the above mentioned Works' Tribunal is that 
 it is not a Joint Committee but is wholly composed of workpeople. 
 The firm has no status in the court, merely appearing by its repre- 
 sentative as it would in the Local Munitions Tribunal. Procedure 
 is quite formal, and the firm's representative is expected to address the 
 chairman as "Sir." 
 
APPENDIX G 343 
 
 claims of seniority and of eflflciency satisfactory to both employers 
 and employees. What is perhaps even more important is a further 
 argument ; such frank discussion would lead to plans for the allevia- 
 tion in the particular works of the effects of a general slackness. 
 It is not contended that any general remedy for unemployment can 
 be found on these lines; all that is suggested is that local and in- 
 dividual efiEort may help to solve the problem. Dismissals due to 
 the introduction of new machinery or new methods are perhaps of 
 a kind with which a Works Committee might properly deal. Work- 
 people are ready to acknowledge the benefits due to improvements 
 and yet naturally resent such improvements where they involve the 
 destruction of their craft or sudden loss of employment. It may 
 be suggested that what individual employers have done in the past — 
 namely, to make arrangements by which the dislocation of liveli- 
 hood is reduced — can be carried out more generally; and that in 
 individual establishments adjustments for such a purpose are a suit- 
 able subject for discussion by a Works Committee. It is, of course, 
 a subject of vital importance to the Trade Unions; it is indeed an 
 aspect of the process of dilution as seen at work in the normal in- 
 dustrial conditions of peace time. Though the Trade Unions could 
 not be expected to hand the matter over to a Works Committee, 
 there appears to be room for the latter to deal with the question 
 within certain limits. 
 
 The appointment of foremen is a question on which there may 
 be said to be three groups of opinions. Many employers hold that 
 it is purely a management question. The opposite extreme to this 
 is the claim made by a considerable section of Trade Unionists that 
 the workmen should choose their own foremen. A position inter- 
 mediate to these two extremes is taken up by a certain number of 
 employers and by a section of workpeople; the appointment (they 
 feel) should be made by the management, but it should be submitted 
 to the Works Committee before it becomes effective. Even this in- 
 termediate position, however, is not really a common position; 
 there are differences of opinion as to the conditions under which 
 the appointment should come before the Works Committee — that is 
 to say, whether or no the Works Committee should have power to 
 veto the appointment. Those employers who are prepared to sub- 
 mit such appointments to a Works Committee are for the most part 
 of the opinion that this should only be done in order to explain the 
 reasons for their choice. This, they hold, wiU tend to remove ob- 
 stacles which might otherwise be put in the way of the appointment. 
 A considerable body of workpeople, on the other hand, hold an 
 intermediate position which comes nearer to election of foremen 
 
344 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 by the workpeople; they think that the Works Committee should 
 have the right to veto the choice made by the management. A few 
 employers consider that this — or even direct election — may be pos- 
 sible when a Works Committee, through the experience gained in 
 consultations about such appointments, has learned to estimate all 
 the qualities necessary in a foreman. It has already been mentioned 
 that Works Committees very often discuss the conduct of foremen. 
 The conclusion then reached, that such discussion was a desirable 
 function for a committee, would appear to involve as a corollary 
 that of consultation about appointments. This latter function 
 would tend to remove the necessity for the former, i 
 
 Among the results expected from the giving of a larger measure 
 of responsibility for industrial conditions to the workpeople is a 
 considerable increase in efficiency. This is said to be possible if 
 the ability of the workpeople to suggest improved processes and 
 methods is properly used. The experience of individual firms would 
 appear to confirm this contention. Many firms have for years past 
 had awards schemes in operation, and in certain cases these have 
 stimulated important suggestions for improvements. The fact that 
 the "suggestion box" is often stated to have proved a failure is not 
 necessarily a condemnation of the idea; it may only mean that the 
 somewhat mechanical and uninspiring device is in itself an inade- 
 quate stimulus. A comparison of the results secured in establish- 
 ments more or less similar (so far as work is concerned) would 
 suggest that the success of an awards scheme depends to a great 
 extent upon the action of the management. Where the manage- 
 
 1 This question of promotion has been discussed in one aspect only, 
 m^., in relation to the appointment of foremen. It is, of course, much 
 more general, and is in many of its aspects a matter of agreement be- 
 tween Employers' Associations and Trade Unions. Such agreements 
 may regulate progress within a trade or a group of connected trades, 
 and necessarily involve, among other questions, that of standard rates 
 of wages. The discussion of promotion in tliis wider sense of the term 
 could come within a Works Committee's functions only where the Trade 
 Unions make no conditions except the payment of standard rates — and 
 then only within the limits of this condition. The promotion to fore- 
 manahip may be said to be distinct, in that a foreman is a member of 
 the management staff, and directly concerned with such employer's in- 
 terests as the maintenance of discipline. The dividing line, however, is 
 not well defined in certain cases, and the fact that certain Unions which 
 largely control promotions among the men paid by wages have also or- 
 ganized the lower grades of the staff, paid by salary or standing wage, 
 complicates the issue. In some of these cases certain Unions claim the 
 right to intervene. 
 
APPENDIX G 345 
 
 ment gains the confidence of the workpeople, and has devised meth- 
 ods of considering suggestions which appeal to the workpeople, 
 there is a much more powerful response than in works where, though 
 there may be a suggestion box, these conditions are absent. Many 
 employers and workpeople agree that a Works Committee may not 
 only produce the atmosphere necessary to the stimulation of sug- 
 gestions, but may also help to arrange for the proper investigation 
 of proposals made by workpeople. In this connection, as in the 
 quite different field of grievances, it would appear to be important 
 that suggestions which look to be worthless should, nevertheless, 
 be considered. To put the matter on the lowest ground, this will 
 probably pay in the long run. The fundamental matter is that 
 every one should be encouraged to think about the processes and the 
 organization of the works. It should be noted that workpeople 
 very commonly complain of the staff's attitude on such matters; 
 any suggestion, they say, is apt to be brushed aside with the re- 
 mark that they are not paid to think but to work. The obstruction 
 in such cases may be a foreman or manager, and even though the 
 higher management may be sympathetic, it may never hear of a 
 suggestion. His mates also are sometimes not very encouraging to 
 a workman with ideas. For lack, therefore, of encouragement, or 
 because of actual discouragement, ideas of value are held back and 
 the capacity for ideas destroyed. How best to arrange that sug- 
 gestions will be guaranteed an adequate consideration is not a direct 
 concern of this report, except in so far as a Works Committee may 
 be employed for the purpose. It is doubtful whether a general 
 Works Committee is a suitable body with which to discuss the value 
 of a change in a particular process or machine, and the use of a 
 small sub-committee for this purpose may be suggested. The argu- 
 ment has been used that a man will place his ideas before two or 
 three responsible work-mates for their criticism, but not before a 
 big committee. If the small committee thought the proposal sound, 
 it would then go straight to the higher management. For more 
 general questions of organization, as distinct from questions of in- 
 dividual methods or machines, the general Works Committee, or in 
 large works a Departmental Committee, would probably be a suit- 
 able body. Testimony to the value of suggestions made by both of 
 these has been received from employers. A further suggestion with 
 a direct bearing on this subject has been made; that the education 
 which certain firms provide for sections of their staff, such as fore- 
 men and underforemen, might be extended to representative work- 
 people. This may take the form of educational lectures, which will 
 widen the outlook of the specialized worker by showing him how 
 
346 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 his own activities fit into those of others and into the general plan 
 of the establishment's activities.^ 
 
 The attitude to a Works Committee's assumption of responsibility 
 for discipline varies very considerably, both among employers and 
 among workpeople. There is a considerable body of experience, 
 and it would appear that, though there are examples to the con- 
 trary. Works Committees which undertake disciplinary functions 
 usually do so with success. There is, at the same time, a very gen- 
 eral demand among workpeople that, if Joint Committees are to 
 discuss the bad timekeeping and other mistakes of the employees, 
 they should have similar powers of dealing with faults on the side 
 of the management. In a number of establishments committees regu- 
 late fines or deductions made from bonus because of lost-time, negli- 
 gence, damage or other cause. 
 
 A note of caution may be added. There is some evidence that 
 a small minority of employers may endeavor to use a Works Com- 
 mittee in order more easily to impose penal conditions which are 
 objected to by the main body of workpeople. This is opposed to the 
 whole spirit which makes a Works Committee a success, and is 
 bound to produce friction. A somewhat similar attitude is taken 
 up by a small minority of workpeople who appear to desire that 
 no joint meetings should be held in an orderly or businesslike man- 
 ner. 
 
 It may be added in conclusion of this section, that the opinion, 
 and indeed the practice, of a number of firms inclines in the direc- 
 tion of ad hoc committees. It is held that this enables the firm to 
 consult the men who are directly concerned, and that it has the ad- 
 ditional advantage of giving greater reality to the consultation. 
 When consultation takes place on an immediate and definite issue, 
 it is said to result in practical and useful discussion ; and the fear is 
 expressed that consultation, in the absence of such an issue, may 
 only be an empty form. The inclusion in such committees of the 
 shop stewards who represent the classes of men concerned — as is 
 often the ease — gives a direct connection with the Trade Union or 
 Unions whose standard may be affected. 
 
 VI. — RELATIONS WITH TRADE UNIONS 
 
 Something has already been said in the sections dealing with the 
 constitution, procedure and fimetions of Works Committees, con- 
 cerning the relations between such committees and Trade Union 
 
 1 Another interesting feature in this connection is the development of 
 Works Magibzines. 
 
APPENDIX G 347 
 
 organization. The position is in certain respects somewhat para- 
 doxical; the problem as seen by most Trade Unionists is that of 
 strengthening the Trade Union organization in the workshop, but, 
 on the one hand, many employers prefer not to deal with the shop 
 stewards in the works but with the outside Trade Union organiza- 
 tion, and, on the other hand, some elements in Trade Unionism pre- 
 fer that it should stand outside the workshop and handle questions 
 in each works from the outside, while some unionist shop stewards 
 consider that their Works Committees should not be subject to any 
 control of the Trade Unions. The general question of the relation 
 and the relative weight and power of Works Committees and district 
 organization is one which is likely to be settled gradually in ex- 
 perience and actual working. Here it may be convenient to draw 
 attention to some considerations which appear to affect this general 
 question, particularly as seen in the engineering industry. 
 
 The first consideration is that the change in the conditions of 
 working have made necessary the development of new machinery 
 for collective bargaining. Since the questions for which this ma- 
 chinery is required are, to a great extent, peculiar to individual 
 establishments, the collective bargaining, if it is to be done at aU, 
 must be carried through in each establishment. At the same time, 
 unless the results are to impair the standard conditions which it is 
 the business of the Unions to uphold, the work must be entrusted 
 to representatives of the Unions. Thus there has come about a 
 natural development in the functions of the shop stewards. Previ- 
 ously they had to see that no encroachments were made on standard 
 conditions; now they may have the more positive duty of partici- 
 pating in the settlement of piece-work prices in terms of these 
 standard conditions.^ 
 
 In regard to the changes just mentioned, and in regard also to 
 dilution, the interests of the work people belonging to different 
 skilled Unions are more or less the same. This, combined with the 
 natural community in the works, probably accounts for the fact 
 that certain apparent difficulties of representation are, as a rule, 
 easily overcome. The impossibility of so representing different 
 Unions on a Works Committee that satisfaction is secured to all is 
 alleged to be such a difiSeulty. So far as the skilled trades are con- 
 cerned — at least in engineering — the difficulty would not appear 
 
 1 The appointment by the men of a separate rate fixer, whose business 
 it would be to arrange piece prices with the firm's rate fixer, is a sug- 
 gested development towards which a movement is being made in one or 
 two firms. In one large establishment, such a duplication is suggested 
 by one of the firm's rate fixers as a very desirable arrangement. 
 
348 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 to be serious. In many cases where even a small minority only of 
 the skilled Unions have direct representation there would appear to be 
 no dissatisfaction. 
 
 As between the members of skilled and unskilled Unions the posi- 
 tion is more difficult. There are several cases of two separate 
 Committees of Shop Stewards — one representing the skilled and the 
 other unskilled and semi-skilled men — in the same works. In other 
 establishments, however, skilled and unskilled men vote for the 
 same committee and act together as members. This would appear 
 to be the most desirable arrangement. The case, however, in which 
 a minority of unskilled men in each department is represented on 
 a Works Committeee by a skilled unionist is not exactly on a par 
 with that in which a minority belonging to an unskilled Union is 
 so represented. Apart from the fact that unskilled men are more 
 likely to be distributed through all the departments, so that though 
 in a minority they form a considerable proportion of the total num- 
 ber of employees, there is the further consideration that the similar- 
 ity of interest and the community of feeling are not so pronounced. 
 In many establishments the difficulty has apparently been sur- 
 mounted; but in a number of others it is still a serious problem. 
 The problem would appear to be one which cannot be settled by the 
 men in each establishment — though they may provide valuable sug- 
 gestions — and it must probably be left for the Trade Unions con- 
 cerned to come to some agreement on the matter. For this reason 
 a certain number of workpeople, both skilled and unskilled, con- 
 sider that in cases where the difficulty is acute the policy of two 
 committees is the best present working arrangement. The defects 
 of such a system are perhaps too obvious to require particular men- 
 tion. It may, however, be noted that the system obstructs very 
 considerably that joint consideration of common interests and de- 
 sires, to find expression for which is one of the main purposes of a 
 Works Committee. It tends instead to concentrate the attention of 
 each committee upon points of divergence of interest. 
 
 The coming together into one committee of shop stewards re- 
 sponsible to different Trade Unions raises a number of questions. 
 It is true that the rules by which Unions define the functions of 
 their shop stewards are fairly uniform, and so long as a Works 
 Committee respects the rules of the different Unions there is little 
 fear of overlapping or confusion in functions. The general rule 
 which determines the functions of a Works Committee in relation 
 to Trade Union organization has already been mentioned. As is 
 said in the case of one Committee, "The Committee regard questions 
 of general application, relating to rates of wages, hours of work or 
 
APPENDIX G 349 
 
 otherwise, which affect 'district conditions/ as beyond their juris- 
 diction. There is no formal rule to this effect; but this limitation 
 of the Committee's power is well understood, and no difficulties have 
 arisen." 
 
 It is thus the rule that general questions of district or national 
 conditions are left to the Trade Unions, while the Works Committee 
 deals with either the detailed application of these general rules 
 within the Works or with questions entirely peculiar to the works. 
 On the whole, the information which is available would suggest 
 that the division of jurisdiction is well understood and closely fol- 
 lowed. There are, however, certain difSculties. 
 
 In the first place there is evidence of uncertainty as to whether or 
 not a Works Committee should undertake certain functions; mat- 
 ters may sometimes seem from one point of view to be "branch" or 
 "district" business, and from another to be "works" busi- 
 ness. A tool-room bonus, for instance, may be arranged in a 
 works between a committee and the works manager, and they 
 may agree in regarding it as a works affair, while the local 
 branch (or district committee) of the Union concerned may consider 
 that it is a question of wages which demands their sanction. In 
 view of the variety and complexity of bonus schemes which have 
 been instituted in munitions factories, and of the possible reactions 
 of these upon standard rates, there would appear to be some need 
 for careful definition of a Works Committee's functions in this field. 
 
 There is some evidence also of actual conflict of authority. Such 
 cases, however, would appear to have been given an altogether dis- 
 proportionate prominence in public discussion, to the detriment of 
 those whose main desire is to create a constitutional machinery 
 suited to new and rapidly changing conditions. In a few instances, 
 however, a Works Committee would appear to have been in doubt 
 as to whether it was an independent organization or one subject to 
 Trade Union control. Thus, a Works Committee wholly composed 
 of Trade Union stewards has made a demand for an advance in 
 wages to which, under an alternative agreement made by the Trade 
 Unions, the Workmen represented by it had no claim. In one or 
 two cases representations have been made to Grovemment Depart- 
 ments for advances in wages and improvements in other working 
 conditions in individual works, independently of district or national 
 machinery, though the works in question were known to recognize 
 district standards. 
 
 It would appear that the uncertainty as to the real position and 
 powers of a Works Committee in relation to the Trade Unions is, 
 at least in the engineering industry, to some extent due to the fact 
 
350 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 that the various members of a committee may be responsible to many 
 different Unions. Though, therefore, the Works Committee may 
 aspire to be a unit of government, this is rendered diflBcult in view 
 of the different and possibly conflicting authorities from which the 
 members obtain their status. One suggested scheme proposes to 
 overcome this particular difiiculty so far at least as the Unions of 
 skilled men are concerned. It would bring the committees in the 
 various establishments under the district Engineering Trades Joint 
 Committee, and confine membership of any committee to those or- 
 ganized in the Trade Unions affiliated to the district committee. 
 This question of the relationship of works to district committees is 
 interesting also in view of the proposals contained in the Whitley 
 Report. That Report advocates Joint National and District Coun- 
 cils and Works Committees ; and the problem of the relations of the 
 District Council and the Works Committee and their relative func- 
 tions is one which will need to be investigated when measures are 
 being adopted to institute such Councils. 
 
 The need for this consideration of relationships between Works 
 Committees and the district Trade Union organization would ap- 
 pear to be more necessary in certain industries than in others. It 
 would appear, for instance, that in the iron and steel industry the 
 fact that members in one works commonly form a branch of their 
 Union, and that the secretaries of branches are usually — it may be in 
 virtue of the office they hold — members of the Works Committee, 
 makes the problem of inter-relations less difficult, at least for those 
 Unions which are organized on the basis of works. 
 
 A point of procedure may be noticed. It is sometimes the case 
 that a Trade Union official accompanies the representatives of the 
 Works Committee in an interview with the management; or, again, 
 a Trade Union official may attend the deliberations of a Joint Com- 
 mittee if the men so desire.^ But this apparently is exceptional; 
 and, as a rule, a Works Committee acts by itself, and refers to 
 Trade Union officials questions which are too large or too difficult 
 to be settled in the works. It should, however, be noted that many 
 trade unionists are of the opinion that the right of the Trade Union 
 officials to attend committee meetings (or to inspect the minutes of 
 a committee) is a necessary condition of the satisfactory solution 
 of the question of inter-relations. 
 
 Two other questions which are involved in this problem of the 
 
 1 It may also be noted that officials of the various Unions were mem- 
 bers of the workmen's side of the Joint Committee formed in connection 
 with a profit-sharing scheme instituted before the war by a well-known 
 shipbuilding firm in a northern town. 
 
APPENDIX G 851 
 
 inter-relations of Works Committees and Trade Unions call for 
 notice. 
 
 The first relates to the victimization of men who show them- 
 selves active as shop stewards or as members of a Works Commit- 
 tee. It is impossible to estimate to what extent such victimization 
 actually occurs, and this is partly due to the difficulty of defining 
 what victimization is. Workmen complain not only of victimization, 
 but also of the difficulty of bringing the charge home even when 
 (they state) they have no doubt about the facts. For this reason 
 many of them hold the view that, unless the Works Committee is 
 properly related to and protected by Trade Unions, it cannot hope — 
 in certain establishments at least — to discuss questions before the 
 management with that sense of freedom which is essential to the 
 success of joint deliberations. In this connection it may be noted 
 that one of two reasons given for the short terms of office of the 
 shop stewards and secretaries of committees in one industry (one 
 and three months respectively) was the fear of victimization. The 
 other reason — ^in this the Works Committee appears to revert to 
 the early forms of conducting the business of Trade Union branches 
 — was stated to be the desire that every one should take his share 
 of office. 
 
 The other question relates to the allegations made by certain 
 Trade Unionists that certain employers — ^more particularly in one 
 or two industries — are fostering the growth of Works Committees 
 in order to destroy Trade Union influence in their works. The 
 danger, it is said, from the point of view of Trade Unionism is 
 exactly the same as that which is believed to result from profit- 
 sharing, viz., that the workman is detached from his fellows and 
 his power to obtain certain standard conditions is consequently 
 weakened. The further charge has been made, in regard to one or 
 two industries, that the employers were proposing, in the name of 
 the Whitley Report, to form Works Committees without connection 
 with the Unions, and from these committees to build up District 
 and National Councils representative of employers and employed. 
 It must, however, be emphasized that any such action is directly 
 opposed to the proposals of the Whitley Report. These proposals 
 look to the control of Works Committees by National or District 
 Councils which, on the workpeople's side, would be representative 
 of Trade Unions only; and, in order that Works Committees should 
 be formed on lines satisfactory to the national organizations, the 
 Report proposes that the formation of Works Committees should, 
 as far as possible, follow, and not precede, that of the National and 
 District Councils. A logical application of this order of procedure 
 
352 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 may be impossible, but' wherever individual employers find it de- 
 sirable to form Works Committees before National or District Coun- 
 cils are instituted, the idea of the Whitley Report may be so far 
 followed that such proposals should be brought before the Trade 
 Unions concerned, and they should be asked to share in the forma- 
 tion of the Works Committee. 
 
 VII. — GENEEAL CONSIDERATIONS 
 
 The applicability of Works Committees to different industries 
 is a matter of importance. During the war the discussion of them 
 has been associated most generally with the engineering industry, 
 and it is probably in that industry that, for reasons already stated, 
 their development during the war has been most rapid. This de- 
 velopment, however, has by no means been confined to engineering; 
 and in certain other industries, for example, iron and steel works, 
 there has been a marked increase. If we consider pre-war experi- 
 ences, and include not only general committees formed for special 
 purposes, but also section committees, it would appear that an in- 
 dustry in which committees had not been in existence at some time or 
 other would prove the exception rather than the rule. In this con- 
 nection one may note that in establishments in the distributive trades 
 several committees have been formed to help in the running of profit- 
 sharing schemes. It may also be noted that during the war one 
 very large establishment has seen the development not only of 
 separate Committees of Shop Stewards, representing the skilled and 
 unskilled sections of engineering respectively, but of at least two 
 other committees constituted on more or less similar lines. One of 
 these is composed of shop stewards from the building trades, and 
 the other of delegates from the clerks engaged in the various de- 
 partments. The works in question is exceptional, not only in size 
 but in certain other respects, so that it cannot very well be taken as 
 an example. The specific representation of the building trades may, 
 however, be put alongside the previously mentioned examples of 
 informal committees constituted on big works of building construc- 
 tion. It may also be argued that if a committee is desirable in a 
 distributive trading establishment for the administration of a bonus 
 scheme, the same form of organization may be useful for other 
 general purposes. It may further be argued — and it is so argued 
 by some — that a Works Committee is desirable in any establish- 
 ment in which more than a certain number of people are employed. 
 Whether the organization is either necessary or desirable in every 
 or nearly every kind of establishment is a question which the future 
 must solve. Here it may be noted that at present considerations 
 
APPENDIX G 353 
 
 almost diametrically opposite to one another appear to determine 
 the general absence of committees from different groups of indus- 
 tries; in some this would appear to be due to the absence or the 
 weakness of Trade Union organization, while in others the strength 
 of Trade Union organization makes Works Committees unnecessary 
 for the purposes which call them into existence in a number of 
 industries. 
 
 The cotton industry is a case in point. Here the contiguity of 
 the mills, and the fact that conditions are so uniform that district 
 piece-lists are practicable, ensure that the strong district organiza- 
 tion (with its permanent secretary on both sides and its district 
 committee on both sides) is adequate to those needs which in en- 
 gineering, for instance, have produced the demand for a works 
 organization. The same problem of wages has necessitated in other 
 industries, e.g., certain of those coming under the Trade Boards 
 Acts, direct State-enforcement of piece-rates. Though for this 
 purpose a Works Committee may be unnecessary or undesirable in 
 both groups of industries, it may be that other purposes will pro- 
 duce a similar form of organization. It would appear that most 
 of the needs to which reference has been made in this report are 
 not quite peculiar to any one type of industrial establishment, but 
 more or less common to all. Questions of foremanship may be given 
 as one instance. Welfare is another; very many matters can be 
 brought under its scope, and it seems likely that in future Works 
 Committees will come to play a greater part in their administration.* 
 
 It may be suggested that the size of the works concerned is a fac- 
 tor of importance in any discussion of the range of application of 
 a system of Works Committees. It is sometimes urged that Works 
 Committees are only valuable in large works, in which the work- 
 men number 3,000 or upwards. It is certainly true that the larger 
 the works, the greater the help which a Works Committee can give 
 in putting the higher ranks of the management in touch with the 
 feelings and needs of the men. In a small works the manager will 
 probably be able to familiarize himself with every detail of the 
 work, and he will be brought into contact with nearly every work- 
 man. He may feel that he is already in close touch with the men, 
 and that a Works Committee cannot make the touch closer. Even 
 here, however, a Works Committee is likely to help. It will enable 
 
 1 Since the above paragraph was written a movement to bring the 
 union organization more closely into relationship with the conditions 
 in individual cotton mills has produced a scheme in the Oldham district. 
 The proposal is to make shop (or mill) clubs an integral part of the 
 district union, to deal with shop grievances, etc. 
 
354. MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 the management to discuss matters not with isolated individuals, 
 but with the accredited representatives of the whole body of the 
 men, and it may help to bring to light difficulties, needs, feelings 
 and defects which might otherwise have remained concealed. A 
 Works Committee may thus serve not to supplant, but to supple- 
 ment, the advantages of personal touch, even in small establish- 
 ments; while in large establishments, where personal contact is not 
 so easy, the help which it may give is obvious. In any case it should 
 be remarked that committees are to be found in works of very dif- 
 ferent sizes. One committee is concerned with workers in a single 
 establishment to the number of 10,000 men; many are to be found 
 in works in which the workmen number about 3,000 ; a number exist 
 in works employing about 100 workmen. 
 
 To this may be added the expression of opinion of the owner 
 and manager of a small printing office where the compositors' chapel 
 (there is only the one chapel in the office) has at present only ten 
 members. He is in direct contact with each of the men; but he 
 has found it advantageous in the past to have the father of the 
 chapel and one or two of the other compositors together "for a talk 
 over tea." This, it may be said, is done in many small businesses. 
 It may, however, be worth while to consider the advisability of 
 putting such discussion on a regular footing even in small busi- 
 nesses. In the instance mentioned the employer proposes to make 
 a trial of regular discussions. Probably the only generalization one 
 can safely make about the need for Works Committees in relation 
 to the size of the establishments is that the need increases with the 
 size. 
 
 There remain two points of importance. One is the question of 
 the practical success of Works Committees; the other the impor- 
 tance from that point of view of the human factor. 
 
 As regards the first question, evidence is forthcoming from all 
 parts of the country — the Clyde, the Tyne, the Midlands, the Bris- 
 tol, Manchester, Yorkshire, and London districts. As regards the 
 second, this much is clear: success depends to a great extent on the 
 existence of a spirit of counsel and understanding on both sides. If 
 "the management door stands open" to all legitimate grievances, 
 and if the men are ready to present their grievances and to take 
 into consideration the difficulties of the management, the fundamental 
 conditions are present. Much will always depend on the person- 
 alities concerned. Every human institution requires for its suc- 
 cess the guidance of personalities. A Works Committee requires 
 for its chairman or secretary — or, at any rate, one may say, ideally 
 requires for its chairman or secretary — a man of personality, trusted 
 
APPENDIX G 355 
 
 by his fellow-workmen, respected by the management, with the 
 spirit of service, and ready, in that spirit, to give his services freely 
 in the cause of his committee. It requires no less a sympathetic 
 and capable management, ready to listen, ready to weigh carefully, 
 ready to take pains in discussion, and prepared to persuade and 
 to be persuaded. It is one of the most encouraging signs of the 
 times that on both sides such men have been found, and that, both 
 among the management and the men, personalities have emerged 
 to meet the needs of the institution. 
 
 Works Committees mean discussion; discussion takes time; and 
 from this point of view it is sometimes argued that a Works Com- 
 mittee may tend to slow down the pace of industry; and, again, 
 that it may be difScult to convince a committee of the value and 
 the feasibility of a new idea or process, so that the way of innova- 
 tion may be somewhat impeded. These, however, are theoretical 
 objections. In practice Works Committees — the evidence would 
 suggest — have improved timekeeping and increased output, and in 
 that way they have accelerated rather than impeded the pace of 
 industry. In practice, again, they have been the opposite of con- 
 servative, and instead of checking change they have themselves sug- 
 gested change. And even if they made the pace slower, or change 
 more difflcult, they have advantages that would compensate, and 
 more than compensate, for these defects. They make for better 
 relations and greater harmony, and these are the things that matter 
 most to industry. More time is gained by the absence of disputes 
 than is lost by the presence of discussion; more improvements can 
 be introduced in an atmosphere of harmony that can possibly be 
 introduced in an atmosphere of suspicion. 
 
 That Works Committees have, in the great majority of cases, 
 tended to introduce greater harmony, and, through it, greater effi- 
 ciency, is proved by the evidence of those concerned in their work- 
 ing. It is not denied that in some cases (though these are very few) 
 Works Committees have failed. A few cases of such failure have 
 been noted in committees instituted during the war for general pur- 
 poses. In one of these the failure was perhaps due mainly to 
 defects of machinery, and it is stated that the Works Committee 
 may be resuscitated; in another the failure was due to deep-seated 
 causes, which made success impossible, and the failure reflects no 
 discredit on the institution. In almost every case, however, the 
 testimony is to the opposite effect. Sometimes introduced with 
 difficulty and amid suspicion, committees have established them- 
 selves and done service which is acknowledged even by their orig- 
 inal opponents. By providing a channel for the ventilation of 
 
356 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 grievances at an early stage, and before they become acute, they 
 have prevented disputes and strikes, and they have improved time- 
 keeping and increased output. Nor is this all. The functions of 
 Works Committees are not merely concerned with bringing griev- 
 ances before the management, but also with a preliminary enquiry 
 into grievances, in order to decide whether they are well-grounded 
 and serious enough to be brought before the management. The 
 work which they do in this preliminary stage is not the least valu- 
 able part of their work, and, far from hampering the management, 
 it obviously does the reverse and relieves the management of difil- 
 culties and grievances it would otherwise have to face. Grievances 
 are either nipped in the bud by being shown, upon discussion in 
 committee, to be unfounded, or they are settled in discussion be- 
 tween the secretary of the committee and the foreman or head of 
 the department, and in either case they never come to the main man- 
 agement. When grievances cannot be settled in this way — since, 
 for example, they may involve the head of a department directly — 
 there remains the possibility of access to the main management. 
 The necessity for this has been emphasized by both representative 
 employers and representative workmen; and upon it, so far as can 
 be judged, depends not only the removal of grievances, but (what 
 is still more important) that really suggestive and constructive 
 work which the signatories to the Whitley Report had in mind in 
 recommending that workpeople should be given a larger voice in 
 determining industrial conditions. 
 
 In more than one works the summary of opinion on a Works 
 Committee — and that not on one side only, but on both — ^has been 
 expressed in the phrase, "This is the best thing that has ever hap- 
 pened in the shop." Such a summary could not be given if ex- 
 perience had not proved that a Works Committee was more than 
 a piece of machinery and something different from the old methods 
 of industrial conciliation. It means that a Works Committee is felt 
 to be something vital and something new — something that enlists the 
 workers in real participation, and something that offers fresh prom- 
 ise for the future. 
 
 APPENDIX I 
 
 for 
 
 Works Committees Repoet 
 
 questionnaire 
 1. Origin. 
 
 When did the Committee come into existence? 
 (b) Under what circumstances did it arise? 
 
APPENDIX G 357 
 
 (c) What procedure was adopted to put the proposal of a Com- 
 mittee before the employees (or management where the 
 initiative came from the employees), and draft a con- 
 stitution ? 
 Constitution. 
 (a) Is there one Committee only, or more than one? 
 If more than one what are their relations, if any? 
 In the case of each : — 
 (6) Is it a joint committee, representative of management and 
 employees, or a committee of employees alone? 
 
 (c) In the latter case what arrangements exist for meeting the 
 
 management ? 
 
 (d) In the former case does the workers' side constitute a 
 
 separate committee, meeting apart from the joint com- 
 mittee ? 
 
 (e) How are the workers' representatives chosen? What 
 
 classes, grades of workers, or departments are repre- 
 sented and in what proportion? Are any classes of 
 workers not represented? 
 (/) What representation, if any, have Trade Unions, as such, 
 on the Committee? 
 
 i. Is the whole or any part of the membership of the 
 
 Committee confined to Trade Unionists? 
 ii. Has any Union any part in the appointment of 
 
 members ? 
 iii. Is any full-time Trade Union official admitted to 
 sit with the Committee, and if so, in what ca- 
 pacity ? 
 iv. What is the relation (if any) of the Committee 
 to the Trade Union stewards or delegates in the 
 works ? 
 (g) How are the representatives of the management appointed? 
 (h) What ofHcers has the Committee, and how are they ap- 
 pointed ? 
 (i) What changes in the constitution of the Committee have 
 been made since the establishment of the Committee, and 
 for what reasons? 
 (j) What changes in the constitution are desired by either side, 
 and for what reasons? 
 
 What are the Functions of the Committee f 
 (a) i. Wages questions — 
 
 Piece prices. Bonus times. 
 
S58 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 Allocation of collective bonus. 
 
 Application of wage orders, &c. 
 ii. Working hours — 
 
 "Clocking." 
 
 Breaks. Shifts. 
 iii. Allocation of work — 
 
 Piece and time. Demarcation. 
 
 Dilution. 
 
 Overtime. Short time. 
 iv. Works organization — 
 
 Suggestion of improvements. 
 
 Discussion of proposed innovations. 
 
 Place of apprentices. 
 V. Discipline — 
 
 Timekeeping. Language. 
 
 Methods of foremen, 
 vi. Disputes — 
 
 Discussion of complaints. 
 
 Settlement of differences, 
 vii. Welfare — 
 
 Canteen management. Rest periods. 
 
 Sanitation. 
 
 Works amenities, 
 viii. Any other functions — 
 
 (It is desirable to make the list of functions 
 
 as comprehensive as possible for the purpose of 
 
 comparison.) 
 (&) Are the powers of the Committee specified in the con- 
 stitution? or determined by the chairman? or unspecified? 
 (c) Have there been any changes in the functions of the Com- 
 mittee since it was established? If so, what were the 
 reasons ? 
 
 4. "Procedure. 
 
 (o) i. How, and by whom, are matters brought before the 
 Committee ? 
 
 ii. Does the Committee meet at stated periods, or only 
 when specially summoned? How is a meeting sum- 
 moned ? 
 
 iii. If the firm is represented on the Committee, do the 
 worker members meet separately before the joint 
 meeting? 
 
 iv. If the times of meeting are irregular, please state the 
 
APPENDIX G 359 
 
 number of meetings held during each of the last 
 three months. 
 V. Do the meetings take place in employers' or in workers' 
 
 time? 
 vi. How long does a meeting usually last? 
 vii. Is there any payment for attendance? If so, by 
 whom? 
 (6) In case of failure on the part of the Committee to settle 
 any question, to what authority is the question taken? 
 Give an example of the stages through which a complaint 
 could go. 
 
 5. Relations with Trade Unions. 
 
 (a) What proportion of the employees of the firm are. mem- 
 
 bers of Unions? Of what Unions are they members? 
 
 (b) Does the firm recognize all, or any, of these Unions? 
 
 (c) Have the Union oflfteials assisted or obstructed the estab- 
 
 lishment and working of the Committee? 
 
 (d) Is any provision made for the safeguarding of small sec- 
 
 tional interests (such as the Scientific Instrument Mak- 
 ers in an engineering works) ? 
 
 6. General. 
 
 (a) The attitude of the management to Committees. On what 
 occasions, if any, has the management refused to carry 
 out a Committee's decisions? 
 
 (5) Have the men in the works accepted or rejected a Com- 
 mittee's decisions? 
 
 (c) The possibility and difficulties of dove-tailing Works Com- 
 
 mittees into the existing Trade Union organizations. 
 
 (d) Effectiveness and results of the establishment of Works 
 
 Committees on the relations between employers and em- 
 ployed. 
 
 (e) The desirability of separate Committees to deal with dif- 
 
 ferent types of functions {e.g., wages questions, wel- 
 fare, &c.). 
 (/) Possible directions in which the functions of Committees 
 
 could be extended. 
 (g) The relation of Works Committees to unofficial Shop 
 Stewards. 
 (N.B. — It is the suggestions and feelings of employers, managers, 
 trade union officials and workpeople it is particularly important 
 to collect. The investigator's own criticisms and suggestions should 
 be embodied in a separate report.) 
 
360 
 
 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 APPENDIX II 
 
 Eepobts on Individual Works Committees, &cA 
 
 (A) to (P) — Engineering, Shipbuilding, and Iron and Steel In- 
 dustries. 
 (Q) to (W) — Boot and Shoe, Woolen, and other industries.. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 (A) Messrs. Hans Renold, Ltd., Manchester 
 
 (B) Messrs. Rolls-Royce, Ltd., Derby 
 
 (C) Messrs. The Phoenix Dynamo Co., Ltd., Bradford- 
 
 Wages Committees ... 
 
 (D) Messrs. Barr & Stroud, Ltd., Glasgow 
 
 (E) A Large Engineering Establishment — Dilution Commit- 
 
 tee 
 
 (F) An Establishment making Motor Cars and Aeroplanes 
 
 (G) Messrs. The Horstmann Gear Co., Ltd., Bath 
 (H) Messrs. H. 0. Strong & Sons, Ltd., Bristol 
 (I) Messrs. Guest, Keen & Nettlefold, Ltd., Birmingham 
 (J) A Firm of Electrical Engineers 
 (K) Messrs. Hotchkiss et Cie, Coventry . 
 (L) A Large Engineering Establishment 
 (M) A Munitions Factory 
 (N) Messrs. Whitehead Torpedo Works (Weymouth), Ltd, 
 
 — Memorandum on Proposals ... 
 
 (0) A Shipbuilding Yard 
 
 (P) Parkgate Works Joint Trades Committee 
 (Q) A Firm of Boot Manufacturers 
 (R) Messrs. Reuben Gaunt & Sons, Ltd., Farsley . . 
 (S) Messrs. Fox Brothers & Co., Ltd., Wellington 
 (T) Messrs. Rowntree & Co., Ltd., York 
 
 (U) 
 (V) 
 
 A Printing Office 
 
 A Soap Works — Welfare Committee 
 
 (W) A Coal Miner's Statement on Output Committees 
 
 1 The statements given below are in some eases supplied by the firms, 
 but In most cases have been compiled by the investigator on statements 
 made to him by the management and representatives of the workers on 
 the Committee. Wherever possible, pains have been taken to ensure that 
 the statement accords with the views of all parties concerned with the 
 Committee. 
 
APPENDIX G 361 
 
 (A) Messrs. Hans Renou), Ltd., Bumage Works, 
 Didsbury, Manchester 
 
 Industry: Engineering. Number of Employees, 2,600. Num- 
 ber of Departments and (in round numbers) average of workers 
 in each — 17 departments, 160 in each. Males 1,000. Women 1,600. 
 
 At this establishment there are three different committees : — 
 
 (1) The first of these is the "Council" of the Social Union of 
 the Works, which includes about two-thirds of the whole body of 
 the workers. The Social Union is managed entirely by its mem- 
 bers, and has been in existence for the last eight years; it is con- 
 cerned with games, recreations, and educational activities, such as 
 the formation of study-circles; it is said to have done a valuable 
 work in helping to create a feeling of community and to have pre- 
 pared the ground for later developments. 
 
 (2) The second is a Welfare Committee, concerned with shop 
 amenities, which came into existence about a year ago. This com- 
 mittee is a joint committee. On the workers' side there are 17 
 representatives for as many constituencies; each constituency is, 
 roughly speaking, comprised of workers employed on the same sort 
 of operation and in the same building, but men and women vote 
 and are represented separately; the election is by ballot, and every 
 worker (Unionist or non-Unionist) is entitled to vote. Trade 
 Unionism is ofiBcially represented by a delegate from the Shop 
 Stewards' Committee. The Secretary of the Social Union is also a 
 member of the Welfare Committee. On the side of the manage- 
 ment the Committee is composed of one of the partners in the 
 business, the employment manager, the women's employment man- 
 ager, and such of the assistant works managers as wish to attend; 
 generally the number is about 6. The chair is taken by the chief 
 representative of the management, and he provides the secretary; 
 the meetings are monthly. The functions of the Welfare Commit- 
 tee are to advise the management on matters which it wishes to hear 
 discussed, to bring to the notice of the management questions (other 
 than those of wages and Trade Union matters) which the workers 
 wish to have discussed, and to consider suggestions for improve- 
 ments. The questions that have actually been discussed include the 
 treatment of eye-cases, the provision of first-aid and the prevention 
 of accidents, the provision of overalls, and the arrangement of the 
 seats and the maintenance of order and comfort in the men's and 
 women's dining-rooms. The members attend well; they meet in 
 overtime hours at present, and are paid overtime wages for the 
 time they spend at meetings, but it is hoped that in normal times 
 
362 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 the meetings will be held outside working hours and that attendance 
 will be regarded as a form of voluntary service. It is possible that 
 in the future a separate preliminary meeting may be arranged for 
 the women representatives from time to time; it is possible, too, 
 that in the future the management will absent themselves at every 
 alternate meeting, in order that the representatives of the workers 
 may discuss matters by tliemselves. 
 
 (3) The third committee is that of the Shop Stewards. This was 
 formed by a spontaneous movement among the Trade Unionists in 
 the establishment, at the time when the Welfare Committee was 
 under consideration. Room has been found in practice for both, 
 and the firm has from the first recognized the Shop Stewards' Com- 
 mittee. The Shop Stewards are elected by the Trade Unionists 
 in the establishment; they are seven in number, but the number is 
 likely to grow. At the invitation of the firm, they send one of their 
 members to sit on the Welfare Committee, but it is worth noticing 
 that otherwise the composition of the two bodies is distinct, and 
 the same person has not been elected a member of both. The 
 Shop Stewards elect their own chairman and secretary. While the 
 Welfare Committee is concerned with shop amenities, the Shop 
 Stewards' Committee deals with questions of wages and Trade 
 Union matters in general. As soon as it was formed, the Shop 
 Stewards' Committee asked and obtained the approval of the Dis- 
 trict Committee of the particular Union to which its members al- 
 most entirely belong. The Secretary of the Committee sends the 
 names of its members to the District Committee, which issues a 
 card to each entitling him to act as an official Shop Steward. The 
 Committee meets (in the firm's time) at the beginning of each 
 month, and after discussion sends to the management a list of the 
 questions it wishes to have discussed; the management adds ques- 
 tions which it wishes to bring forward, and the head of the man- 
 agement and various managers then meet the Committee for dis- 
 cussion; but a meeting is held between the management and the 
 Committee monthly, whether there is definite business or no. Some- 
 times foremen are present when a subject vitally concerning them 
 is under discussion. Prom the point of view of the men the ad- 
 vantage of the committee is that they can go direct to the manage- 
 ment, while before they could only go direct to the foremen. From 
 the point of view of the management the Committee has, on the 
 whole, conduced to smoother working of the establishment; and 
 questions of the method of paying wages, of increased bonus, and 
 of alleged victimization of workers by foremen have been threshed 
 out freely between the two sides. In connection with the position 
 
APPENDIX G 
 
 of the foremen, it is thought that it may be necessary to devise some 
 scheme, such as regular meetings between the foremen and the man- 
 agement on any questions raised in the Committee which affect their 
 position, in order to avoid any clashing between the foremen and 
 the Committee. It is also thought that it may be necessary to draw 
 up rules to determine the right of the Secretary of the Committee 
 to enter departments of the works to consult with individual work- 
 men about complaints. (These rules have since been drawn up and 
 are contained in the following Note.) 
 
 Both the Welfare Committee and the Shop Stewards' Committee 
 are used in this establishment as means for the announcement and 
 explanation of intended action by the management. Announce- 
 ments have been made, for instance, of new methods of grouping 
 the work, and again of the appointments of foremen and the gen- 
 eral grounds on which they are based. 
 
 Note 
 regulations goveeninq activities op shop stewards 
 
 Meetings. 
 
 1. The Directors will give the Shop Stewards' Committee facili- 
 ties for holding committee meetings, including the use of a room, 
 twice per month, one such meeting to take place, unless otherwise 
 arranged, on the first Wednesday of each month at 6.15 p.m. 
 
 2. The Management will meet the Committee, in general, once 
 per month, such meeting to take place on the second Wednesday at 
 6.15 p.m. unless otherwise arranged. 
 
 3. The Directors will allow the Shop Stewards' Committee the 
 use of one of the Works Dining Rooms twice a year, for general 
 works meetings. 
 
 4. If extra meetings are desired, either with the Management, 
 for Committee meetings, or for general shop meetings, application 
 should be made to the Employment Manager. 
 
 5. In the case of the regular meetings of the Committee or the 
 monthly joint meetings with the Management, if overtime is being 
 worked, and a steward would have been working during a meeting, 
 time spent at such a meeting will be paid for as though spent at 
 work. 
 
 Procedmre. 
 
 6. The Superintendent is the executive authority in each de- 
 partment, and his instructions must be obeyed, even though a Shop 
 Steward considers an order unreasonable. In such a case the con- 
 
364 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 stitutional procedure is to obey the order, and to lay a complaint 
 or call for investigation afterwards. 
 
 7. Stewards have the right to make any complaint or suggestion 
 to a Superintendent with regard to the rules he makes, his treat- 
 ment of any individual or individuals, his application of general 
 shop rules or policy, &e. 
 
 8. In no case will a Superintendent refuse to listen to and in- 
 vestigate any bona fide case brought forward by a Shop Steward, 
 and to give him an answer. 
 
 9. If a steward is not satisfied with a Superintendent's handling 
 of a question, he may refer the matter to the Shop Stewards' Com- 
 mittee for discussion, if the Committee so desires, with the Man- 
 agement at the next monthly joint meeting. 
 
 10. It is considered highly desirable that the Stewards should get 
 as many questions as possible settled direct with their own Super- 
 intendents. This does not mean that matters under discussion can 
 be allowed to drag out unnecessarily, and when feeling is running 
 high the Shop Stewards should take up a question immediately with 
 the Employment Manager or the Works Director, but always with 
 the cognizance of the Superintendent. 
 
 11. When a complaint is made by a Steward to a Superintendent 
 on behalf of another individual, it must be understood that the 
 Superintendent has every right to discuss the matter direct with the 
 individual concerned. This is not intended as a means of putting 
 off the Steward, but is a statement of the Superintendent's right and 
 duty to maintain the most intimate and friendly relations possible 
 with each and all of his men. In such a case no decision will be 
 come to between the Superintendent and the individual except 
 jointly with the Steward. 
 
 Similarly, every man has a right to approach his Superintendent 
 direct, without asking the help of the Steward of his department, 
 if he so desires. 
 
 General Arrangements and Discipline. 
 
 12. The Management desires that Shop Stewards shall have such 
 reasonable facilities as are necessary for carrying out their func- 
 tions, and expects that in return these will be exercised in such a 
 way as to involve a minimum of interference with their work. 
 
 13. Meetings, formal or informal, cannot be held in working 
 hours, except by special permission, and men should not bring 
 grievances or questions to their Shop Stewards during working 
 hours, but should wait for the next break. 
 
 14. Shop Stewards may visit the Secretary of the Shop Stewards' 
 
APPENDIX G 365 
 
 Committee during working hours on notifying tbeir Superin- 
 tendent. Similarly, the Secretary may visit any of the Stewards 
 on notifying his Superintendent. Each Steward is expected to 
 make arrangements mutually satisfactory to his Superintendent and 
 himself for the notification of visits when the Superintendent is 
 temporarily absent from the department. The time spent in visit- 
 ing should be restricted as much as possible, and must not be made 
 an excuse for inefficiency of work. 
 
 This arrangement is subject to reconsideration, should the number 
 of Stewards in the works exceed 10. 
 
 15. When the decisions are taken at a joint meeting with the 
 Management, Shop Stewards shall not announce same to their men 
 until the dinner time of the following day, so as to give time for 
 the Superintendents to be made cognizant of what transpired. 
 
 These regulations are subject to revision at any time by arrange- 
 ment between the Management and the Shop Stewards' Committee. 
 
 Hans RenoiiD, Ltd., 
 
 Manchester. 
 
 20th October, 1917. 
 
 (B) Messrs. Rollb-Roycb, Ltd., Derby 
 
 Works: Engineering; Motor-cars. Employees: 6,000. Depart- 
 ments: 35 to 40 have shop stewards of their own, but from the 
 point of view of the management the departments may be enumer- 
 ated as about 80, with about 300 men in the largest (the test de- 
 partment) down to about 20 in the smallest. General laborers (in- 
 cluding women) about 500. Women: About 1,500 (of whom about 
 100 are general laborers). 
 
 1. This establishment is very strongly unionist, and before the 
 war 98 per cent, of the employees were unionist — a figure which 
 has sunk a little during the War owing to dilution. The relations 
 between the management and the men are described by both sides 
 as "of the best." The works would appear to be regarded by the 
 labor opinion of the district generally with distinct favor. 
 
 The Committee at the works is one of Shop Stewards (just as 
 the Committees at two other establishments here described — those 
 of Messrs. Hans Renold and Messrs. Barr and Stroud — are also 
 Committees of Shop Stewards). The interesting feature of this 
 Committee of Shop Stewards is that it goes back to a period pre- 
 vious to the war. It originated as follows: — Originally individual 
 workmen laid their grievances before the management, bringing 
 (according to the general habit) a companion to help them to state 
 
366 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 their ease. As time went on, men who were recognized as good 
 companions to bring were sorted out, and they became semi-official 
 advocates. About 1912 or 1913 this informal system developed into 
 a recognized Committee of Shop Stewards. This Committee is what 
 exists to-day. There is little difference in the present system from 
 what was usual before the war. 
 
 2. Each department elects its own Shop Steward, the total num- 
 ber of whom is nearly 40. There are about nine different unions 
 with Shop Stewards; but more than half of the Shop Stewards 
 belong to the A.S.E. The fact that there is a majority of A.S.E. 
 Stewards has apparently produced no difficulty. The various Shop 
 Stewards form a Committee, with a Chairman who bears the name 
 of convenor. On questions affecting a particular department or 
 departments, the convenor interviews the management, by appoint- 
 ment, along with the Shop Steward or Shop Stewards concerned; 
 while on questions affecting all the works, he interviews the man- 
 agement, by appointment, along with all the rest of the Shop Stew- 
 ards. There are no fixed or regular meetings with the management, 
 but there are frequent meetings none the less.i The motto of the 
 management is, "the door of the management is always open," and 
 this motto is acted upon. There are no women among the Shop 
 Stewards (though it should be noticed that the Shop Stewards bring 
 a woman representative with them to see the management when 
 they are discussing a question that affects women) ; but the women 
 employees have direct access of their own to the management. 
 They can come one by one, or in twos and threes (to raise questions 
 of ventilation and heating, for instance) ; and they always receive a 
 hearing. 
 
 3. The functions of the Committee are large and undefined. 
 They bring forward anything which they think a fit matter to be 
 brought before the management. A question may sometimes arise 
 with the management whether such-and-such a question really is a fit 
 question ; there is then a discussion, and it is generally settled by the 
 application of common sense whether the question shall or shall not 
 be entertained, but there seems to be no rule regulating the matter. 
 The management discusses with the Committee, or those of it con- 
 cerned, changes of process; while the men, according to the view 
 of the management, "have helped the management in many cases 
 on knotty problems of output, and have made suggestions which 
 
 1 There was a system of fixed and regular meetings at one time ; but 
 this fell through, partly because there was not always business, but 
 largely because the convenor of the shop stewards and the works man- 
 ager were both busy men, and were often unable to attend. 
 
APPENDIX G 367 
 
 were acted upon," besides bringing up complaints of the men and 
 cases of hardship. Among specific matters handled may be men- 
 tioned the following: — 
 
 (a) The base times for premium bonus work. — This system pre- 
 vails throughout the works; and if the base time cannot be settled 
 between the foreman of the department and the workmen, the mat- 
 ter is brought by the Convenor and Shop Steward of the department 
 before the management. 
 
 (6) Dilution. — The Shop Stewards have protested against the 
 principle but they have made an amicable arrangement with the 
 management in every case, it being understood that a record of 
 changes was duly kept. The wages of dilutees have also been dis- 
 cussed in conferences of the management and Committee. 
 
 Much is settled with the foremen in the department concerned, and 
 never comes before the management. Relations with the foremen 
 have not been particularly difficult. Some of the foremen resented 
 the action of the Committee of Shop Stewards until it was pointed 
 out to them that the Shop Stewards "did not wish to press too far." 
 There have only been one or two isolated instances of conflict; and 
 in one case (which appeared to be the main one) the foreman left 
 the works. The Convenor of Shop Stewards has the right to go 
 anywhere in the establishment without notifying the foremen. 
 
 4. The procedure of the system has already been incidentally de- 
 scribed in large measure. When any point arises in a department, 
 it is reported to the Convenor (who is elected by the Shop Stewards 
 from their number), and if it cannot be settled in the department, 
 it is brought before the management in the way described above. 
 Complaints or requests from the management go to the Convenor, 
 and are discussed by the Shop Stewards when he brings them be- 
 fore a meeting. Meetings with the management are in the em- 
 ployer's time, generally in the afternoon, and may last from half- 
 an-hour to 2% hours. The management has always carried out the 
 decisions arrived at in a meeting with the Committee; and the gen- 
 eral body of men in the works have accepted these decisions. 
 
 5. The relations of the Committee with local trade unionism seem 
 to present no difficulties. The various societies represented in the 
 works — A.S.E., Patternmakers, Coppersmiths and the rest — have 
 worked together; and the Shop Steward system is part and parcel 
 of the official Trade Union organization of the district. The Dis- 
 trict Committee of the A.S.E. does not issue cards to the Shop 
 Stewards, as it does in other areas. Extremists are sometimes 
 elected as Shop Stewards, but they generally mix with the rest; 
 they are a live element, and responsibility steadies them. A man 
 
368 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 who proves a poor Shop Steward does not carry weight, and will 
 generally be dropped by his constituents. There is thus no need 
 for the issue of a card by the District Committee concerned or 
 for the threat of withdrawal of such a card. The relations of the 
 Shop Stewards at the establishment with the Trade Union authori- 
 ties are generally good, and every question unsettled in the 
 establishment goes to the local District Committee or Joint Com- 
 mittee of Allied Engineering Trades. 
 
 It may be added that there is a Mess-room Committee at the 
 works, some four or five years old, appointed by the vote of all 
 who use the mess-room; but it has no particular importance. 
 
 (C) The Phoenix Dynamo Co., Ltd., Thornburt, Bradford 
 
 The Phoenix Dynamo Company is a firm employing about 4,000 
 employees. In addition to its ordinary product, the firm is now 
 producing miscellaneous munitions supplies. The following state- 
 ment, which the firm has sent to a number of employers, has been 
 supplied to the Ministry for publication: — 
 
 A Short Description op the Phcenix System for Fixing Piece 
 Work Prices by Continuous Arbitration 
 
 Preamble. 
 
 There is surely no question so vital to engineering and kindred 
 industries as that of the fixing of piece work prices. It would prob- 
 ably be accurate to say that in the period immediately preceding 
 the war most of the prejudices, both on the employer's part and 
 that of the men, to some system of payment by results were in a 
 fair way to be removed. The increasing competition in business, 
 with the resultant necessity for selling on fine margins, together 
 with the fact that experience was proving that because a man was 
 working piece work the quality of his work was not necessarily 
 suffering, had already converted most of the employers. 
 
 The chief outstanding difficulties were those of organization, and 
 much of the remaining prejudice on the part of labor towards 
 schemes of payment by result was the result of unscientific and 
 amateurish systems of estimation of the time necessary to carry out 
 any particular job by the employer. Consequently one got side by 
 side in the same shop astounding inequalities of earnings which 
 caused great discontent. It was the double-time man who caused 
 the time-and-a-quarter man to throw down tools, and the employ- 
 
APPENDIX G 369 
 
 ers, prevented by agreements from reducing prices, are obviously 
 unable to increase all the prices to double time in order to remove 
 the discontent. The employer, therefore, urged often more by 
 despair than a desire to break his agreements about price reduc- 
 tion, adopted subterfuges to reduce the times which were too high. 
 This often took the form of splitting the job into sections and al- 
 tering methods of production in a minor way in order to reduce the 
 time allowed, and thus the confidence of the workers was lost by 
 this evasion of the real spirit of the agreement. 
 
 Even to-day the predicament still exists, and the problem of the 
 price, which is unreasonably high, and the discontent caused amongst 
 the remainder of the men, is extraordinarily difficult for the em- 
 ployer who wishes to observe not only the letter, but the spirit of 
 his undertakings not to reduce prices. 
 
 On the other hand, labor, with its greater facilities for dis- 
 cussion between individuals and the absence of any motive to pre- 
 vent complete interchange of information, such as unfortunately 
 exists amongst employers, has been enabled to bring great pressure 
 to bear upon the employer for the rectification of a price which can 
 be proved to be unremunerative. The same cohesion amongst la- 
 bor, coupled with the fear amongst employers that workmen are 
 only accepting payment by results under sufferance, and might some 
 day refuse to continue such a system, has made the employer very 
 fearful of pushing forward with any system to deal with the 
 straight problem of the reduction of an excessive time. 
 
 Since the war, and without, possibly, a full appreciation of the 
 precedents which are being created, employers, weary of the re- 
 sponsibility for so much price fixing and the dangers of labor un- 
 rest in their works, have compromised the most difficult jobs either 
 by a group bonus on the whole of the wages paid, or by saying to 
 individuals or group of individuals, "We will pay you time and 
 so-and-so whilst you are on with this work." Some aeroplane fac- 
 tories working on a group bonus on total output are paying their 
 men as much as time and three-quarters, whilst their output per 
 man is well below that of other aeroplane factories on ordinary day 
 rates. 
 
 It is fatally easy to act in this amateurish way whilst prices are 
 high and excess profits can be used, but any experienced organizer 
 or worker, either employer or employed, knows that this condition 
 cannot last after the war. It is this prodigal use of "lime and a 
 something," without any definite guarantee that that amount of 
 work had been carried out, which has destroyed the whole of the 
 principle of the minimum wage. Competition on day rates being 
 
870 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 eliminated, a competition between employers as to who can give the 
 most foolish piece-work price or the highest bonus per hour on 
 some theoretically imperfect group bonus scheme has taken its place. 
 The best type of labor realizes that the badly organized piece work 
 or bonus system is, in the end, as inimical to his interests as it is 
 to those of the employer. So much for the money side of the ques- 
 tion. 
 
 There is, however, another point which should be given its true 
 value. One of the greatest objections to present piece-work sys- 
 tems is that the employer works out the price in secret, writes down 
 the time on a card, and this settles the price. Now, the men feel 
 that payment by results is a bargain and that it is not within the 
 province of the employer or the employed to state arbitrarily what 
 the price is to be. The fact that most employers are quite pre- 
 pared to explain politely and sensibly to any workman how the 
 price is made up does not meet the theoretical objection to the 
 system, and the end of what should be a perfectly logical and simple 
 business transaction is often an altercation with a "take it 6r leave 
 it" as the employer's last word. 
 
 Another position which is often created as a result of a failure 
 to agree about price is a steady opposition more or less furtive 
 to the whole system. Assuming, however, that the system of piece- 
 work fixing is so accurate that every workman secures a fair return 
 for his labor, the theoretical objection of organized Trades Union- 
 ism to any arbitrary settlement of the price by the employer still 
 remains. 
 
 A TABULATION OP THE MAIN DIFFICULTIES 
 
 (1) Unscientific price fixing. 
 
 (2) The absence of proper machinery for appeal which is quick 
 in action and not cumbersome in operation for the rectification of — 
 
 (a) a price which is too low; 
 
 (b) a price which is too high. 
 
 Of these (b) is essential if the employer is to be able to preserve 
 towards the men absolute straightforward dealing. The employer 
 must have means which will enable him, without even a suspicion 
 of stealth, to reduce a price without necessarily changing the method 
 of manufacture. 
 
 The following is a system which has been working for some time, 
 the terms of which were drawn up by the aid and cooperation of 
 the principal Union of metal workers and the firm concerned. It 
 is capable of considerable extension and improvement, and is a 
 sincere attempt to solve an exceedingly complicated but absolutely 
 vital problem. 
 
APPENDIX G 371 
 
 Financial Basis of Prices. 
 
 The men had pressed for a guaranteed time and a half. To this 
 we could not agree. Eventually it was agreed that times should 
 be fixed so that an average man could earn time and a quarter, and 
 a really good man should have no difficulty in making time and a 
 half. The following is the agreement reached between the prin- 
 cipal Union of metal workers and ourselves concerning the scheme : — 
 
 On getting out a new job we would calculate the feeds and speeds 
 which were suitable for the tool on which the job was to be per- 
 formed, and then put forward the time to the man who had to do 
 the job, saying: "This is the time we offer; you are not bound to 
 accept it and can appeal if you like. In this event you go to the 
 Time Study Office, where the man who has dealt with the job will 
 go through the detail of his calculations, and if he has made a slip 
 •wUl at once put it right." 
 
 Our time fixing is not infallible, and the men can help us by 
 pointing out errors. If, however, we are unconvinced that the 
 price is unreasonable, and the man is equally unconvinced that it is 
 reasonable, he can then say, "I want this job to go to Committee." 
 The time offered by us would then be put on the card as a tem- 
 porary time, and the decision of the Committee would be added 
 on or taken off the time agreed by the Committee when their de- 
 cision has been given. In any case, however, the man has no object 
 in hanging back, because no evidence as to the time taken on the job 
 between the price being fixed and the Committee being held is 
 available for the Committee. 
 
 The Committee consists of 3 of the firm's representatives and 3 
 workmen's representatives consisting of the man concerned and 2 
 workmen selected by him who are operating the same type of ma- 
 chine or whose work is closely allied to the work in question. In 
 a dispute of a Milling Machine price, the man and 2 other millers 
 would attend. 
 
 The Committee is to be held within 2 days of the complaint. In 
 the event of the Committee failing to agree it is then up to the firm 
 to demonstrate in their own works that the time is fair and that 
 time and a quarter can be made on it. The question of outside 
 demonstrators being employed was raised, and it was agreed that 
 only in the case of new tools bought from the makers on guaran- 
 teed times should outside experts be brought in. The firm have the 
 option to decide whether, in the event of the Committee failing to 
 agree, the demonstration of the time shall be done in the shop 
 itself or alternatively in a demonstration department. It is further 
 
372 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 agreed that, in addition to the Committee being a means by which 
 workmen can secure awards as to prices which are too low, the firm 
 have the same privilege with regard to prices which are too high. In 
 the event, however, of the firm petitioning for the reduction of a 
 price and bringing the matter to a Committee, it is understood that 
 any reduction which is made in the time shall be put on to another 
 job on which the workers cannot do as well. This is accepted with- 
 out demur, as it shows a desire, at any rate, to try to equalize the 
 position as between man and man and also from the firm's point of 
 view. 
 
 The above are the terms of the understanding arrived at and the 
 following observations may be interesting. 
 
 The whole point about this system is that the rate fixers shall 
 get into their heads the fact that they are not telling the men how 
 much they, as representatives of the Almighty, agree to allow for 
 each job, but are in the position of buyers who, having worked out 
 what they think is a fair price for a commodity, make the man 
 an offer for it on those terms. 
 
 A great deal can be done in making a Time Study Department 
 a really nice office and insisting that the man is treated really 
 courteously. One of the great difficulties is to get personalities 
 definitely removed from the transaction. A discussion that starts 
 about the price of a job often finishes by two men staking their 
 reputation as craftsmen and their experience as workmen that they 
 are absolutely right. 
 
 The rate fixer must be made to feel that it is not a disgraceful 
 thing to alter his price. The friendly spirit is extremely important, 
 and unduly conceited rate fixers with the manner of a general man- 
 ager have not proved invariably successful. The surprising part of 
 the scheme over the period in which it has now been operating is 
 the very small number of Committees which are held. It would 
 appear that a very stupid workman who goes to the Time Study 
 Office to argue with the rate-fixer, or a very thick-headed rate-fixer, 
 are either of them rather afraid of what a Committee would decide 
 about their particular case, and so whichever party feels himself to 
 be technically weakest in the argument appears to give way. At 
 any rate, the number of Committees is incredibly small. It may be 
 argued that this is because the prices are fixed on so generous a 
 basis. 
 
 The average in the whole of the shops concerned ranges from 
 27% per cent, in the worst case to 521/4 per cent, in the highest 
 average case. 
 
 The provision by which an employer is allowed to reduce a price 
 
APPENDIX G 373 
 
 (provided that he adds the time so reduced on to some job which 
 is a lean one) has the advantage that after a time you get a certain 
 number of hours on the men's side of the ledger, and this is a sort 
 of accumulation of time in the bank. By this means cases of 
 special hardship can be dealt with by adding some of the time on 
 to the lean jobs. 
 
 The composition of the Committee from the employers' point of 
 view should vary from time to time, and the superintendents of the 
 shop will be well advised to keep their eye on the cases coming up 
 for Committee. It sometimes happens that a very good workman 
 indeed has become pig-headed about his particular job, and whilst 
 the rate fixer may be exactly right, it may be advisable to humor 
 the man in question. The very fact of the man's all-round excel- 
 lence and his status of a workman makes it advisable to keep him 
 friendly to the scheme. In cases of this sort, where a certain 
 amount of feeling is present, it is advisable for some fairly high 
 ofBcial to sit as one of the employer's representatives and tactfully 
 (whilst saving the rate-fixer's face as much as possible) leave the 
 Committee to humor the man somewhat. These cases have proved 
 to be very rare, but the employer has so much to gain from the 
 system generally that he must be prepared to stretch a point, with- 
 out saying he is doing so, to meet very difficult cases which come up 
 to Committee. One case in point: — 
 
 An extraordinary skilled aeroplane metal worker brought a case 
 up to Committee, where the rate-fixer was an equally skilled metal 
 worker and a member of the same Union. The matter had ob- 
 viously become more a question of which of the two men was a fool 
 than the question of the price, and it is in cases of this sort that a 
 tactful ofllcial can be so valuable on the Committee. 
 
 If any employer will put himself in the position of a workman 
 who, on being offered a price, thinks it unfair, and who has either 
 to take it or else put himself in opposition to his foreman and 
 others, he will appreciate the value of some such scheme as the above 
 to the workmen. Under the present scheme a man so placed is 
 either satisfied by the Time Study Office or not, and if he is still 
 dissatisfied he can ask for a Committee and go back working on 
 the job without quarreling either with his foreman or anybody else. 
 
 (D) Messrs. Barr and Stroud, Limited, Anniesland, Glasgow 
 
 Industry: Engineering. Number of Employees, 2,350, of whom 
 275 are women. 
 
 This firm has, and has long had, an admirable system for the 
 
374. MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 education of its apprentices, and it is noteworthy that several of 
 them, during their apprenticeship, have taken the Bachelor of Sci- 
 ence Degree in the University of Glasgow. 
 
 The firm has also, like the shipbuilding firm of whose organiza- 
 tion an account is given under (0) below, a system of awards for 
 suggestions made by their workmen, which has been at work for 
 many years. 
 
 There are two workers' Committees in the establishment : — 
 
 (1) The first, which is called the Shop Committee, might also be 
 designated a Welfare Committee, and has been in existence since 
 about 1900. 
 
 Its constitution and rules are set forth in the published Book of 
 Rules of the firm. Briefly, it may be said to deal with shop ameni- 
 ties. It controls the Sick Benefit Society, the fund for distress, 
 and all other funds of a like nature. It controls the management 
 of the canteen and the rifle club and handles all social ari'ange- 
 ments for entertainments, picnics, and the like. The Chairman is 
 one of the Directors. He can veto the discussion of any matter; 
 but he has never once had to exercise this veto. No Trade Union 
 questions — no questions of wages or application of Trade Union 
 Rules — come before this Committee. The Committee meets regu- 
 larly once a month and oftener if necessary. There are various 
 sub-committees appointed by the Shop Committee to deal with the 
 various activities. 
 
 (2) In March, 1916, when dilution was started, a second Com- 
 mittee was formed, called the Industrial Committee. As it is pro- 
 fessedly in existence for the war period only, nothing is said about 
 this Committee in the Book of Rules of the firm, but the following 
 description may illustrate its chief features. 
 
 The formation of the Industrial Committee was helped by the 
 good relations and the community of feeling engendered by the 
 working of the existing Shop Committee. The Industrial Commit- 
 tee is based essentially on Trade Unionism and the Shop Steward 
 System. The twelve representatives of the men are elected entirely 
 by the Shop Stewards, some forty in number, of the different Unions. 
 There is thus no system of election by all the workers and the Com- 
 mittee is not representative of all the workers, but on the other hand 
 there is a definite nexus established with Trade Union sentiment 
 and organization. Two Directors of the firm and the head foreman 
 sit with the twelve representatives of the men. When there is busi- 
 ness to transact, meetings of the Industrial Committee are held 
 on Tuesdays at 11 a.m. and the men's representatives are paid as 
 usual during the time occupied at the meetings. The members of 
 
APPENDIX G 375 
 
 the Committee hold ofiBce for one year. There are two Chairmen, 
 one from the men's representatives and one from the firm's, and 
 they preside at alternate meetings. The only other officer is a 
 Secretary elected by the Committee. 
 
 The following list contains some of the questions treated by the 
 Industrial Committee during the past eighteen months: — 
 
 (1) The question of the Convenor of Shop Stewards going into 
 
 other departments for discussion of grievances. This 
 was discussed and the result was the formulation of 
 regulations (see Note (i) ; similar rules are also con- 
 tained in Note (ii) in respect of the "Shop" Committee). 
 
 (2) Wages of women and girl employees. 
 
 (3) The record of changes in practice. 
 
 (4) Questions arising from the premium bonus system. 
 
 (5) Appeals against dismissal.^ 
 
 (6) The question of men forgetting to clock on and of whether 
 
 they should receive wages for the period for which they 
 had forgotten to clock on. 
 
 (7) The question of working overtime on Saturdays. The 
 
 Committee agreed to refer this to a general plebiscite. 
 
 (8) The question of wages of apprentices. 
 
 (9) The question of rules for night-shift work; e.g., whether 
 
 men could leave a little before the closing time to catch 
 a train. 
 
 It is obvious that the functions of the Industrial Committee are 
 important; it is one of the most advanced Works Committees in 
 existence. Questions of wages come within its scope (under 2, 4, 
 6 and 8 above) ; and a question recently under discussion was a 
 proposal that there should be a guaranteed premium bonus. 
 
 A question which has recently arisen is that of the relation of 
 the Industrial Committee to the local Trade Union organization. 
 
 This Industrial Committee is deserving of attention; first in its 
 constitution — based as it is on the Shop Steward system — and sec- 
 ondly, in its influence on the works, which has been large and far- 
 reaching. 
 
 It is interesting to notice that the system of Messrs. Barr and 
 Stroud, Limited, is very like that of Messrs. Hans Renold, Ltd. 
 Both have two Committees; both assign to one Committee the con- 
 sideration of shop amenities, and to the other questions of work 
 
 1 Only one case has arisen. Here the firm refused to go back on its 
 decision, but was ready to explain its action. This was done. The 
 men's representatives then asked if the man in question might receive a 
 clear character : this was given. 
 
376 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 and wages; both base the second Committee on the Shop Steward 
 system. 
 
 An immediate and important result of having such an Industrial 
 Committee is that grievances that might otherwise generate bad 
 feeling are brought at once to the attention of the Directors. The 
 trivial surroundings of grievances are brushed off, and the real prin- 
 ciples underlying the questions under discussion are arrived at. 
 
 So far, the Industrial Committee and the Shop Stewards have 
 quite naturally declined to deal themselves with matters of disci- 
 pline; but in cases where they have declined, they have actively up- 
 held, or at all events not hindered the regulations imposed by the 
 firm. 
 
 Note (i) 
 
 Regulations for Leave Granted to Shop Stewards to Deal 
 WITH Complaints 
 
 (1) If any employee has a relevant complaint to make about his 
 work, sufficiently important to bring before a Shop Steward, he 
 must communicate only with the Shop Steward of his own De- 
 partment. 
 
 (2) If the Department Shop Steward thinks the complaint re- 
 quires attention, he will send for, or fetch, the Convenor of Shop 
 Stewards, who, when possible, will tell the foreman of the De- 
 partment to which he is called that he has been summoned on Shop 
 Steward business. 
 
 (3) If the Convenor of Shop Stewards, after consultation with 
 the Department Shop Steward and the complainer, thinks the com- 
 plaint requires further attention, he will call a meeting of Shop 
 Stewards to consider the matter. 
 
 (4) If the meeting of Shop Stewards thinks the complaint re- 
 quires still further consideration, the Convenor will bring it before 
 a meeting of the Industrial Committee or convene an emergency 
 meeting of the Industrial Committee in order to lay the complaint 
 before the Firm. 
 
 (5) The foremen are instructed by the Firm that they are to 
 grant the facilities referred to above; but if they think that these 
 facilities are being taken advantage of, they are instructed to 
 inform the Firm so that the representatives of the Firm may draw 
 the attention of the Industrial Committee to it. 
 
 Barr and Stroud, Limited, 
 
 (Signed) Harold D. Jackson, 
 
 Director. 
 
APPENDIX G 377 
 
 Note (ii) 
 
 NOTICE 
 
 To Members op the Staff and to Foremen and Mbmbbhs of the 
 Shop Committee 
 
 In connection with their duties as Members of the Shop Com- 
 mittee, it is sometimes necessary for the Members of the Shop Com- 
 mittee to go into different departments of the shop to enquire into 
 matters connected with the well-being of the employees. 
 
 In such circumstances the Members of the Shop Committee should 
 always inform the Chief of the Department or the Foreman into 
 whose Department they go, that they axe on Shop Committee duty, 
 and in such circumstances the Foreman will not unreasonably with- 
 hold permission. 
 
 The Firm rely that Members of the Shop Committee will be care- 
 ful never to abuse this privilege. 
 
 Each Member of the Shop Committee is provided with a ticket 
 of identification. 
 
 Barr and Stroud, Limited, 
 (Signed) Harold D. Jackson, 
 
 Director. 
 
 (E) — A Large Engineering Establishment — Dilution 
 Committee 
 
 Seven Departments, employing over 10,000 workpeople. 
 
 1. The Committee at this establishment should properly be de- 
 scribed as a Dilution Committee. It came into existence in Feb- 
 ruary, 1916, and though matters other than dilution are occasionally 
 brought before it, its primary function is the regulation of dilution. 
 
 2. The election of the Dilution Committee consists of two stages : — 
 
 (1) In the first place. Dilution Delegates were elected on the 
 
 basis of two delegates for each shop by all workers, 
 unionist or non-unionist (including women i), in every 
 department or shop. 
 
 (2) In the second place, the delegates select five representa- 
 
 tives to represent them on a Joint Dilution Committee, 
 
 1 The women in one department did not vote, but that is due to diffi- 
 culties of time and place. Tf their hours had been different and the 
 department had not been at a distance from the rest they would have 
 voted. 
 
378 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 on which also sit an equal number of the management. 
 At first there was an agreed external Chairman but, 
 subsequently, the senior manager present acted in this 
 capacity. There was found to be the objection that if 
 an external Chairman is appointed whose decisions are 
 accepted, arbitration within the works is set up for deal- 
 ing with matters which should be entirely within the 
 jurisdiction of the management. A member of the man- 
 agement presides and another member of the manage- 
 ment is Official Secretary, and is responsible for the of- 
 ficial minutes and the notification of all dilution ques- 
 tions. He is also responsible for all communication with 
 the men's Secretary. On the men's side there is a Chair- 
 man and an additional representative who acts as the 
 men's Secretary, but has no vote. 
 
 3. There are no regular meetings of the Joint Dilution Commit- 
 tee; it meets when either side asks for a meeting. (Some questions 
 raised by the men's secretary may be settled at once by executive 
 action and without a meeting, if the case is a clear one, and the 
 action will be simply reported at the next meeting.) The minutes 
 are kept by the Official Secretary appointed by the management. 
 The men's Secretary takes informal notes. The minutes are gen- 
 erally circulated a week before a meeting to enable the men to 
 consider them prior to the meeting and raise at the meeting any 
 points arising therefrom or to which they do not agree. Sometimes 
 there are meetings once a week, sometimes once a month or even 
 at longer intervals. 
 
 4. The functions of the Dilution Delegates are to supervise the in- 
 troduction of dilution and the wages paid to dilute. The dele- 
 gates may complain, for instance, about a foreman introducing 
 dilution without proper notice, or as to the rates paid to a dilutee 
 or to the manning of a lathe by a dilutee. If any question arises 
 about the rates paid to a dilutee, they refer to the Dilution Cer- 
 tificate sent to them, on which this rate is stated. In no instance 
 are they allowed to ascertain the rates paid to men or women other 
 than dilutees. On the whole no insuperable difficulty has arisen 
 between the Dilution Delegates and the foremen. This is chiefly 
 due to the tact displayed by the management and the men's Chair- 
 man, but many times there have been grave difficulties owing to 
 the action of certain of the younger delegates and foremen. 
 
 The Joint Dilution Committee deals with all important matters 
 arising out of dilution which come up to it (as a rule through the 
 men's Secretary) from the delegates. 
 
APPENDIX G 379 
 
 5. To I what has been said above, it should be added that the 
 whole procedure of the Committee is necessarily elastic, and de- 
 pendent on personal tact and contact rather than on a formal con- 
 stitution. There is, for instance, no fixed tenure of office for the 
 men's representatives; if their action or constitution were chal- 
 lenged, as it was in a case when the members of the United Machine 
 Workers' Association claimed representation, they could, and did, 
 resign, and a new election was held. The same Committee as be- 
 fore was elected. The men's representatives on the Joint Com- 
 mittee, if they consider any proposal involves an important ques- 
 tion of principle, ask to have a matter referred back to the Dilu- 
 tion Delegates for instructions, or, if the question is comparatively 
 unimportant, may agree to settle it off-hand. 
 
 The Dilution Committee here described is obviously of a special 
 character, and under the peculiar conditions the Joint Dilution 
 Committee has been fairly successful. It works easily and in- 
 formally. Confined in form to questions of dilution, it finds it easy 
 to discuss other questions and to deal with works conditions in 
 general on occasion; for instance, in a case where the firm had sub- 
 mitted a proposal for a bonus on output to a large number of set- 
 ters-up, the men asked their Dilution Committee representatives to 
 take the question up and discuss the matter with the management. 
 
 The men's representatives on the Dilution Committee have pre- 
 vented many threatened strikes developing in various parts of the 
 works, either by their direct intervention or by calling the attention 
 of the management to trouble that was brewing. 
 
 In the firm's opinion, the value of the work to be done by such 
 a Committee depends on the men's representatives being educated 
 and fair-minded men. 
 
 It must be remembered that this Committee is essentially a Di- 
 lution Committee and not a Works Committee. The representatives 
 may, de facto, be Shop Stewards, but they are chosen by all the em- 
 ployees, including skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled workpeople. 
 
 The Dilution Committee does not represent the steel smelters, 
 steel, iron and brass founders, smiths and strikers, and one or two 
 other trades. If it were to become a Shop Committee it would prob- 
 ably have to be increased and represent all trades and the foremen. 
 In the firm's opinion the constitution of such a Committee, so as 
 to secure the best results, would require very careful consideration. 
 
 (F) An Establishment Making Motor-cabs and Aeroplanes 
 
 The firm make motor-cars, aeroplanes and aeroplane engines. 
 The present number of employees is about 3,500, of whom some 600 
 
380 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 are women and some 150 general laborers. The others are skilled or 
 semi-skilled. 
 
 The Committee dates back to 1908. It arose from a dispute which 
 resulted in a strike. The directors had had no idea of the trouble, 
 and in order that in the future such a position should be made im- 
 possible the Works Committee was formed. District Trade Union 
 ofificials took an active part in the formation of the Committee. 
 
 The Committee consists of 22 members, one from each depart- 
 ment. Each member must be a Trade Unionist, but voting is open 
 to all men, whether or not Trade Unionists. The women do not 
 have votes. There are members of 26 Trade Unions in the works. 
 Only 10 of these have members on the Committee. The 10 are the 
 A.S.E., the Toolmakers, the United Kingdom Society of Smiths, the 
 United Kingdom Society of Coaehmakers, the Amalgamated Society 
 of Carpenters and Joiners, the United Machine Workers, the Wood 
 Cutting Machinists, the Patternmakers, the Steam Engine Makers, 
 and the Sheet Metal Workers.^ The members are elected annually, 
 each department electing its representatives. The Committee choose 
 their own Chairman and Secretary. The same people tend to be 
 reelected from term to term; the present Chairman has been in 
 that position from the first, and the Secretary in his for 4^/^ 
 years. 
 
 The only formal rules are contained in a poster, a copy of which 
 is posted up in each department. This gives a short statement of 
 why the Committee was formed and outlines the procedure to be 
 adopted with complaints. This procedure consists of three courts 
 of appeal — ^the Works Manager, the Managing Director, and the 
 Board of Directors. Thus, a man not satisfied with the response 
 of a foreman goes to his departmental representative on the Com- 
 mittee (or direct to the Secretary or Chairman, who have freedom 
 of movement from department to department). The Chairman and 
 Secretary of the Committee and the representative of the complain- 
 ant's department then approach the Works Manager, and there- 
 after, if necessary, first the Managing Director, and then the Board 
 of Directors. In fact, nothing needs to go beyond the Works Man- 
 ager; nothing has gone so far as the Managing Director since there 
 was some trouble connected with the introduction of the Insurance 
 Act; and during the present Director's tenure of the position no 
 case at all has reached the Board of Directors. 
 
 1 At one time there was a member of the Workers' Union on the Com- 
 mittee, but when he left the works the next appointed belonged to a 
 skilled union. The departments represented and the unions to which 
 the members belong are given at the end of this report.. 
 
APPENDIX G 381 
 
 The Committee acts for almost all purposes by the methods de- 
 scribed in the preceding paragraph. The Works Manager has met 
 the whole 22 as a body on one occasion only. The occasion was a 
 visit from an officer of the Ministry of Munitions on the question of 
 timekeeping. The Works Manager meets the small number who 
 act for the Committee (perhaps with the employee or employees 
 concerned) whenever there is occasion. The number of interviews 
 rises and falls. Sometimes he will have an interview every day for 
 a week, and then a fortnight without one will pass. These inter- 
 views are in employers' time. The 22 members meet by themselves 
 about once a month for general business; these meetings are partly 
 in their own time and partly in the employers' time. 
 
 The Committee has been largely responsible for making the appeal 
 for better timekeeping effective, and this is the more remarkable 
 because even before the appeal was made the timekeeping record 
 was considered very good. As an illustration the following figures 
 were given : for the week ending 10/3/17 the total number of hours 
 lost by 3,300 employees was 8,050; the corresponding numbers for 
 3,500 employees in the week ending 22/9/17 was 5,700; that is a 
 reduction from 2:4 to 1:6 per head. The other questions discussed 
 with the officials of the Committee and the representatives on it of 
 particular departments have included dilution, which was carried 
 through without trouble, and grievances in regard to premium bonus 
 times, including the fixing of new times when methods of production 
 are altered. Usually the arrangement of times is discussed when 
 the question affects a number of men. A toolroom bonus, payment 
 of time and an eighth, was arranged between the Committee's repre- 
 sentatives and the Works Manager. This bonus, which was con- 
 ditional on good timekeeping and increased activity, has since been 
 given up in favor of individual premium bonus. 
 
 The Chairman of the Committee, who is an official in his own 
 Union, emphasized three points: — 
 
 (1) the division of functions between Union and Works Com- 
 
 mittee, wage questions in particular being Union matters. 
 
 (2) the established procedure as posted up in the departments. 
 
 (3) the officials' right of movement from shop to shop. 
 
 He had no doubts about the benefits produced by the Committee. 
 The representatives of the management agree as to the success of the 
 present arrangements. 
 
MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 Note 
 
 Division into Departments 
 
 Name of Department. 
 
 No. of Em- 
 ployees in 
 Department 
 (in round 
 figures) . 
 
 No. of Repre- 
 sentatives 
 on 
 Committee.i 
 
 Trade Union of 
 ■which representa- 
 tives are members. 
 
 Seaplane Department - 
 
 - 
 
 310- 
 
 
 2 
 
 Amalgamated Car- 
 penters and Join- 
 ers; U.K. Society 
 of Smiths. 
 
 Seaplane Erecting 
 Paint Shop 
 
 
 160 
 
 ^ 
 
 1 
 
 Tool Makers. 
 U.K. Society of 
 Coachmakers. 
 
 New Machine Shop 
 
 770 
 
 2 
 
 A.S.E. ; United 
 Machine Workers. 
 
 Old Machine Shop 
 
 Body Shop 
 
 340 
 60 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 A.S.E. 
 
 Wood Cutting Ma- 
 chinists. 
 
 Stripping and Examining 
 
 Repair Shop 
 
 Smiths Shop 
 
 Detail Shop 
 
 70 
 240 
 
 30 
 180 
 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 2 
 
 A.S.E. 
 A.S.E. 
 A.S.E. 
 
 A.S.E. ; Sheet 
 Metal Workers. 
 
 Finishing Shop 
 
 Trimming Shop 
 
 110 
 60 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 A.S.E. 
 
 U.K. Society of 
 Smitlis. 
 
 Aviation Engine Depart- 
 ment. 
 
 200 
 
 1 
 
 A.S.E. 
 
 I^^itting Shop 
 
 180 
 
 1 
 
 Steam Engine 
 Makers. 
 
 
 Erecting Shop 
 
 Experimental Department 
 View Room 
 
 110 
 
 30 
 
 120 
 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 
 A.S.E. 
 A.S.E. 
 A.S.E. 
 
 Molders and Pattern Mak- 
 
 50 
 
 1 
 
 Pattern Makers. 
 
 ers. 
 
 
 
 
 1 The rule is one representative for each department whatever its size. 
 The exceptions are due to such causes as: — (a) In the New Machine 
 Shop — one is allowed for each turn, day and night; (5) In the Detail 
 Shop — a body of workpeople who have recently been removed from an- 
 other department into this shop have been allowed to retain their rep- 
 resentation. 
 
APPENDIX G 383 
 
 (Or) The Horstmann Geab Company, Limited, 
 93, Newbridge Road, Lower Weston, Bath. 
 
 These works are a small engineering establishment employing 
 70-80 men and apprentices and 14 women. There are no laborers. 
 The men are all skilled mechanics. There are 16 apprentices. 
 
 The Works Committee was formed in the autumn of 1916. It 
 was set up at the suggestion of the management in order to ad- 
 minister the bonus scheme proposed by the management, in re- 
 sponse to a demand by the employees for a 10 per cent, advance 
 in wages in the autumn of 1916. 
 
 The essentials of the scheme are as follows: — 
 
 Each month a sum equal to 5 per cent, on the wholesale value ap- 
 pearing in the stock book of the viewed and passed manufacturing 
 output for the previous month, and the works' value of other work 
 done during the previous month, is set aside as a bonus fund. 
 
 Five per cent, was adopted, as that was the percentage on the 
 output of the previous month represented by a ten per cent, ad- 
 vance on the existing current wages at the date when the first bonus 
 was paid. 
 
 Every employee in the works, except the two Managers and the 
 Secretary, participate in the bonus according to the number of 
 "profit-sharing units" to which he or she is entitled under the scheme. 
 Each employee, except apprentices for Whom special provision is 
 made, is entitled to one "profit-sharing unit" for each halfpenny 
 per hour of the employees' time-rate, up to, but not exceeding, 9d. 
 per hour, and two units for each completed year of service up to 
 five years. Examples: — An employee receiving 9d. per hour and 
 having been three years with the firm would be entitled to 24 units; 
 another, receiving Is, 3d. per hour and with three years' service, would 
 also receive 24 units; and another, with two years' service and re- 
 ceiving 8d. per hour, would be entitled to 20 units. 
 
 The Committee meets regularly each month: — 
 
 (i) To settle the amount to be set aside for pa3fment of bonus. 
 
 For this purpose the books of the Company are opened to the 
 Committee. 
 
 (ii) To assess the value of the profit-sharing unit, 
 (iii) To assess the fines incurred by employees under the 
 scheme.i 
 
 1 A fine of a certain percentage of the units for any one month, with a 
 maximum of 25 per cent., may be inflicted for each of the following 
 
384. MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 (iv) To determine the amount of bonus to which each employee 
 is entitled. 
 
 2. Constitution. — The Committee is a Joint Committee, repre- 
 senting : — 
 
 (i) The management, 
 (ii) The employees. 
 
 The two Works Managers and the Secretary are ex-officio mem- 
 bers. These gentlemen are also the Managing Directors of the 
 Company. 
 
 The rest of the Committee consist of six representatives of the 
 employees, elected by ballot by all the employees. The six mem- 
 bers represent the works as a whole. Representation is not based 
 on departments or on grades of workers. All employees, appren- 
 tices, and women as well as men, are voters. 
 
 The oflScers consist of a Chairman and a Secretary. The of- 
 ficers are elected by the Committee. The present Chairman is the 
 Chairman of the Directors. The Chief Clerk has been elected Sec- 
 retary. 
 
 The Committee meets as a whole. There are no separate meetings 
 of the management members and employee members. 
 
 The present elected members have been elected for an indefinite 
 term. The period of office will probably, in future, be six 
 months. 
 
 The constitution has not been reduced to writing, and must be 
 regarded as tentative. More women will shortly be employed, and 
 it is intended then to consider the separate representation of women 
 on the Committee. 
 
 Only one of the employees is a Union member. The question of 
 relationship to the Trade Unions has, therefore, not arisen. 
 
 The Committee has recently formed a Works Musical Society, 
 which is progressing excellently. A canteen will shortly be estab- 
 lished, and it is intended to associate the Committee with its manage- 
 ment. 
 
 3. Functions of the Committee. — The Committee, in addition to 
 the above-mentioned special duties, is charged with the considera- 
 
 offenses, and these units will then be temporarily forfeited for the month 
 in question: — 
 
 (o) Insubordination, or use of improper language. 
 
 (6) Undue carelessness and wilful damage. 
 
 (c) Neglect to enter goods, advices, time cards, dockets or time sheets. 
 
 {d) Waste of tools and materials. 
 
 (e) Waste of time by failing to work full weeks, or by slackness. 
 
 if) Refusal to work a reasonable amount of overtime when requested 
 without sufficient reason. 
 
APPENDIX G 385 
 
 tion generally of any grievances arising in the shop. Its functions 
 in this respect are not specified or limited. The Committee has 
 dealt with shop conditions, wages, holidays and bad timekeeping. 
 It discusses any questions arising in the works which are considered 
 suitable for discussion. 
 
 4. Procedure. — The Committee meets regularly each month. It 
 meets some 15 minutes, or so, before the end of the working day, 
 and the employee members are paid for the time so spent up to 
 the end of the working day. Any time occupied after the end of 
 the working day is not paid for. 
 
 A special meeting can be called at any time on application to 
 the management. Time spent at special meetings is not paid for. 
 
 Meetings take place in the works. 
 
 Meetings are summoned informally by verbal notice to the mem- 
 bers. 
 
 The length of meeting varies according to the amount of business 
 to be transacted. 
 
 Minutes are regularly kept of the proceedings. 
 
 5. General. — No arrangements have as yet been worked out for 
 keeping the Committee in touch with the general body of employees. 
 The necessity for such arrangements has not been felt. The de- 
 cisions of the Committee appear to have given complete satisfaction. 
 Employees are not bound to report grievances to the Committee; 
 if they wish they can approach the management direct. Every 
 facility for this is afforded to all employees. 
 
 The value of the unit has already advanced some 30 per cent., 
 and is expected to rise rapidly in the near future owing to improved 
 methods and efficiency. The Committee is regarded as a great suc- 
 cess, and has acted as a great incentive to ef&ciency in the works and 
 in furthering increased production. 
 
 (H) H. 0. Strong and Sons, Ltd., Norfolk Works, 
 St. Paul's, Bristol 
 
 This establishment is a small engineering works employing about 
 120 men, women and boys. 
 
 The Managing Director personally supervises the whole of the 
 works, and very close personal contact is maintained between the 
 management and the employees. 
 
 1. Origin. — For several years prior to the latter part of 1915 
 the Company adopted the practice of meeting the whole of the men 
 employed in the works, once a month, to discuss any matters con- 
 nected with the establishment that seemed to require examination. 
 
386 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 At the end of 1915 this practice was abandoned because it was felt 
 by the management— 
 
 (i) That much time was wasted discussing irrelevant and un- 
 important matters, 
 (ii) That real grievances did not freely come out in the pres- 
 ence of the whole body of employees. 
 The last meeting of this character took place towards the end of 
 1915, and at this meeting the Managing Director pointed out these 
 objections to the existing practice, and suggested that a Works Com- 
 mittee should be constituted. The management then retired, and 
 the proposal was discussed by the employees alone. 
 
 The employees agreed to the proposal, and proceeded to elect 
 seven representatives to form an Employees' Committee, which 
 would meet as a Joint Works Committee with the management. 
 2. Constitution. — The Committee is composed of: — 
 
 (a) Three representatives of the management nominated by 
 
 the Managing Director, namely — 
 The Managing Director, 
 Manager of the Repair Department, 
 Works Manager of the Manufacturing Depart- 
 ments. 
 
 (b) Seven representatives of the employees. 
 Representation is based on occupation, not on the department in 
 
 which the men work. 
 
 The representatives are divided as follows: — 
 
 1. Laborers (1). 
 
 2. Machinists (1). 
 
 3. Turners (1). 
 
 1 4. Millwrights (1) 
 
 5. Patternmakers (1) 
 
 6. Fitters (1). 
 
 7. Apprentices (1). 
 
 Some 20 women are employed, but are not represented. 
 
 Of the seven representatives, four are members of the Amalga- 
 mated Society of Engineers, three are non-Unionists. 
 
 The employees' representatives are appointed at an annual meet- 
 ing of all the employees (other than women) held in September. 
 They are appointed for twelve months. 
 
 The Managing Director has been elected Chairman of the Joint 
 Committee. 
 
 The men's representatives meet separately as an Employees' 
 Conunittee for the purposes mentioned below in paragraph 4. The 
 
APPENDIX G 387 
 
 Employees' Committee elects one of its members as Chairman. The 
 Chairman acts as convenor. 
 
 There is no relation between the Committee and the Trade Unions 
 concerned. A Trade Union official, as such, does not, therefore, at- 
 tend the meeting's, but one of the Committee is the shop steward 
 appointed by the Amalgamated Society of Engineers. 
 
 No constitution of the Committee has been definitely formulated. 
 It is at present experimental, and is developing in accordance with 
 experience. 
 
 3. Functions of the Committee. — Since the appointment of the 
 Committee, no complaints or suggestions come direct to the man- 
 agement; they are first taken to the Employees' Committee as ex- 
 plained hereafter. 
 
 The Committee has dealt with the following classes of business : — 
 
 Stoppage of bonus. 
 
 General discipline. 
 
 Interpretation of official Orders and Circulars. 
 
 Interpretation of Trade Union rules and regulations. 
 
 Shop conditions, lavatories, ventilation, etc. 
 
 Decisions of foremen. 
 
 Timekeeping. 
 
 Output and costs. 
 
 Overtime. 
 
 Grant and withholding of Leaving Certificates. 
 The Committee has proved specially useful as a means of arriving 
 at the proper interpretation of official Orders and Circulars. The 
 operation of the recent Order granting a bonus of 12% per cent, 
 to certain skilled timeworkers (the Skilled Time Workers (Engi- 
 neers and Holders) Wages Order, 1917) was discussed at the last 
 meeting, and its operation in these works determined. 
 
 4. Procedure. — Complaints or suggestions are brought, in the 
 first instance, to the attention of one of the men's representatives. 
 Normally, the complaint or suggestion is made to the representa- 
 tive of the grade to which the person making the complaint or sug- 
 gestion belongs. This representative then notifies the Chairman of 
 the Employees' Committee, who asks the foreman's consent to a 
 meeting of the Employees' Committee being held, and arranges with 
 him a convenient time. The members are then notified verbally of 
 the time and place of meeting. 
 
 A meeting is held as soon as possible after receipt of the com- 
 plaint or suggestion. 
 
 The meeting takes place in the employers' time. 
 
388 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 All work in the establishment is paid on a day work basis. The 
 men are paid for time occupied on Committee business. 
 
 The men's meetings are of short duration, and are held in the 
 works. 
 
 If the Employees' Committee can deal finally with the question 
 raised, they do so. If not, the Chairman of the Employees' Com- 
 mittee aprroadhes the Managing Director as Chairman of the Joint 
 Committee and asks for a meeting of the Joint Committee. These 
 meetings are held in the firm's time, and the Committee meets in 
 the office of the Managing Director. 
 
 Joint meetings occupy from half-an-hour to two hours, according 
 to the amount of business to be transacted. 
 
 A shorthand typewriter is present to take notes, from which 
 regular minutes are entered up in a minute book. 
 
 No voting takes place. 
 
 All decisions are arrived at by agreement. 
 
 There is no regular time for holding meetings of the Joint Com- 
 mittee. Meetings are held as and when required, and are held as 
 soon as possible after a request for a meeting is preferred by either 
 the management or the Employees' Committee. 
 
 5. Belations with Trade Unions. — There is no direct relation be- 
 tween the Committee and the Trade Unions. 
 
 The Unions are recognized by the company, and all Union matters 
 are arranged direct between the management and the Union offleials. 
 
 The Joint Committee is only concerned with Union Rules so far 
 as affects their interpretation in relation to the circumstances of 
 the works. 
 
 The Amalgamated Society of Engineers have a shop steward in 
 the shop. The latter is a member of the Committee, but not in his 
 official capacity as shop steward. 
 
 No difficulties have arisen with the Unions. 
 
 6. General. — The management have found the Committee of the 
 greatest service in conducting the business of the works. It has 
 obviated the necessity of posting notices, always liable to be mis- 
 understood, in many instances. A good output has been maintained, 
 and no trouble has arisen in the works. The management believe 
 that the essential point in preserving good relations with their em- 
 ployees is to ensure an open and full understanding, and that this 
 can only be secured by frequent contact with every section of opinion 
 in the works. 
 
 The employees find the Committee of advantage to them because, 
 instead of any complaints being subject to the whim of a foreman 
 or the ipse dixit of a manager, the matter is finally decided by a 
 
APPENDIX G 389 
 
 Committee of their own mates, or, if this is not found possible, by 
 a joint meeting of their own representatives with the management. 
 Moreover, there is no delay. Rapidity of action is regarded as 
 essential if a scheme of control of this sort is to work satisfactorily. 
 There is general agreement that, in a small meeting of nine or 
 ten persons meeting informally, men have no hesitation in saying 
 what they think, and it is thus possible to gage the "temperature" of 
 the shop with some accuracy. 
 
 (I) Messrs. Guest, Keen and Nettlefou), Ltd., 
 Birmingham. 
 
 Works — Engineering: Screw, nut, bolt and rivet. Employees 
 (affected by the scheme, in 3 works), 2,500. Departments, some 50. 
 General labor, about % of the whole. Women employees, 1,850. 
 
 1. There are five separate works of the firm, all engaged in the 
 same business, in the Birmingham district. Three of these contigu- 
 ous to one another (Heath Street, Imperial MillSj and St. George's), 
 are fully included in the scheme here described. The two others 
 follow the same lines, but, being more distant, are not included in 
 the actual operation of the scheme. The origin of the scheme was 
 as follows: — Early in 1914 there was a series of strikes of the 
 women employees, and these strikes affected the men employees, as 
 machines stood idle, work was not ready, and wages were lost. 
 The result was that the men also struck. When matters had thus 
 reached a deadlock, a mass meeting of the men was held on May 
 9th, 1914, which was attended by the management, and at this meet- 
 ing the outlines of the scheme now in force were suggested. Subse- 
 quently a mass meeting of the women was also held, and the manage- 
 ment and representatives of the men attended. The scheme was 
 again propounded, and was accepted by the meeting. Finally a 
 mass meeting of men and women, with the management attending, 
 was held, and here the scheme (that there should be no strike without 
 consultation of the firm, and meanwhile the machines should be kept 
 running, and there should be an Appeals Coromittee in each of the 
 three contiguous works) was accepted. 
 
 2. The works were conducted on this basis for over two years, 
 down to August, 1916, without any difficulty. At that time the 
 question arose of an advance in wages to meet the rise of prices. 
 The matter went to arbitration. Negotiations with the directors took 
 place, and in December they accepted the scheme, and a formal agree- 
 ment was concluded by which the men, as a society, agreed to a 
 signed contract that they would not strike without consultation of the 
 firm, and received in return a system of Appeals Committee in each 
 
390 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 of the three works and a central control board for all the three. 
 
 3. The scheme, which came in to full working in December, 1916, 
 embraces, as has been said, three works,^ including the greater part 
 of the manufacturing section; but the engineering section (which 
 contains about 300 employees) is not at all under or connected with 
 the scheme, its members belonging to various other societies. The 
 2,500 employees of the manufacturing section of the three works 
 form a definite Trade Society or Union. Few of them before the 
 scheme came into operation were members of a Union; all of them 
 are now members of the new Union. This new Union does not be- 
 long to any Trades Council or Allied Trades Committee; its strike 
 rules forbid such membership. The Union is thus peculiar; it is 
 a small Union consisting of the employees of a single firm. 
 
 4. The Union, as has been said, has entered into a definite con- 
 tract with the firm, by which it covenants not to strike without con- 
 sultation, and to keep the machines running meanwhile, in return for 
 certain concessions. The first of these is: — 
 
 (a) The Appeals Committee. — There is an Appeals Committee 
 in each of the three works. Each Committee contains men and 
 women representatives, elected, one for each section, by a ballot 
 among the employees of the section ; and each has its Chairman, but 
 the Chairman of the Central Control Board often presides at meet- 
 ings of the different Appeals Committees. The Appeals Commit- 
 tees deal with questions other than those of wages. Their province 
 includes lavatories, canteen, general health and welfare; but they 
 deal mostly with shop conditions and grievances. Any employee 
 with a grievance states it to the Chairman of the Committee or to 
 one of its members who reports it to the Chairman. The Chair- 
 man then sends a note on a regular form to invite the foreman to 
 meet him in order to discuss the matter. The matter may be settled 
 at such a meeting; if it is not, it goes to the Appeals Committee; 
 and if, in the opinion of that committee, it raises questions outside 
 their province, it is referred to — 
 
 (6) the Central Control Board. — This contains, at the present 
 time, from 25 to 30 members, including men and women. The 
 members are nominated by the different Appeals Committees, sub- 
 
 1 Two other works of the firm in the district ( Broad Street and King's 
 Norton) are not included in the scheme, and have no Appeal Committee; 
 but the wages and conditions at these works are aflfected and largely 
 controlled by the system in force at three contiguous works. One 
 of these works is likely to come fully into the scheme, as its site is to 
 be in the future nearer to those of the others; the other is out in the 
 country, and so outside the scheme. 
 
APPENDIX G 391 
 
 ject to ratification by a general meeting of the works concerned. 
 (Meetings of 800 are not at all uncommon; the employees attend 
 well, as there is a rule that unless two-thirds are present there is 
 no quorum and nothing can be done.) The President of the Cen- 
 tral Control Board is elected by the whole Society. The present 
 President has been in industry for the last 37 years, and has had a 
 long practical experience in the works of all the wage-questions 
 which form the staple of the functions of the Control Board. In the 
 handling of these questions the usual method is as follows: A 
 wage-question is reported to the President, and he then communi- 
 cates with the management in writing. If it is a question of local 
 detail, he writes to the works manager of the particular works; if 
 it is a question of a general kind, he writes to the general works 
 manager. The manager addressed replies to the President in writ- 
 ing (but, as a rule, there has been a personal interview between the 
 two before the reply comes) and the reply is reported by the 
 President to the Central Control Board. If the reply of the man- 
 agement is satisfactory to the Central Control Board, the matter, 
 of course, ends ; if it is not, the Central Control Board makes further 
 representations to the management. The Control Board does not 
 meet the management; the relations are entirely by correspondence, 
 supplemented by personal interviews between the President and 
 management. 
 
 (c) The last resort, if a question is not settled between the Con- 
 trol Board and the management, is the Conciliation Board, consist- 
 ing of two representatives of the management and two of the Con- 
 trol Board. This Board has never acted hitherto, since, under the 
 working of the Munitions Act, questions which would have gone to 
 the Conciliation Board under normal conditions now go to London 
 for settlement. In this event the President writes to the Ministry 
 of Munitions to state the men's ease, giving a copy of his letter to 
 the firm ; and a general meeting of all the employers affected may 
 be held before the letter is sent, just as would be the case if the 
 normal procedure contemplated in the rules were being followed. 
 
 5. In regard to the general working of the system the following 
 points may be made: — 
 
 The firm permits anybody to see the President in the works 
 (another workman sees to his machine while he is absent) ; it allows 
 his letters to go by the works mail ; it has supplied him with a desk 
 beside the bench at which he works and facilities for keeping his 
 books and papers. A room is set aside in which he can have inter- 
 views, and the firm provides a room for meetings of the Appeals 
 Committee and Control Board. The management is always ready 
 
392 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 to see the President when he asks for an interview, and he has full 
 liberty to go anjrwhere in the three works, without asking for per- 
 mission, in order to interview employees or committeemen and to 
 discuss grievances. 
 
 As has been mentioned, any grievance between an employee and 
 an overlooker is discussed between the Chairman of one of the 
 Appeals Committee and the overlooker concerned ; but if it is not set- 
 tled the complainant and the overlooker appear before the Appeals 
 Committee and both state their case. The Committee decides which 
 of the parties is, in their view, in the right, and they send the matter 
 for adjustment to the management. 
 
 The work of the President under the scheme is unpaid. 
 
 (J) A Firm op Electrical Engineers 
 
 This establishment is an engineering works employing 400 women, 
 150 men and 150 boys. 
 
 About 40 of the men are skilled. These are all members of the 
 Amalgamated Society of Engineers. 
 
 The establishment is almost entirely engaged in making 18- 
 pounder shells. A small amount of private work is done, princi- 
 pally heads of trolley arms for electrically propelled tramcars. 
 
 1. Origin.— The Works Committee was established in the autumn 
 of 1915. 
 
 It was brought into existence to assist in fixing and adjusting 
 piece-work prices. 
 
 The Committee was suggested by the men employed at the works, 
 and the local delegate of the Amalgamated Society of Engineers also 
 recommended the establishment of the Committee to the Managing 
 Director. 
 
 2. Constitution. — The Committee is a men's committee only. It 
 consists of 5 men. The women and boys are not represented. The 
 5 members are elected by the shop as a whole, and do not represent 
 separate departments or grades. 
 
 The constitution of the Committee has not been reduced to writ- 
 ing. It is at present experimental, and is developing in accordance 
 with experience. 
 
 3. Functions of the Committee. — The principal business of the 
 Committee is to assist in fixing and adjusting piece-work prices. 
 The questions which arise on this score are, however, not compli- 
 cated or difficult, as the establishment has, since the Committee was 
 formed, been engaged almost entirely on repetition work. The man- 
 agement, in the first instance, settle what they consider fair prices. 
 
APPENDIX G 393 
 
 and submit them to the Committee with the data on which they have 
 been fixed. The men's committee then meets separately to consider 
 the suggested pricfes. Ample time is allowed them to consider and 
 discuss the matter, both among themselves and with the workers 
 affected. A joint meeting is then held between the Committee and 
 the management, at which the several prices under consideration 
 are reviewed, and any suggestions as to amendment are considered. 
 If a good case is made out to the satisfaction of the management the 
 price is raised or reduced. If it becomes necessary to reconsider 
 the price already fixed, any suggestions on this score are brought 
 by the Committee to the attention of the management, and are jointly 
 considered. No friction of any sort has so far arisen. Prices have 
 been frequently reduced or increased by mutual agreement. Under 
 ordinary conditions of work, problems arising as to fixing and ad- 
 justing piece-work rates will be more difBcult, but the Managing 
 Director considers that they can be best dealt with on the lines 
 above indicated. 
 
 No limits have been put to the matters with which the Committee 
 may deal, and it is open to the Committee to bring forward any sug- 
 gestions or complaints relating to the management of the shop. 
 
 The Committee has dealt with the following matters: — 
 Ventilating and sanitary questions. 
 Complaints as to the decisions of foremen. 
 Arrangement of shifts. 
 Allocation of piece-work and day-work. 
 Holidays. 
 
 Alteration of hours of admission to the works. 
 Interpretation of ofBcial orders and circulars. 
 
 At the last meeting the application to this establishment of the 
 Skilled Time Workers (Engineers and Holders) Wages Order, 
 1917, was discussed. 
 
 The Managing Director is of opinion that the Committee should 
 also be charged with the supervision of dismissals and reduction 
 of staff, and it is likely that steps will be taken to utilize the services 
 of the Committee in this respect. 
 
 The Committee deals solely with domestic questions arising in the 
 shop. 
 
 4. Procedure. — The men's committee meets separately on the em- 
 ployers' premises and in the employers' time. Time spent on Com- 
 mittee work is paid by the employers. On request, the Committee 
 meets the Managing Director and the Works Manager. 
 
 Bequests for meetings are made by the Committee to the Works 
 Manager. 
 
394 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 Meetings with the management take place in the firm's time, and 
 time is paid. 
 
 There are no fixed times for meetings. Meetings either of the 
 employees' committee or joint meetings with the management are 
 held at such times as may be found necessary. 
 
 On any business arising, a convenient time for a men's committee 
 or a meeting with the management is arranged as soon as possible, 
 and generally upon the same day. 
 
 Meetings are called informally by verbal notice. 
 
 Meetings with the management are of an informal character, and 
 the men's representatives are, if necessary, accompanied by the local 
 delegate of the Amalgamated Society of Engineers. 
 
 5. Relations with the Trade Unions. — There is no official relation 
 between the Committee and the Amalgamated Society of Engineers. 
 The Union is recognized by the company, and very cordial relations 
 exist between the management and the Amalgamated Society of 
 Engineers' officials in the district. All Trade Union matters ' are 
 dealt with direct by the management and the Union officials. No 
 difficulties of any sort have arisen with the Union. 
 
 6. General. — The Committee is regarded by the management, the 
 men and the Union officials of the Amalgamated Society of En- 
 gineers as a great success. The management have found the Com- 
 mittee of the greatest service in conducting the business of the 
 works. The Managing Director considers the existence of such a 
 Committee as essential, and strongly supports any scheme by which 
 the workers may be given a great share in the control of industry. 
 In his opinion, the success of any such scheme pivots on the estab- 
 lishment of satisfactory joint works committees. 
 
 (K) HoTCHKiss ET CiE., Artillery Works, Coventry 
 
 From Official Constitution of Works Committee as Approved 
 by the Ministry of Munitions. 
 
 The recog-nition of a Shop Committee, such Committee to be com- 
 posed of Stewards elected by their representative Departments by 
 secret ballot and endorsed by their respective Union District Com- 
 mittees. 
 
 In deciding on representation the principle will be one repre- 
 sentative for each Department having not less than approximately 
 100 employees. In cases of smaller Departments, these may be 
 grouped together and representation of the Departments so grouped 
 will be on the same basis. No employee of less than 18 years may 
 vote. 
 
APPENDIX G 395 
 
 Functions of the Committee: — 
 
 (o) To provide a recognized channel of communication be- 
 tween the employees and the management; 
 (b) To present to the management, through the Chairman of 
 the Committee, any grievance or suggestion which, 
 after full consideration, they think worthy of the firm's 
 attention. 
 
 Procedure. 
 
 If the management and the Committee fail to agree, and on all 
 questions of principle, negotiations will proceed between the man- 
 agement and the Union as hitherto. The Chairman of the Com- 
 mittee will have facilities to consult the Union local officials. 
 
 Failing settlement with the Union, Part 1 of the Munitions of 
 War Act, 1915, will apply. 
 
 No stoppage of work will occur during negotiations. 
 
 Meetings of the Committee will be held after working hours un- 
 less called in ease of emergency at the request of the management. 
 
 Note from Firm. — "The Committee came into existence at Easter, 
 1917. It was instituted in the first place on a two months' trial 
 and, as it momentarily achieved its object, was continued until 
 about the end of the year. The constitution of the Committee then 
 became unacceptable to the Shop Stewards and the Committee 
 lapsed." 
 
 (L) A Large Engineering Establishment 
 
 1. From the point of view of the management. — A Dilution Com- 
 mittee arose in 1916 when dilution was introduced. There were no 
 particular rules about its constitution. At the end of 1916, after 
 the question of dilution had been worked out, and as the Committee 
 commenced to take up other questions, the firm began to consider 
 the formal institution of a Works Committee in place of this in- 
 formal Dilution Committee. The Note printed below gives par- 
 ticulars. 
 
 A Joint Shop Committee was set up, but only lasted a few 
 months. It would appear that the really crucial question, which 
 led to the dissolution of the Joint Committee, was the position of 
 the Shop Stewards, which was perhaps not properly coordinated 
 with the institution of the Joint Committee. The men stood out 
 against the Committee because, in their view, its effect would be to 
 weaken the authority of the Shop Stewards. As a matter of fact, 
 the firm has always in practice recognized the Shop Stewards, 
 though in the institution of the Shop Committee it did not take 
 
396 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 their position speeifleally into account. The management sees them 
 whenever they wish it. Generally, they come in twos — a Convenor 
 attending with the Shop Steward of the department from which 
 the complaint is brought. This still goes on; and, therefore, though 
 the Committee is dead, the principle of such a Committee still lives. 
 Generally, it is true, the Shop Steward goes to the foreman tirst 
 with a complaint; but he can come straight to the management 
 if he is dissatisfied with the foreman's answer. 
 
 2. From the point of view of the men. — The same people were 
 Shop Stewards and members of the Shop Committee, but they pre- 
 ferred to act in the former capacity. One reason for this prefer- 
 ence was curious but natural. There were 24 Shop Stewards in the 
 establishment; there were only nine representatives of the men on 
 the Joint Committee, as the management held the view that the 
 Committee must not be so large as to be unwieldy. The 15 Shop 
 Stewards who were excluded from the Committee were discon- 
 tented. 
 
 3. The last straw which broke down the Joint Committee was a 
 curious thing. It was a question of the washing of women's over- 
 alls. The women had agitated (or been agitated) about the mat- 
 ter; it was brought before the Committee; the men took umbrage 
 at a long discussion of such a matter, and the end came. 
 
 In spite of this failure, both management and men appear to be 
 in favor of the idea of a Joint Committee. 
 
 Note. 
 Joint Shop Committee 
 
 It is proposed to form a Joint Shop Committee for the purpose 
 of mutual discussion of shop questions, with a view to securing 
 harmonious relations and efficiency in the working conditions of the 
 establishment. 
 
 The Committee will consist of representatives elected by ballot 
 by the workmen and women of the various departments, arranged 
 in nine divisions as shown below, one representative to each division. 
 The firm will be represented by the Directors and Departmental 
 Managers. The Committee will have power to eoopt any employee 
 or works official for attendance at any meeting where such attendance 
 may be necessary. 
 
 A first ballot will be taken in each department, each employee 
 being at liberty to nominate a candidate for his department. The 
 two candidates receiving the largest number of nomination papers 
 will be selected for the final ballot, and the nominee receiving the 
 
APPENDIX G 397 
 
 larger number of votes in the final ballot will be the elected repre- 
 sentative of the department. 
 
 It 13 suggested that the representatives should hold ofSce for six 
 months. A payment of 2s. dd. per meeting attended will be paid 
 to each representative by the firm. 
 
 The Committee will meet on the first Thursday of each month 
 at 5 p. m., or as may be required. 
 
 The scheme is a purely domestic one, and is an attempt by the 
 firm to provide a more direct means of communication with their 
 employees in all matters affecting their conditions and the develop- 
 ment of the establishment generally. The Directors invite the co- 
 operation and interest of the employees in the scheme, and trust 
 that each individual will register his vote according to his judg- 
 ment, in order to make the Joint Committee thoroughly representa- 
 tive. 
 
 The ballot will be secret, so that no parties will be in a position 
 to ascertain how any worker has voted. Intimation will be made 
 to each department when the first ballot will take place. The ar- 
 rangements in connection with the election and voting will be car- 
 ried out by the existing Joint Shop Committee. 
 
 (M) A Munitions Factory 
 
 The company owns two factories and manages two others, and 
 altogether employs about ten thousand workers. Its products are 
 ammunition of various kinds for Naval and Military purposes. 
 
 This note only refers to one of their factories, in which there are 
 four thousand employees, of whom one thousand five hundred are 
 women. One hundred of the males are general laborers, the rest 
 being skilled or semi-skilled. 
 
 The Works Committee was formed in May, 1917, and consists of 
 twenty-one members. It is composed of and is elected by the men, 
 the election taking place at shop meetings. At present the women 
 have no representative and no vote in the elections. Nevertheless, 
 the women have laid certain matters affecting them before the Com- 
 mittee for consideration, and the Secretary of the Committee is in 
 touch with the Organizer of the National Federation of Women 
 Workers, and should need arise would deal with the Women's Sec- 
 tion of the Workers' Union, or, indeed, any organization of female 
 labor. 
 
 There is no rule excluding non-Unionists, but, in fact, all the mem- 
 bers of the Committee are Trade Unionists. 
 
 The Committee meets weekly on Tuesdays at supper-time {i.e., 
 
398 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 in the men's own time). In cases of real urgency the general man- 
 ager gives permission for meetings in the company's time. 
 
 The Committee has a Secretary, who is largely responsible for 
 the work transacted. He communicates the recommendations of the 
 Committee to the general manager through the company's labor 
 officer. 
 
 The Committee, though perhaps not formally recognized by the 
 company, is, in practice, treated as a body with which negotiations 
 can be concluded. 
 
 The general procedure is as follows: — 
 
 Matters for the consideration of the Committee are reduced to 
 writing and brought up at a meeting. They are then discussed. 
 In many eases the Committee are able to give advice or instructions 
 on the matter without any reference to the management. Should 
 it be decided that in the opinion of the Committee some alteration 
 should be made, the labor officer is requested to lay the matter be- 
 fore the general manager, who frequently discusses the subject with 
 the Secretary before coming to a decision. 
 
 Should the matter be deemed to be very important or of a funda- 
 mental character the Committee request the general manager to re- 
 ceive a deputation. 
 
 Up to the time of writing the working of this Committee, as 
 guided by its present Secretary, is considered by the company as 
 most helpful. It has settled many alleged grievances without any 
 trouble, has prevented several threatened strikes, and generally 
 tended to smooth and harmonious working in the factory. 
 
 The success of the whole scheme is largely due to the tact and 
 good sense of both the company's labor officer and the Works Com- 
 mittee's Secretary. 
 
 In conclusion it should be stated that before the formation of 
 the Works Committee many consultations had to take place between 
 employees and their respective Unions to settle minor points. This 
 procedure has now been found unnecessary, as the operation of the 
 Committee so far has made it easy for both small and great mat- 
 ters to be ventilated and promptly dealt with with the least possible 
 friction and delay. 
 
 (N) Whitehead Torpedo Works (Weymouth), Ltd., Weymouth 
 
 The following summary contains part of a memorandum sent to 
 the representatives of 13 trade unions. A letter, which accompanied 
 the memorandum, suggested that a general meeting of delegates of 
 each organized society in the works should be called to discuss with 
 the firm the formation and constitution of the proposed Council. 
 
APPENDIX G 399 
 
 The proposals are now under discussion by the trade unionists. 
 
 In the memorandum the firm suggest: — 
 
 "That the existing trade union organizations niay be made the 
 basis of a general Council, of reasonable size, representing every 
 union in the works, and given the fullest possible powers to take 
 decisions, subject, of course, to reference to the constituent branches 
 on any issue of sufficient importance." 
 
 They then state that: — 
 
 "The firm's aim is to associate (through a Council appointed in 
 such a way as to recognize and strengthen the position of the exist- 
 ing trade organizations) the whole body of workers in everything 
 that concerns their well-being, discipline, and control, and, by stir- 
 ring in each individual the sense of his responsibility towards the 
 State, the industry and the works, to enable such a Council to secure 
 loyal compliance with any decision arrived at conjointly with the 
 firm." 
 
 A program of subjects is thereafter given as a basis for dis- 
 cussion. 
 
 (1) Hours of Work. — The proposal of a 50-hour week on the 
 one-break day system was defeated when voted upon in May. Some 
 men appear to have thought the adoption of a 50-hour week would 
 prejudice the introduction of a 48-hour week after the war. The 
 firm is strongly in favor of a 48-hour week, but in regard to that 
 cannot act without reference to the agreements between the Engi- 
 neering Employers' Federation and the Trade Unions. 
 
 A full explanation of the one-break day is given and arguments 
 in its favor added. This section ends: "The firm has not had any 
 other or better proposal put before it for this purpose, and there- 
 fore raises the question again for reconsideration. It is further 
 proposed that, six months after the adoption of the one-break, a 
 referendum by ballot should be taken as to whether the old system 
 of hours should be gone back to or not." 
 
 (2) Time-keeping. — "The question of time-keeping is the one 
 that has gone nearest to impairing the excellent relations with its 
 employees that the firm values so highly; but it is felt that here 
 again the facts have not been rightly understood by every one." 
 
 There follows a discussion of causes. The management have now 
 come to the conclusion that the greatest effect has been produced 
 by the institution of an "open gate" and the relaxation of the ofl&eial 
 Works' Rules. 
 
 "The exact form that the gate rules will finally take is subject to 
 consideration, and is much influenced by the concurrent question 
 of the one-break day; but, in its old form, the "open gate" has been 
 
400 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 tried and found wanting, and, one way or another, something else 
 must take its place." 
 
 (3) Release of Diluted Labor. — "The firm is prepared to invite 
 collaboration from the proposed Council, or sectional Committees 
 representing the individual trades concerned, both as regards the 
 selection of suitable operations on to which to put unskilled labor, 
 nnd as regards the individuals to be released for skilled work else- 
 where." 
 
 (4) Fixing of Piece-work Pricee. — In order to facilitate the fix- 
 ing of prices satisfactorily to employer and employee it is pro- 
 posed : — 
 
 "It would be one of the functions of such a Council, as is suggested 
 in this memorandum, to set up an organization whereby reliable 
 times for piece-work operations would be ascertained, checked, and 
 counter-checked by both parties. This organization would prevent 
 such occurrences as a recent suggestion of 50 minutes for a particu- 
 lar new operation. A trial made by the management showed that 
 six minutes was an ample allowance. If such trials were made by 
 a Joint Committee (or in their presence) prices could be settled 
 more rapidly, and with less danger of unfairness, or discontent on 
 either side, afterwards." 
 
 "The same organization could be used for the purpose of making 
 clear to what extent a job becomes a new one by some alteration in 
 design, material, or method of manufacture." 
 
 (5) General Rules and Regulations. — "There is a class of rules, 
 offenses against which are punishable by a fine of 2s. 6d., dismissal, 
 or a prosecution under the Munitions Acts. 
 
 None of these penalties is a convenient one. Fines are as much 
 disliked by the firm as by the men; dismissal entails the loss of 
 services which may be badly needed; and prosecutions entail great 
 waste of time and may produce more evils than the original ones 
 they are meant to cure. 
 
 Many of these offenses and some others could probably be dealt 
 with more satisfactorily by such a Council as outlined above. In- 
 stances of them are : — 
 
 Clocking in too soon, fraudulent clocking, and registering an- 
 other man's time. 
 Not keeping at work till knocking-off time. 
 Leaving work without permission of foreman. 
 Idling in the works. 
 
 Entering or leaving the works otherwise than by the main en- 
 trance. 
 Bringing in liquor. 
 
APPENDIX G 401 
 
 Gambling in the works. 
 
 Taking part in disturbances, using abusive language, and re- 
 fusing to obey lawful orders. 
 All the above are offenses under the Works' Rules, permission to 
 post which has been given by the Ministry to the firm as a Con- 
 trolled Establishment. They have hung in the main entrance since 
 1915, and are still in force, but every one of them is broken from 
 time to time." 
 
 (0) A Shipbuilding Yard 
 
 The present number of employees is about 2,400, of whom some 
 200 are women. 
 
 The system in operation at this yard (and the same methods 
 apply at the firm's engine works) is particularly interesting in view 
 of the comparatively long time during which it has been working, 
 and in view also of its success in fostering good relations between 
 the firm and the men. More than 30 years ago an elaborate system 
 of rules for the yard were drawn up by the firm in consultation 
 with delegates from the trades, conferences between members of 
 the firm, offleials of the firm and delegates from the various trades 
 in the yard, being held for this purpose on five dates in 1885 and 
 on two in 1886. These "Rules" form a printed booklet of 36 pages, 
 and each employee on joining the yard for the first time can be fur- 
 nished with a copy. In an address, delivered by one of the late 
 senior members of the firm, at the close of one of the conferences 
 (on 21st January, 1885), there is contained the following statement: 
 "I think I am right in saying that the step taken by this firm in 
 asking their workmen to join with them in the preparation of the 
 rules of this yard is a new step in the history of labor. I cannot 
 find, from anything I have heard or read, that any firm previous 
 to my own firm has asked the men in their employ to join with 
 them in the preparation of the rules by which these men were to 
 be governed." The revision of these Yard Rules has been a subject 
 of conference at various dates since 1886. The present edition of 
 the rules is divided into five sections: — Section I is sub-divided into 
 (i) General, (ii) Decauville Railway, (iii) Timekeeping and Piece- 
 work, (iv) Regarding Apprentices, (v) Against Accidents, (vi) 
 Against Dishonesty, and (vii) Final. Section II deals with the ad- 
 mission of (i) Apprentices to Drawing Office, (ii) Boys as Appren- 
 tice Clerks, (iii) Girls as Apprentices in Tracing Departments, (iv) 
 Girls as Apprentices in the Decorative Department, and (v) Girls 
 as Apprentices in Upholstery and Polishing Departments. Section 
 III gives the rules for the guidance of the Committee of Awards. 
 
40a MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 Section IV gives the rules referring to Subscriptions. Section V 
 gives the Tire Brigade Rules. There is a separate book of rules for 
 the Accident Fund. 
 
 Conferences similar to those of 1885-6 have been held from time 
 to time since, and have developed "into a Workers' Committee. The 
 members of the conference at first represented trades, and may still 
 do so, but not necessarily. Each department chooses one or two 
 representatives, and these representatives may or may not be Trade 
 Unionists or Shop Stewards.^ 
 
 The composition of the Committee to-day is as follows: — 
 
 No. of 
 Trade. Delegates. 
 
 Painters 1 
 
 Engineers, Cranemen, etc 2 
 
 Blacksmiths 2 
 
 Joiners { Upholsterers ) 2 
 
 Plumbers 1 
 
 Tinsmiths 2 
 
 Riveters 1 
 
 Laborers 1 
 
 Electricians 1 
 
 Iron Carpenters 1 
 
 Wood Carpenters 1 
 
 Caulkers 1 
 
 Drillers 1 
 
 Fitters 2 
 
 Foremen 2 
 
 Drawing OHiee 1 
 
 Counting House 1 
 
 23 
 
 The above is the composition of the Committee when it meets 
 the management in what may be called formal meetings. There 
 are. however, no set meetings, and in addition to the formal meet- 
 ings mucli business is done between the firm and the Chairman of 
 the delegates; and, in matters affecting a particular trade, between 
 the firm and the delegates from that trade. In the last 24 years 
 the formal meetings have averaged three a year, but in the last three 
 years there have been 20 meetings, or an average of seven a year. 
 
 The delegates hold shop meetings to report results of meetings 
 
 1 The majority of the delegates are trade unionists and official yard 
 delegates for their unions, though not elected to the Committee as such. 
 
APPENDIX G 403 
 
 ■with the management, and meet the management again, and so on 
 until agreement is reached. 
 
 One of the delegates acts as Convenor or Chairman, and as the 
 link between the delegates and the management. For the formal 
 meetings with the firm, one of the firm's shorthand clerks, at the re- 
 quest of the delegates, acts as Secretary. 
 
 The subjects dealt with, in what have been called "formal meet- 
 ings," cover a wide range: — they have included the revision of 
 Yard Rules originally made in conference; unemployment questions 
 — e.g., the purchase by the firm of an old vessel so as to employ 
 idle men, and subscriptions to an unemployed fund; timekeeping — 
 men leaving their work before the horn blows; arrangements for 
 paying the men — e.g., earlier payment for big squads where di- 
 vision has afterwards to be made among the members of the squad; 
 arrangement of holidays; subscriptions to various funds and chari- 
 ties, including joint funds for augmenting Government allowances 
 to soldiers' dependents; provision of canteens and of supply of 
 carried food warming appliances, and of ambulance transport for 
 injured men; distribution of coal supplied from firm's yard during 
 1912 coal strike to inhabitants of town (this was worked by dele- 
 gates themselves under chairmanship of one of the partners) ; sub- 
 scriptions to War Loan; and dilution of labor. 
 
 When the firm joined the Employers' Association, about 1906, 
 the fact was formally put before the men's delegates. 
 
 It will be seen that the list covers not only general industrial ques- 
 tions, shop grievances, &e., but also questions of welfare. (There 
 is a Welfare Supervisor for the some 200 women employers, and a 
 boy's Welfare Supervisor for all the apprentices and young lads. 
 He has formed a Cadet Corps mostly from amongst them.) 
 
 All the questions discussed are general questions, since, as has 
 already been remarked, the questions of a particular trade are ar- 
 ranged between the firm and the representatives of that trade. In 
 these latter questions the failure to agree would mean that the mat- 
 ter became one between the firm and the particular Trade Union 
 concerned. 
 
 The Awards Scheme. — The firm have had in operation since 1880 
 an Awards Scheme, under which any worker (exclusive of head 
 foremen, officials of the Committee of Awards, and heads of de- 
 partment) may claim an award for improvements and inventions. 
 The scheme was introduced by one of the late senior members of 
 the firm. The rules for the guidance of the Committee of Awards 
 form Section III of the Yard Rules. The Committee consists of 
 an outside and independent person as President, the Manager of 
 
404 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 the Yard, and the Manager or Chief Draughtsman of the Engine 
 Works, with a clerk from the counting house as secretary. The 
 rules are elaborate, and designed, among other things, to do justice 
 as between different claimants. The average number of claims is 
 stated to fluctuate very much from year to year. In certain cases 
 where patents have been secured, the amounts received by individuals 
 have run into hundreds of pounds. In the case of patents, the in- 
 ventors usually ask that one of the firm should be joined with 
 them, and share partly in the gains. The reply of one inventor, 
 when he was asked why this was so, is compounded of Scotch cau- 
 tion and good feeling and trust. It was : "Naebody kens my name, 
 but a'body kens yours." 
 
 The Accident Fund Society. — This Society, established 43 years 
 ago by mutual agreement between the firm and their workmen, was, 
 in 1897, used as a basis for contracting out of the Employers' Li- 
 ability Act of 1880, and the Workmen's Compensation Act of 1897, 
 and has since been amended to conform to the Act of 1906. It is 
 governed by a Joint Committee of 22 managers, with an inde- 
 pendent Chairman. Eleven are chosen by the workmen and eleven 
 chosen by the Arm; the latter comprise four partners, one manager, 
 and six foremen or members of office staff. Four of the works 
 delegates are also managers of the Accident Eund — two of these 
 being trade delegates and the other two being the foremen dele- 
 gates. The funds are provided in two ways. Fund No. 1, to meet 
 the legal provisions of compensation imposed by the Acts, is pro- 
 vided entirely by the firm. Fund No. 2, which provides extra 
 benefits, such as solatium for loss of minor portions of the body, 
 for which no lump sum compensation could be demanded under the 
 Acts, is provided from the contributions of the members and the 
 payments of the firm, and, in addition, from the fines imposed in 
 accordance with the Yard Rules. The particular interest of these 
 fines, which like the other features of the rules are carefully de- 
 tailed, is, that not only are they paid into the Accident Fund, and 
 so, though taken from the individual, returned to the workpeople 
 as a whole, but, in addition, in each case of a fine the firm pays an 
 equivalent amount into the fund. The firm in fining an individual 
 fines itself to the same extent, and the double fine goes to the Acci- 
 dent Fund. 
 
 The firm lay great stress upon the fact that this system of yard 
 delegates has gradually developed on voluntary lines as the need 
 for it was felt. In all cases the delegates simply ask to see the 
 management when they so desire, and may meet several or only 
 one of the managers, as the case may be. (There is no question 
 
APPENDIX G 405 
 
 of equality of numbers of firm's representatives and men's, except 
 in the Accident Fund.) 
 
 (P) Parkgate Works Joint Trades Committbh 
 I 
 
 RULES POR WORKS COMMITTEE 
 
 1. That this organization be called "The Parkgate Works Joint 
 Trades Committee." 
 
 2. That the objects of the Committee are : — 
 
 (a) To strengthen Trade Union organization in the works. 
 
 (b) To deal with general questions affecting the welfare of all 
 
 sections in the works. 
 
 (c) To give assistance to branches in sectional disputes where 
 
 the branches fail to arrive at a settlement with the firm. 
 
 (d) To keep a watchful eye on representation on local bodies, 
 
 and to see that the workmen employed by the firm are 
 not overlooked. 
 
 (e) To do whatsoever it can. to promote a closer union of the 
 
 different trades represented in the works. 
 
 3. That branches be allowed representation as follows: — i 
 Membership of 50 — one delegate. 
 
 Membership over 50 — two delegates. 
 
 4. That the branches be asked to appoint alternative delegates, 
 and forward their names to the Secretary together with the names 
 of the delegates appointed. 
 
 5. Any body of trade unionists working in any department, but 
 whose branch is out of the works, may have representation on the 
 same basis as branches. 
 
 6. The President and Secretary shall be empowered to call a 
 meeting of the Committee to deal with any matter which arises, 
 or may arise, affecting the welfare of the branches. 
 
 7. Any delegate or branch may have a meeting called by giving 
 notice to the Secretary, stating the business they wish to bring be- 
 fore the Committee. 
 
 8. That a delegation fee of one shilling per delegate per year be 
 paid to the Committee. 
 
 9. That where sectional disputes are dealt with by Committee, 
 
 1 With, in addition, the Secretary of each branch, if employed in the 
 works, ex officio. 
 
406 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 deputations to the Management shall consist of two representatives 
 of the Committee and one from the section afEected. 
 
 10. That the Secretary be ex officio member of the Committee. 
 
 11. No person allowed to sit on the Committee unless authorized 
 to do so by his branch and certified by the branch secretary. 
 
 12.1 That in the event of any claim being made or dispute which 
 affects the interests of more than one section of the works, such 
 cases shall be dealt with by the Trade Unions concerned and the 
 Joint Trades Committee. 
 
 II 
 
 Fourteen trade union branches are represented on the Committee. 
 Seven of the fourteen have no members employed outside the Park- 
 gate Works. The seven are: — Four branches of the Iron and Steel 
 Trades Confederation, and a branch each of the Blastfumacemen, 
 the Enginemen and Cranemen, and the General Laborers. Together 
 these seven branches represent about 1,600 persons in the works. 
 Six of them have three representatives on the Committee; in each 
 case the secretary of the braneh is one of the representatives. The 
 seven trade union branches having only part of their membership 
 within the works are: — The Bricklayers, the Amalgamated Society 
 of Engineers, the Blacksmiths, the Holders, the Boilermakers, the 
 Roll Turners and the Carpenters and Joiners; together these seven 
 branches represent about 200 persons in the works. Tour of them 
 have two representatives, including the secretary in each case, and 
 three one representative on the Committee. Altogether, therefore, 
 the Committee consists of 31 persons including the secretaries of 11 
 of the 24 branches. 
 
 Rule 4, relating to alternative delegates, is stated to be necessary 
 because some men, for example the first hand at a smelting furnace, 
 cannot leave their work at certain times. 
 
 The Committee was formed in January, 1916. An attempt to 
 form a Committee had been made in 1913, but, owing to the slight 
 support given to it, this Committee lasted for a few months only. 
 The influences which produced the present Committee were the 
 recognition of common needs and the desire for harmony (see Rule 
 2). The particular incident from which its inception took place 
 was a meeting called to nominate a representative from the work- 
 people to the local military tribunal. 
 
 Among the subjects which the Committee has discussed are in- 
 cluded the following: — Dilution, gambling in the works, the recent 
 
 1 Included recently. 
 
APPENDIX G 407 
 
 121/^ per cent, increase to time workers, extension of this to part- 
 time and part-bonus workers, the provision of canteens, works 
 discipline, participation in local affairs such as elections, promotion 
 of workpeople, &c. In regard to gambling, the Committee decided 
 that the practice should be abolished absolutely; this meant that a 
 "raffle" which had been held for the past seven years was abolished 
 along with the other forms of gambling. 
 
 Dilution Committee. — This is a sub-committee of the Works 
 Committee chosen so as to give representation to all the departments 
 most vitally affected by dilution. Its membership is made up of — 
 3 from the Confederation (1 each from the smelters, the millmen 
 and the stocktakers and chemists), 1 from the engineers, 1 from the 
 bricklayers and 1 from the general laborers, with a blastfurnace- 
 man as president and the secretary of the Works Committee as 
 secretary. The secretary has no vote and the president a casting 
 vote only. 
 
 (Q) Boot Manufactueebs 
 
 The Company employs about 1,000 workpeople, of whom two- 
 thirds are men and boys, and one-third women and girls. 
 
 1. Origin. — The Works Committee was established about fifteen 
 months ago, on the initiative of the management. The object in 
 view was to afford more convenient machinery by which the em- 
 ployees could confer with the management, and vice versa. 
 
 2. Constitution. — The Committee is an Employees' Committee, 
 and consists of 10 representatives, based on several departments 
 into which the establishment is divided. The representatives are 
 distributed as follows : — 
 
 1. Clicking Department 2 
 
 2. Machine Room Department 2 
 
 3. Rough Stuff Department 1 
 
 4. Making Department 2 
 
 5. Finishing Department 2 
 
 6. Boxing Department 1 
 
 The two representatives from the machine room department are 
 women. The representative from the boxing department is a woman. 
 The other representatives are men. 
 
 The members of the Committee are elected for twelve months. 
 They are elected by the employees at a meeting of the employees 
 convened by the Union for the transaction of Union business. 
 
 The constitution of the Committee has not been reduced to writing. 
 
 3. Functions of the Committee. — No limits have beeiS set to the 
 
408 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 matters with which the Committee may deal. It is competent for 
 the Committee to make representation to the management on any 
 question relating to the internal organization of the establishment. 
 A special function performed by the Committee is the preliminary 
 discussion of piecework rates with the management, prior to such 
 rates being presented to the Conciliation Board for the Board's 
 sanction. The Committee has been found especially useful for the 
 transaction of this business. In many cases it has resulted in 
 agreed rates being submitted for the formal sanction of the Board. 
 This has been particularly the case in reference to fixing rates for 
 new machines. 
 
 4. Procedure. — No regular times are fixed for the Committee to 
 meet. Meetings with the management are arranged on request by 
 either the Committee to the management or the management to the 
 Committee. The management usually give one day's notice to the 
 Committee when they desire a meeting. Meetings are held in the 
 firm's time, and any loss of wages is made up. Meetings do not 
 usually last beyond an hour. 
 
 5. Relations with Trade Unions. — It is the policy of the Union 
 that all disputes or complaints shall be settled, as far as possible, 
 in the shop, without reference to the Union officials. 
 
 The Union cordially approves of the Committee, and the repre- 
 sentatives on the Committee are appointed at a meeting for the 
 transaction of Union business, as already stated. 
 
 Several of the Shop Stewards are members of the Committee, but 
 are elected as ordinary representatives, and do not sit by virtue of 
 their office as stewards. 
 
 When matters of importance are under discussion a representa- 
 tive of the Union attends the meetings of the management and the 
 Committee. 
 
 6. General. — In view of the high degree of organization both 
 among the employers and operatives in the boot and shoe industry, 
 and the efficient working of the Conciliation Board machinery, it is 
 considered essential for the successful working of a Committee such 
 as that above described that great care should be taken to see that 
 the Committee does not usurp functions proper to the Conciliation 
 Board. Special stress is laid upon the useful work done by the 
 Committee in arriving informally at agreed piecework rates prior 
 to their being submitted to the Conciliation Board for formal ap- 
 proval. 
 
APPENDIX G 4.09 
 
 (R) Messrs. Rkuben Gaunt and Sons, Limited, Spinners and 
 Manufacturers, Farsley, Yorkshire 
 
 The firm has adopted Works Committees at their Worsted Spin- 
 ning Mill. 
 
 The firm are pioneers in the application of Welfare Schemes in 
 their industry. 
 
 The following details, which the firm has kindly supplied, refer 
 to the Spinning Section at Springfield, where combing as well as 
 spinning is carried on. 
 
 The number of workers engaged is 400, in the proportion of tw'o- 
 thirds women and girls and one-third men and boys. 
 
 The first Committee to be formed was the Factory Council. 
 
 This Council was appointed by the Board of Directors, and is 
 composed of two directors and the heads of the respective depart- 
 ments in the works. All the nine members are specialists in their 
 various spheres. The Factory Council acts in an advisory ca- 
 pacity in regard to general questions of finance, ways and means, 
 and expenditure, but in regard to inter-departmental questions it is 
 competent to act both in an advisory and in an executive capacity. 
 
 The function of the Factory Council is to consider, unify and 
 consolidate the rules and principles of management. 
 
 The Factory Council makes use of the collective experience of 
 its members and, in consequence, the business is more efficiently 
 managed. 
 
 Meetings are held weekly, on the same day and at the same hour. 
 
 The Chairman is one of the Managing Directors, and is re- 
 sponsible for explaining the business policy to the Council; he is 
 also the medium through which the recommendations of the Council 
 reach the Board of Directors. 
 
 When Factory Council meetings were first inaugurated, it was 
 not easy for either directors or heads of departments to table their 
 information freely, neither did either party always appreciate a 
 frank review on matters relating to their department, but in course 
 of time (the Factory Council has been established eight years) con- 
 fidence and a broader outlook have obtained, and members now pool 
 their experiences quite freely. In this way members are kept in 
 touch with all activities and, instead of having a knowledge limited 
 to their own department, they gain an insight into the whole con- 
 cern. This reticence on the part of both Directors and Representa- 
 tives may be a real stumbling block — it should be frankly recog- 
 nized as a difficulty and means should be found by the management 
 of overcoming it. The Manager or Director, who is used to han- 
 
410 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 dling big propositions and acting independently, may be fretted by 
 the narrower view of the man who can see no farther than his own 
 department, but restraint must be exercised. 
 
 If the Conferences are to be of any use, those attending them 
 must be able to speak freely and be assured of a sympathetic hear- 
 ing. Experience proves that time and patience will overcome this 
 difficulty. The time, both of the Manager and the Representative, is 
 well spent, they are coming into closer contact with each other than 
 heretofore, and both are gaining knowledge which will eventually 
 lead to increased confidence and efficiency. 
 
 The establishing of such a committee as the Factory Council does 
 not fundamentally alter the general scheme and management of 
 industry. The function of the management is still controlled by 
 the managing staff, but experience has proved that a Council with 
 consultative and advisory powers makes for efficiency and has a 
 distinct value in the business organization. 
 
 The concept of leadership is "Support by the Staff rather than 
 Control of the Staff." 
 
 Conference or Works' Representatives 
 
 General Remarks. — In January, 1917, arrangements were made 
 to hold a series of meetings with the various departments for the 
 purpose of showing the value of cooperation and of suggesting that 
 all matters relating to wages and working conditions should in 
 future be dealt with by Conference. 
 
 At these little meetings it was pointed out that the old way had 
 been for changes to be made by the management without any active 
 cooperation from the workers. 
 
 Changes were made and had to be accepted, but under the new 
 arrangement the cooperation of the workers would be asked for in 
 the belief that they would respond, and the result would be in- 
 creased confidence. 
 
 As a result of these meetings it was unanimously decided to es- 
 tablish Works Committees. 
 
 The election of representatives was left entirely in the hands of 
 the workers. The importance, however, of electing representatives 
 who had their confidence was pointed out. It Was suggested that 
 workers who had been at the mill some time and believed in our 
 ideals would be valuable, but the greatest stress was laid upon con- 
 fidence. 
 
 Representatives must have the confidence and loyalty of their 
 fellow-workers. 
 
APPENDIX G 4.11 
 
 Machinery of Conference. — Each department elects three repre- 
 sentatives by ballot. The firm nominates the Managing Director, 
 the Departmental Manager and the foreman to represent the Man- 
 agement. Whenever Conferences are called to adjust differences, 
 two persons from outside the Department are coopted to act as 
 neutral representatives. The duties of the Departmental Commit- 
 tees are clearly defined and meetings are only called when ques- 
 tions with which they have to deal are involved. 
 
 The coopted members are appointed for one piece of business 
 only. 
 
 Committee members are elected for 18 months, one retiring every 
 six months. The retiring member is eligible for reelection. 
 
 Whilst the constitution has been kept as simple as possible it was 
 felt that the adoption of certain principles by all the Works Com- 
 mittees would secure uniformity and be a guide to Conference mem- 
 bers, and with this in view the following rules were drawn up and 
 accepted in turn by the different Committees: — 
 
 1. There shall be a list of minimum wages established by Con- 
 ference for all machine-minders. 
 
 2. Promotion and pay shall be as nearly as possible in proportion 
 to merit. 
 
 3. A worker shall receive extra pay for extra work. 
 
 4. No important change in methods, rates, or service, shall be 
 made by either party without a full explanation of its reason and 
 purpose. 
 
 5. The Springfield Mills Ideals were adopted as follows: — 
 
 The Major Ideal being — 
 
 To produce better yams than have ever been produced in the 
 past by any one. 
 
 The Minor Ideals are — 
 
 To produce "Emperor" yarns under healthy and happy con- 
 ditions, honestly, efficiently and profitably. 
 
 To educate our workers and ourselves to become highly skilled 
 in order that we may earn a reputation for the highest grade 
 of work, and as a result be able to pay the highest rate of 
 wages. 
 
 To secure continuity of emplojrment by supplying high-grade 
 yarns and by giving good service. 
 
 To treat customers with absolute fairness in order that we 
 may gain and keep their confidence. 
 
 6. So far as possible Conferences shall be held during ordinary 
 
412 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 working hours, and attendance at such Conferences shall be paid 
 for at the appropriate rates. 
 
 7. Applications for Conferences shall be made to the Board of 
 Directors by the representatives of the workers through the Fore- 
 man and through the Manager of the department. 
 
 8. Differences shall be adjusted by a Committee of eight — three 
 from the workers, three from the Company and two chosen by 
 these two parties, one of the latter to be appointed Chairman of 
 the meeting. 
 
 9. The Conference shall decide the date from which any altera- 
 tion in pay shall become operative. It shall also decide the mini- 
 mum length of time any agreement arrived at shall be binding upon 
 the parties thereto, subject to the proviso that whenever working 
 conditions are changed either the employees or the Company shall 
 have the right to obtain a revision of the rates of pay. 
 
 10. It was resolved that the present representatives should all 
 three serve for the whole of the present year; at the end of the 
 present year the one having received the least number of votes 
 should retire, but should be eligible for reelection; at the end of 
 18 months the representative having received the second lowest num- 
 ber of votes should retire and be eligible for reelection; at the end 
 of two years the representative having received the greatest number 
 of votes should retire but be eligible for reelection. 
 
 11. It is understood and agreed that it is the business of the 
 management, and is not the business of the Conference, to deal 
 with — 
 
 (o) The allocation of work to particular sets of drawing, 
 (b) The allocation of minders to particular machines. 
 
 Our Works Committees have only been in existence a year, but 
 so far they have worked quite satisfactorily. We realize that time 
 will be needed for representatives, who are unaccustomed to busi- 
 ness meetings, to express their opinions and to voice the wishes of 
 their co-workers, but we look upon the scheme as an educational 
 venture and we are prepared to wait patiently and overcome the 
 difficulties that beset us. 
 
 Democratic control of industry can only come when democracy 
 has knowledge and wisdom to assume control. Rightly used, Con- 
 ferences will provide the necessary experience and education for 
 greater responsibility, which will be equally beneficial to all con- 
 cerned. 
 
 In conclusion, it should be remembered that the two principal 
 factors in the organization of human beings are The Spirit and 
 The Machinery. In successful cooperation the Spirit is more 
 
APPENDIX G 413 
 
 potent than the Machinery. Mental Attitude is oi' Greater 
 Consequence than Mental Capacity. Notwithstanding this the 
 machinery is usually the only factor which is accepted consciously 
 and considered in a scientific way. This is unfortunate, for the 
 thing that really counts is atmosphere; the right spirit must prevail 
 before the machinery of organization can work properly. ' The most 
 valuable asset of an employee is — his Spirit — that intangible part 
 of his personality which cannot be bought with so cheap a thing as 
 money. It must be won. 
 
 The royal road and the only road to capture a man's spirit is to 
 win his Confidence and nothing but integrity of purpose and sin- 
 cerity of heart can do this. There is no field of action in which 
 insincerity is so futile as in the handling of workmen. The em- 
 ployer who believes in the principle that 
 
 "Confidence is the Basis of All Permanent Relationships" 
 
 and works accordingly, is the man who will make his Works Com- 
 mittees a helpful force in his organization. 
 
 Gerald R. Gaunt. 
 2nd February, 1918. 
 
 (S) Fox Brothers & Co., Ltd., Wellington, Somerset 
 (and Chipping Norton) 
 
 The Wellington establishment is one of the oldest woolen and 
 worsted manufacturing businesses in the country, going back to 
 the 17th century. For nearly 150 years it has been controlled by 
 members of the one family, up to 1896 as partners and since then 
 as directors. Several generations of the families of many of the 
 present employees have worked in the mills. The conditions there- 
 fore are somewhat exceptional.! The present number of employees 
 is about 1,400. 
 
 The Works Committee was instituted in February, 1917, on the 
 suggestion of the Directors, as a means to more harmonious work- 
 ing of the business. Each department elects its representatives, 
 roughly in proportion to the numbers of men and women employed; 
 no one is eligible for membership of the Committee unless he (or 
 she) has been at least five years in the employment of the firm; 
 the right to vote is confined to employees of 18 years of age and 
 over. The composition of the Committee is as follows : — 
 
 1 A profit-sharing scheme has been in existence since 1886. Under it 
 gome 690 employees have £50,000 invested in the company. 
 
414 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 Number of Number of 
 
 Department. Employees. Kepresentatives. 
 
 Wool Sorters, etc 60 2 
 
 Worsted Spinning 212 4 
 
 Woolen Spinning 145 3 
 
 Weaving 591 10 
 
 Finishing 119 2 
 
 Dyeing 39 2 
 
 Washhouse 131 3 
 
 Mechanics 64 2 
 
 28 
 
 The Committee meets the Directors and the General Manager 
 once a month. Loss of time is paid for. Any question affecting 
 the general welfare of the workers or the business can be discussed. 
 Questions of discipline or wage questions affecting individuals or 
 departments must in the first place come before the foreman of 
 the department concerned and then, if unsettled, before the Man- 
 ager or Managing Director; if the question is still not satisfactorily 
 settled it can be referred to the Committee and the Directors as the 
 final court of appeal. The object of this procedure is to prevent 
 |the undermining of the authority of the management and waste of 
 ^ time upon the discussion of details. 
 ;; ' Much of the discussion between the Committee and the Directors 
 has been of an educational character. The Directors have explained 
 some of the principles underlying the administration of a large 
 business — the effect of output upon standing charges and wages, 
 and the like; suggestions for the more economical running of the 
 business are encouraged. In the firm's opinion it is essential to 
 the success of a Works Committee that the Directors take the work- 
 people into their confidence; the workpeople must be made to re- 
 alize that they can help the administration and must be asked and 
 given the opportunity to help. 
 
 The great advantage secured by the existence of the Committee 
 is claimed to be this: that by a thorough explanation to the mem- 
 bers of any new departure in the internal administration of the 
 business misunderstandings are avoided and the workpeople realize 
 the real object of such departures. Another advantage is that the 
 Committee provides a safety-valve; machinery is set up by which 
 any grievance may reach the Directors, and this removes the sus- 
 picion that complaints are suppressed by the management. 
 
 The Committee also are encouraged to make suggestions as to 
 works amenities such as improvement in ventilation. Questions of 
 
APPENDIX G 415 
 
 holidays and war savings schemes have been discussed and sub-eom- 
 mittees have been appointed to deal with such matters as allotments 
 and war charities. 
 
 The Committee express their appreciation of the spirit in which 
 the Directors have met them. Both sides are pleased with the 
 working of the system in its experimental stage and expect it to 
 develop its activities. 
 
 The great majority of the workpeople are not members of any 
 imion; a small minority are organized in a general laborers' union. 
 The difficulties of connecting the Works Committee with trade 
 unionism as seen by the management are two — the small minority in 
 any union, and the fact that the particular union has nothing in 
 common with the industry; if Works Committees are to be linked 
 up with industrial councils, which on the workpeople's side are 
 formed from the trade unions, some way must be found for isolated 
 establishments to be joined up to the proper unions. Here it may 
 be noted that at the end of November a Works Committee was 
 formed, on the same lines as that at Wellington, at another woolen 
 mill belonging to the same firm, at Chipping Norton. In this case 
 the workpeople are organized and the of&cial of the union took part 
 in the formation of the Committee. There are some 250 work- 
 people in the establishment and 12 members on the Committee. 
 
 In addition to the Works Committee at the Wellington establish- 
 ment there is also a Management Committee. The two are kept 
 separate for the reason that the workpeople speak with greater 
 freedom in the absence of their foremen. 
 
 (T) RowNTREE AND Co., Ltd., The Cocoa Works, York Memo- 
 randum TO THE Employees in the Almond 
 Paste Department 
 
 The Cocoa Works, 
 York, 
 1st September, 1916. 
 (Revised 1st February, 1917.) 
 
 Works' Councils 
 
 For some time past the Directors have felt that it might be of 
 great service to the Manager and Overlookers of a Department, as 
 well as to the Employees, if a Council representing the Management 
 and the Workers were formed, in each Department, for the full and 
 free discussion of all matters affecting the work of the Depart- 
 ment, such as: — 
 
416 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 (0) The comfort and well-bemg of the employees, so far as 
 
 these depend upon wages, hours and conditions of work, 
 &c., and 
 (6) The general efficiency of the Department which depends 
 upon such things as time-keeping, discipline, cleanliness, 
 economy in the use of materials, and upon method and 
 output. 
 The Directors believe that through a Departmental Council, 
 worked in the right spirit, the employees would feel themselves to 
 have a real share in the administration of the Department, whilst 
 their cooperation would be heartily welcomed by the Management. 
 As showing what is in the minds of the Directors, the following 
 matters are set down as amongst those which might, very properly, 
 be discussed at Departmental Council Meetings: — 
 
 (1) The criticism of any Piece Wages not thought to be fair 
 
 or adequate, and the consideration of suggestions for 
 adjustment. 
 
 (2) The consideration of conditions and hours of work in the 
 
 Department. 
 
 (3) The consideration of departmental organization and pro- 
 
 duction. 
 
 (4) Rules and discipline. 
 
 Owing to the special difltteulties of the time, with so many regu- 
 lar workers away, it is not thought advisable just now to institute 
 these Departmental Councils over the Works generally, but, as an 
 experiment, it has been decided by the Directors, with the full con- 
 currence of Mr. G. T. Lee, to form a Council in the Almond Paste 
 Department. It is hoped, however, that although started as an ex- 
 periment, it may prove to be of permanent value to Workers and 
 Management alike, and that when its value has been shown, and 
 the time is opportune, it may be possible to extend the scheme to 
 other Departments. If this should come about, the institution of a 
 General Works' Council, linking all Departments, would naturally 
 follow. 
 
 The work both of the men and women in most of the Depart- 
 ments of the Factory is divisible into certain well defined Sections. 
 In order that each Section may have the fullest opportunity of freely 
 discussing with the Management matters affecting its particular 
 work, it is thought that in addition to a Departmental Council, Sub 
 — or Sectional — Councils will be necessary. 
 
 The constitution of such Sectional Councils, as well as of the 
 Departmental Council, is given below. 
 
APPENDIX G 417 
 
 Sectional Councils 
 
 The number of delegates for each Sectional Council will be fixed 
 on the basis of one delegate for every twelve workers (of whatever 
 age) or part of twelve exceeding six, employed in the Section. 
 Sitting with these at the meetings of each Sectional Council, and 
 having equal powers with them, will be the Manager of the De- 
 partment with the Head and Sub-Overlookers, Monitors or Charge- 
 men of the particular Section. Should these, however (including 
 the Manager), exceed in number the workers' delegates, the Mem- 
 bers of the Council representing the Administration, will consist 
 of the Manager, the Head Overlookers, together with as many of 
 the Sub-Overlookers, Chargemen and Monitors (elected by ballot 
 amongst themselves) as are required to make up a number equal 
 to that of the workers' delegates. The Manager of the Depart- 
 ment will be ex-of&eio Chairman of the Sectional Councils. He 
 will not have a casting vote. In the case of a drawn vote the mat- 
 ter would be submitted to me as Director controlling the Depart- 
 ment. But a decision adverse to the employees' delegates will not 
 prevent the Trade Union concerned from raising the matter subse- 
 quently with the Company. (See 2nd par., p. 111.) 
 
 In addition, there will be one delegate appointed by each Union 
 concerned (for the Men's Sectional Councils from the Men's Union, 
 and for the Women's Sectional Councils from the Women's Union), 
 who shall be allowed to speak, but shall have no vote. Such dele- 
 gates shall be deemed to hold a watching brief for the Union, but 
 shall be in the employment of the Firm and working in the De- 
 partment, and preferably, though not necessarily, in the Section. 
 
 It is intended that the meeting of the Sectional Councils shall be 
 held on a fixed day once a week, or once a fortnight, as may, in 
 practice, be found necessary. Full Minutes of the proceedings will 
 be kept by the Secretary (who will be Miss Ruth Slate for the 
 Women's Sections and Mr. T. W. Brownless for the Men's). Mat- 
 ters arising in the meetings, affecting the Department as a whole, 
 and not merely the separate Sections, will be referable to the De- 
 partmental Council. 
 
 Departmental Council 
 
 The Departmental Council will be a distinct body from the Sec- 
 tional Councils and will consist of one member for every 50 work- 
 ers (or part of 50 exceeding 25), with an equal number of the Ad- 
 ministrative Staff, namely. Manager, Head Overlookers, Sub-Over- 
 lookers, Monitors and Chargemen. Where these exceed the work- 
 
418 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 ers, the members representing the Administration will consist of 
 the Manager and Head Overlookers, together with as many of the 
 Sub-Overlookers, Chargemen, and Monitors (elected by ballot 
 amongst themselves), as are required to make up a number equal 
 to that of the workers' delegates. 
 
 At the meetings of the Departmental Councils there will also be 
 one delegate appointed by the Union representing the Men and one 
 by the Union representing the Women, who shall be allowed to 
 speak, but shall have no votes. Such delegates shall be deemed to 
 hold a watching brief for the Union, but shall be in the employment 
 of the Firm and working in the Department. 
 
 Further, the Workers will be entitled to have the attendance of 
 a Permanent Official of their Union, not necessarily in the employ- 
 ment of the Firm, during the discussion of any matter on which 
 they consider it essential that they should have skilled assistance 
 and advice. Any such Official attending a Departmental Council 
 Meeting shall withdraw as soon as the matter is disposed of upon 
 which his or her advice has been required. 
 
 Nothing that takes place at a Sectional or Departmental Council 
 shall prejudice the Trade Union in raising any question in the or- 
 dinary way. Questions of general principle such as the working 
 week, wage standards and general wage rules, shall not be within 
 the jurisdiction of the Councils. 
 
 The meetings of the Departmental Council will be held once a 
 month during working hours, with myself as Chairman and Mr. 
 Linney as Secretary. 
 
 No decisions of the Councils, either Sectional or Departmental, 
 will take effect until confirmed by myself or another Director. 
 
 Qualifications for Voting for both Sectional and 
 Departmental Councils 
 All male employees over 21 years of age and all female em- 
 ployees over 16, who have been employed by the Firm for six 
 months (whether on the Eegular Staff or not), will be eligible to 
 vote for delegates to both the Sectional or Departmental Councils, 
 and to become Members of such Councils. Delegates will be elected 
 to serve for one year. They will be eligible for reelection so long 
 as they remain in the employment of the Company. No deduction 
 will be made from the wages of Day-workers for the time occupied 
 as delegates in attending the Council Meetings, and Pieceworkers 
 will receive an average wage for the time so occupied. 
 
APPENDIX G 
 
 419 
 
 Application to the Almond Paste Department 
 
 Based upon the aforementioned constitution, the Sectional and 
 Departmental Councils in the Almond Paste Department will work 
 out as follows: — 
 Sectional. 
 
 There will be 6 Sectional Councils as under: — 
 Women. (1) Bottoms and Centers. 
 
 (2) Pipers and Coverers. 
 
 (3) Makers. 
 
 (4) Packers and Labelera. 
 
 Men. (5) Slab, Machine and Boiling (4th Floor). 
 
 (6) Crystallizing and Piping (5th Floor), Cage and 
 Carting (3rd Floor). 
 The number of delegates for each of these Councils will work 
 out thus : — 
 
 ( 1 ) Bottoms and Centers. No. of Delegates. 
 
 Bottoms — Room 1 2 
 
 Bottoms — Room 2 '2 
 
 Centers — ^Room 1 3 , 
 
 Centers — Room 2 1 
 
 Total 8 
 
 (2) Pipers and Covers. 
 
 Room 1 11 
 
 Room 2 5 
 
 Total 16 
 
 (3) Makers 6 
 
 (4) Packers and Labelers. 
 
 Packers 9 
 
 Labelers 1 
 
 Total 10 
 
 ( 5 ) Slab, Machine and Boiling { 4th Floor ) 5 
 
 ( 6 ) Crystallizing and Piping ( 5th Floor ) 8 
 
 Cage and Carting (3rd Floor) 1 
 
 Total 7 
 
4g0 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 Method and Dates of Elections. 
 
 In order to facilitate the election of delegates, a list of employees 
 eligible to vote and to become delegates (men of 21 years of age 
 and over, and girls of 16 years and over, who have been employed 
 by the Company for six months) is now hung up in each Section, 
 and these are asked to nominate sufficient delegates for their par- 
 ticular Section. 
 
 Nomination papers will be hung up in the Department and em- 
 ployees eligible to vote and wishing to nominate delegates for their 
 Section, should make out and sign one of these papers, and place 
 it in the locked box fixed in the Department for this purpose. A 
 voter is at liberty to nominate as delegate any other voter in his or 
 her Section, provided the person nominated is willing to stand as a 
 delegate. The nomination papers will be collected on Thursday, 
 jMarch 1st, at 5.30, and the names of those nominated will then 
 be printed upon the voting papers which will be given out on 
 Wednesday, March 7th. The election of delegates wiU take place 
 on Thuj:Bday, March 8th. 
 
 Departmental. 
 
 The same method wiU be followed in the Election to the De- 
 partmental Council, which, however, to avoid confusion, will not 
 take place until after the completion of the Sectional Council Elec- 
 tion. Nomination papers will be issued on Wednesday, March 
 14th, and collected March 15th. The Election will take place on 
 Thursday, March 22nd. 
 
 The number of delegates to the Departmental Council is shown 
 below : — 
 
 Bottoms <md Centers. No. of Delegates. 
 
 Bottoms — Rooms 1 and 2 1 
 
 Centers — I'ooms 1 and 2 1 
 
 Pipers and Ooverers. 
 
 Room 1 3 
 
 Room 2 1 
 
 Makers 2 
 
 Packers and Labelers 3 
 
 Slab, Machine amd Boiling (4th Floor) 1 
 
 Crystallining and Piping (5th Floor) and Cage 
 
 and Carting ( 3rd Floor ) 2 
 
 Total 14 
 
APPENDIX G 421 
 
 It is intended to hold the first Meetings of the Sectional Councils 
 within fourteen days and the Departmental Council within one 
 month of the Elections. 
 
 T. H. Applbton, 
 
 (Director, R. & Co., Ltd.). 
 
 (U) A Pbinting Office 
 
 In this office there is only the one Chapel, composed at present 
 of about a dozen compositors. In larger offices there are usually 
 several Chapels.^ The Chapel meets quarterly. Any member may 
 call a special meeting by "placing a shilling on the stone"; such 
 member will say to the Father "I call Special Chapel at 6 o'clock 
 to-night." If his complaint is found by the Chapel to be a frivo- 
 lous one the shilling is forfeited. The meetings are held in the 
 office at closing time. In the case of large offices there may not be 
 a room big enough for a chapel meeting, and in such cases meetings 
 are held outside. It is the duty of the Father to interview' the 
 head of the firm when anything is wrong; to report to the General 
 Committee of the Union from the Chapel and to the Chapel from 
 the General Committee; to see that subscriptions are paid; to inter- 
 view newcomers regarding membership of the Union, &c. 
 
 Piecework is not now in operation in this shop, so that the 
 Chapel is not called upon in this connection as it may be in other 
 offices. 
 
 The employer is strongly inclined towards regular joint meetings 
 between management and representatives of the Chapel. This is 
 rather striking because, as is easy in so small an establishment, he 
 is in direct touch with each of his men. The present Father (he 
 has been in the office for only a few months) did not seem to have 
 entertained the idea of the need for such meetings in this office; 
 he referred to the good conditions and relations prevailing in the 
 office. He said, however, that in bigger offices there was a need 
 for such meetings, and he was prepared to consider the applicability 
 of them to this office. The employer has, in an informal way, for 
 
 1 For example, in one oflBce, there are chapels of compositora, stereo- 
 typers, machine minders, machine assistants, warehousemen and certain 
 women employees. The compositors in this office are divided among 
 several departments each of which has its local father while the father 
 of the compositors' chapel is colloquially known as "imperial" father. 
 The compositors' chapel, as is usual, appoints also a clerk of the chapel. 
 The father of the chapel among the women employees is, appropriately, 
 known as the mother of the chapel. 
 
422 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 a long time held meetings with the present Father's predecessor 
 and one or two others of the Chapel. He would have them to tea, 
 during which they would have a discussion on shop questions. As 
 examples of the kind of things which joint meetings could discuss, 
 the employer mentioned the following points: — 
 
 (1) The adjustment of work, when new circumstances arise; 
 
 there had been such joint discussions when recently the 
 previous Father, who had been a long time in the firm, 
 was forced to leave. 
 
 (2) A break for lunch in the morning; this he means to bring 
 
 forward, as the five hours' stretch, though in accordance 
 with the Union agreements and the general practice, is 
 too long. 
 
 (3) As an example of how, even in a small establishment 
 
 (where the relations obviously are friendly), there may 
 be unnecessary distance between employer and work- 
 men, he mentioned that some time ago he gave facilities 
 to the men to acquire review copies of books. This was 
 greatly appreciated and one man happened to remark 
 that he had often hoped some such arrangement could 
 be made. When challenged by the employer for not 
 suggesting the arrangement, the man could only plead 
 that it was n't his place. The incident was quoted as 
 probably typical of many situations in which, for want 
 of proper arrangements, the atmosphere common to the 
 worse industrial establishments clings even to the very 
 best firms much more closely than might otherwise be 
 the case. 
 
 (4) The employer further said that he had known of a very 
 
 serious grievance existing in a large office of which 
 the head of the firm was kept ignorant. He had in- 
 formed the head of the firm and the grievance, which had 
 been causing great irritation right through the shop, 
 was instantly remedied; it should not have been left 
 to an outsider — obtaining the information only by chance 
 and, again, only by chance knowing the head of the 
 firm concerned — to be the avenue of information. 
 In regard to the last point (4), the employer was emphatic as 
 to the necessity for the heads of establishments meeting the men's 
 representatives. The need was greater the larger the office.^ 
 
 1 The same need for regular meetings between the management and 
 representatives of the employees was emphasized by the manager of a 
 large printing establishment. He has from time to time held meetings 
 
APPENDIX G 
 
 (V) Welpakb Committee (or Social Union) 
 
 1. The Works Council as it is called (perhaps it may rather 
 be termed a Welfare Committee), has for its purpose the collection, 
 direct from the workers, of any suggestions for the improvement 
 of their surroundings, and the putting of such suggestions, in the 
 form of mature proposals, before the directors for their approval. 
 It is not intended that these suggestions should in any way be con- 
 nected with labor conditions. It is the function of the CouncU to 
 deal solely with suggestions relating to the amelioration of the sur- 
 roundings of the men's work. 
 
 2. The Council is a Joint Council, and its composition is as 
 follows: — There are two representatives of the management and 
 from 19 to 21 of the workmen. The two former are the technical 
 director of the works, who acts as Chairman, and a representative 
 manager i nominated by the firm from the sectional managers. The 
 honorary secretary and the honorary treasurer of the Council may 
 be either persons coopted by the Council, or representatives of the 
 workers on the Council who have been elected by the Council to 
 these ofSees. The representatives of the men are elected (by ballot, 
 and for a period of 3 years) by the different wards into which the 
 works is divided for electoral purposes (19 in number), and all the 
 workers in the establishment have a vote. Some of the wards 
 represent working departments {e.g., the ofl&ces, or again the boiler- 
 makers and their laborers) ; others are artificial creations. These 
 artificial creations are necessary in order that representation may 
 be divided equally among all the departments, without any neglect 
 of small sections and oddments of work. Some of the wards in 
 which women are in a majority are represented by a woman; on 
 the whole Council there are 16 men representatives and 3 women. 
 
 3. The Committee has been in existence for some 15 years. As 
 has been said, its function is to deal with shop amenities or works 
 betterment. This includes (a) conditions of work during working 
 hours, and (6) social activities outside working hours. Of these 
 two the latter is apparently the more considerable, and thus — if one 
 distinguishes between Works Committee, Welfare Committee and 
 Social Union — ^the Works Council really belongs to the third cate- 
 
 with the foremen and the fathers of the different chapels in the office to 
 discuss questions of common interest; lately, the question of the appli- 
 cation of the Whitley Report and, at other times, shop regulations, 
 sanitation, etc. 
 
 1 The representative manager is said to act as a very useful link be- 
 tween the firm and the workmen, particularly when he is a young man 
 interested in the social side of the works. 
 
424 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 gory rather than the second. The Council, under this head, main- 
 tains a recreation ground, for the purchase and equipment of which 
 money was advanced by the firm. The weekly subscriptions paid 
 by the men form at once a sinking fund to extinguish this loan, 
 and a working fund to meet current expenses. The origin of the 
 Works Council, some 15 years ago, was connected with these facts. 
 A number of requests had come from the men to the management, 
 asking for assistance in the promotion of sports, and the advance 
 made by the firm, and the institution of the Works Council, both 
 sprang from these requests. 
 
 4. The Works Council thus deals in large measure with ques- 
 tions that lie outside the works. Inside the works its scope is less 
 considerable. The canteen, for instance, is under the control of the 
 firm, which provides meals at less than cost price; the Works Coun- 
 cil only deals with the amenities of the canteen. The main concern 
 of the Works Council within the works is with matters such as ven- 
 tilation, sanitation, and the general comfort of the workers. About 
 half-a-dozen times, but not more, questions have been brought up 
 at the Works Council which have had to be ruled out. Generally, 
 the men's representatives draw a careful distinction between matter 
 belonging to the Works Council and matters belonging to the sphere 
 of Trade Unionism. There has been no difSculty with Trade Unions; 
 on the contrary, the good feeling engendered by the Works Coun- 
 cil has led to easy relations between the firm and Trade Unions. 
 The firm, it should be said, recognizes Trade Unions, and deals with 
 them regularly. 
 
 5. It may be added that while the Works Council has nothing to 
 do with suggestions for improvements in the works, there is a de- 
 partmental arrangement under which employees can make sugges- 
 tions. In each department there is a suggestion box, into which 
 any workman can drop a memorandum of his suggestion; the 
 memoranda of suggestions are regularly collected, and awards of 
 prizes are made for good suggestions. 
 
 6. In the matter of meetings and procedure, the Works Council 
 meets once a month, sometimes in the employer's time (in which 
 case the men are paid during the time of their attendance) but 
 generally in the evening, when work is over for the day. There is 
 a regular agenda, prepared by the secretary, containing matters 
 brought up on the reports of sub-committees or raised by individual 
 representatives. 
 
APPENDIX G 425 
 
 (W) A Miner's Statement on Output Committees 
 
 The following statements form part of the answer by a miner 
 working in the area of the Midland Federation to the Questionnaire 
 printed in Appendix I. The references are to the Output (or 
 Absentee) Committees in his district. The functions of these Com- 
 mittees, as in other districts, are concerned with two matters — cases 
 of absence from work and facilities for increasing output (im- 
 provements, negligence on the part of ofiScials, &c.) : — 
 
 1. Origin. — (6) The Joint Committee i found out that output 
 was not only affected by absenteeism, but by faulty management, 
 and they began to frame rules which would embrace the faults of 
 the management, as well as the workers' negligence in absenteeism, 
 and would call the Committees, instead of Absentee Committees, 
 Output Committees, which gives wider facilities and administration 
 in working. 
 
 (c) The meeting of representatives of employers and employed 
 soon became hvely and it showed the intense interest that was taken 
 in the Government suggestions, and the men soon pointed out to 
 the Coal Owners that there were other causes which caused a re- 
 duced output of coal besides absenteeism — the faults of the man- 
 agement in allowing the miners to wait for timber, no facilities in 
 taking men to their work and bringing them back, the waiting for 
 tubs through scarcity and uneven distribution of the same. If 
 they were going to work this scheme and draw up rules, they must 
 bring the management in as well as the men. 
 
 The Coal Owners, after consultation, decided to accede to the 
 request of the men and asked them to withdraw from this meeting, 
 take it back to their delegate board and appoint a small committee 
 to draw up rules which would give them a voice in the management 
 of the collieries concerned. 
 
 2. Constitution. — (d) The worker's side constitutes a separate 
 Committee only so far. Just to illustrate what I mean; if there is 
 a serious case which has to be brought to the Joint Committee the 
 worker's side will meet together separately before going to meet the 
 management's side, so that they can as far as they are concerned get 
 agreement. 
 
 (e) They are duly elected, not for 12 months but for any time. 
 This seems to me a great mistake. They ought to be elected every 
 12 months, as some of them have lost the confidence of the men, 
 and it causes discontent and friction ; annual elections would make 
 for confidence and efilciency. The classes represented by these Com- 
 
 1 Sectional joint committeeB of the miners. 
 
4<m MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 mittees are miners, datal, haulage, surface workers^ who are manipu- 
 lators of coal. I might say it would have been better when the 
 rules were drawn up if it had been stated that all classes must be 
 represented. You have on most of the Committees datal, haulage, 
 and surface workers without representation. These Committees are 
 only set up as far as the Miners' Federation of Great Britain are 
 concerned. Shop men, shunters, laborers, and locomen are outside, 
 as the idea amongst the Coal Owners is that these classes of workers 
 do not affect the output of coal. 
 
 (/) (i) The trade unions have all the representation as far as 
 the workers are concerned. Of course, it is possible for the men 
 at the colliery to appoint a non-unionist, but he would be a rare 
 species. 
 
 (ii) No, it has none; it can suggest, but not appoint; this is left 
 entirely to the men. In one colliery they refused to set up a Pit 
 Committee though the Miners' Union wanted to set one up and the 
 leaders held meetings; but they failed to persuade the men. The 
 Coal Controller was pressing the Directors, and the Directors the 
 management, but they could not persuade the men; the men were 
 afraid of victimization and I think they had a good case. Where 
 men stood by their comrades, they were soon out of work not know- 
 -ing what for, only the management saying "inefficient." 
 
 (iii) The trade union official can pay a visit to any of the Com- 
 mittees when sitting and listen to all the business and see whether 
 it is being conducted in the interests of the men, or to see fair play 
 all round, or to see that the management are not abusing the powers 
 set by rule. 
 
 (iv) The relationship is good in many of them, but there are 
 doubts in the men; if some of the stewards are put in contracting 
 places and coal is pretty easy to get, the representatives are open 
 to attack by the men as they say "you would not have such a soft 
 job only you have been acting in the master's interests"; and some 
 of them play more than the usual time allowed, and nothing is 
 said. I am sorry to say that if a strong man is on the Committee 
 and he goes in for pulling the management up the harmony is broken 
 a good deal; you can fine the men and forgive them, but when you 
 come to the management it is another thing. 
 
 (g) They are chosen by the Managing Director; he asks the 
 Underground Manager, and the under-lookers, or deputies, as they 
 call them who are responsible for different coal seams. By this 
 method you get an all round representation as far as the under- 
 ground workers are concerned, but datal and surface management 
 is left out. 
 
APPENDIX G 427 
 
 (j) I will be most frank in what I have got to say in this im- 
 portant question. The employing side want no change, as it only 
 applies to absenteeism as far as they are concerned. The rules give 
 the men a voice in the management, but I am sorry to say there is 
 no Committee strong enough to administer the rules as it relates to 
 management: they go so far but stop as they see an invisible pres- 
 sure being brought upon them which is going to affect the security 
 of their living, a kind of victimization which you cannot prove. 
 Your contracting place is finished and you want another place but 
 the management sends you "odding" — you are middle-aged and 
 you cannot keep pace with the younger element; and you look after 
 a fresh place, but every where is full up; and when you come out 
 of the ofiEice you can see other men set on. This is what is going 
 on all round the district, and you want to strengthen these men 
 by having the rules enacted by Act of Parliament to make them 
 binding; and if cases like this happen, there wants to be a Tri- 
 bunal appointed by Government, representative of all classes so that 
 a man shall have a fair hearing and equality of justice; this will 
 give him a security and it will reduce this insecurity of work. 
 
 3. Functions. — (a) iv. The suggestion of improvements is within 
 the scope of Committee and some good work has been done, which 
 has affected the output of coal and increased the wages of the men. 
 
 V. None of these points are dealt with by our Committee or only 
 indirectly; it would be a splendid thing if these points were dealt 
 with. There is more friction caused under these heads between the 
 management and the men than under any other points. 
 
 Timekeeping. — The management promises the men they will put 
 so many turns to their credit for doing certain dead work in the 
 mine, and when the time arrives for them to receive the wage at the 
 week end, the money has not been put in to their credit; so the 
 men often have to go to the oflBce to make complaints, with a prom- 
 ise from the management it will be in for next week. If this 
 was brought before a committee of this standing, a more harmonious 
 spirit would be brought to bear on the industry. 
 
 Language. — The language by some of the management to the 
 workers is disgraceful and is not fit for any child in the pit to hear. 
 This point can come before the Committee but I have not known 
 of any case yet, though reports have been made to the leaders of the 
 men and they have taken up the cases. In one case I know the 
 men refused to go to work until the management were removed, 
 but wise counsels prevailed and the bitterness was removed. 
 
 Methods of Foremen. — The mining industry requires great changes 
 as the methods of the foremen are at fault in not paying for dead 
 
4,28 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 work, such as emptjdng dirt or packing it; they should pay for so 
 many tubs, but if 1 or 2 tubs are over the stated number that they 
 pay for, they reckon them nothing; in measuring ripping, instead 
 of going to the widest part of the level they go to the narrowest, 
 which may mean to the man a difference of 5s. on that piece of 
 work; in not seeing to a good distribution of wagons going in and 
 about the mine, &c. There is a splendid scope for a Committee, 
 but ours have only limited powers as far as the methods of the 
 foremen are concem^ij 
 
 vii. Canteen. — This question does not come within scope of our 
 Committee, but one large colliery has a canteen, and suggestions 
 have been made from the Committee there in the management of the 
 canteen. It would be a good thing for a colliery to have a canteen, 
 as many men are called upon to work overtime and cannot get 
 food, and they work on many hours without, which only means in- 
 efftciency. In the colliery which has a canteen, the men can get a 
 good meal and hot drinks at cost price. I know when winter time 
 comes on and the output of coal depends on the surface workers 
 sticking to their work, the management have rest periods for in- 
 dividuals and the management gives them hot drinks to keep them 
 at it. But at collieries where there are no canteens they have to 
 knock off on account of the weather. 
 
 Sanitation. — Not within the scope of our Committee, but condi- 
 tions are awfully bad. 
 
 Works Amenities. — ^Manners: There are hardly any about the 
 ^y collieries; the management have an idea that nothing can be done 
 without swearing and shouting, and it is a disgrace to hear it. 
 Some managers are extremely nice, but they are very rare. 
 
 4. Procedure. — (a) ii. The Committee meets once a week where 
 a large colliery is concerned (say 1,000 to 2,000 employees), but 
 where there are less employees, they are specially summoned by no- 
 tice from the Secretary of the Committee. 
 
 iii. Yes, the worker members meet separately, but only when 
 the questions are vital and contentious. 
 
 V. They take place in the workers' time and the employers' time. 
 The meeting is called for 1 o'clock. The management allow the 
 worker members to come out of the pit before the time but at their 
 own (the workers') expense, and the Committee sits till it comes into 
 the workers' time after 2 o'clock. 
 
 vi. It generally lasts 2 or 3 hours. It all depends on how many 
 defendants and who are the defendants. 
 
 vii. The worker members are paid out of the Trade Union funds 
 at the rate of 2s. Qd. per meeting. This causes friction as it is cost- 
 
APPENDIX G 429 
 
 ing the Union a great amount of money and they feel that the Gov- 
 ernment ought to pay or part pay for this work, as it is being car- 
 ried on in the national interests to secure a greater output of coal. 
 Some suggest that the management ought to pay half. 
 
 5. Relations with Trade Unions. — (b) They only recognize the 
 Miners' Union as far as the jurisdiction of this committee is con- 
 cerned. They (the owners) did try to bring offenders in from other 
 unions, but the miners would have nothing to do with them.i 
 
 6. General. — (a) The attitude of the management to Committees 
 is fairly good ; just according to what the business is. If it applies 
 to men they are good, but when it applies to the management the 
 feeling changes a little; but on the whole it is good. I don't know 
 of any decisions they have not carried out, but it takes them a long 
 time to do it; when they promise, your tenacity has to be great. 
 
 (e) As far as colliery workers are concerned separate Commit- 
 tees are not needed as they would deal with all questions that could 
 arise; what would be essential would be to see that all grades are 
 represented on the committee. 
 
 APPENDIX III 
 
 SUMMAKT OF A DISTRICT INVESTIGATION IN THE EnGINEEBING 
 
 AND Shipbuilding Industries 
 
 Of 32 firms in the engineering and shipbuilding industries in one 
 district in which another enquiry was made as to the existence of 
 Works Committees, eight were found to have Works Committees. 
 In addition, one had a Dilution Committee, one a Welfare Com- 
 mittee, one a Women's Committee and in one there was a Shop Com- 
 mittee. In one other there was a Works Committee until recently. 
 Expressions of opinion as to the value of Works Committees were 
 obtained from 18 of the 32 employers. Ten expressed themselves 
 in favor and eight as opposed to Works Committees. Of the ten 
 in favor, seven now have a Works Committee; of the eight op- 
 posed, one has a Dilution Committee and one a Gunshop Committee, 
 while six have no form of Committee. 
 
 The following are notes of opinions of these employers: — 
 Favorable: — 
 
 (1) "Useful work is the outcome." 
 
 1 In this respect the practice differs from that of the timekeeping 
 committees at the Cleveland and Durham blaBtfurnaces. 
 
430 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 (2) "Committee should be encouraged . . . much depended 
 
 on class of men chosen from both sides." 
 
 (3) "Applied to large establishments very commendable." 
 
 (4) "If established generally would do an infinite amount of 
 
 good." 
 
 (5) "Nothing but good would accrue if such Committees were 
 
 general." 
 
 (6) "In entire sympathy." 
 
 (7) "Experience is a very happy one and not by any means 
 
 one-sided as the members of the Committee do every- 
 thing possible to render assistance to the firm." 
 
 (8) "Very harmonious relations although . . . grievances 
 
 much too one-sided." 
 
 (9) "Perfectly satisfied." 
 
 Unfavorable : — 
 
 (1) "Encourages men to leave work to engage in business 
 
 which management should attend to." 
 
 (2) "Power is taken from management and exercised by the 
 
 men." 
 
 (3) "Simply looking for trouble." 
 
 (4) "Advantage would be taken to look for trouble." 
 
 (5) "Any amount of friction would ensue." 
 
 (6) "Afraid grievances would only come from one side and 
 
 little endeavor would be made to assist the manage- 
 ment in conduct of works." 
 
 (7) "Dealing with accredited shop stewards entirely satis- 
 
 factory." 
 
 Of the opinions coming under "Favorable" all except (3) and 
 (4) are from establishments which have Works Committees; of 
 those coming under "Unfavorable" (1) is from an establishment in 
 which one shop has a Committee, (2) to (7) from establishments 
 without Committees. 
 
 The opinions of sixteen active trade unionists employed in the 
 same industries in this district also show differences. Of the six- 
 teen seven are employed in establishments which have, or in one 
 have had, a Works Committee, and nine in establishments which 
 have no experience of a Works Committee. Of the seven, five are 
 favorable and two unfavorable; of the nine, four favorable and five 
 opposed. 
 
 This investigation would appear to support the results arrived at 
 in the report that the majority both of employers and of workpeople 
 with experience are persuaded of the benefits of Works Committees. 
 
APPENDIX G 431 
 
 APPENDIX IV 
 
 Joint Timekeeping Committees 
 
 (A.) (i) Joint Committees at Collieries in Northumberland — 
 Rules, 
 (ii) Note on Committees at Collieries in other districts. 
 (B.) (i) Joint Committees at Ironworks in Cleveland and Durham 
 — Agreement, 
 (ii) Note on Working of these Committees. 
 
 (A.) (i) Joint Committees at CoujIeeies in Northumberland 
 
 — Rules 
 
 Northumberland Coal Owners' As.sociation 
 
 AND 
 
 Northumberland Miners' Mutual Confident Association 
 
 Rules respecting the Formation and Procedure of Joint Committees 
 for the purpose of securing greater Regularity of Work at the 
 Collieries. 
 
 In order to increase the output of coal the following rules are 
 adopted by the above-named Associations: — 
 
 1. Where workmen are unable to work in their own working 
 places such persons shall work in other places where there are va- 
 cancies in accordance with the custom of the colliery. If no such 
 places are available and the man in consequence has to go home, he 
 shall not be returned to the Authorities as an Absentee on that 
 day. 
 
 2. Men prevented from getting to their work at the proper time, 
 due to the workmen's train or car being late, shall on its arrival 
 be allowed to go to work. 
 
 3. All deputations shall be held at such hours, whenever possible, 
 as will cause no loss of time to the members of such deputations or 
 the men who appear with them. 
 
 4. All persons shall attend every day on which the pit is working 
 unless prevented by illness or other reasonable cause. 
 
 5. That a District Committee be set up consisting of an equal 
 number of coal owners' and workmen's representatives. 
 
 If all members are not present, only an equal number shall vote 
 on each side. 
 
 6. That the District Committee shall meet as agreed upon for 
 the purpose of dealing with disputes which have arisen under any 
 
432 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 of the Local Committees and any other business, except in the event 
 of urgent business, in which case a meeting may be called on the 
 representation of either side to specially deal with the matter. 
 
 7. That a Local Committee shall be established at each colliery, 
 consisting of an equal number (not exceeding three each) of coal 
 owners' and workmen's representatives to carry out these rules. If 
 all members were not present, only an equal number shall vote on 
 each side. 
 
 8. The Local Committee shall meet at least once a fortnight, and 
 the management shall supply a "Time Lost Sheet," showing the 
 names of the men against whom there is a complaint, and the Local 
 Committee shall decide upon whom they shall summon to the next 
 meeting. 
 
 9. The men who are called upon to appear before the Committee 
 shall have at least two days' notice given to appear. Failing to 
 attend they will be dealt with in their absence, and the method of 
 giving notice to attend shall be left to the Committee at each col- 
 liery. 
 
 Meetings are to take place so that men may attend without losing 
 time. 
 
 10. The Local Committee shall be empowered to impose fines, and 
 the persons so fined shall have the option of signing a book for 
 such fines to be deducted or to be dealt with by the management. 
 
 (a.) If the first method is selected by the workman and he at- 
 tends and works full time, as defined by Rule 4, for one 
 month after the fine is inflicted, the fine to be returned 
 to him. 
 
 (b) AU fines not so redeemed to be paid over to some charitable 
 
 institution to be selected by the Local Committee. 
 
 (c) The amount of fines shall be: — 
 
 For a first offense for which a fine is inflicted, 2s. 6d. 
 per day of avoidable absence; a second offense, 5s. 
 per day. In the event of a third offense the case to be 
 dealt with at the discretion of the management. 
 
 11. The Local Committee shall report to the District Committee 
 all cases in which they fail to agree. 
 
 12. Excuses for absence must be bona fide, and where an ab- 
 sentee claims he was away owing to illness, a doctor's note must be 
 produced if demanded. 
 
 13. Any oflScial responsible for the workmen losing work or fail- 
 ing to do his best to get work for them shall be reported to the 
 Local Committee, who shaU investigate the circumstances, and if 
 
APPENDIX G 433 
 
 the charge appears to be justified the case shall be reported to the 
 Central Committee to deal with. 
 14. These rules to continue for the duration of the war. 
 
 Reginald Guthrie,; g.eretaries. 
 William Strakee, ) 
 12th February, 1917. 
 
 (A.) (ii) Note on Committees at Collieries in other Districts 
 
 Committees formed on very similar lines have been set up in 
 other, but not in all, mining districts. The statements as to func- 
 tions and procedure may differ in certain particulars. (1) Pro- 
 vision is sometimes made for the attendance of officials in the miners' 
 and owners' associations at Pit Committee meetings. (2) The scope 
 of a Pit Committee's functions is sometimes stated so as to include 
 more than appears to be covered by Rule 13 above, which deals 
 with officials "responsible for the workmen losing work, or failing 
 to do his best to get work for them." The functions may include 
 the consideration of facilities for output and the suggestion of im- 
 provements, apart from cases arising under the circumstances re- 
 ferred to in Rule 13 above. This is commented upon in the report 
 printed in Appendix II (W). (3) The rules vary also in such 
 details as number of representatives, time of meetings and amount 
 of fines. 
 
 The results achieved differ greatly from district to district. In 
 some districts no Committees have been set up, while in some others, 
 after being set up, the Committees have either failed to work at all 
 or, after a period of successful operation, have weakened and been 
 abandoned. In other districts, however, the Committees have con- 
 tinued to work satisfactorily, improving timekeeping and organiza- 
 tion and increasing output. The application of short time has in 
 certain districts made the need for the Committees less urgent and 
 an estimate of their value difficult. Among the reasons given for 
 failure to institute the Committees are (1) failure of employers to 
 take the matter up, and (2) the younger men's dislike for the 
 scheme; and for failure to work satisfactorily (1) the failure of 
 employers to carry out agreements about Sunday work, etc., and 
 (2) simple inability of the two sides to agree. 
 
434 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 (B.) (i) Joint Committees at Ironworks in Cleveland and 
 
 Durham 
 
 Agreement setting up Works Committees to deal with Cases 
 of Time-Losers 
 
 This scheme has been suggested by the Ministry of Munitions and 
 accepted by the Cleveland Ironmasters' Association and the 
 Cleveland Blast fumacemen's Association, in order to avoid the 
 necessity of taking men before the Munitions' Tribunals. The 
 Agreement will come into operation on Sunday the 12th day 
 of August, 1917, at Ironworks. 
 
 1. At each works in the Ironmasters' Association there shall be 
 set up a Committee consisting in the first instance of three work- 
 men employed at the works. 
 
 2. The appointment of the three workmen (one of whom must 
 be the delegate) shall rest with the Cleveland and Durham Blast- 
 fumacemen's and Cokemen's Association. 
 
 3. The Cleveland Ironmasters' Association, or any individual 
 member thereof, may, at any future time, and at the request of the 
 Cleveland Blastfurnacemen's Association must, also appoint to the 
 Committee three employer representatives for each works or for 
 such of the works as are affected, and such representatives shall 
 have equal powers and duties with the workmen's representatives. 
 
 4. So long as the Committee consists of three representatives, two 
 shall form a quorum ; if the Committee consists of six representatives, 
 four shall form a quorum. 
 
 5. There shall also be created a Central Committee consisting of 
 six persons, three of whom shall be appointed by the Cleveland Iron- 
 masters' Association, and three by the Cleveland Blastfurnacemen's 
 Association: four to form a quorum. 
 
 6. The duties and the powers of the Works Committee shall be : — 
 (a.) To inquire fully into every case brought by the Manager 
 
 of the Works of alleged bad timekeeping on the part 
 of any workman employed at the works under his 
 charge. 
 
 (b) To give warning and advice to any workman who may 
 
 appear to need it. 
 
 (c) To inflict, subject to the provisions of the Truck Acts, such 
 
 penalty or fine as in the judgment of the Committee the* 
 case shall merit, such fine not to exceed 20s. in any one 
 instance. 
 
APPENDIX G 4)35 
 
 (d) In the case of repeated offenses, to transmit the facts and 
 
 evidence to the judgment of the Central Committee. 
 
 (e) In the event of the Works Committee being equally divided 
 
 in their judgment on any case, the same shall be sub- 
 mitted to the Central Committee for decision. 
 (/) Each Works Committee shall have power to reduce or re- 
 mit altogether any fine imposed by the Committee, if 
 the offender's conduct during the four weeks succeeding 
 the hearing of his case justifies any variation in the 
 original penalty. 
 
 7. The duties and the powers of the Central Committee shall be : — 
 (o) To review all the facts and evidence in connection with any 
 
 case which may be submitted to it by Works Com- 
 mittees, and, if it so decides, to impose upon the offender, 
 subject to the provisions of the Truck Acts, a fine not 
 exceeding 40s., or to submit the case to the judgment of 
 the Ministry of Munitions. 
 (b) To make regulations for the guidance of the Works Com- 
 mittees. 
 
 8. Fines shall be deducted, subject to the provisions of the Truck 
 Acts, from the wages due to the workmen penalized, and unless 
 remitted by the end of four weeks from date of deduction, shall be 
 handed over to some fund at the works where the offender is em- 
 ployed to be used for the benefit of the workmen or their depend- 
 ants, or be handed over to some agreed upon local charity. 
 
 9. The regulations herein shall apply by agreement to all work- 
 men members of the Cleveland Blastfumaeemen's Association. Any 
 workman outside the Cleveland Blastfumaeemen's Association, and 
 employed at the Ironmasters' works, may submit his case for judg- 
 ment to the Committees if he so desires and be bound by the de- 
 cision given. 
 
 10. Each Employer party to this arrangement shall authorize 
 one of his clerical staff to act as Secretary to the Works Committee, 
 and such person shall keep a record of the decisions given by the 
 Committee for the particular works and shall transmit at the end 
 of each calendar month a record of such decisions to the Secretary 
 of the Central Committee and to the Secretary of the Cleveland 
 Blastfumaeemen's Association. 
 
 11. The Committees under this scheme shall exist so long as 
 Munition Tribunals under the Munitions of War Act continue to 
 operate, but the regulations may be varied at the end of six months 
 on the application of either party hereto. 
 
 12. The requisite agreements to be made immediately by the two 
 
436 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 Associations concerned for enabling the Committees to exercise 
 the powers and perform the duties specified above. 
 
 13. The Arbitration Act, 1889, shall not apply to any proceed- 
 ings under this agreement. 
 
 Signed on behalf of the Cleveland Ironmasters' Association. 
 
 J. T. Atkinson, 
 
 Secretary. 
 
 Signed on behalf of the Cleveland and Durham Blastfurnace- 
 men and Cokemen's Association. 
 
 Thos. McKenna, 
 
 Secretary. 
 Middlesbrough, 
 
 July 24th, 1917. 
 
 (B) ii. Note on Working of These Committees 
 
 It is agreed on both sides that these Committees have worked very 
 satisfactorily; both employers and employees regard the Works 
 Committees as a far better means of investigating and settling ques- 
 tions of this character than that of taking the men before the Muni- 
 tions Tribunals. Some twenty-eight Committees, all of them joint 
 in membership, have been set up, but it has not been necessary for 
 all of them to meet. The Central Committee had not met up to the 
 end of January, 1918, though two or three cases had been recently 
 filed for that Committee. A Works Committee is generally unani- 
 mous about its decision — whether or not a fine should be imposed, 
 or the amount of the fine. In a large proportion of cases, more than 
 half, a reduction or remission of fines has been allowed in accordance 
 with section 6 (/). Those workmen who are not members of the 
 union usually avail themselves of section 9 of the Agreement to sub- 
 mit their eases to the Works Committee. 
 
 APPENDIX V 
 
 National and District Schemes — Shop Stewards 
 
 (A) Memorandum of Conference between the Engineering Em- 
 
 ployers' Federation and thirteen Trade Unions. 
 
 (B) Clyde Shipyards Joint Trades' Vigilant Committee. 
 
 (C) Coventry Engineering Joint Committee — Shop Eules. 
 
 The following schemes are printed as further illustrations of the 
 problem discussed in Section VI. of the Report — "Relations with 
 
APPENDIX G 437 
 
 Trade Unions." (A) is the agreement come to in December, 1917, 
 between representatives of the Engineering Employers' Federation 
 and of thirteen Trade Unions. (D) is a Trade Union district scheme 
 of organization of Shop Stewards and Works Committees instituted 
 before the war. (C) gives the proposals put forward by the Cov- 
 entry Engineering Trades' Joint Committee for their district be- 
 fore the negotiations which resulted in (A) were initiated. 
 
 (A) Memorandum or Conpkrence between the Engineering 
 Employers' Federation and thirteen Trade Unions i 
 
 It is mutually agreed to recommend as follows: — 
 
 Regulations Regarding the Appointment and Functions of 
 Shop Stewards 
 
 With a view to amplifying the provisions for avoiding disputes 
 it is agreed: — 
 
 1. The workmen who are members of the above Trade Unions, 
 employed in a Federated establishment, may appoint representa- 
 tives from their own number to act on their behalf in accordance 
 with the terms of this Agreement. 
 
 2. The representatives shall be known as Shop Stewards. 
 
 3. The method of election of Shop Stewards shall be determined 
 by the Trade Unions concerned, and each Trade Union, parties to 
 this Agreement, may appoint Shop Stewards. 
 
 4. The names of the Shop Stewards, and the shop or portion of a 
 shop in which they are employed, and the Trade Union to which they 
 belong, shall be intimated officially by the Trade Union concerned 
 in the management on election. 
 
 5. Shop Stewards shall be subject to the control of the Trade 
 Unions, and shall act in accordance with the rules and regulations 
 of the Trade Unions and agreements with employers so far as these 
 affect the relation between employers and workpeople. 
 
 6. In connection with this Agreement, Shop Stewards shall be 
 afforded facilities to deal with questions raised in the shop or por- 
 tion of a shop in which they are employed. In the course of dealing 
 
 1 Steam Engine Makers' Society, Society of Amalgamated Toolmakers, 
 etc., U.K. Society of Amalgamated Smiths and Strikers, National So- 
 ciety of Amalgamated Brassfounders and Metal Mechanics, Associated 
 Blacksmiths and Iron Workers' Society, Workers' Union, National 
 Amalgamated Union of Labor, United Machine Workers' Association, 
 Electrical Trades Union, United .Journeymen Brassfounders, etc.. Amal- 
 gamated Society of Coremakers, National Union of General Workers, 
 and National Amalgamated Union of Enginemen, etc. 
 
438 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 ■with these questions they may, with the previous consent of the 
 management (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld), visit 
 any other shop or portion of a shop in the establishment. In all 
 other respects they shall conform to the same working conditions 
 as their fellow -workmen. 
 
 7. Employers and Shop Stewards shall not be entitled to enter 
 into any agreement inconsistent with agreements between the En- 
 gineering Employers' Federation or Local Association and the Trade 
 Unions. 
 
 8. The functions of Shop Stewards, so far as they are concerned 
 with the avoidance of disputes, shall be exercised in accordance with 
 the following procedure : — 
 
 (a) A workman or workmen desiring to raise any question in 
 
 which he or they are directly concerned, shall in the 
 first instance discuss the same with his or their foreman. 
 
 (b) Failing settlement, the question shall, if desired, be taken 
 
 up with the management by the appropriate Shop Stew- 
 ard and one of the workmen directly concerned. 
 
 (c) If no settlement is arrived at, the question may, at the re- 
 
 quest of either party, be further considered at a meeting 
 to be arranged between the management and the appro- 
 priate Shop Steward, together with a deputation of the 
 workmen directly concerned. At this meeting the Or- 
 ganizing District Delegate may be present, in which 
 event a representative of the Employers' Association 
 shall also be present. 
 
 (d) The question may thereafter be referred for further con- 
 
 sideration in terms of the Provisions for Avoiding Dis- 
 putes. 
 
 (e) No stoppage of work shall take place until the question 
 
 has been fully dealt with in accordance with this Agree- 
 ment and with the Provisions for Avoiding Disputes. 
 
 9. In the event of a question arising which affects more than one 
 branch of trade, or more than one department of the works, the 
 negotiations thereon shall be conducted by the management with 
 the Shop Stewards concerned. Should the number of Shop Stew- 
 ards concerned exceed seven, a deputation shall be appointed by 
 them, not exceeding seven, for the purpose of the particular nego- 
 tiation. 
 
 10. Negotiations under this agreement may be instituted either 
 by the management or by the workmen concerned. 
 
 11. The recognition of Shop Stewards is accorded in order that a 
 
APPENDIX G 439 
 
 further safeguard may be provided against disputes arising be- 
 tween employers and their workpeople. 
 
 12. Any questions which may arise out of the operation of this 
 Agreement shall be brought before the Executive of the Trade 
 Union concerned, or the Tederation, as the case may be. 
 
 (B) Clyde Shipyards Joint Trades' Vigilant Committee i 
 
 EULES 
 
 1. This Committee shall consist of Trade Unions representative of 
 the workmen employed in the Clyde Shipyards. 
 
 2. Its object shall be to endeavor to adjust all complaints of a 
 general character, endeavor to secure uniformity in the conditions 
 of employment of the members and strengthen and perfect the 
 organizations of the affiliated Unions. 
 
 (o) By representatives of the Society affected at once reporting 
 the matter to the Secretary of the Yard Vigilant Commit- 
 tee. 
 
 (6) By insisting that all non-union members of the respective 
 trades shall become members of their Trade Union. 
 
 (c) By dealing with any member of an affiliated Union who 
 fails to keep himself in compliance with the Rules of his 
 Union. 
 
 Yard Vigilance Committees 
 
 3. A Vigilance Committee shall be appointed in each yard or 
 dock, composed of one representative from each Society affiliated. 
 Societies having more than one section of workmen shall be en- 
 titled to one representative from each section. 
 
 4. The Committee shall appoint a Secretary to whom all com- 
 plaints shall be lodged by members of the Committee. 
 
 5. Each Shop Steward must examine the contribution cards of 
 the members of their own societies on the first Wednesday of each 
 month, and interview new starts immediately after starting. 
 
 6. The Committee will meet at least monthly. 
 
 7. Representatives of each society must attend and report to the 
 Committee as to the condition of the members under his supervision. 
 
 8. On receipt of a complaint, the Committee shall endeavor to 
 
 iThe first meeting was held on the 14th February, 1911. A similar 
 organization in Engineering — The West of Scotland Locomotive and 
 General Engineering Joint Trades' Vigilant Committee— was instituted 
 in September, 1914. It had then been under consideration for some 
 months. 
 
4-40 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 effect a settlement by interviewing the foreman or management. 
 Failing adjustment the matter must then be reported to the Secre- 
 tary of the Central Board. 
 
 9. The machinery of each society for dealing with such questions 
 must first be exhausted before reporting to the Yard Vigilant Com- 
 mittee. 
 
 10. The Secretary must send in his offleial report to the Secretary 
 of the Central Board on the second last Thursday of March, June, 
 September, and December. 
 
 11. Should any member of the Yard Vigilant Committee be penal- 
 ized for taking part in the work of the Committee, such cases must 
 be immediately reported to the Secretary and taken up jointly. 
 
 12. Where the Secretary of the Committee has been changed, the 
 name and address of his successor must be forwarded to the Secre- 
 tary of the Central Board. 
 
 13. Expenses incurred by the Committee for room rent, station- 
 ery and postages, will be met by the Central Board. All such ac- 
 counts must be sent quarterly to the Secretary and submitted to the 
 Central Board for approval. 
 
 14. Under no circumstances can the Yard Vigilant Committee 
 authorize a stoppage of work, either of a partial or general nature. 
 
 Arrears. — Members over 10s. in arrears must reduce same at the 
 rate of 2s. 6d. per week ; 15s., 5s. per week; and 20s., 10s. for the first 
 week and 5s. per week thereafter. 
 
 Central Board 
 
 15. A Central Board shall be appointed and shall consist of a re- 
 sponsible representative of each Union affiliated. Societies having 
 separate sections administered separately shall be entitled to one 
 representative from each section. 
 
 16. Their duties shall be to see that a Vigilant Committee is ap- 
 pointed in each yard or dock, and deal with all complaints re- 
 mitted to them by the Yard Committees. 
 
 17. They shall annually elect a Chairman and Secretary from 
 amongst their number, the latter to act as Treasurer. 
 
 18. The Secretary on receiving a complaint from a Yard Com- 
 mittee, may, after consultation with the Chairman of the Central 
 Board and the representative of the Trade directly concerned, en- 
 deavor to get the matter adjusted, failing which the Central Board 
 will be convened. 
 
 19. Before any stoppage of work takes place, the consent of 
 the Central Board of this Committee must be obtained. 
 
 20. To meet expenses the Central Board shall make a call upon 
 
APPENDIX G 441 
 
 each society affiliated for such sum as may from time to time be 
 agreed upon. 
 
 21. Meetings of the Central Board will be held on the last Friday 
 of each quarter, or oftener if, in the opinion of the Chairman and 
 
 Secretary, such is necessary. 
 
 (C) Coventry Engineering Joint Committee i 
 Shop Rules and Instructions for Stewards. 
 
 1. That the Coventry Engineering Joint Committee shall be the 
 Executive Committee over all Shop Stewards and Works Commit- 
 tees aflSliated. Any change of practice in any shop or works must 
 receive the consent of the Joint Engineering Committee before be- 
 ing accepted by the men concerned. 
 
 2. That all nominees for Shop Stewards must be members of So- 
 cieties affiliated to the Coventry Engineering Joint Committee. 
 
 3. Stewards shall be elected by ballot for a term not exceeding 
 six months; all retiring Stewards to be eligible for reelection. 
 
 4. Each section shall be able to elect a Steward irrespective of 
 Society. 
 
 5. The Stewards of each department shall elect a Chief Steward. 
 
 6. The Chief Stewards of departments shall constitute the Works 
 Committee, who, if exceeding 12 in number, can appoint an Execu- 
 tive Committee of seven, including Chairman and Secretary. 
 
 7. All Stewards shall have an oflBcial Steward's Card issued by 
 Joint Committee. 
 
 8. Each Steward on being elected, and the same endorsed by his 
 Society, the Joint Committee Secretary shall send him an official 
 card. 
 
 9. The Steward must examine any man's membership card who 
 starts in the shop in his section. He should then advise the man 
 to report to his respective Secretary, and give him any information 
 required on rates and conditions, etc. There shall be a show of 
 cards every month to ascertain if every member is a sound member, 
 
 1 The twenty-one societies affiliated are: — Friendly Society of Iron- 
 founders, Steam Engine Makers, United Machine Workers, Amalgamated 
 Society of Engineers, Amalgamated Toolmakers, Smiths and Strikers, 
 Brassworkers and Metal Mechanics, Coppersmiths, United Brass Finish- 
 ers, Electrical Trades Union, Boilermakers, Coremakers, Patternmakers, 
 United Coach Makers, Progressive Tin Plate Workers, >fatlonal Federa- 
 tion of Women Workers, National Union of Clerks, Amalgamated Car- 
 penters and Joiners, General Union of Carpenters and Joiners, London 
 and Provincial Coach Makers, and Amalgamated Wood Cutting Ma- 
 chinists. 
 
M2 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 and if any member is in arrears (eight weeks) he must report same 
 to the Chief Steward. 
 
 10. If there is any doubt of any man not receiving the district 
 rate of wages, the Steward can demand to examine pay ticket. 
 
 11. Any member accepting a price or time basis for a job must 
 hand record of same to his Section Steward, who shall keep a record 
 of times and prices on his section of any work, and hand the same to 
 Chief Shop Steward. 
 
 12. The Chief Steward shall keep a record of all times and prices 
 recorded to him by sections of his department. On a section being 
 not represented he shall see to the election of Steward for such sec- 
 tion. 
 
 13. Any grievance arising on any section must be reported to Chief 
 Shop Steward, who shall, with Steward on section and man con- 
 cerned, interview foreman or manager. Failing redress, the Chief 
 Steward then to report to the Works Committee. 
 
 14. The Works Committee shall be empowered to take any case 
 of dispute before the management, not less than three to act as 
 deputation. 
 
 15. On the Works Committee failing to come to any agreement 
 with the management, they must immediately report to the En- 
 gineering Joint Committee, who shall take up the matter with the 
 firm concerned, a representative of the Works Committee to be one 
 of the deputation. It is essential, pending negotiations, that no 
 stoppage of work shall take place without the sanction of the Engi- 
 neering Joint Committee. 
 
 16. A full list of all Shop Stewards must be kept by the Joint 
 Committee. Any change of Stewards must be reported to the 
 Joint Committee's Secretary. 
 
 17. The Joint Committee shall be empowered to call meetings of 
 Stewards at any works, also meetings of all Chief Stewards in the 
 district when the Joint Committee so decides, if necessary. 
 
 18. If at any time of dispute the Engineering Joint Committee de- 
 cides upon the withdrawal of its members from any firm or firms, 
 the Stewards shall be issued a special official badge from this Com- 
 mittee with the idea of assisting to keep order, if necessary, in the 
 interests of the members concerned. 
 
APPENDIX G 443 
 
 APPENDIX VI 
 MINISTRY or RECONSTRUCTION 
 
 Committee on Relations between Employers and Employed 
 
 Supplementary Report on Works Committees 
 
 To the Right Honorable D. Lloyd George, M.P., 
 Prime Minister. 
 Sir, 
 
 In our first and second Reports we have referred to the establish- 
 ment of Works Committees,! representative of the management and 
 of the workpeople, and appointed from within the works, as an 
 essential part of the scheme of organization suggested to secure 
 improved relations between employers and employed. The purpose 
 of the present Report is to deal more fully with the proposal to 
 institute such Committees. 
 
 2. Better relations between employers and their workpeople can 
 best be arrived at by granting to the latter a greater share in the 
 consideration of matters with which they are concerned. In every 
 industry there are certain questions, such as rates of wages and 
 hours of work, which should be settled by District or National agree- 
 ment, and with any matter so settled no Works Committee should 
 be allowed to interfere; but there are also many questions closely 
 affecting daily life and comfort in, and the success of, the business, 
 and affecting in no small degree efficiency of working, which are 
 peculiar to the individual workshop or factory. The purpose of 
 a Works Committee is to establish and maintain a system of co- 
 operation in all these workshop matters. 
 
 3. We have throughout our recommendations proceeded upon the 
 assumption that the greatest success is likely to be achieved by leav- 
 ing to the representative bodies of employers and employed in each 
 industry the maximum degree of freedom to settle for themselves 
 precise form of Council or Committee which should be adopted, 
 having regard in each case to the particular circumstances of the 
 trade; and, in accordance with this principle, we refrain from indi- 
 cating any definite form of constitution for the Works Commit- 
 tees. Our proposals as a whole assume the existence of organiza- 
 
 1 In the use of the term "Works Committees" in this Report it is not 
 intended to uae the word "works" in a technical sense; in such an in- 
 dustry as the Coal Trade, for example, the term "Pit Committees" would 
 probably be the term used in adopting the scheme. 
 
4.4.4. MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 tions of both employers and employed and a frank and full recog- 
 nition of such organizations. Works Committees established other- 
 wise than in accordance with these principles could not be regarded 
 as a part of the scheme we have recommended, and might indeed be 
 a hindrance to the development of the new relations in industry 
 to which we look forward. We think the aim should be the com- 
 plete and coherent organization of the trade on both sides, and 
 Works Committees will be of value in so far as they contribute to 
 such a result. 
 
 4. We are of opinion that the complete success of Works Com- 
 mittees necessarily depends largely upon the degree and efficiency 
 of organization in the trade, and upon the extent to which the 
 Committees can be linked up, through organizations that we have 
 in mind, with the remainder of the scheme which we are proposing, 
 viz., the District and National Councils. We think it important 
 to state that the success of the Works Committees would be very 
 seriously interfered with if the idea existed that such Committees 
 were used, or likely to be used, by employers in opposition to Trade 
 Unionism. It is strongly felt that the setting up of Works Com- 
 mittees without the cooperation of the Trade Unions and the Em- 
 ployers' Associations in the trade or branch of trade concerned 
 would stand in the way of the improved industrial relationships 
 which in these Reports we are endeavoring to further. 
 
 5. In an industry where the workpeople are unorganized, or only 
 very partially organized, there is a danger that Works Committees 
 may be used, or thought to be used, in opposition to Trade Union- 
 ism. It is important that such fears should be guarded against in 
 the initiation of any scheme. We look upon successful Works Com- 
 mittees as the broad base of the Industrial Structure which we 
 have recommended, and as the means of enlisting the interest of the 
 workers in the success both of the industry to which they are at- 
 tached and of the workshop or factory where so much of their life 
 is spent. These Committees should not, in constitution or methods 
 of working, discourage Trade organizations. 
 
 6. Works Committees, in our opinion, should have regular meet- 
 ings at fixed times, and, as a general rule, not less frequently than 
 once a fortnight. They should always keep in the forefront the 
 idea of constructive cooperation in the improvement of the industry 
 to which they belong. Suggestions of all kinds tending to improve- 
 ment should be frankly welcomed and freely discussed. Practical 
 proposals should be examined from all points of view. There is 
 an undeveloped asset of constructive ability — ^valuable alike to the 
 industry and to the State — awaiting the means of realization; prob- 
 
APPENDIX G 4!4!5 
 
 lems, old and new, will find their solution in a frank partnership 
 of knowledge, experience and goodwill. Works Committees would 
 fail in their main purpose if they existed only to smooth over griev- 
 ances. 
 
 7. We recognize that, from time to time, matters will arise which 
 the management or the workmen consider to be questions they can- 
 not discuss in these joint meetings. When this occurs, we antici- 
 pate that nothing but good will come from the friendly statement 
 of the reasons why the reservation is made. 
 
 8. We regard the successful development and utilization of Works 
 Committees in any business on the basis recommended in this Re- 
 port as of equal importance with its commercial and scientific ef- 
 ficiency; and we think that in every ease one of the partners or 
 directors, or some other responsible representative of the manage- 
 ment, would be well advised to devote a substantial part of his time 
 and thought to the good working and development of such a com- 
 mittee. 
 
 9. There has been some experience, both before the war and 
 during the war, of the benefits of Works Committees, and we think 
 it should be recommended most strongly to employers and employed 
 that, in connection with the scheme for the establishment of Na- 
 tional and District Industrial Councils, they should examine this 
 experience with a view to the institution of Works Committees on 
 proper lines, in works where the conditions render their formation 
 practicable. We have recommended that the Ministry of Labor 
 should prepare a summary of the experience available with refer- 
 ence to Works Committees, both before and during the war, includ- 
 ing information as to any rules or reports relating to such Commit- 
 tees, and should issue a memorandum thereon for the guidance of 
 employers and workpeople generally, and we understand that such 
 a memorandum is now in course of preparation.^ 
 
 10. In order to ensure uniform and common principles of action, 
 it is essential that where National and District Industrial Councils 
 exist the Works Committees should be in close touch with them, and 
 the scheme for linking up Works Committees with the Councils 
 should be considered and determined by the National Councils. 
 
 11. We have considered it better not to attempt to indicate any 
 specific form of Works Committees. Industrial establishments 
 show such infinite variation in size, number of persons employed, 
 multiplicity of departments, and other conditions, that the par- 
 ticular form of Works Committees must necessarily be adapted to 
 the circumstances of each case. It would, therefore, be impossible 
 
 1 The reference is to the present Report. 
 
446 
 
 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 to formulate any satisfactory scheme which does not provided a 
 large measure of elasticity. 
 
 We are confident that the nature of the particular organization 
 necessary for the various cases will he settled without difficulty by 
 the exercise of goodwill on both sides. 
 We have the honor to be, Sir, 
 
 Your obedient Servants,i 
 
 J. H. WuiTiiBT, Chairman. 
 
 F. S. Button. 
 S. J. Chapman. 
 
 G. H. Claughton. 
 J. R. Clynbs. 
 
 F. N. Hepworth. 
 WiLFBiD Hill. 
 
 J. A. HOBSON. 
 
 A. Susan Lawbencb. 
 
 Mauricb Lbvt. 
 
 J. J. Mallon. 
 
 Thos. R. Ratclifpe-Ellis. 
 
 Allan M. Smith. 
 
 D. R. H. Williams. 
 
 MoNA Wilson. 
 
 H. J. Wilson, i 
 A. Greenwood. \ 
 
 Secretaries. 
 ISth October, 1917. 
 
 APPENDIX VII 
 
 Scheme op Local Joint Pits Committees 
 
 The following scheme has recently been introduced. It is par- 
 ticularly interesting as an attempt to apply the ideas of the Whitley 
 Report to part of the coal-mining industry. 
 
 1 Sir G. J. Carter and Mr. Smillie were unable to attend any of the 
 meetings at which this Report was considered and they therefore do not 
 sign it. Sir G. J. Carter has intimated that in his view, in accordance 
 with the principles indicated in paragraphs 3, 4 and 5 of the Report, 
 it is important that Works Committees should not deal with matters 
 which ought to be directly dealt with by the firms concerned or their 
 respective Associations in conjunction with the recognized representa- 
 tives of the Trade Unions whose members are affected. 
 
APPENDIX G 447 
 
 Joint Committee op Representatives op the Lancashire and 
 Cheshire Coal Association, and the Lancashire and Che- 
 shire Miners' Federation. 
 
 Resolved: That the Joint Committee recommend the establish- 
 ment, with the least possible delay, of Local Joint Pit Committees 
 at the various Collieries in the two Counties, and that the functions 
 of the Committees shall be those set out below, and that the Rules 
 of Procedure also set out below should be adopted. 
 
 The functions exercisable by the Local Joint Pits Committees and 
 the Rules of Procedure for the conduct of the business. 
 
 1. The title of the Committee shall be "The Local Joint Pits Com- 
 mittee." 
 
 2. The Committee shall exercise the following functions: — 
 
 (o) To investigate and report to Manager cases of shortage of 
 tubs. 
 
 (b) To investigate and report anything interfering with the 
 
 possibilities of output, such as poor haulage, blocked 
 or congested roadways. 
 
 (c) To investigate and report to Manager complaints of min- 
 
 imum wage and abnormal places allowances. 
 
 (d) To stimulate regular attendance and report to Manager 
 
 persistent absentees. 
 
 (e) Generally to investigate and report to the Manager any- 
 
 thing else which in their opinion is interfering with the 
 satisfactory working of the mine. 
 (/) Any other functions which may from time to time be dele- 
 gated to them by the Joint Committee. 
 
 3. The Committee shall consist of not less than three, nor more 
 than five representatives of the employers, and an equal number of 
 representatives of the workmen employed at the mine. The Manager 
 of the mine shall be the Chairman. 
 
 4. Two members of each class of representative present shall 
 form a quorum. 
 
 5. The respective representatives on the Committee shall each 
 appoint one of their number to act as Secretary. 
 
 6. Meetings of the Committee shall be held once a month. Pro- 
 vided that a Special Meeting may be held at any time at the re- 
 quest of the whole of the members of either side given to the Sec- 
 retary of the other side. Five days' notice to be given of any meet- 
 ing, ordinary or special; and the Agenda of the business to be con- 
 sidered at the meeting to be submitted by the Secretaries to each 
 member of the Board with the notice calling the meeting. No busi- 
 
4,48 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 ness to be transacted at any meeting other than that on the Agenda. 
 No matter shall be placed on the Agenda without an opportunity 
 having been previously given to the officials of the mine of dealing 
 with it. 
 
 7. The proceedings of each Committee shall be taken and tran- 
 scribed in duplicate books, and each book shall be signed by the two 
 Secretaries at the meeting at which such minutes are read and con- 
 firmed. One copy of such minutes shall be kept by each of the 
 Secretaries. The Secretaries shall also conduct the correspondence 
 for the respective parties, and conjointly for the Committee. 
 
 8. In the event of any matter arising which the Committee can- 
 not agree upon, and failing agreement between the Manager and 
 the local Federation Agent, the difEerence shall be submitted to 
 the Joint District Committee, whose decision shall be final. 
 
 9. Each party shall pay and defray the expenses of its own repre- 
 sentatives and Secretary. 
 
 Dated this Eleventh day of February, 1918. 
 Lionel E. Pilkington, 
 
 President of the Lancashire and Cheshire Coal Association 
 and of the Joint Committee. 
 Thomas Greenalli, 
 
 President of the Lancashire and Cheshire Miners' Federa- 
 tion, and Vice-President of the Joint Committee. 
 Thos. R. Ratclippe-Ellis, 
 
 Secretary of the Lancashire and Cheshire Coal Association, 
 and of tie Joint Committee. 
 Thomas AsHTo3|i ^ 
 
 Secretary of ihe Lancashire and Cheshire Miners' Federa- 
 tion, and of the Joint Committee. 
 
 INDUSTRIAL REPORTS. NUMBER 3 
 
 INDUSTRIAL COUNCILS AND TRADE BOARDS 
 
 Joint Memorandum of the Minister of Reconstruction and the 
 Minister of Labor, explaining the Government's view of the pro- 
 posals of the Second Whitley Report, together with the Text of the 
 Report. 
 
APPENDIX G 449 
 
 INDUSTRIAL COUNCILS AND TRADE BOARDS 
 
 Joint Memorandum by the Minister of Reconstruction and the 
 Minister of Labor. 
 
 1.- The proposals contained in the First Report on Joint Standing 
 Industrial Councils of the Committee on Relations between Em- 
 ployers and Employed have been adopted by the Government. The 
 steps which have been taken to establish Industrial Councils have 
 enabled the Government to consider the proposals of the Second 
 Report on Joint Standing Industrial Councils in the light of ex- 
 perience. This Report, which deals with industries other than 
 those which are highly organized, follows naturally upon the First 
 Report of the Committee, and develops the line of policy therein 
 proposed. It has not been found possible from the administra- 
 tive point of" view to adopt the whole of the recommendations con- 
 tained in the Second Report, but such modifications as it seems 
 desirable to make do not affect the principles underlying the Com- 
 mittee's proposal for the establishment of Joint Industrial Councils. 
 They are designed to take advantage of the administrative experi- 
 ence of the Ministry of Labor with regard to both Industrial Coun- 
 cils and Trade Boards. In view of the growing interest which is 
 being taken in the establishment of Industrial Councils and of the 
 proposed extension of Trade Boards, it appears desirable to set 
 forth the modifications which the Government regard as necessary 
 in putting into operation the recommendations of the Second Report, 
 and also to make clear the relations between Trade Boards and 
 Industrial Councils. 
 
 2. The First Report on Joint Standing Industrial Councils re- 
 ferred only to the well-organized industries. The Second Report 
 deals with the less organized and unorganized trades, and suggests 
 the classification of the industries of the country into three groups : — 
 "Group A. — Consisting of industries in which organization on the 
 part of the employers and employed is sufficiently developed 
 to render their respective associations representative of the 
 great majority of those engaged in the industry. These are 
 the industries which we had in mind in our first Interim 
 Report. 
 "Group B. — Comprising those industries in which, either as re- 
 gards employers and employed, or both, the degree of organ- 
 ization, though considerable, is less marked than in Group 
 A. 
 "Group C. — Consisting of industries in which organization is so 
 
450 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 imperfect, either as regards employers or employed, or both, 
 that no associations can be said adequately to represent those 
 engaged in the industry." 
 
 The proposals of the Committee on Relations between Employers 
 and Employed are summarized in paragraph 20 of their Second 
 Report as follows: — 
 
 "(a) In the more highly organized industries (Group A.) we 
 propose a triple organization of national, district, and 
 workshop bodies, as outlined in our First Report. 
 
 "(6) In industries where there are representative associations of 
 employers and employed, which, however, do not possess 
 the authority of those in Group A. industries, we pro- 
 pose that the triple organization should be modified, by 
 attaching to each National Industrial Council one, or at 
 most two representatives of the Ministry of Labor to act 
 in an advisory capacity. 
 
 "(c) In industries in both Groups A. and B., we propose that un- 
 organized areas or branches of an industry should be pro- 
 vided, on the application of the National Industrial Coun- 
 cil, and with the approval of the Ministry of Labor, with 
 Trade Boards for such areas or branches, the Trade Boards 
 being linked with the Industrial Council. 
 
 "(d) In industries having no adequate organization of employers 
 or employed, we recommend that Trade Boards should be 
 continued or established, and that these should, with the 
 approval of the Ministry of Labor, be enabled to formu- 
 late a scheme for an Industrial Council, which might in- 
 clude, in an advisory capacity, the 'appointed members' of 
 the Trade Board." 
 
 It may be convenient to set out briefly the modifications of the 
 above proposals, which it has been found necessary to make. 
 
 (1) As regards (b) it has been decided to recognize one type of 
 
 Industrial Council only, and not to attach official repre- 
 sentatives to the Council, except on the application of the 
 Industrial Council itself. 
 
 (2) As regards (c) and (d) the relations between Trade Boards 
 
 and Industrial Councils raise a number of serious adminis- 
 trative difficulties due to the wide differences in the pur- 
 pose and structure of the two types of bodies. It is not 
 regarded as advisable that a Trade Board should formulate 
 a scheme for an Industrial Council, nor is it probable that 
 Trade Boards for unorganized areas will be set up in con- 
 junction with a Joint Industrial Council. 
 
APPENDIX G 451 
 
 3. It is necessary at the outset to emphasize the fundamental dif- 
 ferences between Industrial Councils and Trade Boards. A Joint 
 Industrial Council is voluntary in its character and can only be 
 brought into existence with the agreement of the organizations of 
 employers and workpeople in the particular industry, and the Coun- 
 cil itself is composed exclusively of persons nominated by the Em- 
 ployers' Associations and Trade Unions concerned. The Industrial 
 Council is, moreover, within very wide limits, able to determine its 
 own functions, machinery and methods of working. Its functions 
 in almost all cases will probably cover a wide range and will be 
 concerned with many matters other than wages. Its machinery and 
 methods will be based upon past experience of the industry and the 
 existing organization of both employers and employed. Industrial 
 Councils will, therefore, vary in structure and functions as can be 
 seen from the provisional constitutions already submitted to the 
 Ministry of Labor. Financially they will be self-supporting, and 
 will receive no monetary aid from the Government. The Govern- 
 ment proposes to recognize the Industrial Council in an industry 
 as the representative organization to which it can refer. This was 
 made clear in the Minister of Labor's circular letter of October 20th, 
 1917, in which it is said that "the Government desire it to be under- 
 "stood that the Councils will be recognized as the official standing 
 "consultative committees to the Government on all future questions 
 "affecting the industries which they represent, and that they will be 
 "the normal channel through which the opinion and experience of 
 "an industry will be sought on all questions in which the industry 
 "is concerned." 
 
 A Trade Board, on the other hand, is a statutory body established 
 by the Minister of Labor and constituted in accordance with Regu- 
 lations made by him in pursuance of the Trade Boards Act; and its 
 expenses, in so far as authorized by the Minister of Labor and sanc- 
 tioned by the Treasury, are defrayed out of public money. The 
 Regulations may provide for the election of the representatives of 
 employers and workers or for their nomination by the Minister of 
 Labor, but in either case provision must be made for the due repre- 
 sentation of homeworkers in trades in which a considerable propor- 
 tion of homeworkers are engaged. On account of the comparative 
 lack of organization in the trades to which the Act at present applies, 
 the method of nomination by the Minister has proved in practice to 
 be preferable to that of election, and in nearly all cases the repre- 
 sentative members of Trade Boards are now nominated by the 
 Minister. The Employers' Associations and Trade Unions in the 
 several trades are invited to submit the names of candidates for the 
 
452 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 Minister's consideration, and full weight is attached to their recom- 
 mendation, but where the trade organizations do not fully represent 
 all sections of the trade, it is necessary to look outside them to find 
 representatives of the different processes and districts affected. 
 
 A further distinction between Trade Boards and Industrial Coun- 
 cils is, that while Industrial Councils are composed entirely of repre- 
 sentatives of the Employers' Associations and Trade Unions in the 
 industry, every Trade Board includes, in addition to the repre- 
 sentative members, a small number (usually three) of "appointed 
 members," one of whom is appointed by the Minister to act as Chair- 
 man and one as Deputy Chairman of the Board. The appointed 
 members are unconnected with the trade and are appointed by the 
 Minister as impartial persons. The primary function of a Trade 
 Board is the determination of minimum rates of wages, and when 
 the minimum rates of wages fixed by a Trade Board have been con- 
 firmed by the Minister of Labor, they are enforceable by criminal 
 proceedings, and officers are appointed to secure their observance. 
 The minimum rates thus become part of the law of the land, and are 
 enforced in the same manner as, for example, the provisions of the 
 Factory Acts. The purpose, structure, and functions of Industrial 
 Councils and Trade Boards are therefore fundamentally different. 
 Their respective areas of operation are also determined by different 
 considerations. An Industrial Council will exercise direct influence 
 only over the organizations represented upon it. It will comprise 
 those employers' associations with common interests and common 
 problems; similarly its trade union side will be composed of repre- 
 sentatives of organizations whose interests are directly interde- 
 pendent. An Industrial Council therefore is representative of or- 
 ganizations whose objects and interests, whilst not identical, are 
 sufficiently interlocked to render common action desirable. The 
 various organizations represent the interests of employers and work- 
 ers engaged in the production of a particular commodity or service 
 (or an allied group of commodities or services). 
 
 A Trade Board, on the other hand, is not based on existing or- 
 ganizations of employers and employed, but covers the whole of the 
 trade for which it is established. As the minimum rates are en- 
 forceable by law, it is necessary that the boundaries of the trade 
 should be precisely defined; this is done, within the limits prescribed 
 by statute, by the Regulations made by the Minister of Labor. 
 Natural divisions of industry are, of course, followed as far as 
 possible, but in many cases the line of demarcation must necessarily 
 be somewhat arbitrary. In the case of Industrial Councils difBcult 
 demarcation problems also arise, but the considerations involved are 
 
APPENDIX G 453 
 
 somewhat different, as the object is to determine -whether the in- 
 terests represented by given organizations are sufficiently allied to 
 justify the cooperation of these organizations in one Industrial 
 Council. 
 
 4. The reports received from those who are engaged in assisting 
 the formation of Joint Industrial Councils show that certain para- 
 graphs in the Second Report of the Committee on Relations between 
 Employers and Employed have caused some confusion as to the 
 character and scope of Joint Industrial Councils and Trade Boards 
 respectively. It is essential to the future development of Joint In- 
 dustrial Councils that their distinctive aim and character should be 
 maintained. It is necessary therefore to keep clearly in mind the 
 respective functions of the Joint Industrial Council and the Trade 
 Board, in considering the recommendations contained in the follow- 
 ing paragraphs of the Second Report : — 
 
 (a) Paragraphs 3, 4 and 5, deahng with the division of Joint 
 
 Industrial Councils into those that cover Group A. indus- 
 tries, and those that cover Group B. industries. 
 
 (b) Paragraph 7, dealing with district Industrial Councils in 
 
 industries where no National Council exists. 
 
 (c) Paragraphs 10, 13, 15 and 16, dealing with Trade Boards in 
 
 relation to Joint Industrial Councils. 
 
 (d) Paragraphs 11 and 12, dealing with Trade Boards in indus- 
 
 tries which are not suitably organized for the establishment 
 of a Joint Industrial Council. 
 
 5. Distinction drawn between Joint Industrial Councils in Group 
 A. Industries and Group B. Industries. — In paragraph 9 of the 
 Second Report it is implied that the Ministry of Labor would de- 
 termine whether the standard of organization in any given industry 
 has reached such a stage as to justify the official recognition of a 
 Joint Industrial Council in that industry. It is clear, however, that 
 it would be impossible for the Ministry to discover any satisfactory 
 basis for distinguishing between an industry which falls into Group 
 A., and one which falls into Group B. It is admitted in paragraph 
 9 of the Second Report, that no arbitrary standard of organization 
 could be adopted, and it would be both invidious and impracticable 
 for the Ministry of Labor, upon whom the responsibility would fall, 
 to draw a distinction between A. and B. Industries. The only clear 
 distinction is between industries which are sufficiently organized to 
 justify the formation of a Joint Industrial Council and those which 
 are not sufficiently organized. Individual, eases must be judged 
 on their merits after a consideration of the scope and effectiveness 
 
454, MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 of the organization, the complexity of the industry and the wishes 
 of those concerned. 
 
 The experience already gained in connection with Joint Industrial 
 Councils indicates that it would be inadvisable in the case of in- 
 dustries in Group B. to adopt the proposal that "there should be 
 "appointed one or at most two official representatives to assist in 
 "the initiation of the Council and continue after its establishment 
 "to act in an advisory capacity and serve as a link with the Gov- 
 "emment." It is fundamental to the idea of a Joint Industrial 
 Council that it is a voluntary body set up by the industry itself, 
 acting as an independent body and entirely free from all State 
 control. Whilst the Minister of Labor would be willing to give 
 every assistance to Industrial Councils, he would prefer that any 
 suggestion of this kind should come from the industry, rather than 
 from the Ministry. 
 
 The main idea of the Joint Industrial Council as a Joint Body 
 representative of an industry and independent of State control has 
 now become familiar, and the introduction of a second type of Joint 
 Industrial Council for B. industries would be likely to cause con- 
 fusion and possibly to prejudice the future growth of Joint Indus- 
 trial Councils. 
 
 In view of these circumstances, therefore, it has been decided to 
 adopt a single type of Industrial Council. 
 
 6. District Industrial Councils. — Paragraph 7 of the Second Re- 
 port suggests that in certain industries in which a National Indus- 
 trial Council is not likely to be formed, in the immediate future, it 
 might none the less be possible to form one or more "District" In- 
 dustrial Councils. 
 
 In certain cases the formation of joint bodies covering a limited 
 area is probable. It would, however, avoid confusion if the term 
 "District" were not part of the title of such Councils, and if the 
 use of it were confined to District Councils in an industry where a 
 National Council exists. Independent local Councils might well have 
 a territorial designation instead. 
 
 7. Trade Boards in Relation to Joint Industrial Councils. — The 
 distinction between Trade Boards and Joint Industrial Councils has 
 been set forth in paragraph 3 above. The question whether an In- 
 dustrial Council should be formed for a given industry depends on 
 the degree of organization achieved by the employers and workers 
 in the industry, whereas the question whether a Trade Board should 
 be established depends primarily on the rates of wages prevailing 
 in the industry or in any part of the industry. This distinction 
 makes it clear that the question whether a Trade Board should or 
 
APPENDIX G 455 
 
 should not be set up by the Minister of Labor for a given industry 
 must be decided apart from the question whether a Joint Industrial 
 Council should or should not be recognized in that industry by 
 the Minister of Labor. 
 
 It follows from this that it is possible that both a Joint Indus- 
 trial Council and a Trade Board may be necessary within the same 
 industry. 
 
 In highly organized industries the rates of wages prevailing will 
 not, as a rule, be so low as to necessitate the establishment of a 
 Trade Board. In some cases, however, a well-defined section of an 
 otherwise well-organized industry or group of industries may be 
 unorganized and ill-paid ; in such a case it would clearly be desirable 
 for a Trade Board to be established for the ill-paid section, whUe 
 there should at the same time be an Industrial Council for the re- 
 maining sections, or even for the whole, of the industry or industrial 
 group. 
 
 In the case of other industries sufficiently organized to justify the 
 establishment of an Industrial Council, the organizations repre- 
 sented on the Council may nevertheless not be comprehensive enough 
 to regulate wages effectively throughout the industry. In such 
 cases a Trade Board for the whole industry may possibly be needed. 
 
 Where a Trade Board covers either the whole or part of an in- 
 dustry covered by a Joint Industrial Council, the relations between 
 them may, in order to avoid any confusion or misunderstanding, be 
 defined as follows: — 
 
 (1) Where Government Departments wish to consult the industry, 
 
 the Joint Industrial Council, and not the Trade Board, will 
 be recognized as the body to be consulted. 
 
 (2) In order to make use of the experience of the Trade Board, 
 
 the constitution of the Industrial Council should be so 
 drawn as to make full provision for consultation between 
 the Council and the Trade Board on matters referred to the 
 former by a Government Department, and to allow of the 
 representation of the Trade Board on any Sub-Committee 
 of the Council dealing with questions with which the Trade 
 Board is concerned. 
 
 (3) The Joint Industrial Council clearly cannot under any cir- 
 
 cumstances over-ride the statutory powers conferred upon 
 the Trade Board, and if the Government at any future 
 time adopted the suggestion contained in Section 21 of the 
 First Report that the sanction of law should be given on 
 the application of an Industrial Council to agreements made 
 by the Council, such agreements could not be made binding 
 
466 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 on any part of a trade governed by a Trade Board, so far 
 as the statutory powers of the Trade Board are concerned. 
 
 The Minister of Labor will not ordinarily set up a Trade Board 
 to deal with an industry or branch of an industry, in which the 
 majority of employers and workpeople are covered by wage agree- 
 ments, but in which a minority, possibly in certain areas, are out- 
 side the agreement. It would appear that the proposal in Section 
 21 of the First Report was specially designed to meet such cases. 
 Experience has shown that there are great difficulties in the way of 
 establishing a Trade Board for one area only in which an industry 
 is carried on, without covering the whole of a Trade, though the 
 Trade Boards Act allows of this procedure. 
 
 8. Trade Boards in industries which are not sufficiently organised 
 for the establishment of a Joint Industrial Council. — Section 3 of 
 the Trade Boards Act, 1909, provides that "a Trade Board for any 
 "trade shall consider, as occasion requires, any matter referred to 
 "them by a Secretary of State, the Board of Trade, or any other 
 "Government Department, with reference to the industrial condi- 
 "tions of the trade, and shall make a report upon the matter to the 
 "department by whom the question has been referred." 
 
 In the case of an industry in which a Trade Board has been 
 established, but an Industrial Council has not been formed, the 
 Trade Board is the only body that can claim to be representative 
 of the industry as a whole. 
 
 It is already under a statutory obligation to consider questions 
 referred to it by a Government Department; and where there is a 
 Trade Board but no Industrial Coimcil in an industry it will be 
 suggested to Government Departments that they should consult the 
 Trade Board as occasion requires in the same manner as they would 
 consult Industrial Councils. 
 
 On the other hand, for the reasons which have been fully set out 
 above, Industrial Councils must be kept distinct from Trade Boards, 
 and the latter, owing to their constitution, cannot be converted into 
 the former. If an industry in which a Trade Board is established 
 becomes sufficiently organized for the formation of an Industrial 
 Council, the Council would have to be formed on quite different lines 
 from the Trade Board, and the initiative should come, not from the 
 Trade Board, which is a body mainly nominated by the Minister of 
 Labor, but from the organizations in the industry. Hence it would 
 not be desirable that Trade Boards should undertake the formation 
 of schemes for Industrial Councils. 
 
 7th June, 1918. 
 
APPENDIX G 457 
 
 Second Report of the Committee on Relations between Employers 
 and Employed on Joint Standing Industrial Councils: 
 
 The Committee consisted of the folloiving members: — 
 
 The Right Hon. J. H. Whitley, M.P., Chairman 
 (Chairman of Committee, House of Commons). 
 
 Mr. F. S. Button. Miss Susan Lawrence. 
 
 Sir George J. Carter, K.B.E. i Sir Maurice Levy, Bart, M.P. 
 
 Prof. S. J. Chapman, C.B.E. Mr. J. J. Mallon. 
 
 Sir Gilbert Claughton, Bart. Sir Thos. R. Ratcliffe-EUis. 
 
 Mr. J. R. Clynes, M.P. Mr. Robert M. Smillie. 
 
 1 Mr. F. N. Hepworth. Mr. Allan M. Smith. 
 
 1 Mr. W. Hill. 1 Mr. D. R. H. Williams. 
 
 Mr. J. A. Hobson. Miss Mona Wilson. 
 
 Secretaries : 
 
 Mr. H. J. Wilson, C.B.E., Ministry of Labor. 
 
 Mr. Arthur Greenwood, Ministry of Reconstruction. 
 
 To the Right Honorable D. Lloyd George, M.P., Prime Minister. 
 
 Sir, — Following the proposals made in our first Report, we have 
 now the honor to present further recommendations dealing with in- 
 dustries in which organization on the part of employers and em- 
 ployed is less completely established than in the industries covered 
 by the previous Report, and with industries in which such organiza- 
 tion is weak or non-existent. 
 
 2. Before commencing the examination of these industries the 
 Committee came to the conclusion that it would materially assist their 
 enquiries if they could have the direct advantage of the knowledge 
 and experience of some representative employers who were con- 
 nected with industries of the kind with which the Committee were 
 about to deal; and it was arranged, with your approval, that Sir 
 Maurice Levy, Mr. F. N. Hepworth, Mr. W. Hill, and Mr. D. R. H. 
 Williams should be appointed to act with the Committee while these 
 industries were under consideration. This arrangement made it 
 possible to release from attendance at the earlier meetings of the 
 Committee Sir Gilbert Claughton, Sir T. RatclifiEe-Ellis, Sir George 
 J. Carter, and Mr. Allan Smith, whose time is greatly occupied in 
 
 1 Additional members of the Committee, appointed in connection with 
 the present Report. 
 
458 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 other public work and whose experience is more particularly related 
 to the organized trades covered by our former Report. 
 
 3. It is difficult to classify industries according to the degree of 
 organization among employers and employed, but for convenience 
 of consideration the industries of the country may be divided into 
 three groups : — 
 
 Group A. — Consisting of industries in which organization on the 
 part of employers and employed is sufficiently developed 
 to render their respective associations representative of the 
 great majority of those engaged in the industry. These 
 are the industries which we had in mind in our first In- 
 terim Report. 
 
 Group B. — Comprising those industries in which, either as regards 
 employers and employed, or both, the degree of organiza- 
 tion, though considerable, is less marked than in Group A. 
 
 Group C. — Consisting of industries in which organization is so 
 imperfect, either as regards employers or employed, or 
 both, that no associations can be said adequately to repre- 
 sent those engaged in the industry. 
 
 The present Report is concerned with Groups B. and C. 
 
 4. So far as Groups A. and C. are concerned, a number of in- 
 dustries can be definitely assigned to them. Group B., however, 
 is necessarily more indeterminate. Some of the industries in this 
 group approach closely to industries in Group A., while others 
 verge upon Group C. Further, most industries, in whatever class 
 they may fall, possess a "tail," consisting of badly organized areas, 
 or sections of the industry. These facts we have borne in mind in 
 formulating our further proposals. 
 
 5. So far as industries in Group B. are concerned, we are of 
 opinion that the proposals of our First Report should, in their main 
 lines, be applied to those which, on examination by the Ministry of 
 Labor in consultation with the Associations concerned, are found to 
 be relatively well organized. We suggest, however, that where in 
 these industries a National Industrial Council is formed there should 
 be appointed one or at most two official representatives to assist in 
 the initiation of the Council, and continue after its establishment 
 to act in an advisory capacity and serve as a link with the Gov- 
 ernment. We do not contemplate that a representative so appointed 
 should be a member of the National Industrial Council, in the sense 
 that he should have power, by a vote, to influence the decisions of 
 the Council, but that he should attend its meetings and assist in any 
 way which may be found acceptable to it. By so doing he would 
 acquire a continuous knowledge of the conditions of the industry 
 
APPENDIX G 459 
 
 of which the Government could avail itself, and so avoid many 
 mistakes that under present conditions are inevitable. 
 
 The question of the retention of the official representatives should 
 be considered by the Councils in the light of experience gained when 
 an adequate time has elapsed. We anticipate that in many cases 
 their continued assistance will be found of value even after an in- 
 dustry has attained a high degree of organization, but in no case 
 should they remain except at the express wish of the Councils con- 
 cerned. 
 
 6. It may be that in some Group B. industries in which a Na- 
 tional Industrial Council is formed certain areas are well suited to 
 the establishment of District Councils, while in other areas the 
 organization of employers or employed, or both, is too weak to be 
 deemed representative. There appears to be no good reason why 
 in the former areas there should not be District Industrial Councils, 
 acting in conjunction with the National Industrial Councils, in ac- 
 cordance with the principles formulated in the Committee's earlier 
 report on the well-organized trades. 
 
 7. An examination of some of the industries coming within 
 Group B. may show that there are some which, owing to the pe- 
 culiarities of the trades and their geographical distribution, cannot 
 at present be brought readily within the scope of the proposals for 
 a National Industrial Council, though they may be quite well or- 
 ganized in two or more separate districts. In such a case we think 
 there might well be formed one or more District Industrial Coun- 
 cils. We anticipate that in course of time the influence of the Dis- 
 trict Councils would be such that the industry would become suitable 
 for the establishment of a National Industrial Council. 
 
 8. In the case of industries in Group B. (as in the industries 
 covered by our first Report), we consider that the members of the 
 National Councils and of the District Councils should be representa- 
 tive of the Employers' Associations and Trade Unions concerned. 
 In the formation of the Councils, regard should be paid to the 
 various sections of the industry and the various classes of labor 
 engaged, and the representatives should include representatives 
 of women's organizations. In view of the extent to which women 
 are employed in these industries, we think the Trade Unions, when 
 selecting their representatives for the Councils, should include a 
 number of women among those who are appointed to be members. 
 
 9. It does not appear to us necessary or desirable to suggest any 
 fixed standard of organization which should exist in any industry 
 before a National Industrial Council should be established. The 
 case of each industry will need to be considered separately, regard 
 
460 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 being paid to its particular circumstances and characteristics. 
 
 In the discussion of this matter, we have considered whether it 
 would be feasible to indicate a percentage of organization which 
 should be reached before a Council is formed, but, in view of the 
 great diversity of circumstances in these industries and of the dif- 
 fering degrees to which the several sections of some of them are 
 organized, we have come to the conclusion that it is more desirable 
 to leave the matter to the decision of the Ministry of Labor and the 
 organizations concerned. Whatever theoretical standard may be 
 contemplated, we think its application should not be restrictive in 
 either direction. 
 
 10. The level of organization in industries in Group C. is such as 
 to make the scheme we have proposed for National or District In- 
 dustrial Councils inapplicable. To these industries the machinery of 
 the Trade Boards Act might well be applied, pending the develop- 
 ment of such degree of organization as would render feasible the 
 establishment of a National Council or District Councils. 
 
 11. The Trade Boards Act was originally intended to secure the 
 establishment of a minimum standard of wages in certain unor- 
 ganized industries, but we consider that the Trade Boards should 
 be regarded also as a means of supplying a regular machinery for ne- 
 gotiation and decision on certain groups of questions dealt with 
 in other circumstances by collective bargaining between employers' 
 organizations and trade unions. 
 
 In order that the Trade Boards Act may be of greater utility in 
 connection with unorganized and badly organized industries or sec- 
 tions of industries, we consider that certain modifications are needed 
 to enlarge the functions of the Trade Boards. We suggest that they 
 should be empowered to deal not only with minimum rates of wages 
 but with hours of labor and questions cognate to wages and hours. 
 We are of opinion also that the functions of the Trade Boards 
 should be extended so as to enable them to initiate and conduct 
 enquiries on all matters affecting the industry or the section of the 
 industry concerned. 
 
 12. If these proposals were adopted, there would be set up, in 
 a number of industries or sections of industries, Trade Boards (con- 
 sisting of representatives of employers and employed, together with 
 "appointed members") who would, within the scope of their func- 
 tions, establish minimum standard rates and conditions applicable 
 to the industry or section of the industry which they represented, 
 and consider systematically matters affecting the well-being of the 
 industry. 
 
 13. Where an industry in Group C. becomes sufiBciently organ- 
 
APPENDIX G 461 
 
 ized to admit of the institution of National and District Councils, 
 ■we consider that these bodies should be set up on the lines already 
 indicated. Where it appears to a Trade Board that an Industrial 
 Council should be appointed in the industry concerned, they should 
 have power (a) to make application to the Minister of Labor asking 
 him to approach the organizations of employers and employed, and 
 (&) to suggest a scheme by which the representation of the workers' 
 and employers' sides of the Trade Board could be secured. 
 
 14. Whether in industries in Group C. the establishment of Works 
 Committees is to be recommended is a question which calls for very 
 careful examination, and we have made the general question of 
 Works Committees the subject of a separate Report. 
 
 15. We have already pointed out that most of the industries in 
 Groups A. and B. have sections or areas in which the degree of or- 
 ganization among the employers and employed falls much below 
 what is normal in the rest of the industry; and it appears to us 
 desirable that the general body of employers and employed in any 
 industry should have some means whereby they may bring the whole 
 of the trade up to the standard of minimum conditions which have 
 been agreed upon by a substantial majority of the industry. We 
 therefore recommend that, on the application of a National Industrial 
 Council sufficiently representative of an industry, the Minister of 
 Labor should be empowered, if satisfied that the case is a suitable 
 one, to make an Order either instituting for a section of the industry 
 a Trade Board on which the National Industrial Council should be 
 represented, or constituting the Industrial Council a Trade Board 
 under the provisions of the Trade Boards Act. These proposals are 
 not intended to limit, but to be in addition to, the powers at present 
 held by the Ministry of Labor with regard to the establishment of 
 Trade Boards in trades and industries where they are considered by 
 the Ministry to be necessary. 
 
 16. We have already indicated (paragraph 9) that the circum- 
 stances and characteristics of each of the several industries will 
 need to be considered before it can be decided definitely how far any 
 of our proposals can be applied in particular instances, and we have 
 refrained from attempting to suggest any exact degree of organiza- 
 tion which would be requisite before a particular proposal could be 
 applied. We think, however, that the suggestion we have made in 
 the preceding paragraph to confer upon a National Industrial Coun- 
 cil the powers of a Trade Board should be adopted only in those 
 cases in which the Minister of Labor is satisfied that the Council 
 represents a substantial majority of the industry concerned. 
 
 17. We are of opinion that most of the chief industries of the 
 
462 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 country could be brought under one or other of the schemes con- 
 tained in tliis and the preceding Report. There would then be 
 broadly two classes of industries in the country — industries with In- 
 dustrial Councils and industries with Trade Boards. 
 
 18. In the former group the National Industrial Councils would 
 be constituted either in the manner we have indicated in our first 
 Report, carrying with them District Councils and Works Committees, 
 or on the lines suggested in the present Report, i.e., each Council 
 coming within the scope of this Report having associated with it 
 one, or two, official representatives to act in an advisory capacity 
 and as a link with the Government, in addition to the representatives 
 of the employers and employed. 
 
 19. It should be noted that in the case of industries in which there 
 is a National Industrial Council, Trade Boards might, in some 
 instances, be associated with the Council in order to determine 
 wages and hours, &e., in certain sections or areas. It is possible 
 that in some allied trades, really forming part of the same indus- 
 try, both sets of proposals might, in the first instance, be in opera- 
 tion side by side, one trade having its Industrial Council and the 
 other its Trade Board. Where these circumstances obtain, we an- 
 ticipate that the Trade Board would be a stepping stone to the full 
 Industrial Council status. 
 
 20. It may be useful to present a brief outline of the proposals 
 which we have so far put forward: — 
 
 (a) In the more highly organized industries (Group A.) we pro- 
 pose a triple organization of national, district, and work- 
 shop bodies, as outlined in our first Report. 
 
 (6) In industries where there are representative associations of 
 employers and employed, which, however, do not possess 
 the authority of those in Group A. industries, we propose 
 that the triple organization should be modified by attaching 
 to each National Industrial Council one or at most two repre- 
 sentatives of the Ministry of Labor to act in an advisory 
 capacity. 
 
 (c) In industries in both Groups A. and B., we propose that un- 
 
 organized areas or branches of an industry should be pro- 
 vided, on the application of the National Industrial Council 
 and with the approval of the Ministry of Labor, with Trade 
 Boards for such areas or branches, the Trade Boards being 
 linked with the Industrial Council. 
 
 (d) In industries having no adequate organization of employers or 
 
 employed, we recommend that Trade Boards should be con- 
 tinued or established, and that these should, with the ap- 
 
APPENDIX G 4.63 
 
 proval of the Ministry of Labor, be enabled to formulate a 
 scheme for an Industrial Council, which might include in an 
 advisory capacity the "appointed members" of the Trade 
 Board. 
 
 21. It will be observed that the policy we recommend is based 
 upon organization on the part of both employers and employed. 
 Where this is adequate, as in Group A. industries, there is no need 
 of external assistance. In Group B. industries, we think that the 
 organizations concerned would be glad to have the services of an 
 official representative who would act as adviser and as a link with the 
 Government. In unorganized sections of both groups of industries 
 we believe that a larger measure of Government assistance will be 
 both desirable and acceptable, and we have therefore suggested the 
 adoption of the machinery of the Trade Boards Act in this connec- 
 tion. In Group C. industries we think that organization will be 
 encouraged by the use of the powers under the Trade Boards Act, 
 and where National Industrial Councils are set up we recommend 
 that the "appointed members" of the Trade Board should act 
 on the Councils in an advisory capacity. Briefly, our proposals are 
 that the extent of State assistance should vary inversely with the 
 degree of organization in industries. 
 
 22. We do not, however, regard Government assistance as an al- 
 ternative to the organization of employers and employed. On the 
 contrary, we regard it as a means of furthering the growth and 
 development of such organization. 
 
 23. We think it advisable in this connection to repeat the follow- 
 ing paragraph from our former Report : — 
 
 "It may be desirable to state here our considered opinion that 
 an essential condition of securing a permanent improvement in 
 the relations between employers and employed is that there should 
 be adequate organization on the part of both employers and 
 workpeople. The proposals outlined for joint cooperation 
 throughout the several industries depend for their ultimate suc- 
 cess upon there being such organization on both sides; and such 
 organization is necessary also to provide means whereby the ar- 
 rangements and agreements made for the industry may be ef- 
 fectively carried out." 
 
 24. In considering the scope of the matters referred to us we 
 have formed the opinion that the expression "employers and work- 
 men" in our reference covers State and Municipal authorities and 
 persons employed by them. Accordingly we recommend that such 
 authorities and their workpeople should take into consideration the 
 proposals made in this and in our first Report, with a view to de- 
 
464. MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 termining how far such proposals can suitably be adopted in their 
 case. 
 
 We understand that the Ministry of Labor has up to the present 
 circulated our first Report only to employers' and workpeople's as- 
 sociations in the ordinary private industries. We think, however, 
 that both it and the present Report should also be brought to the 
 notice of State Departments and Municipal Authorities employing 
 labor. 
 
 25. The proposals we have set forth above do not require legisla- 
 tion except on three points, namely, to provide — 
 
 (1) That the Trade Boards shall have power, in addition to de- 
 
 termining minimum rates of wages, to deal with hours of 
 labor and questions cognate to wages and hours. 
 
 (2) That the Trade Boards shall have power to initiate enquiries, 
 
 and make proposals to the Government Departments con- 
 cerned, on matters affecting the industrial conditions of the 
 trade, as well as on questions of general interest to the in- 
 dustries concerned respectively. 
 
 (3) That when an Industrial Council sufftciently representative of 
 
 an industry makes application, the Minister of Labor shall 
 have power, if satisfied that the case is a suitable one, to 
 make an Order instituting for a section of the industry a 
 Trade Board on which the Industrial Council shall be repre- 
 sented, or constituting the Council a Trade Board under the 
 Trade Boards Act. 
 
 26. The proposals which we have made must necessarily be 
 adapted to meet the varying needs and circumstances of different 
 industries, and it is not anticipated that there will be uniformity in 
 practice. Our recommendations are intended merely to set forth 
 the main lines of development which we believe to be essential to 
 ensure better relations between employers and employed. Their 
 application to the several industries we can safely leave to those 
 intimately concerned, with the conviction that the flexibility and 
 adaptability of industrial organization which have been so large a 
 factor in enabling industry to stand the enormous strain of the war 
 will not fail the country when peace returns. 
 
 27. Other problems affecting the relations between employers and 
 employed are engaging our attention, but we believe that, whatever 
 further steps may be necessary to accomplish the object we have in 
 view, the lines of development suggested in the present Report and 
 the one which preceded it are fundamental. We believe that in each 
 industry there is a sufficiently large body of opinion willing to adopt 
 
APPENDIX G 465 
 
 the proposals we have made as a means of establishing a new rela- 
 tion in industry. 
 We have the honor to be, Sir, 
 Your obedient Servants,^ 
 
 J. 
 
 H. 
 
 Whitley, Chairman. 
 
 ¥. 
 
 S. 
 
 Button. 
 
 S. 
 
 J. 
 
 Chapman. 
 
 G. 
 
 H, 
 
 , Claughton. 
 
 J. 
 
 R. 
 
 Clynes. 
 
 r. 
 
 N. 
 
 Hepworth. 
 
 Wilfrid Hill. 
 
 J. 
 
 A. 
 
 HOBSON. 
 
 jH, 
 
 , J. Wilson, 1 „ _, . 
 r, I Secretaries. 
 
 Geebnwood, j 
 
 A. Susan Lawrence. 
 
 Maurice Levy. 
 
 J. J. Mallon. 
 
 Thos. R. Ratclifpb-Ellis. 
 
 Allan M. Smith. 
 
 D. R. H. Williams. 
 
 MoNA Wilson. 
 
 18th October, 1917. 
 
 1 Sir G. J. Carter and Mr. Smillie were unable to attend any of the 
 meetings at which this Report was considered, and they therefore do 
 not sign it. 
 
APPENDIX H 
 
 THE PREDECESSOR OF THE WHITLEY SCHEME 
 
 A MEMORANDUM ON INDUSTRIAL SELF-GOVERNMENT 
 
 Together with a Draft Scheme foe a Builders' 
 
 National Industrial Parliament 
 
 Prepared by request of J. H. Whitley, M.P. 
 
 By Malcolm Sparkes 
 
 INDUSTRIAL SELF-GOVERNMENT 
 
 This memorandum is an attempt to set out in detail the eonsidera^ 
 tions that have led me to advocate the setting up of National In- 
 dustrial Parliaments in our staple industries, as a contribution to- 
 wards the solution of some of the most urgent problems that con- 
 front the country at this time. 
 
 The examination falls naturally into two sections: — 
 
 (a) The needs of the industrial situation. 
 
 (b) The congestion of the parliamentary machine. 
 
 The scheme was originally drawn up for the Building Industry, 
 in a branch of which I have been engaged for many years, as an 
 employer. But it has always been clear to me that if the principles 
 are sound they must be equally applicable to most of our staple 
 industries. 
 
 A. — The Needs op the Industrial Situation 
 It was the amazing futility of that struggle, involving, as it did, 
 many employers who, like ourselves, had no quarrel whatever with 
 their opponents, that finally riveted my attention firmly upon the 
 extreme urgency of the problem and the necessity of trying to find 
 a solution that would be big enough to break through the old barriers 
 of hostility and suspicion and carry all before it. 
 
 Whilst the complete elimination of conflict may as yet be quite 
 impossible, the hope of the future undoubtedly lies in the intimate 
 and continuous association of both Management and Labor, not for 
 
 466 
 
APPENDIX H 467 
 
 the negative purpose of adjusting difEerences, but for the positive 
 purpose of promoting the progressive and continuous improvement 
 of their industrial service, from which alone the national prosperity 
 can be derived. 
 
 Industrial Peace must come, not as the result of the balance of 
 power with a supreme Court of Appeal in the background. It 
 must emerge as the inevitable by-product of mutual confidence, real 
 justice, constructive goodwill. Industry needs no truce, no com- 
 pulsory arbitration, no provision for the postponement of disputes. 
 
 What it needs is confidence and a courageous forward movement 
 supported by the constructive genius of both sides in common council. 
 
 The task of Industrial Reconstruction is one of the most stupen- 
 dous that our country has ever had to face. It was just that fact 
 with its tremendous challenge to the best in every one of us, that 
 led me to the conviction that proposals, at first sight Utopian, 
 could after all be successfully applied in the reorganization of our 
 industrial life to-day. 
 
 We built the old order upon the basis of opposed interests. I 
 believed that the common interests of industry would prove to be 
 wider and more fundamental than those which were still admittedly 
 opposed; and that upon these common interests the fabric of the 
 new industrial order might be confidently raised. 
 
 THE SCHEME 
 
 The National Executives of the Trade Unions in the industry 
 should invite the National Employers' Federation to cooperate with 
 them in setting up a National Industrial Parliament, representing 
 Management and Labor in equal numbers. 
 
 The object of this body would be "to promote the continuous and 
 progressive improvement of the industry, to realize its organic unity 
 as a great national service, and to advance the well-being and status 
 of its personnel." 
 
 It will be seen that this is a definite attempt to break down the 
 long established barriers, to mobilize for immediate active service 
 all the goodwill that we know exists on both sides, and to focus it 
 upon a field of wise development hitherto almost entirely unexplored. 
 
 The new assembly would be constructive and nothing but con- 
 structive, and disputes would be completely excluded from its pro- 
 gram. It would in no way supersede the existing Employers' Asso- 
 ciations or Trade Unions, nor would it do away with the Concilia- 
 tion Boards, which would still perform their proper function in the 
 settling of difEerences and disputes. 
 
468 
 
 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 The field of action which would be opened up by the proposed 
 Industrial Parliament would, however, be very great. One of its 
 first steps would be to set up a number of committees, with power 
 to coopt experts, to investigate and submit recommendations upon 
 each of the following important matters, for example: — 
 
 1. The Regularization of Wages 
 
 To supersede the present chaotic confusion by the provision 
 of a graduated scale of minirrmm rates designed to keep REAL 
 wages in the industry as nearly as possible on a level throughout 
 the country. 
 
 A brief explanation is necessary to make this proposition clearer. 
 The present rates of wages in the building industry are extraor- 
 dinarily erratic, as the following table, taken from "The Builder," 
 will show: — 
 
 WAGE RATES IN THE BUILDING INDUSTRY, SEPTEMBER, 
 
 1916. 
 
 
 03 
 CO 
 
 03 
 
 ■S'S 
 
 1 
 
 CO 
 
 1 
 
 EC 
 
 1 
 
 '3 
 
 CD 
 
 l>3 
 
 « a, 
 
 
 
 s 
 
 m 
 
 o § 
 
 E 
 
 53 
 
 E 
 
 PM 
 
 coiJ 
 
 d-i-i 
 
 
 s. d. 
 
 8. d. 
 
 8. d. 
 
 8. d. 
 
 8. d. 
 
 s. d. 
 
 8. d. 
 
 8. d. 
 
 8. d. 
 
 s. d. 
 
 London . . . 
 
 1 OJ 
 
 1 OJ 
 
 1 04 
 
 1 Oi 
 
 
 1 1 
 
 10 
 
 9 
 
 9 
 
 9 
 
 Crewe .... 
 
 7i 
 
 8 
 
 7i 
 
 9" 
 
 Si 
 
 Si 
 
 8 
 
 54 
 
 54 
 
 6 
 
 Manchester 
 
 11 
 
 11 
 
 11 
 
 11 
 
 10 
 
 11 
 
 lOi 
 
 74 
 
 74 
 
 74 
 
 Bedford . . . 
 
 8 
 
 8 
 
 9 
 
 8i 
 
 8 
 
 9 
 
 64 
 
 54 
 
 54 
 
 6 
 
 Liverpool . . 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 11 
 
 Hi 
 
 1 
 
 104 
 
 8 
 
 8 
 
 8 
 
 Taunton . . . 
 
 7 
 
 7 
 
 7 
 
 7 
 
 
 6 
 
 64 
 
 44 
 
 44 
 
 44 
 
 Nottingham 
 
 11 
 
 11 
 
 11 
 
 lOi 
 
 lOi 
 
 11 
 
 10 
 
 84 
 
 84 
 
 9 
 
 These seven examples are selected almost at random from a list of 
 over a hundred towns in England and Wales alone. They are prob- 
 ably sufficient to show my meaning. 
 
 If London is taken as the standard, then Manchester and Not- 
 tingham are probably in their proper ratio; but Crewe is certainly 
 far too low, and probably Bedford and Taunton also. Liverpool, 
 on the other hand, seems high as compared with Manchester. The 
 effect of this lack of standardization is apparent every time that 
 a proposal for advance is made by the Trade Unions in any given 
 district. The employers invariably reply that, although sjmipa- 
 
APPENDIX H 469 
 
 thetic, they are compelled to oppose the demand in view of the com- 
 petition of districts not subject to proportionate advance. 
 
 In this way we invariably get the minimum of result accompanied 
 by the maximum of friction. And there is a further important 
 point. The advantage of the migration of manufacturing industries 
 from town to country is now generally recognized. But this benef- 
 icent movement is being literally hampered by the fact that workmen 
 will not transfer themselves from a highly paid district to one where 
 the wages are low. 
 
 The standardizing of real wages throughout the country would, 
 therefore, greatly increase the mobility of labor and would be of 
 vital importance in the solving of the problem of decasualization. 
 And there would appear to be no valid objection to the principle of 
 the scheme, although, hitherto, it has been impossible of achievement 
 owing to the unwillingness of local associations to surrender a part 
 of their autonomy. 
 
 Standardization being once accomplished, all subsequent advances 
 in real wages would be arranged on a national basis, and an im- 
 mense amount of friction would totally disappear. 
 
 2. Prevention of Unemployment 
 To devise measures for (a) the prevention of unemployment, 
 
 with a view to its ultimate abolition, and (6) the decasualization 
 
 of Labor, a very important problem, which is undoubtedly soluble 
 
 by scientific organization. 
 
 In regard to the former, there is no doubt that some form of 
 State assistance is essential if really effective progress is to be made. 
 The proposals of the National Housing and Town Planning Council 
 afford a model of the kind of thing that might be developed. Prob- 
 ably some of the recommendations of the Minority Report of the 
 Poor Law Commission (Unemployment section) would also be 
 adaptable. 
 
 Effective cooperation between the industry and the Labor Ex- 
 changes would be another very important factor, and would also be 
 of invaluable assistance during the period of demobilization. 
 
 3. Disabled Soldiers 
 To regulate the employment of partially disabled soldiers and 
 to ensure that the pensions granted by the Nation shall not become 
 the means of reducing the standard rates of wages. 
 
 I believe that unless this problem is taken in hand scientifically 
 it will produce a vast amount of preventable ill-feeling and conflict, 
 
470 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 and this view has been invariably confirmed by the numerous Trade 
 Union leaders with whom I have come into contact. It is the kind 
 of problem that can easily be settled by the goodwill of the parties 
 concerned, but it is quite insoluble by tug of war. 
 
 The question of training, although only a temporary problem, 
 presents possibilities of useful service in cooperation with the War 
 Pensions, etc.. Committees. 
 
 4. Technical Trmning and Research 
 
 To arrange for adequate technical training for the members of 
 the industry; the reform of "blind alley" Occupations; the im- 
 provement of processes, design, and standards of workmanship; 
 research, apprenticeship, and the regulation of the conditions of 
 entry into the trade. 
 
 This is certainly one of the most promising and necessary depart- 
 ments of the service, and one which is at present almost untouched, 
 so far as many industrial organizations are concerned. 
 
 In this connection it is interesting to note that the recommenda- 
 tions of the Workers' Educational Association, on Technical Educa- 
 tion, include a precisely similar proposal, namely: — 
 
 "(d) That technical schools should be administered by a body 
 on which employers and workpeople chosen by their respective 
 trade organizations should be equally represented, together with 
 members of the Education Authority, and that there should be 
 special advisory committees of employers and workpeople for 
 special trades." 
 
 The "regulation of conditions of entry" will naturally raise very 
 large questions of Industrial organization, both for Employers and 
 for Operatives, and amongst these questions the problem of non- 
 union labor will certainly take a prominent place. 
 
 5. Continuous and Progressive Improvement 
 
 To provide a clearing house for ideas, a/nd to investigate, in 
 conjunction with experts, all suggested lines of improvement, in- 
 cluding, for example, such questions as: — 
 
 Industrial control and status of Labor. 
 Scientific management and increase of output. 
 Welfare methods and schemes of education. 
 Closer association between industry and art. 
 The problems of women in industry. 
 Industrial health and physical trairdng. 
 Prevention of accidents, etc. 
 
APPENDIX H 471 
 
 Here is another department full of -wonderful possibilities of serv- 
 ice. Hitherto our leaders of progressive thought have had to be 
 content to launch their ideas through such media as the Fabian 
 Society, the periodical reviews, the publishers and the general press. 
 In this way public opinion is undoubtedly developed, but the notice- 
 able effect upon the general conduct of industry is comparatively 
 small. But now, for the first time in industrial history, we should 
 have our great staple industries setting up "Improvements Com- 
 mittees" and inviting these experts to communicate their ideas direct 
 to them — for full discussion and investigation. It would be diffi- 
 cult to overrate the educational advantages of such a method, both 
 to industry and to experts, and it would certainly do much to foster 
 the conception of industry as public service, upon the fuU recognition 
 of which fact so much depends. 
 
 6. Publicity 
 To issue authoritative information upon all matters connected 
 with the work of the Industrial Parliament and the progress of 
 the industry generally. 
 
 The reports of the various committees would naturally be pub- 
 lished in all the trade journals and the general press, and the In- 
 dustrial Parliament would thus be enabled to estimate the trend 
 of public opinion thereon before taking its final decisions. 
 
 In this way the public status of trade journals would speedily 
 be raised to a very high level — as the recognized organs of the new 
 industrial politics. But the publicity of the Press alone would not 
 be sufficient to enable the Industrial Parliament to render the fullest 
 service of which it might be capable. It would certainly be ad- 
 visable to establish Joint District Boards, similar in constitution to 
 the Industrial Parliament itself, in the various centers of the In- 
 dustry, for discussion, criticism and suggestion. In this way we 
 should secure full consideration for the special circumstances and 
 conditions of localities, and bring to bear upon the various prob- 
 lems the valuable experience and advice of the different districts. 
 A further very useful function would be discharged by the Works 
 Committees, already suggested in many quarters, to secure the co- 
 operation of Management and Labor in the discussion and improve- 
 ment of working methods and conditions. They would very natu- 
 rally include on their agenda the careful consideration of the va- 
 rious proposals as they came before the Industrial Parliament and 
 the District Boards, and would be able to furnish useful information, 
 criticisms, and even to originate suggestions of great value. 
 
472 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 Upon the general structure of the Industrial Parliament little need 
 be said here. The details would naturally vary with different in- 
 dustries. But a word is necessary on the subject of the Chairman, 
 as his position presents unique possibilities of invaluable service. 
 His would be the duty of keeping the discussions constantly foeussed 
 upon their objective, the continuous improvement of the industrial 
 service. His capacity would, however, be purely advisory and he 
 would have no casting vote. 
 
 This provision would effectively prevent the assembly from be- 
 coming merely an enlarged court of arbitration or conciliation, and 
 would do much to produce that atmosphere of mutual confidence 
 without which the scheme cannot succeed. This matter of real con- 
 fidence is so important that it might be advisable to safeguard it 
 even further, at any rate in the early stages, by stipulating that 
 the number of representatives of Management and Labor voting 
 upon any measure should always be equal. This arrangement would 
 not produce deadlock — except perhaps on very jare occasions. It 
 already exists in the rules of the Builders' Conciliation Boards, 
 and is one of the most valuable features of the conciliation scheme. 
 I believe that the Industrial Parliament would divide into two main 
 groups— those who wished to go forward very rapidly, and those 
 who preferred more cautious progress — but I am convinced that 
 the line of cleavage would be new and that.we should find em- 
 ployers and operatives cooperating on both sides of the House in- 
 stead of in two hostile camps as heretofore. 
 
 The tangible results of the work of the Industrial Parliament 
 might take shape in the establishment and progressive development 
 of two codes of regulations or working arrangements, one com- 
 pulsory, the other voluntary. 
 
 THE COMPULSORY CODE 
 
 In the first instance, at any rate, this compulsory code would 
 not be a very extensive one. It would merely regulate, for ex- 
 ample : — 
 
 The minimum wage, 
 
 The normal day, 
 
 Overtime conditions. 
 
 Traveling and lodging allowances, 
 
 Terms of notice on discharge, 
 and any other matters that tend to standardize industrial practice 
 and upon which it would be possible to obtain an overwhelming 
 metisure of agreement. 
 
 But, in order to make it compulsory, I suggested that the In- 
 
APPENDIX H 473 
 
 dustrial Paxliament should be empowered to submit these agreed 
 measures for approval by the Board of Trade or a Ministry of 
 Industry, and that when sanctioned in this way they should be en- 
 forced by law throughout the whole of the industry. This principle, 
 of course, is not new. It came to the front for the first time in this 
 country on the occasion of the Transport Strike of 1912, when Mr. 
 Ramsay Macdonald embodied it in "a Bill to make agreements come 
 to voluntarily between employers and workmen in the Port of 
 London legally enforceable on the whole trade." 
 
 The same proposal appears in the report of the Industrial Coun- 
 cil under Sir George Askwith, but with anti-strike conditions at- 
 tached, which, if applied to the Industrial Parliament scheme, would 
 tend to reduce confidence and are therefore inadvisable. A very 
 similar suggestion is also made in the report to the British Asso- 
 ciation, of Professor Kirkaldy's Committee on Industrial Unrest 
 (Labor Finance and the War, p. 43). I believe it would be a most 
 valuable innovation, for, by fixing a definite datum line of mini- 
 mum standards throughout the whole of an industry, it would clear 
 the road for the progressive employers in a way that has never yet 
 been even approached. 
 
 The proposal is, however, not without its dangers, and the grant- 
 ing of Government sanction would have to be subject to adequate 
 safeguards for the interests of the consumers. 
 
 The proper Government Department upon which this important 
 duty would devolve might very well be found in the newly con- 
 stituted Ministry of Labor. But as the great aim of the Industrial 
 Parliament scheme is the realization of the organic unity of industry 
 as a public service, I would suggest that the title Ministry of Labor 
 might with great advantage be expanded to Ministry of Industry 
 as conveying the broader and newer conception. The old title pre- 
 serves the two hostile camps — the new one implies their cooperation 
 for a common purpose. 
 
 THE VOLUNTARY CODE 
 
 The suggestion is that it should always be open to the Industrial 
 Parliament to accept for the volimtary code proposals that might 
 be quite impossible or Utopian for the compulsory code. And it is 
 in this principle of organized voluntaryism that I believe we may 
 find the germ of true industrial advance. It will be remembered 
 that the Improvements Committee forms a clearing house for the 
 investigation and presentation of ideas and suggestions formulated 
 by the best thinkers of the world. Some of these schemes would be 
 
4>14> MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 rejected by the Industrial Parliament and some might be accepted 
 for the voluntary code. But the fact that they were proposed for 
 voluntary adoption only would transform the whole tone of the dis- 
 cussions. 
 
 It would enable the Parliament, the press and public opinion 
 at large, to discuss important lines of advance, entirely on their 
 merits and without ulterior motives, and would tend gradually 
 to create a general readiness to think out problems in terms of 
 humanity as well as in terms of materialism. 
 
 The educational advantages of such a system are so obvious 
 that I need not enlarge upon them, except to point out that thej' 
 would undoubtedly stimulate progressive thought upon all ques- 
 tions of social development, and this would still further accelerate 
 the rate of progress. 
 
 If the Improvements Committee and the Voluntary Code form 
 the first two stages on the road of industrial advance, the third 
 stage is the Experimental Year of the progressive employer — 
 undertaken voluntarily with full publicity and published results. 
 The progressive employer is the backbone of the scheme. If 
 he is a mere figment of the imagination, then the scheme is largely 
 valueless, but if he does exist (and we know he does), then there 
 seems literally no limit to its possibilities. Conceptions of the 
 team spirit in industry and of its organic unity in the public 
 service would gradually cease to be Utopian dreams, and would 
 assume a definite and concrete shape. 
 
 It is sometimes held that industrial progress must in the long 
 run be limited by the standards of the public or social conscience 
 of the nation at large — but it seems reasonable to hope that the 
 operation of the voluntary code might promote the development 
 of an active industrial conscience which would recognize no such 
 restrictions, but would actually lead the way. 
 
 At any rate, I think we might claim with confidence, that many 
 employers endowed with public spirit and enthusiasm, would adopt 
 voluntarily, for experiment, proposals that they would certainly 
 have felt bound to reject, when accompanied by the menace of 
 coercion. That is the theory that underlies the whole conception, 
 and I could support it by actual instances from my own experience. 
 
 B. — The Congestion op the Parliamentary Machine 
 
 Investigation into the needs of the industrial situation has con- 
 vinced me of the enormous advantages, both moral and material, 
 of Industrial Self -Government ; but I believe my argument will be 
 
APPENDIX H 475 
 
 still further strengthened by a short review of the Parliamentary 
 situation itself. 
 
 Even before the war the dififtculties arising from the congestion 
 of Parliament were attracting very widespread attention, and there- 
 fore need no elaboration by me. 
 
 But as the end of the war approaches these difficulties will be 
 increased a hundredfold by the stupendous problems of The Recon- 
 struction — International, Imperial, National, Industrial and Social. 
 
 "Every one of these matters will be urgent, yet every one of 
 them will have to be dealt with by one Cabinet and one Parliament. 
 Is it not inevitable that there will be serious delays and inefficiency 
 and hurry in the effort to avoid delay? ... It requires, indeed, 
 no elaboration to show that we may be far nearer a real breakdown 
 in our Governmental machinery than any one supposes." (Round 
 Table, December, 1916.) 
 
 There is probably no department of our national life in which 
 wise progressive legislation is more urgently needed than it is in 
 the industrial sphere to-day. 
 
 Yet there seem to be peculiarities about industrial legislation 
 that render it particularly difficult of accomplishment, and, when 
 accomplished, deprive it of many of its intended advantages. It 
 is, of course, controversial to an astonishing degree. The some- 
 what automatic opposition of the party system is augmented by the 
 watchfulness of the collectivists, the syndicalists, the individualists 
 and others, all anxious to defend or advance their own particular 
 points of view. And in addition to this there is always the strenu- 
 ous opposition of the industrial interests affected. A well-known 
 association of employers definitely includes this as one of its ob- 
 jects, as the following quotation will show : "Oppressive legisla- 
 tion, . . . and other menaces to the welfare of our industry, can 
 only be effectually dealt with by organized and concerted effort." 
 This leads me to suggest that industrial legislation, imposed from 
 without, may create, like coercion, a kind of resistance that otherwise 
 might never have arisen. It would seem possible, therefore, that 
 it, too, is a wrong principle and can only produce the minimum 
 of result with the maximum of friction. 
 
 If this be true, then the plan of industrial self-government stands 
 out very clearly as a promising solution. 
 
 Applied separately to each of our staple industries, it would 
 seem to offer the following administrative advantages: — 
 
 (1) It would ensure that every industrial problem would be 
 considered in the first place from the particular point of 
 view of the industry itself, and this would certainly help 
 
476 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 to develop progressive traditions of public service. 
 
 (2) It would mean that the regulations would be drawn up 
 
 by the parties who would have to apply them, and in 
 this way the particular form of resistance mentioned 
 above would never arise. 
 
 (3) It would withdraw from the House of Commons altogether 
 
 an enormous mass of intricate and highly controversial 
 industrial legislation and would set it free for the larger 
 problems, national, imperial and international. 
 
 It would hardly be wise to allow the Industrial Parliaments to 
 take over the administration of any existing industrial legislation 
 (e.g., factory acts, etc.) until they had shown themselves to be 
 fitted for such duties. Their capacity would have to be judged by 
 the results of the new legislation they produced. 
 
 But it is worthy of notice that this particular type of adminis- 
 trative devolution is already in accord with advanced Labor views. 
 Mr. G. D. H. Cole says :— 
 
 "The State is in the dilemma of fearing to nationalize, because 
 it mistrusts its own capacity, and yet of being wholly unable to 
 interfere successfully without nationalizing, as well as utterly im- 
 potent to refrain from interference. ... It must be set free from 
 the impossible task of regulating all the details of industry; it must 
 be liberated for the work that is worthy of the national dignity, 
 and it must leave to those who alone are competent to deal with 
 them the particular tasks of industrial organization and manage- 
 ment. Devolution is the order of the day, and we must have devolu- 
 tion not merely by localities, but also by purposes. Even if the 
 State cannot be wholly detached from industry, the problem is to 
 free it as far as possible, and not, as some people seem to think, 
 to concentrate all possible tasks in its hands. . . . "Responsibility 
 is the best teacher of self-reliance." 
 
 I would add, also, that it is the best safeguard against the im- 
 proper use of power. 
 
 Having now stated the case for industrial self-government, as it 
 has appeared to me, let me conclude with a brief account of the re- 
 ception of the scheme by the organized Labor of the building in- 
 dustry. 
 
 THE RECEPTION OF THE SCHEME 
 
 The reply of the London Committee of the Carpenters and 
 Joiners was immediate and favorable. They strongly supported 
 the proposal and sent it forward to their National Executive in 
 Manchester. On the invitation of the National Executive I at- 
 tended a special conference held in London in April, 1916, at which 
 
APPENDIX H 477 
 
 the General Council of the Carpenters and Joiners were also repre- 
 sented. 
 
 The discussion was frankly favorable, and there was no trace 
 whatever of the old hostility and suspicion. By unanimous vote 
 they decided to support the proposal and to send it forward to the 
 National Associated Building Trades Council — a body set up in 
 1914 for the purpose of coordinating, and eventually of federating 
 into one great Industrial Union, the principal Trade Unions in the 
 building industry. 
 
 It came before this Council in June, but full discussion was pre- 
 vented by lack of time. It was, however, printed and circulated 
 to the twelve affiliated unions, and was also published in the Trade 
 Union journals. The Council then decided to hold a full day's 
 conference on the proposal at Liverpool in October, and as a pre- 
 liminary to this, a small committee, of which I was a member, met 
 in Manchester in September to prepare the scheme in more detailed 
 form for discussion point by point. 
 
 After a full day's discussion at Liverpool, the Council, of twenty- 
 two delegates, representing the national executives of the principal 
 Trade Unions in the industry, decided, without a single dissentient, 
 to approve the scheme in principle. 
 
 It was then referred to the national executives for consideration 
 before being forwarded to the Employers' Federation, and was 
 again printed in full in the Trade Union journals. 
 
 The Council reassembled in Manchester at the end of November, 
 and the replies of the executives being favorable, they resolved, 
 again by unanimous vote, to lay the scheme before the National 
 Federation of Building Trades Employers of Great Britain and 
 Ireland, and to ask for a preliminary conference upon it. 
 
 Four delegates were appointed to collaborate with me in drawing 
 up a special explanatory statement to accompany the scheme. We 
 met in Manchester in December and drew up the document which 
 forms an appendix to this memorandum. 
 
 TWO PEOBLBMS 
 
 1. The Electoral System 
 
 If the Industrial Parliaments are to render their full service, 
 it is essential that the electoral system upon which they are set up 
 shaU be such as will command general respect and confidence, but 
 at the same time it must be simple and inexpensive in its worldng. 
 
 In its simplest form, the national organizations both of employers 
 and employed would each furnish a given number of representatives, 
 
478 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 choosing the best that could be found, and drawing them from 
 the Office and the Bench, as well as from the Board Room and the 
 Trade Union headquarters. If this method proved to be too ex- 
 elusive, the country might be divided into districts, each having a 
 Joint District Board to which members would be elected by ballot 
 by the local Trade Unions and Employers' Associations respec- 
 tively. 
 
 Each District Board might then send two of its members (one 
 for Management and one for Labor) to the National Industrial 
 Parliament, and thus create a very useful link between the central 
 and the local bodies. 
 
 2. The Safeguarding of the Consumers 
 
 It is probable that the establishment of Industrial Parliaments 
 on the lines suggested would greatly stimulate the existing tendency 
 towards the amalgamation of businesses into larger and larger 
 concerns, in order to eliminate unnecessary duplication and waste- 
 ful competition. 
 
 This might sometimes lead to "joint profiteering" at the expense 
 of the consumers. The danger is, of course, not new, but exists 
 already, and may easily spread. It can, however, be controlled in 
 various ways ; for instance : — 
 
 (a) By the powers of veto vested in the Ministry of Industry. 
 
 (b) By special taxation. 
 
 (c) By the rapid development of a real conception of industry 
 
 as a great public service. 
 
 The true road of advance would seem to lie mainly along the line 
 of the last suggestion — the frank acceptance of an existing tendency 
 and its encouragement in the right direction. 
 
 Possibly the State could grant facilities for the rapid trustifica- 
 tion of industries, but make these facilities conditional upon the 
 adoption of some definite rules of public service. In the building 
 industry I believe there will be found to be great possibilities of 
 wise development on these lines. 
 
 Both this and other dangers might ultimately be removed by the 
 establishment of a Central Congress of Industry, containing repre- 
 sentatives of each of the separate Industrial Parliaments, together 
 with representatives of the State, the municipalities and others, and 
 acting as a Second Chamber for the consideration and sanction of all 
 industrial legislation. 
 
 The relation of such a body to the Ministry of Industry and to 
 the Government would, however, require very careful definition. 
 
APPENDIX H 479 
 
 CONCLUSION 
 
 There is one very important service that the State, through its 
 appropriate Department, could undoubtedly perform. It could 
 set up a central Clearing House for the reception and dissemina- 
 tion of information upon Industrial progress. 
 
 In this way it would enable each of our Industries to draw upon 
 the experience of the others, to profit by their successes, and to 
 avoid, if possible, the repetition of mistakes. 
 
 To secure harmony of interest between Management and Labor 
 has been described as "the master problem of the modem industrial 
 state," and the favorable reception of the Industrial Parliament 
 scheme by a group of Trade Union leaders in one of our greatest 
 industries must not be allowed to blind us to the immense difficulties 
 that still remain. These difficulties demand from both sides a new 
 conception of Industry as a public service, a clear understanding 
 of their respective functions in the process of production, a certain 
 daring in experiment and a willingness to make concessions, if 
 need be, for the common good. These are great demands, but the 
 emergency and the opportunity are also great. I believe there is 
 no problem that is insoluble by scientific organization backed up by 
 goodwill, and that the great need of the moment is a clear lead on 
 the part of one or more of our staple industries. If we can rise 
 to this we shall lay the foundation of another Industrial Revolution 
 full of great possibilities of service. 
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 Proposal for a Builder's National Industrial Parliament 
 
 A Memorandum addressed to The National Federation of Build- 
 ing Trades Employers of Great Britain and Ireland, by The Na- 
 tional Associated Building Trades Council, representing: — 
 
 The Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners. 
 
 The General Union of Carpenters and Joiners. 
 
 The Society of Operative Stone Masons. 
 
 The Amalgamated Society of Woodcutting Machinists. 
 
 The Operative Bricklayers' Society. 
 
 The Manchester Order of Bricklayers. 
 
 The National Operative Painters' Society. 
 
 The Amalgamated Slaters and Tilers' Society. 
 
 The Electrical Trades Union. 
 
 The National Amalgamated Furnishing Trades Association. 
 
480 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 The National Association of Builders' Laborers. 
 
 The United BuUders' Laborers' Society. 
 By direction of a Special Meeting of the Council held at Man- 
 chester, on Tuesday, November 28th, 1916, and in accordance with 
 the instructions of the National Executives affiliated. 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 This Memorandum is the outcome and expression of a desire on 
 the part of the leaders of organized Labor in the Building Industry 
 to render their full share of service towards the creation of a new 
 and better industrial order. 
 
 By general consent, the old system has proved itself unworthy, and 
 the reasons for its failure are not far to seek. From the days of the 
 industrial revolution the relations between employers and employed 
 have been based upon antagonism, coercion, and resistance. 
 
 Throughout the whole of the civilized world the story is the same. 
 The parallel rise of Trade Unions and Employers' Associations in 
 mutual opposition has reached a point where it is generally recog- 
 nized that the "normal condition of the world of industry is one of 
 suppressed war." 
 
 Under such a system many a forward move on the part of Labor 
 towards improved conditions is opposed almost as a matter of duty 
 by the Employers' Associations, and, conversely, many improvements 
 in the direction of increased production and efficiency are countered 
 by the restrictive regulations of the Trade Unions; both sides act- 
 ing, as they believe, in the interests of their members. 
 
 The two sides rarely meet except to make demands of one another 
 or to compromise conflicting claims, and negotiations are inevitably 
 carried on as between two hostUe bodies. In this way great powers 
 of leadership and willing service are diverted from constructive work 
 into the sterile fields of largely useless controversy. 
 
 Both employers and employed have been the unwilling victims of 
 a system of antagonism that has organized industry on the lines 
 of a tug-of-war and permeated the whole national life with sectional 
 habits of thought and outlook. Wherever coercion has been applied, 
 by one side against the other, it has called forth a resistance that 
 otherwise might never have arisen, and has led to much sterility and 
 waste. 
 
 Whilst the total elimination of such conflicts may be quite im- 
 possible, the hope of the future undoubtedly lies in the intimate 
 and continuous association of both Management and Labor, not for 
 the negative purpose of adjusting differences, but for the positive 
 purpose of promoting the progressive improvement of their in- 
 
APPENDIX H 481 
 
 dustrial service, from which alone the national prosperity can be 
 derived. 
 
 Industrial peace must come, not as a result of the balance of 
 pov?er, with a supreme Court of Appeal in the background; it must 
 arise as the inevitable by-product of mutual confidence, real justice, 
 constructive good-will. Industry needs no truce, no compulsory 
 arbitration, no provisions for postponement of disputes. 
 
 What it needs is confidence and a courageous forward movement, 
 supported by the constructive genius of both sides in common coun- 
 cil. No one engaged in constructive work can fail to respond to the 
 tremendous call of the big job, and the task to be faced to-day is the 
 greatest problem in social engineering that the world has ever seen. 
 
 It is believed that the common interests of industry will be found 
 to be wider and more fundamental than those which are still, ad- 
 mittedly, opposed; and it is upon the broad basis of these common 
 interests that the fabric of the new industrial order may be confi- 
 dently raised. 
 
 It is willingly acknowledged that this community of interest is 
 already being recognized by the Employers' Federation. The com- 
 position of the National Housing and Town Planning Council, the 
 new apprenticeship proposals, the various joint deputations to tlie 
 Government departments are all evidence of this. 
 
 It appears, therefore, to be eminently desirable that a proposal 
 involving a great development of this principle should receive full 
 consideration; and, believing that the appropriate time has now 
 arrived, the National Associated Building Trades Council submits 
 the following scheme to the National Federation of Building Trades 
 Employers of Great Britain and Ireland as a basis for preliminary 
 discussion : — 
 
 A National Industrial Parliament for the Building Industry 
 
 ARGUMENT 
 
 The interest of employers and employed are in many respects 
 opposed; but they have a common interest in promoting the eflB.- 
 ciency and status of the service in which they are engaged and in 
 advancing the well-being of its personnel. 
 
 PROPOSAL 
 
 It is proposed that there should be set up, for the Building In- 
 dustry, a National Industrial Parliament, representative of the Trade 
 Unions and the Employers' Associations, which would focus their 
 combined energies upon the continuous and progressive improve- 
 ment of the industry. 
 
482 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 NAME 
 
 The proposed body would be called the Builders' National In- 
 dustrial Parliament of Great Britain and Ireland. 
 
 OBJECTS 
 
 The objects of the Parliament would be to promote the continu- 
 ous and progressive improvement of the industry, to realize its 
 organic unity as a great national service, and to advance the well- 
 being and status of all connected with it. 
 
 PROGRAM 
 
 The Parliament would not concern itself with the adjustment of 
 differences or the settlement of disputes. Means already exist for 
 conducting such negotiations and settling such issues. The func- 
 tion of the Parliament would be constructive, and nothing but con- 
 structive. 
 
 The agenda would be determined from time to time according to 
 circumstances as they arose, and would naturally include such mat- 
 ters as the following: — 
 
 1. Regularization of Wages. — The provision of a graduated scale 
 of minimum rates designed to maintain real wages as nearly as pos- 
 sible on a level throughout the country. Subsequent advances to be 
 on a national basis. 
 
 2. Prevention of Unemployment. — (a) To acquire a fuller par- 
 ticipation in the control of the Board of Trade Labor Exchanges, 
 and to supplement their work by improved organization special to 
 the building trade for the decasualization of labor, and (b) to 
 minimize the fluctuation of trade by intelligent anticipation and the 
 augmentation of demand in slack periods, in cooperation with the 
 National Housing and Town Planning Council and the Local Gov- 
 ernment Board. 
 
 3. Employment of Partially Disabled Soldiers. — To regulate the 
 employment of partially disabled soldiers and to ensure that the 
 pensions granted by the nation shall not become the means of reduc- 
 ing the standard rate of wages. 
 
 4. Technical Training and Research. — To arrange for adequate 
 technical training for the members of the industry, the improvement 
 of processes, design and standards of workmanship, apprenticeship, 
 research, and the regulation of the conditions of entry into the trade. 
 
 5. Publicity. — To issue authoritative information upon all matters 
 whereon it is deemed desirable that leaders of public opinion, the 
 Press, and the general public should have exact information. 
 
APPENDIX H 483 
 
 6. Continuous and Progressive Improvement. — To provide a 
 Clearing House for ideas, and to investigate, in conjunction with 
 experts, every suggested line of improvement, including, for ex- 
 ample, such questions as: — 
 
 Industrial Control and Status of Labor. 
 Scientific Management and Increase of Output. 
 Welfare Methods. 
 
 Closer association between commercial and aesthetic require- 
 ments. 
 
 METHOD 
 
 The Parliament would set up Committees of Inquiry (with power 
 to coopt experts) to investigate and report on each of the foregoing 
 matters, and would deal with their recommendations as and when 
 presented. All proposals before the Parliament would be fully 
 ventilated and discussed through the medium of Joint District 
 Boards, Works Committees, the Trade Papers and the general Press, 
 in order that the opinion of the members of the building trade and 
 of the general public thereon might be accurately gaged before final 
 decisions were taken. 
 
 BESUIiT 
 
 The result would be the progressive development of two codes: — 
 (a.) A compulsory code, probably involving legal sanction of 
 
 agreed minimum standards; and 
 (b) A voluntary code, built up from the recommendations of the 
 improvements Committee for the voluntary, and perhaps 
 experimental, adoption of progressive employers. 
 It would thus embody all proposals of which the principle was gen- 
 erally approved, but for which it was not yet possible or advisable 
 to ask for compulsory powers. It would greatly stimulate the ad- 
 vance of public opinion on matters of industrial and social improve- 
 ment. 
 
 LEGAL SANCTION FOB COMPULSOET CODE 
 
 This might be accomplished by a special Act of Parliament, giv- 
 ing power to the Board of Trade, or a Ministry of Industry, to ratify 
 the decisions of the Industrial Parliament, and apply them to the 
 whole of the industry, subject to adequate safeguards for the in- 
 terests of consumers. 
 
 STATUS OF INDUSTRIAL PARLIAMENT 
 
 There is at present no recognized body with which the Govern- 
 ment can communicate in regard to matters concerning the building 
 
484 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 industry as a whole — employers and employed. The Parliament 
 would exactly meet this need, and would become the mouthpiece and 
 executive of the industry as a whole. 
 
 Suggested Constitution 
 membership 
 
 Pending the establishment of more elaborate electoral machinery, it 
 is suggested that twenty members should be appointed by the Na- 
 tional Federation of Building Trades Employers of Great Britain 
 and Ireland, and twenty members by the National Associated Build- 
 ing Trades Council. 
 
 It might be advisable that the representatives of the above or- 
 ganizations should be appointed in a manner to ensure, on the one 
 hand, the inclusion of actual operatives in addition to trade-union 
 officials, and, on the other hand, of representatives of the managing 
 staffs as well as the actual employers. Either side would be at lib- 
 erty to change its representatives to suit its convenience. 
 
 CHAIRMAN 
 
 To be chosen by ballot by the whole assembly. To be independent 
 and advisory only, and to have no casting vote. 
 
 SECRETARY 
 
 The routine work of the Parliament would largely devolve upon 
 the secretary, who should be an impartial salaried administrator of 
 proved experience and capacity. 
 
 MEETINGS 
 
 The Parliament should meet at such times and intervals as would 
 allow of members still devoting part of their time to their ordinary 
 occupations. 
 
 REMUNERATION OF MEMBERS 
 
 This would be restricted to the refund of expenses and compensa- 
 tion for loss of earnings. Financial provision for this would be 
 arranged by each of the two organizations independently. 
 
 VOTING 
 
 In order to secure a basis of absolute confidence, it is suggested 
 that rules be drawn up to ensure that the number of employers' 
 representatives and operatives' representatives voting upon a meas- 
 ure shall always be equal. 
 
APPENDIX H 485 
 
 Suggested Auxiliaby Assemblies 
 
 joint disteict boaeds 
 
 These would be set up by local units of the two organizations for 
 the discussion of the proposals of the Industrial Parliament and the 
 furnishing of local facts and statistics as required. They would also 
 perform a valuable service by preparing and forwarding sugges- 
 tions for consideration. 
 
 WORKS COMMITTEES 
 
 These would be small groups representing Management and Labor, 
 set up for the same purpose in particular shops. 
 
 Conclusion 
 
 The scheme, briefly outlined above, strikes out a new line of ad- 
 ministrative devolution, namely, devolution by occupation as com- 
 pared with devolution by geographical area, as in the case of the 
 County Councils. 
 
 It represents, in fact, the distinctively British Imperial tradition 
 of justice and self-government as applied to industry, and stands 
 out clearly against the rival industrial systems of which so much is 
 heard. 
 
 And it will have this important result. Hitherto industrial legis- 
 lation has always been imposed from without, and has encountered 
 strenuous opposition on the part of organizations concerned to de- 
 fend what they held to be their interests. 
 
 Now the process would be reversed. The industry itself would 
 first agree on its conditions and would then submit them to the 
 Board of Trade for approval and sanction. In this way the 
 House of Commons would be relieved of an immense mass of highly 
 controversial work and set free for the larger National, Imperial 
 and International problems. 
 
 Nor is this the only advantage that would arise. The spectacle of 
 organized Management and Labor, uniting their constructive ener- 
 gies upon a great program of reorganization and advance, might 
 transform the whole atmosphere of our industrial life. 
 
 The increase in eflSciency and output consequent upon the substi- 
 tution of constructive cooperation for the old antagonism and sus- 
 picion would be very great. But the change would bring even 
 greater benefits than this. It would raise the whole status of the 
 industry and give to its members a new pride in their work as a 
 splendid public service. It would tend to break down the barriers 
 
486 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 that have so long confined and impoverished the national life and 
 would promote the development of a real team spirit. 
 
 The Building Industry is one of the largest and most important 
 of the staple trades. If it will give a united lead with a construc- 
 tive proposal on the general lines suggested, we believe that its ex- 
 ample will be of great service to our country as she faces the im- 
 mense problems that confront her at this time. 
 
 Signed on behalf of the National Associated Building 
 Trades Council, 
 
 S. Hunter, Chairman. 
 J. Pabsonagb, Secretary. 
 
 THE INDUSTRIAL COUNCIL FOR THE BUILDING 
 INDUSTRY 
 
 (Building Trades Parliament.) 
 Established 29th May, 1918 
 
 CONSTITUTION AND RULES ADOPTED 1st AUGUST, 1918 
 MINISTRY OF LABOR, 
 
 Montagu House, Whitehall, 
 London, S. W. I. 
 
 12th August, 1918. 
 Sir, 
 
 I am directed by the Minister of Labor to refer to your letter of 
 14th June, making application for official recognition for the In- 
 dustrial Council for the Building Industry, and to state that the 
 Minister is prepared to give such recognition, and agrees to the in- 
 sertion of clause 23 of the Constitution of the Joint Industrial 
 Council dealing with such recognition. 
 
 I am. Sir, 
 
 Your obedient Servant, 
 
 D. J. Shackleton. 
 A. G. White, Esq., 
 Joint Secretary, 
 
 Industrial Council for the Building Industry, 
 48 Bedford Square, W. C. 1. 
 
APPENDIX H 4»87 
 
 Preface 
 
 This Council is the outcome and expression of a desire on the 
 part of organized Employers and Operatives in the Building In- 
 dustry to render their full share of service towards the creation of a 
 new and better industrial order. 
 
 By general consent, the old system has proved itself unworthy, 
 and the reasons for its failure are not far to seek. From the days 
 of the industrial revolution the relations between employers and 
 employed have been based upon antagonism, coercion, and resistance. 
 
 Throughout the whole of the civilized world the story is the same. 
 The parallel rise of Trade Unions and Employers' Associations in 
 mutual opposition has reached a point where it is generally recog- 
 nized that the "normal condition of the world of industry is one of 
 suppressed war." 
 
 Under such a system many a forward move on the part of Labor 
 towards improved conditions is opposed almost as a matter of duty 
 by the Employers' Associations, and, conversely, many improvements 
 in the direction of increased production and efficiency are countered 
 by the restrictive regulations of the Trade Unions; both sides acting, 
 as they believe, in the interests of their members. 
 
 The two sides rarely meet except to make demands of one another 
 or to compromise conflicting claims, and negotiations are inevitably 
 carried on as between two hostile bodies. In this way great powers 
 of leadership and willing service are diverted from constructive work 
 into the sterile fields of largely useless controversy. 
 
 Both employers and employed have been the unwilling victims of 
 a system of antiigonism that has organized industry on the lines of 
 a tug-of-war, and permeated the whole national life with sectional 
 habits of thought and outlook. Wherever coercion has been applied, 
 by one side against the other, it has called forth a resistance that 
 otherwise might never have arisen, and has led to much sterility and 
 waste. 
 
 Whilst the total elimination of such conflict may be quite im- 
 possible, the hope of the future undoubtedly lies in the intimate and 
 continuous association of both Management and Labor, not for the 
 negative purpose of adjusting differences, but for the positive pur- 
 pose of promoting the progressive improvement of their indus- 
 trial service, from which alone the national prosperity can be 
 derived. 
 
 Industrial peace must come, not as a result of the balance of 
 power, with a supreme Court of Appeal in the background; it must 
 arise as the inevitable by-product of mutual confidence, real jus- 
 
488 
 
 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 tice, constructive goodwill. Industry needs no truce, no compulsory 
 arbitration, no provisions for postponement of disputes. 
 
 What it needs is confidence and a courageous forward movement, 
 supported by the constructive genius of both sides in common coun- 
 cil. No one engaijed in constructive work can fail to respond to the 
 tremendous call of the big job, and the task to be faced to-day is 
 the greatest problem in social engineering that the world has ever 
 seen. 
 
 It is believed that the common interests of industry will be found 
 to be wider and more fundamental than those which are still, admit- 
 tedly, opposed; and it is upon the broad basis of these common 
 interests that the fabric of the new industrial order may be confi- 
 dently raised. 
 
 COMPOSITION OF THE COUNCIL 
 
 employers. 
 
 The National Federation of 
 
 Building Trades Employers 
 
 comprising : 
 
 Name. Representation. 
 
 Northern Counties Federation 2 
 
 Yorkaliire Federation 3 
 
 North-Western Federation ... 7 
 
 Midland Federation 4 
 
 London Federation 8 
 
 Eastern Counties Federation. 2 
 Southern Counties Federation 2 
 South-Western Counties Fed- 
 eration 2 
 
 South Wales Federation .... 2 
 
 —32 
 
 The Confederation of National 
 Associations of Building 
 Trades Sub-Contractors 
 comprising: 
 National Association of Mas- 
 ter House Painters and Dec- 
 orators in England and 
 
 Wales 4 
 
 National Association of Mas- 
 ter Plasterers 3 
 
 National Federation of Slate 
 Merchants, Slaters, and Ti- 
 lers 3 
 
 operatives 
 
 The National J^bdebation of 
 
 Building Trades Operatives 
 
 comprising : 
 
 Name. Representation. 
 
 Amalgamated Society of Car- 
 penters, Cabinetmakers, and 
 Joiners 8 
 
 General Union of Carpenters 
 and .Joiners 4 
 
 National Amalgamated Soci- 
 ety of Operative House and 
 Ship Painters and Decora- 
 tors 4 
 
 Operative Stonemasons' Soci- 
 ety 4 
 
 .Amalgamated Society of 
 Woodcutting Machinists . . 4 
 
 United Operative Plumbers' 
 and Domestic Engineers' As- 
 sociation of Great Britain 
 and Ireland 4 
 
 National Association of Oper- 
 ative Plasterers 4 
 
 National Association of Build- 
 ers' Laborers 4 
 
 Operative Bricklayers' Society 3 
 
 United Builders' Laborers' 
 Union 3 
 
 Manchester Unity of Opera- 
 
APPENDIX H 
 
 4.89 
 
 Inatitute of Plumbers, Ltd. . . 4 
 National Association of Mas- 
 ter Heating and Domestic 
 
 Engineers . 2 
 
 Electrical Contractors' Associ- 
 ation 2 
 
 London Constructional Engi- 
 neers' Association 2 
 
 —20 
 
 Institute of Builders 4 
 
 Scottish National Building 
 
 Trades Federation 10 
 
 66 
 
 tive Bricklayers 2 
 
 Amalgamated Slaters and Ti- 
 lers' Provident Society .... 2 
 
 Electrical Trades Union 2 
 
 National Association of Oper- 
 ative Heating and Domestic 
 Engineers 2 
 
 National Union of General 
 Workers (Building Trade 
 Section ) 2 
 
 United Order of General La- 
 borers of London 2 
 
 United Builders' Laborers' 
 and General Laborers' Union 2 
 
 —56 
 
 Scottish Operative Unions... 10 
 
 66 
 
 THE 
 
 INDUSTRIAL COUNCIL FOR THE BUILDING INDUSTRY 
 
 (Building Trades Parliament) 
 
 CONSTITUTION AND RULES 
 
 Adopted at a Meeting of the Council held in 
 Birmingham, 1st August, 1918 
 
 1. The name shall be The Industrial Council for the Building In- 
 dustry (Building Trades Parliament), hereinafter referred to as the 
 Council. 
 
 OBJECTS 
 
 2. The Council is established to secure the largest possible meas- 
 ure of joint action between employers and workpeople for the 
 development of the industry as a part of national life, and for the 
 improvement of the conditions of all engaged in that industry. 
 
490 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 It will be open to the Council to take any action that falls within 
 the scope of this general definition. More specific objects will be the 
 following : — 
 
 (a) To recommend means for securing that industrial conditions 
 affecting employers and operatives, or the relations between them, 
 shall be systematically reviewed by those concerned, with a view to 
 their improvement. 
 
 (6) To consider, discuss, and formulate opinion upon any pro- 
 posals which proffer to those engaged in the industry the means of 
 attaining improved conditions and a higher standard of life, and 
 involve the enlistment of their active and continuous cooperation in 
 the development of the industry, and to make recommendations 
 thereon, including such questions as measures for — 
 
 (1) Regularizing production and employment. 
 
 (2) The provision of a graduated scale of minimum rates de- 
 signed to maintain real wages as nearly as possible on a 
 level throughout the country. 
 
 (3) Minimizing the fluctuations of trade by intelligent anticipa- 
 tion and the augmentation of demand in slack periods. 
 
 (4) Scientific management and reduction of costs. 
 
 (5) Welfare methods. 
 
 (6) Closer association between commercial and aesthetic require- 
 ments. 
 
 (7) The inclusion of all employers and workpeople in their re- 
 spective associations. 
 
 (8) The revision and improvement of existing machinery for 
 the settlement of differences between different sections of 
 the industry, or for the provision of such machinery where 
 non-existent, with the object of securing the speedy settle- 
 ment of difficulties. 
 
 (9) The better utilization of the practical knowledge and ex- 
 perience of those engaged in the industry. 
 
 (10) Securing to the workpeople a greater share in and re- 
 sponsibility for the determination and observance of the 
 conditions under which their work is carried on. 
 
 (11) The settlement of the general principles governing the con- 
 ditions of employment, including the methods of fixing, pay- 
 ing, and readjusting wages, having regard to the need for 
 securing to all engaged in the industry a share in the in- 
 creased prosperity of the industry. 
 
 (12) Ensuring to the workpeople the greatest possible security of 
 earnings and employment. 
 
APPENDIX H 491 
 
 (13) Dealing with the many difiSculties which arise with regard 
 to the method and amount of payment apart from the fixing 
 of general standard rates. 
 
 (c) To collect and circulate statistics and information on mat- 
 ters appertaining to the industry. 
 
 (d) To promote research and the study and improvement of 
 processes, design, and standards and methods of workmanship, with 
 a view of perfecting the products of the industry. 
 
 (e) To provide facilities for the full consideration and utilization 
 of inventions and improvements in machinery or methods, and for 
 adequately safeguarding the rights of the designers or inventors 
 thereof ; and to secure that the benefits, financial or otherwise, arising 
 therefrom shall be equitably apportioned among the designers or 
 inventors, the proprietors or lessees, and the operators thereof. 
 
 (/) The supervision of entry into, and training for, the industry, 
 and cooperation with the educational authorities in arranging educa- 
 tion in all its branches for the industry. 
 
 (g) The issue to the Press of authoritative statements upon mat- 
 ters affecting the industry of general interest to the community. 
 
 {h) Representation of the needs and opinions of the industry 
 to Government Departments and Local Authorities. 
 
 (i) The consideration of any other matters that may be referred 
 to it by the Government or any Government Department. 
 
 (j) Cooperation with the Joint Industrial Councils of other in- 
 dustries to deal with problems of common interest. 
 
 (fc) To provide, as far as practicable, that important proposals 
 affecting the industry shall be fully ventilated and discussed through 
 the medium of Committees of Enquiry (with power to coopt ex- 
 perts), Joint District Boards, Works Committees, the Trade Papers, 
 and the general Press: in order that the opinion of members of the 
 industry and of the general public thereon may be accurately gaged 
 before definite decisions are taken. 
 
 CONSTITUTION 
 
 3. The Council shall consist of 132 members, appointed as to one- 
 half by Associations or Federations of Employers and as to the other 
 half by Trade Unions or Federations of Operatives. 
 
 Until otherwise determined in the manner hereinafter provided, 
 the composition of the Council shall be as set out. 
 
 4. Each representative of the said Associations, Unions, or Federa- 
 tions shall remain the representative for a minimum period of 
 twelve months and thereafter until his successor is appointed by the 
 body responsible for his election. 
 
492 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 Casual vacancies shall be filled by the Union, Association, or 
 Federation concerned, which shall appoint a member to sit until the 
 end of the current year. 
 
 5. The appointments for the ensuing year shall be made prior to 
 the 30th June each year, and the names and addresses of those ap- 
 pointed shall be sent to the Secretaries of the Council on or before 
 that date. 
 
 6. Any Trades Union, Association, or Federation directly affili- 
 ated, wishing to retire from -this Council, shall give six calendar 
 months' notice in writing to the Secretaries, such notice to expire on 
 the 30th June in any year, pay up all arrears (if any), and on 
 retiring shall cease to have any interest in or claim on the funds of 
 the Council. 
 
 7. The Council shall meet quarterly or oftener if required. The 
 meetings of the Council may be held in different industrial centers, 
 as may be from time to time determined or in response to invita- 
 tions it may receive. The meeting next ensuing after the 30th June 
 shall be the Annual Meeting, and the first Annual Meeting shall take 
 place in 1918. Fourteen days' notice to be given. 
 
 8. At the Annual Meeting there shall be elected for the ensuing 
 twelve months from among the members of Council the following 
 officers, viz. : — 
 
 A Chairman, a Vice-Chairman, a Treasurer, together with an 
 Administrative Committee consisting of ten Employer and ten Oper- 
 ative representatives. 
 
 9. The Council shall be empowered to maintain a Secretary, or 
 Secretaries, and such clerical staff as it may think fit. Provided that 
 the Secretaries appointed at the inaugural meeting held in May, 
 1918, remain in office until the Annual Meeting in 1919, that prior 
 thereto the Administrative Committee prepare a report for presenta- 
 tion at the Annual Meeting dealing with the appointment and re- 
 muneration of Secretaries, with such recommendations in regard 
 thereto as it may think fit, so that the Council may deliberate and 
 decide upon any remuneration for services rendered, and upon the 
 further arrangements to be adopted in regard to the appointment 
 and remuneration of Secretaries. Provided also that the appoint- 
 ment of the Administrative Committee made at the said inaugural 
 meeting be subject to confirmation at the first Annual Meeting. 
 
 10. The quorum for the Council shall be thirty representatives 
 present. 
 
 The quorum for the Administrative Committee shall be nine repre- 
 sentatives present. 
 
 Other Committees shall fix their own quorum. 
 
APPENDIX H 493 
 
 11. A Special Meeting of the Council shall be called within four- 
 teen days of the receipt of a requisition, duly signed, from not less 
 than twenty members of the Council or from the Administrative 
 Committee. 
 
 The matters to be discussed at such meeting shall be stated upon 
 the notice summoning it. 
 
 12. The voting both in Council and in Committees shall be by 
 show of hands or otherwise, as the Council or Committees may 
 determine. 
 
 13. The Council may delegate special powers to any Committee it 
 appoints. 
 
 The Council may appoint such standing or sectional Committees 
 as may be necessary, provided that questions affecting only a par- 
 ticular Trade shall be relegated to a Committee composed of mem- 
 bers of the Council who are also representatives of such Trade. It 
 shaU also have the power to appoint other Committees for special 
 purposes. The reports of all Committees shall be submitted to the 
 Council for confirmation, except where special powers have been 
 delegated to a Committee. 
 
 14. The Council shall have the power of appointing on Commit- 
 tees, or of allowing Committees to coopt, such persons of special 
 knowledge, not being members of the Council, as may serve the 
 special purposes of the CouncU, provided that, so far as the Ad- 
 ministrative Committee is concerned, — 
 
 A. Employers and Operatives shall be equally represented; 
 
 B. Any appointed or coopted members shall serve only in a con- 
 
 sultative capacity. 
 
 15. The Administrative Committee shall meet as often as required, 
 at the discretion of the Chairman, and shall deal with all business 
 arising between the meetings of the Council. 
 
 16. To avoid unnecessary traveling, Committee meetings may be 
 held at the most convenient offices of any of the organizations which 
 are represented on the Council, subject to their rooms not being en- 
 gaged otherwise when desired by the Committee for a meeting, and 
 provided that the said organizations afford the requisite facilities 
 free of charge. 
 
 17. The Administrative Committee shall control the work of the 
 Secretary or Secretaries, and shall have power to appoint Sub- 
 Committees to deal with special subjects, also to authorize pajrment 
 of current expenses subject to such direction as the Council may 
 give from time to time. 
 
 18. The Hon. Treasurer shall render to the Council, whenever 
 
494 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 called upon to do so, an account of all sums received and paid, and 
 shall present accounts at each Annual Meeting. 
 
 All cheques for withdrawal of money from the Bank shall be 
 signed by the Chairman and the Hon. Treasurer. 
 
 19. The accounts shall be audited by a duly appointed Chartered 
 or Incorporated Accountant. 
 
 FINANCE 
 
 20. The traveling and other expenses of representatives attending 
 Meetings of the Council are to be borne by the Trade Unions, Asso- 
 ciations, or Federations which appoint them, according to such 
 regulations as the appointing bodies shall determine. 
 
 21. Any other expenses of the Council are to be borne as to 
 one-half by the Employer Organizations and as to one-half by the 
 Operative Organizations directly affiliated to the Council. 
 
 The allocation of each half share among the respective Employer 
 or Operative Organizations to be in proportion to their respective 
 representation, or in such other proportion as they may by mutual 
 agreement determine. 
 
 Provided that upon the election of the first Council, the sum of 
 £1000 be placed at the disposal of the Council, made up of con- 
 tributions from the respective organizations, calculated as aforesaid, 
 to cover its expenses for the first year ending 30th June, 1919, and 
 that at the end of the year the Council make up its accounts and 
 ascertain the amount required to make up the difference spent during 
 the year, and that it make a presentment to the respective organiza- 
 tions, showing the share due from them, which shall then become 
 due and payable. 
 
 The Council is hereby empowered to make such payments as it 
 thinks fit, but within the means thus placed at its disposal, for the 
 purpose of defraying the cost of carrying on its work. 
 
 The expenses of the Members of Committees appointed by the 
 Council to be defrayed by the Council according to such scale as it 
 may from time to time determine. 
 
 PUBLICITY 
 
 22. The Council shall keep minutes of its proceedings and shall 
 give such publicity to its proceedings as many be practicable and 
 desirable. It may avail itself of such facilities as may be afforded 
 to it, either by the Press or by any publications issued by any of the 
 organizations represented on the Council. 
 
APPENDIX H 495 
 
 RKLATIONS WITH THE GOVEBNMENT 
 
 23. The Council is the recognized official standing Consultative 
 Committee to the Government on all questions affecting the industry 
 it represents, and is the normal channel through which the opinion 
 and experience of the Building Industry will be sought on all ques- 
 tions with which the industry is concerned. 
 
 REGIONAI. COUNCILS 
 
 24. The Council shall, as soon as practicable, formulate a scheme 
 for the formation of Regional Councils to be linked up with the 
 Council. 
 
 ALTERATIONS OF CONSTITUTION AND RULES 
 
 25. Alterations of the foregoing Constitution and Rules may be 
 made at any Special Meeting called for the purpose, or at any Quar- 
 terly Meeting, provided three months' notice of the proposed al- 
 terations has been duly given prior thereto to the Secretary or Sec- 
 retaries in writing. On receipt of such notice the proposed amend- 
 ments shall be at once communicated to the Trade Unions, Associa- 
 tions, and Federations directly affiliated to the Council for their 
 consideration. 
 
 STANDING ORDERS GOVERNING PROCEDURE IN DEBATE 
 AT MEETINGS OE THE COUNCIL 
 
 CHAIRMANSHIP 
 
 1. At every Council Meeting the Chairman for the time being shall 
 occupy the chair. In his absence a Vice-Chairman shall occupy the 
 chair, and failing a Vice-Chairman the members present shall elect 
 some other of their number to act as Chairman for such meeting. 
 The ruling of the Chairman shall be accepted on all questions of 
 order arising at any of the meetings. Any member rising to a point 
 of order, must define what the point of order is, and submit it to the 
 Chairman without discussion. All members addressing the Chair 
 shall do so standing. 
 
 LIMITATION OP LENGTH OF SPEECHES 
 
 2. Except at the discretion of the Chairman, no member shall 
 speak for more than ten minutes except the member moving a reso- 
 
496 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 lution which appears upon the agenda, who shall be allowed twenty 
 minutes. A bell shall be rung by the Chairman two minutes before 
 the time expires. When the time has expired the bell shall be rung 
 a second time, and thereupon the member addressing the Council 
 shall at once resume his seat. 
 
 MODE OF VOTING 
 
 3. The votes upon all questions shall be taken by a show of hands, 
 except in cases where the Rules of the Council or these orders other- 
 wise direct. 
 
 PROPOSITIONS TO BE MOVED AND SECONDED 
 
 4. No proposition or amendment shall be voted upon or enter- 
 tained by the meeting but such as have been moved and seconded 
 and delivered to the Chairman in writing, signed by the mover, and 
 no proposition so received shall be withdrawn unless by leave of the 
 meeting. 
 
 RIGHT OF REPLY 
 
 5. The mover of a proposition, but not the mover of an amend- 
 ment, shall have a right of reply, provided always that a member 
 may speak to a point of order, or point of explanation. The proper 
 time for an explanation is at the conclusion of the speech which 
 renders it necessary. By the courtesy of the member in possession 
 of the House such explanation may be given earlier, but no explana- 
 tion can be given unless the member in possession of the House 
 resumes his seat. 
 
 AMENDMENTS 
 ONLY ONE AMENDMENT AT ONCE 
 
 6. When an amendment is moved upon a proposition, no second 
 amendment shall be moved or taken into consideration until the first 
 amendment has been disposed of. 
 
 IF AMENDMENT CARRIED, TO BECOME THE QUESTION 
 
 7. If a first amendment be carried, it shall displace the original 
 proposition and become itself the question; whereupon any further 
 amendments may be moved in succession as above mentioned. 
 
 IF AMENDMENT NEGATIVED, OTHERS MAY BE MOVED 
 
 8. If the first amendment be negatived, then others may be moved 
 in succession upon the original question under consideration, but so 
 that only one amendment shall be submitted to the meeting for dis- 
 
APPENDIX H 497 
 
 cussion at one time; and after the disposal of all amendments, the 
 question shall ultimately be put upon the original or amended propo- 
 sition, as the case may be, in order that it be passed or negatived as 
 a resolution. 
 
 PRECEDENCE FOR A MOTION 
 
 9. Any member who has given notice of motion may rise and 
 propose without comment that precedence be given to such motion. 
 Such proposition shall be put without debate, and if carried such 
 motion shall have precedence. 
 
 MEMBERS NOT TO SPEAK MORE THAN ONCE TO THE SAME MOTION 
 
 10. Members shall not speak more than once to the same motion, 
 except the mover of the proposition in reply, which reply shall eon- 
 elude the discussion, and in such reply he shall not be allowed to 
 introduce any new matter. 
 
 REGULATIONS AS TO SPEAKING ON AMENDMENTS 
 
 11. On an amendment being moved, no member of the meeting 
 who has spoken on the original question shall speak again thereon 
 until the amendment has been put and has become the amended 
 proposition before the meeting. 
 
 DISCUSSION UPON AMENDED PROPOSITIONS 
 
 12. When discussion shall arise upon amended propositions, the 
 mover of the amendment which has displaced the original proposi- 
 tion may speak in reply, and so in like manner with respect to any 
 further and displacing amendments. 
 
 MOTION THAT THE QUESTION BE NOW PUT 
 
 13. During debate any member, who has not spoken in the debate, 
 may propose, without preface, that the question be now put, which 
 the Chairman may accept at his discretion; and if put from the 
 Chair it shall not be considered carried unless supported by two- 
 thirds of the members voting on the occasion. 
 
 ADJOURNMENTS 
 
 14. A member who has not spoken in the debate may move at 
 any time without a speech either 
 
 (a) The adjournment of the meeting 
 or 
 
 (b) The adjournment of the debate, 
 
*98 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 which may be accepted by the Chairman at his discretion and then 
 put without debate. 
 
 A member may move the suspension of the Standing Orders in 
 order to call attention to a definite matter of urgent importance. 
 It must be supported by not less than two-thirds of the members 
 present. Such debate shall be taken at once. The opener shall be 
 allowed ten minutes, and subsequent speakers five minutes. The 
 opener shall be permitted to reply. 
 
 QUESTIONS 
 
 15. Questions may be addressed to an officer of the Council, to a 
 member in charge of a motion, or to the Chairman of any Com- 
 mittee. 
 
 The Chairman of any meeting may disallow any question. 
 
 The member must confine himself merely to asking his question, 
 and the officer, member in charge of a motion, or Chairman of a 
 Committee to simply answering it. 
 
 RECORD OF ATTENDANCES 
 
 16. A record shall be kept of the summonses for and attendance 
 of members at meetings of the Council and of Committees, and such 
 record shall be presented annually to the Council at its next meeting 
 after 30th June in each year. 
 
 STRANGERS 
 
 17. strangers may be admitted to the portion of the hall set 
 apart for their accommodation, on the introduction of a member. 
 
 All strangers so admitted must conform to the following rules : — 
 
 1. They shall not express any assent or dissent. 
 
 2. They shall not indulge in any audible conversation. 
 
 3. They shall at all times be seated except while entering or 
 leaving the hall. 
 
 4. Any person infringing any of these rules shall be called upon 
 to withdraw, and, if necessary, shall be removed. 
 
APPENDIX I 
 
 NATIONAL COUNCIL OF THE POTTERY INDUSTRY 
 
 ("THE FIRST .WHITLEY COUNCIL") 
 
 Major F. H. Wedgwood, Chairman 
 Mb. S. Clowes, J.P., Vice-Chairman 
 
 Mb. a. p. Llewellyn, Piccadilly, Tunstall, 
 
 Secretary to the Manufacturers 
 
 Mb. a. Holuns, 5a, Hill Street, Hanley 
 
 Secretary to the Operatives 
 
 NATIONAL COUNCIL OF THE POTTERY INDUSTRY 
 
 Objecjts and Constitution 
 
 objects 
 
 The advancement of the pottery industry and of all connected 
 with it by the association in its government of all engaged in the 
 industry. 
 
 It will be open to the Council to take any action that falls within 
 the scope of its general object. Its chief work will, however, fall 
 under the following heads : — 
 
 (a) The consideration of means whereby all manufacturers and 
 operatives shall be brought within their respective associa- 
 tions. 
 
 (b) Regular consideration of wages, piecework prices, and con- 
 ditions with a view to establishing and maintaining equitable 
 conditions throughout the industry. 
 
 (c) To assist the respective associations in the maintenance of 
 such selling prices as will afford a reasonable remuneration 
 to both employers and employed. 
 
 (d) The consideration and settlement of all disputes between dif- 
 ferent parties in the industry which it may not have been pos- 
 sible to settle by the existing machinery, and the establish- 
 ment of machinery for dealing with disputes where adequate 
 machinery does not exist. 
 
 (e) The regularization of production and emplojonent as a means 
 
 499 
 
500 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 of insuring to the workpeople the greatest possible security of 
 earnings. 
 
 (f ) Improvement in conditions with a view to removing all danger 
 to health in the industry. 
 
 (g) The study of processes, the encouragement of research, and 
 the full utilization of their results. 
 
 (h) The provision of facilities for the full consideration and 
 utilization of inventions and improvements designed by work- 
 people and for the adequate safeguarding of the rights of the 
 designers of such improvements. 
 
 (i) Education in all its branches for the industry. 
 
 (j) The collection of full statistics on wages, making and selling 
 prices and average percentages of profits on turnover, and 
 on materials, markets, costs, etc., and the study and promo- 
 tion of scientific and practical systems of costing to this end. 
 All statistics shall wliere necessary be verified by chartered 
 accountants, who shall make a statutory declaration as to 
 secrecy prior to any investigation, and no particulars of in- 
 dividual firms or operatives shall be disclosed to any one. 
 
 (k) Inquiries into problems of the industry, and where desirable, 
 the publication of reports. 
 
 (1) Representation of the needs and opinions of the industry to 
 Government authorities, central and local, and to the com- 
 munity generally. 
 
 CONSTITUTION 
 
 (1) Membership. — The Council shall consist of an equal number 
 of representatives of the manufacturers and the operatives; the 
 manufacturers' representatives to be appointed by the Manufac- 
 turers' Associations in proportions to be agreed on between them; 
 the operatives' representatives by the trade unions in proportions 
 to be agreed on between them. The number of representatives on 
 each side shall not exceed 30. Among the manufacturers' repre- 
 sentatives may be included salaried managers, and among the oper- 
 atives' representatives some women operatives. 
 
 (2) Honorary Members. — The Council to have the power to co- 
 opt honorary members with the riglit to attend meetings or serve on 
 committees of the Council, and to speak but not to vote. 
 
 (3) Reappointment. — One-third of the representatives of the said 
 associations and unions shall retire annually, and shall be eligible 
 for reappointment. 
 
 (4) Officers. — The officers of the Council shall be: 
 
 (a) A chairman and vice-chairman. When the chairman is a 
 
APPENDIX I 501 
 
 member of the operatives, the vice-chairman shall be a mem- 
 ber of the manufacturers, and vice- versa. The chairman (or 
 in his absence, the vice-chairman) shall preside at -all meet- 
 ings, and shall have a vote, but not a casting vote. It shall 
 always be open to the Council to appoint an independent 
 chairman, temporary or otherwise. 
 (b) Such secretaries and treasurers as the Council may require. 
 All honorary officers shall be elected by the Council at its annual 
 meeting for a term of one year, and, subject to the condition that a 
 chairman or vice-chairman from the said associations shall be suc- 
 ceeded by a member of the said unions, shall be eligible for re- 
 election. The Council may from time to time fix the remuneration 
 to be paid to its officers. 
 
 (5) Committees. — The CouncU shall appoint an Executive Com- 
 mittee, and Standing Committees, representative of the different 
 needs of the industry. It shall have power to appoint other com- 
 mittees for special purposes, and to coopt such persons of special 
 knowledge, not being members of the Council, as may serve the spe- 
 cial purposes of these committees. On all committees both manu- 
 facturers and operatives shall be equally represented. 
 
 The minutes of all committees shall be submitted to the National 
 Council for their confirmation. 
 
 Each committee shall appoint its own chairman and vice-chair- 
 man, except in the case of the Finance Committee, over which com- 
 mittee the chairman of the National Council shall preside. 
 
 (6) Finance. — The ordinary expenses of the Council shall be met 
 by a levy upon the Manufacturers' Associations and the trade unions 
 represented. Special expenditure shall be provided for by the Fi- 
 nance Committee. 
 
 (7) Meetings. — The ordinary meetings of the Council shall be 
 held quarterly. The annual meeting shall be held in January. A 
 special meeting of the Council shall be held on the requisition of ten 
 members of the Council. Seven days' notice of any meeting shall 
 be given. Twenty members shall form a quorum. Committees shall 
 meet as often as may be required. 
 
 (8) Voting. — The voting upon all questions shall be by show of 
 hands, and two-thirds majority of those present and voting shall be 
 required to carry a resolution. Provided that, when at any meet- 
 ing the representatives of the unions and the associations re- 
 spectively, are unequal in numbers, all members present shall have 
 the right to enter fully into discussion of any matters, but only an 
 equal number of each of such representatives (to be decided amongst 
 them) shall vote. 
 
502 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 NATIONAL COUNCIL OF THE POTTERY INDUSTRY 
 ["Sentinel" Leading Article, Jan. 15tli, 1918.] 
 
 The National Council of the Pottery Industry is now an estab- 
 lished institution, and the reports of the inaugural proceedings 
 which have appeared in the "Sentinel" during the past few days 
 have doubtless been read with cordial appreciation and high hopes 
 not only by everybody connected with the potting trade but by the 
 general public. Major Frank Wedgwood, who was elected Chair- 
 man on Friday, and Mr. S. Clowes, J.P., of the Potters' Union, the 
 Viee-Chairman, both enjoy the esteem and confidence of employers 
 and employed alike, and the Council is so composed as to be really 
 representative of the potting trade of the whole country. 
 
 There is all the more expectation of success because the sug- 
 gestion of the Council first came from the operatives. Bristol has 
 for a long time been a center of vigorous discussion on industrial 
 and social reform and advancement, in which Mr. Arnold Rowntree, 
 M.P., Mr. E. H. C. Wethered, and Mr. H. Clay, M.A., took part. 
 About the time that the Government appointed the Whitley Com- 
 mittee on Reconstruction after the War, our Bristol friends looked 
 round to see if they could make an approach to any special in- 
 dustry. Mr. Clay, who has constantly lectured for the Tunstall 
 Tutorial Class, suggested the potting trade, and representatives of 
 the operatives who were invited to a conference at Lawton Hall liked 
 the idea and formulated suggestions which were placed before the 
 manufacturers, with the result that a joint meeting at Lawton Hall 
 before laid the foundations of the Council which has now been 
 formed. The Whitley Committee was meanwhile proceeding on 
 similar lines, and National Councils are being formed for other in- 
 dustries under the auspices of the Whitley Committee; but the pot- 
 ting trade is entitled to be proud of the fact that it preceded the 
 Whitley Committee not only in its Interim Report but in forming 
 the first of the National Councils. 
 
 The National Council of the Pottery Industry, as already fully 
 explained, is designed to regulate wages and selling prices, pro- 
 mote education in the industry, secure improved health and other 
 conditions, encourage better methods, and assist Imperial and Muni- 
 cipal authorities in arriving at sound conclusions on trade matters. 
 In brief, the National Council is calculated to promote peace and 
 plenty, prosperity and happiness in the potting trade. But Dr. 
 Addison, M.P., Minister of Reconstruction, and Mr. Roberts, M.P., 
 Minister of Labor, kindly accepted an invitation to attend the first 
 meeting of the Council and to address a pubUc meeting, and in the 
 
APPENDIX I 503 
 
 offtoial blessing they gave to the inaugural gatherings, they tre- 
 mendously widened the outlook, as anybody who heard or has read 
 the speeches could not fail to perceive. It is not merely a matter 
 of advancing the conditions of the industry itself, important and 
 vital as that is. Dr. Addison showed that the reconstruction of 
 industry and the nation after the War is a tremendous and essential 
 problem, involving the restoration and development of old indus- 
 tries and the creation of new industries; a system of demobilization 
 at the peace which shall be satisfactory to all concerned, changing 
 over from war conditions to peace conditions with the least pos- 
 sible friction and dislocation; the promotion of education in its 
 widest sense; improved housing; the regulation of imports, so that 
 raw material may be given precedence over imports of secondary 
 importance — a matter of delicate and far-reaching concern, upon 
 which much will depend; and so on. On all these questions, the 
 Reconstruction Department of the Government wishes to seek ad- 
 vice and guidance from the industries, and indeed desires that the 
 industries should act for themselves as far as possible under Gov- 
 ernment supervision. This admirable plan can only be carried out 
 if the industries are completely organized — if all employers are in 
 their associations and all workers are in their unions, and if both 
 are able to act together and speak for the whole industry by means 
 of a National Council of the industry. Fitting into a scheme of 
 this sort, the National Council of the Pottery Industry becomes not 
 only a Council for the internal management of the potting trade, 
 but an organism in the advancement of the national welfare. 
 
 Mr. Roberts, the Minister of Labor, in his speeches at the Council 
 meeting and the Victoria Hall, eloquently dwelt upon the need for 
 a greater humanizing of employment conditions, in the interests not 
 only of employers and employed, but of healthy trade activity. 
 Good profits and good wages are a just expectation (though Dr. 
 Addison warned his hearers that the public must also be considered, 
 and that an industry would not be safe if its customers were made 
 poor) ; but Mr. Roberts and Dr. Addison both supported the asser- 
 tion made by the Bishop of Lichfield in the Victoria Hall some time 
 ago that half the labor troubles were not due to wages disputes at 
 all, but to the resentment of the workers if they were regarded by 
 employers as "hands" instead of human beings and fellow-laborers 
 in a common cause. The National Councils will do much to effect 
 a remedy in that respect. And some of the sincerest applause at 
 the Victoria Hall on Friday evening was elicited from the audi- 
 ence of workers by Mr. Roberts' declaration that if employees were 
 fairly treated the obligation rested upon them to treat their em- 
 
504 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 ployers fairly in return. It was a frank and thoroughly English 
 jnoment. 
 
 Incidentally, Mr. Roberts remarked that a Government Depart- 
 ment could scarcely resist the united voice of an industry on fiscal 
 or other similar issues; and later on, he was emphatic that the British 
 Empire and our Allies have the first claim upon the raw materials 
 of the Empire. Both Dr. Addison and Mr. Roberts pointed out 
 that winning the War is the essential preliminary of all reform and 
 progress. The peroration of the inauguration of the National Coun- 
 cil was found in the speeches at Tunstall under the auspices of the 
 Tunstall Tutorial Class during the week-end, when Mr. Arnold 
 Rowntree, M.P., Mr. Wethered, and Mr. Clay, who had been co- 
 opted honorary members of the Council, eloquently urged the hu- 
 mane and religious aspects of the movement, and sought to rekindle 
 into a living flame those social and fraternal relations and re- 
 sponsibilities without which life becomes selfish and sordid, while 
 on the other hand there is the certainty that in working for others 
 we also save ourselves. The "still, sad music of humanity" has in 
 these Pottery Council meetings swollen into a grander tone, and 
 mystic voices chant the coming of a nobler and a happier day. 
 
 [Reprinted from the "Staffordshire Sentinel" of January 12th, 1918.] 
 NATIONAL COUNCIL OF THE POTTERY INDUSTRY 
 
 INAUGURAL MEETING 
 
 Reconstbuction After the Wab 
 
 Important Speeches by Members op the Government 
 
 EUTDEE OP THE POTTING TraDE 
 
 The inaugural meeting of the National Council of the Pottery 
 Industry Was held at the North Stafford Hotel, Stoke-on-Trent, on 
 Friday, January 11th, 1918. 
 
 Members op the Council 
 The members of the Council (thirty on each side) are as follows: 
 
 MANUPACTUBERS' REPRESENTATIVES 
 
 General Earthenware (11) 
 Mr. J. C. Bailey — ^Messrs. Doulton and Co., Ltd., Burslem. 
 Mr. K. H. Bailey — ^Messrs. Fumivals, Ltd., Cobridge. 
 
APPENDIX I 505 
 
 Mr. C. E. Bullock— Boumer, Bullock and Co., King's Chambers, 
 Stoke-on-Trent. 
 Mr. A. Fielding — Fielding and Co., Ltd., Stoke. 
 Mr. R. Lewis Johnson — Messrs. Johnson Bros. (Hanley), Ltd. 
 Mr. E. J. Johnson — Johnson Bros. (Hanley), Ltd., Stoke. 
 Mr. T. B. Johnston — Pountney and Co., Ltd., Bristol. 
 Mr. E. Leigh — Burgess and Leigh, Burslem. 
 Mr. A. H. Haddock — Messrs. Maddock and Sons, Burslem. 
 Mr. R. Shenton — Wedgwood and Co., Ltd., Tunstall. 
 Major F. H. Wedgwood — Wedgwood and Sons, Ltd., Etruria. 
 
 China (5) 
 Mr. W. Hall — Cartwright and Edwards, Ltd., Longton. 
 Mr. A. B. Jones, Jun. — A. B. Jones and Sons, Longton. 
 Mr. Tho^. Poole — Cobden Works, Longton. 
 Mr. P. SheUey — Wileman and Co., Longton. 
 Mr. H. J. Plant— R. H. and S. L. Plant, Longton. 
 
 Jet and Bockingham (2) 
 Mr. S. Johnson — S. Johnson, Ltd., Britannia Pottery, Cobridge. 
 Mr. A. J. Wade — Messrs. J. and W. Wade and Co., Burslem. 
 
 Glazed and Floor Tiles (3) 
 Mr. J. Burton — ^Messrs. Pilkington Tile and Pottery Co., Ltd., 
 Clifton Junction, near Manchester. 
 Mr. S. Malkin — Messrs. the Malkin Tile Works Co., Ltd., Burslem. 
 Mr. S. R. Maw — Messsrs. Maw and Co., Ltd., Jackfield. 
 
 Yorkshire (1) 
 Mr. T. Brown — Messrs. Sefton and Brown, Ferrybridge. 
 
 Scottish Earthenware Manufacturers' Association (1) 
 Mr. J. Arnold Fleming — Cochran and Fleming, Glasgow. 
 
 Stoneware (1) 
 One to be appointed. 
 
 Sanitary (3) 
 Mr. E. R. Com— Henry Richards Tile Co., Tunstall. 
 Mr. W. Hassall — Messrs. Outram and Co., Woodville. 
 Mr. J. T. Webster— Twyfords, Ltd., Cliffe Vale, Hanley. 
 
 Fireclay (2) 
 
 Mr. J. Taylor Howson — Messrs. G. Howson and Sons, Ltd., 
 Hanley. 
 
 Mr. A. Barrett, Sanitary Fireclay Manufacturers' Association, 
 Leeds. 
 
506 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 Electrical Fittings (1) 
 
 Mr. J. W. Hams — ^Messrs. Bullers, Ltd., Hanley. 
 operatives' representatives 
 
 Pottery Workers' Society — ^Messrs. W. TunniolifEe, W. Aucock, 
 W. Shaw, G. Pedley, W. Machin, W. Goodwin, T. Coxon, R. Col- 
 clough, W. Milner, W. Harvey, R. Stirratt, W. McGurk, H. Forinan, 
 J. Wileox, J. Booth, S. Clowes, A. HoUins. 
 
 Ovenmen's Society — Messrs. J. Pickin, R. Bennett, J. Bennett, W. 
 Owen, W. Callear, F. Colclough. 
 
 Packers' Society — Mr. C. Martin. 
 
 Cratemakers' Society — Messrs. J. Owen and L. Jackson. 
 
 Commercial Travelers — ^Messrs. S. Oulsnam and J. Derry. 
 
 Clerks' Union — Messrs. J. Berresford and Beech. 
 
 Lithographic Printers — Messrs. F. Smyles and H. Rudge. 
 
 It will be seen that there are 32 names, but two of these will be 
 dropped from the Pottery Workers' Society when they make the 
 final selection. 
 
 Business of the First Meeting 
 
 At the first meeting of the Council on Friday afternoon. Major 
 Frank Wedgwood was elected Chairman and Mr. S. Clowes Vice- 
 chairman. Mr. Arnold S. Rowntree, M.P., York; Mr. E. H. C. 
 Wethered, Bristol; and Mr. H. Clay, M.A. (Ministry of Labor), 
 who held conferences with pottery manufacturers and labor repre- 
 sentatives even before the Whitley Committee had got to work, and 
 thus helped to lay the foundations of the Council, were coopted as 
 honorary members. A Committee was appointed to formulate com- 
 mittees. The Committee wiU meet on February 1st, and the first 
 general meeting of the Council will be held on February 13th, at 
 10.30, at the North Stafford Hotel. 
 
 Two members of the Government, Dr. Addison, M.P., Minister 
 of Reconstruction, and Mr. Roberts, Minister of Labor, attended to 
 give an official blessing to the Council. Their speeches dealt not 
 only with the possibility of the Council promoting peace and pros- 
 perity in the pottery trade, but with the great help such Councils 
 could afford the Government in dealing with the problems of de- 
 mobilization and reconstructing and developing the industries of 
 the country after the War. 
 
 Those present, in addition to those mentioned above included Mr. 
 H. B. Butler, Assistant Secretary, Ministry of Labor; Mr. A. P. 
 Llewellyn, Secretary to the Manufacturers; Mr. S. H. Dodd, Deputy 
 Secretary to the Manufacturers; and Mr. A. HoUins, Secretary to 
 the Operatives. 
 
APPENDIX I 507 
 
 MAJOR WEDGWOOD 
 
 The newly-elected Chairman (Major F. H. Wedgwood) said it 
 was a very great pleasure to all of them to feel that they had the 
 honor of having the Minister of Reconstruction and the Minister of 
 Labor down to address them that afternoon. (Hear, hear.) He 
 thought they would find that they were an appreciative audience, 
 and he felt sure that what they told them would help them ma- 
 terially in carrying on the very diflScult work that lay ahead of 
 them. (Hear, hear.) He thought that before he asked Dr. Ad- 
 dison and Mr. Roberts to address them, he ought to try and bring 
 home one or two points which occurred to him as worthy of their 
 notice, points which were particularly applicable to the district 
 in which they lived. 
 
 The first thing that occurred to him as being peculiar to the dis- 
 trict, was that it was a concentrated industry in this district. There 
 was no other industry so far as he knew which had two-thirds of 
 the total products of the United Kingdom being manufactured 
 within a radius of five miles from the room in which they were as- 
 sembled. (Hear, hear.) The next peculiarity was that the district 
 was a district of relatively small factories, and there was in con- 
 sequence a surprising number of manufacturers. And the third 
 point, which was a very sad point and one which they all felt, was 
 that, speaking broadly, the whole district was a poorish district. 
 He knew he must not say that this week when the Tank was on a 
 visit in the district, but there was no doubt about it, the potting 
 industry had not been remunerative to the manufacturers for the 
 last 25 years. He was speaking broadly, but figures would bear 
 him out. And undoubtedly inadequate wages had been paid in cer- 
 tain departments, the especial sufferers being the women. 
 
 RATEABLE VALUE 
 
 And last of all it was a district which had probably the lowest 
 rateable value to the population, of any other district in England. 
 Those points were all points which had a material bearing on the 
 work of that National Council. In the first place, the concentra- 
 tion of the industry was an enormous help to them in carrying it 
 on. They were all very proud that they were the first industry to 
 form a National Council — (hear, hear) — and they ought not to 
 blink at the fact that they were in a favorable position because of 
 the concentration of the industry. 
 
 The next point, the question of small factories, had also a very 
 important bearing on the work of the Council, because it meant that 
 
508 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 manufacturers and their workpeople were able to get into close 
 touch one with the other. Then, on the third question of the rela- 
 tive poverty of the district, there was an enormous field for im- 
 provement possible, if they could organize themselves properly. 
 They might hope to benefit the trade to a very great extent indeed, 
 because after all that Council was not out for one section of the 
 members only. It was out to make the trade more prosperous, and 
 thereby improve the status of the people who worked in the trade. 
 (Hear, hear.) 
 
 THE OUTCOME OP THE WAR 
 
 There were only two other small points, and he thought he was 
 saying what they were all agreed, that one result of this terrible 
 and horrible war we had been engaged in for three and a half years 
 had been undoubtedly the means of drawing everybody together 
 in a way we never thought was possible four years ago. He re- 
 membered two years or more ago, when he was well out of the 
 "pots" for the time being, his association with Mr. Clowes in the 
 work of recruiting, and of the kind fellowship that sprung up be- 
 tween them. Good fellowship was a great asset to the side of a 
 Council of that kind. (Hear, hear.) 
 
 Then the last thought which was in his mind was the fact that we 
 had had during the last three or four years, our eyes astonishingly 
 opened to the foul machinations of our enemy the Germans. He 
 was not speaking of the atrocities, but only for the moment of the 
 sustained and nefarious efforts they were undoubtedly making all 
 over the world, to filch our trade from us and steal from us market 
 after market. We could see it all now. That had brought home 
 to himself, at any rate, and, he thought, to the district at large, the 
 great necessity of cooperating and making themselves of service one 
 to the other. He thought they realized, certainly the manufactur- 
 ers realized much more than they did, and the men's leaders would 
 say the same, that there Was an absolute need for education in its 
 widest branches, carried on, not only for those of 14 to 18, but that 
 they should continue educating themselves up to the time of their 
 death. (Hear, hear.) He hoped they were going to have an edu- 
 cative afternoon and evening, and he had pleasure in asking Dr. 
 Addison to address the members of the Council. (Loud applause.) 
 
APPENDIX I 609 
 
 DR. ADDISON, M.P. 
 
 Minister of Reconstruction 
 
 Dr. Addison said he thanked them very much for giving him an 
 opportunity, and he knew his colleague would do the same, of at- 
 tending at last the first meeting of the first Joint Industrial Coun- 
 cil. There was an urgent need that this movement should make in 
 this country much speedier progress, and he was delighted, al- 
 though by the kindness of his colleague and his assistants he had 
 been kept in touch with the progress of affairs, that at last they 
 could say that they had been invited to the first fully formed, fully 
 representative, and fully recognized Joint Industrial Council. 
 (Hear, hear.) 
 
 He believed that there were few things in this country at the pres- 
 ent moment which were of more critical importance than the forma- 
 tion, according to the particular needs of the individual trades, of 
 representative trade organizations, of complete associations of mas- 
 ters on the one side, and of men on the other, and of the formation 
 of Joint Industrial Councils for such affairs as the Joint 
 Industrial Councils might agree to deal with. (Hear, hear.) 
 But particularly in relation, in the first place, to some of those mat- 
 ters which would immediately become urgent on the cessation of 
 hostilities. And he told them that as the time dragged on, and those 
 movements made what, to him, at all events, was a very disappoint- 
 ingly slow progress; although he knew how very very difficult it 
 Was, and when one had a knowledge of the enormous dislocation of 
 industry that would immediately arise on the cessation of hostilities, 
 he said it was of the first importance that Joint Councils of em- 
 ployers and employed should get together in this country to regard 
 their industry as a whole, to take into account the great movements 
 which must necessarily arise in labor immediately hostilities cease, 
 and to some extent even on the declaration of armistice; all the 
 many questions which needed arranging beforehand affecting the 
 introduction of outside labor, the making room for the men who 
 had joined the forces whose places were kept for them, the ar- 
 ranging between themselves, if possible, the way in which the sub- 
 jects were to be dealt with between employers and employed, or in 
 some trades those very technical questions affecting dilution, and 
 the numberless arguments which were being made in shops, and 
 sometimes between trades and Government with regard to the con- 
 ditions of war Work. Unless these things were dealt with, and 
 thought out carefully by those who were immediately concerned in 
 the different trades beforehand, they would be, he was certain, pre- 
 
510 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 cipitated into serious social and industrial disturbances. And it 
 was not possible to exaggerate the importance of these matters be- 
 ing taken in hand and considered in detail by those who were im- 
 mediately in contact with them as soon as possible, and for that 
 reason, more than any other, he congratulated them with his whole 
 heart in forming that Council, and he sincerely wished them good 
 success in its deliberations. 
 
 THE GOVERNMENT BLAMED 
 
 It was a very easy thing to blame the Government when things 
 went wrong, and some of them who were accustomed to being mem- 
 bers of it, were quite accustomed to being the objects of that kind 
 of criticism, and far be it from him to pretend that a good deal of 
 it was not thoroughly justified. He did not know any way to sug- 
 gest that those responsible for the conduct of affairs were not fully 
 prepared to accept their share of the responsibility, but there was 
 a great share of responsibility also belonging to the employers and 
 to the workpeople of this country as well. And the first duty, he 
 believed, of employers was to form in the different trades classified, 
 as its needs might determine, comprehensive employers' associa- 
 tions. 
 
 He believed it was necessary for the future well-being and rapid 
 restoration of the productive power of this country that every em- 
 ployer should be in his association and every workman in his trade 
 union. (Hear, hear, and applause.) And he would tell them some 
 very good reasons why, in the course of the few minutes that he 
 should address them. They were anxious, in fact it was necessary 
 very soon to ask some representative body in the different trades 
 to advise them and to guide them — and if possible to act as their 
 agents — in respect of important matters concerning their industry 
 which arose in connection with reconstruction. 
 
 REPRESENTATIVE ASSOCIATIONS 
 
 But the fact was that except in a few cases there were not in this 
 country properly appointed fully representative trade organizations. 
 He could tell of many trades in which there were four or five asso- 
 ciations, all claiming to be fully representative ; and the Government 
 Minister who happened to call a meeting and missed one out soon 
 heard about it. That was a very unsatisfactory state of affairs. 
 They had overcome it in the pottery trade. Whether that was due 
 to them being so much collected in one district or not, he did not 
 know. That must have contributed a good deal, but still it had 
 
APPENDIX I 511 
 
 not been done, he was quite sure, without a good deal of good-will 
 and hard work on both sides, because the mere fact that the Chair- 
 man referred to — that the trade consisted to a great extent of a 
 large number of relatively small undertakings — presented, he should 
 think, the first great difficulty. (Hear, hear.) 
 
 We were all strongly individualistic — most of us were in the 
 British race — and whether a man was a workman or an employer, 
 or a politician, he had got that kind of thing in his blood. And 
 we were all, sometimes, very jealous of one another, so that it was 
 exceedingly difficult to bring about comprehensive associations. He 
 might say that in connection with the work of reconstruction the 
 Government would definitely call upon this National Council to give 
 them certain information and to undertake certain duties. And 
 with regard to paragraph L. contained in the articles of associa- 
 tion, the Government would take them at their word as being com- 
 petent to represent the needs and opinions of their industry to 
 Government authorities. (Hear, hear.) 
 
 ONE RECOGNIZED AUTHORITY 
 
 "And let me say we shall not only take you at your word, but 
 we shall take only you (applause) ; when you say you represent 
 those needs and opinions, we shall take it that you do represent 
 them." (Hear, hear.) Dr. Addison went on to say that when he 
 was Minister of Munitions, he often caught it hot — (laughter) — 
 because he had not consulted somebody or other. Well, one ex- 
 pected that kind of thing when one was Minister of Munitions. He 
 did not mind; he did the best he could. He remembered once, in 
 one particularly large industry, there was a very important Labor 
 issue. There were five organizations among the employers in that 
 industry, and it took six weeks to get a meeting of employers to 
 negotiate on that issue which, though a big issue, was a simple one. 
 It was a very depressing experience, and it was not alone. 
 
 Apart from these details in their articles of association, to which 
 possibly his colleague might refer more fully, he would deal with 
 one or two matters in connection with reconstruction which necessi- 
 tated the formation of comprehensive trade associations. He ex- 
 pected Mr. Roberts would deal with the more particular labor is- 
 sues. He himself would only refer to one. He believed that it 
 was of the first importance that as soon as possible there should be 
 agreement reached in the different trades, whereby they could sweep 
 away any objections on the part of labor to the introduction of im- 
 proved methods of manufacture. (Hear, hear.) 
 
512 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 labor's reward 
 
 And there were two things underlying that which he believed had 
 got to be fairly and frankly met, and the first one was that Labor 
 was to be assured of a definite arrangement, binding on the whole 
 industry, whereby it would be guaranteed a fair proportion of the 
 reward received out of the improvement. (Hear, hear.) That 
 was essential. (Hear, hear.) Anything which left that question to 
 be dealt with could not possibly remove the objection which men 
 must entertain if they felt there was a chance of some piece rate 
 being cut or some arrangement being arrived at whereby, though 
 they were asked to produce a lot more goods they were not to get 
 any more money. 
 
 Then they must look as far as possible, and he could not see how 
 they could do it without regarding the trade as a whole, and try to 
 secure some greater surety of employment. He did not think they 
 could do that in individual shops. The previous day he received a 
 deputation from another industry, and he was referred to a state- 
 ment which had been made on behalf of that industry, that it was 
 for the benefit of the industry that there should be a certaiii per- 
 centage of unemployment. He did not think the men who had 
 fought for us in this war were going to tolerate a barbaric .system 
 of that kind. (Hear, hear.) They Were getting over it in the cot- 
 ton industry, and they were making very elaborate arrangements to 
 meet it during the war; and he did not think for a moment they 
 would despair afterwards. 
 
 RAW MATERIAL SUPPLIES 
 
 The first thing he did when he was appointed Minister of Recon- 
 struction was to get a number of experts to go into the question of 
 raw material supplies for the industries of the country. That was 
 one of the subjects in which the Government needed representative 
 associations to help them in regard to their particular industries. 
 They wanted to know, not in general terms, but, as far as possible, 
 en bloc, as affecting an industry, what their requirements were 
 with respect to raw materials. And he could tell them that they 
 were in fact asking the different industries what their requirements 
 were with respect to raw materials, because, either from shipping 
 difficulties or from the cause of a real shortage of the world's sup- 
 plies of certain commodities, there would be a shortage of raw ma- 
 terials. 
 
 It was quite evident that there would be some industries in which 
 so far as affected the total needs of the industry, we might be con- 
 
APPENDIX I 513 
 
 fronted for some time with a real shortage. The trades ought to 
 have an organization to deal with this for themselves. (Hear, 
 hear.) If there was to be any rationing done in an industry, it 
 should be done by somebody appointed by the industry to do it — 
 (hear, hear) — somebody who knew about its technicalities and about 
 the various issues involved. This could be done much better by 
 the trades for themselves than it could be done by any central de- 
 partment, and it had this incidental advantage; that if they did 
 noi do it properly, they would have themselves to blame, and not 
 the Government. (Laughter.) 
 
 A QUJESTION OF COBT 
 
 He noticed, by the way, in looking through a very excellent volume 
 issued in the United States, on pottery, that the proportion of ma- 
 terial utilized out of 100 units of production in the British pottery 
 trade was put down as 28, and that in America 20, and in Ger- 
 many 15. It struck him, as the Chairman was speaking, that he 
 should think this would be one of the first questions to which their 
 CounoU would address their minds. There was nothing in which 
 comprehensive trade organization dealing with the thing as a whole, 
 both from the standpoint of purchase, and, above all, of transport 
 — and he understood that this was one of their weaknesses in that 
 district — (laughter and applause) — could effect greater economies 
 than in the case of raw materials. He knew of a particular case in 
 which the Ministry of Munitions analyzed the cost of production 
 as compared with the same date two years in succession — the same 
 apparatus and the same raw materials — and notwithstanding that the 
 wages had gone up 15 per cent, for the men employed in the works, 
 the cost of production had dropped 22 per cent. That had been 
 solely due to a careful analysis of the cost of production and the 
 discernment of waste, particularly, in this case, of raw material. 
 Hence, the reduction in the cost of production had allowed an in- 
 crease in the wages rate. 
 
 There was another even more urgent reason why the Government 
 wanted representative trade associations to help them in connec- 
 tion with reconstruction. In the ordinary way, the employers might 
 be looked to for the discharge of this duty, but the Government's 
 principle would be that they should look to the joint industrial 
 councils to discharge any functions which the two parties to a 
 council agreed that it should discharge. Otherwise, they looked to 
 the trade unions to advise them on their questions and the employ- 
 ers on theirs. But one of the most urgent reasons for requiring 
 representative trade associations was in connection with the class 
 
514 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 of questions which might generally be described as prior in connec- 
 tion with reconstruction. There would be, as they would know, a 
 great cessation of work in certain fields of activity, and the rapidity 
 with which they could turn over to the new kind of industry de- 
 pended upon the equipment for turning over, the preparation of 
 the necessary plans beforehand, and a number of other technical 
 details. 
 
 AN ILLUSTRATION 
 
 Let him give them an illustration. The group of trades with 
 which they had been dealing had shown to them quite clearly that 
 unless certain essentials, which appeared to the outsider to be minor 
 essentials, were attended to during the war, the time of turning over 
 from war to peace, after the cessation of hostilities, in a particular 
 trade, would be three months longer than it otherwise would be, and 
 there were hundreds of thousands of people employed in that in- 
 dustry in one town alone. So that it was necessary for those con- 
 cerned to get to work, and think out what were the things that were 
 required to be done first. 
 
 And let him there lead to something which was very much mis- 
 understood. There was a Bill before Parliament known as The 
 Imports and Exports Limitation of Movements Bill. He would 
 give them an illustration as to why that Bill had been brought for- 
 ward. There would be, as he said, a shortage of materials in some 
 trades. The cotton trade was short of material, and it was very im- 
 portant to be able to determine as to whether or not they would 
 have cargoes of bales of cotton giving precedence to a grand piano. 
 Let them put it grossly like that, because it meant giving employ- 
 ment to the people in the Lancashire trade. They must, in the early 
 days of reconstruction, be able to get the first thing first; otherwise 
 it would mean masses of unemployed, and they wanted the trades, 
 with respect to their particular requirements, to advise them what 
 were the things they needed first. If they needed no assistance, 
 then they would be delighted. In case they did need assistance, it 
 was well the matter should be thought out and the needs formulated. 
 
 THE PRIORITY QUESTION 
 
 Now he would give them a specific case in the kind of question 
 which they wanted the trades to advise them on. There were many 
 industries in this country which were full of orders, and they would 
 have plenty of raw material. But they would lack ma- 
 chinery. They had turned over their works to something quite 
 different from their ordinary business. And the first require- 
 
APPENDIX I 515 
 
 ments of that industry, before it could start to employ its people 
 again, was the replenishing of its machinery. Well now, it so hap- 
 pened that for that particular class of machinery, most of the 
 manufacturers of this country were already full of orders from two 
 foreign countries alone. The total manufacturing capacity of this 
 country of that particular class of machinery was already booked. 
 Well now, did they not see where the necessity came in for the in- 
 formation on the priority question? (Hear, hear.) They could 
 not let the great industry stand still waiting for machinery. The 
 matter must be gone into beforehand, and they must take powers 
 to arrange that it got a fair share of early attention in order to 
 get the people returned to employment. He only gave them one 
 illustration ; he could go on too long giving them illustrations of the 
 kind of question which they wanted the trades to advise them upon 
 on what he called the general priority issue. There was a large 
 group of them, and no doubt in time they would send to that Coun- 
 cil a questioner. And he had no doubt they would fill it up to their 
 own satisfaction and, he also hoped, to theirs. 
 
 ABTICLES OF THE ASSOCIATION 
 
 But when they sought to provide great trade associations — and 
 he was certain, quite apart from the immediate issues of reconstruc- 
 tion, they were wanted if they were to improve the industrial 
 capacity of this country— they had got to think over some of the 
 purposes laid down in their articles of association. And might 
 he refer to one or two of them before he passed to the danger to 
 which he was going to allude? He noticed that one of their articles 
 of association referred to the study of processes, the encourage- 
 ment of research, accounting methods an(J so on. He had already 
 said something as to the value of cost accounting to the various in- 
 dustries. He remembered one of their national factories in York- 
 shire was producing 18 inch shells which cost 15s. 3d. each, while 
 another factory in the same county supplied the same shells at 9s. 
 lid. each. Both factories were supplied with the same material 
 at the same cost, and the same rates for labor was paid. They 
 eventually got the price in the first case reduced, but it was all a 
 matter of management, accurateness, and a hundred little 'things 
 which went to make the difference. But if the two factories had 
 been competing one against the other, the one could not have lived 
 beside the other. That was what came of good accounting. He 
 could multiply those illustrations for a long time. 
 
 He was sure it was a very wise provision. 
 
 And another thing was invention and research. He believed it 
 
516 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 was one of the chief blots in British industrial progress, that we 
 never made sufficient use of the great mine of wealth and brain 
 that there was in the craftsmen of this country. And it was largely 
 due to some of our pattern laws, and often due to the fact that the 
 men who made a good suggestion somehow or other never got any- 
 thing out of it. That had got to be guarded against, and it was to 
 the advantage of the trade as a whole that it should be done. (Hear, 
 hear.) He was glad to see they took into account the conditions of 
 health in their industry. He remembered in the early days of the 
 Ministry of Munitions starting a Good Health of Munition Workers 
 Committee, and he would like them to see the little pamphlet that 
 was issued giving the results of some of the examinations. But 
 there was no doubt about it that it was best to have women work- 
 ing under good conditions. He remembered one of the big em- 
 ployers in Glasgow laughing with him over a certain incident. He 
 said he was giving his boys an extra shilling every Monday for bring- 
 ing a clean overall to wear. Asked the reason, the employer re- 
 plied, "Well, because it pays; I get more work out of them." He 
 did not profess there was anything philanthropic about it; he said 
 it was good business. He had found out that it paid to have his 
 workers working under good conditions. It paid him as an em- 
 ployer, and he had no doubt it would pay them in the Potteries. 
 And the only way in which this thing could be gone into was by the 
 industry going into it collectively. 
 
 TRANSPORT FACILITIES 
 
 He hoped they would make representation to the Ministry of 
 Eeeonstruction affecting the transport facilities as they related to 
 their industry. He had f, sort of notion at the back of his head 
 that might be improved in this district. (Hear, hear.) There was 
 one danger which those trade associations presented, and let them 
 speak quite frankly about it. He noticed that according to the 
 objects of the Council they were : "To assist the respective associa- 
 tions in the maintenance of such selling prices as will afford a rea- 
 sonable remuneration to both employers and employed." That was 
 quite right; they both ought to have a proper remuneration. No 
 healthy condition of industry could prevail if they did not. But 
 he noticed also that was linked up with another object, which was: 
 "The collection of full statistics on wages, making and selling prices, 
 and average percentages of profits on turnover, and on materials, 
 markets, costs, etc., and the study of promotion of scientific and 
 practical systems of costing to this end." And he would draw their 
 attention to another part of that transaction, and that was the con- 
 
APPENDIX I 617 
 
 sumer. (Hear, hear.) They did not want to be parties to the 
 formation of some unholy alliance, if he could so describe it, be- 
 tween capital and labor at the expense of the consumer, because that 
 would not last. It did not pay any industry to have its customers 
 poor, and it would not pay the pottery industry any better than 
 any other, and it was quite impossible, of course for him as Minister 
 of Reconstruction to look with any kind feeling upon arrangements 
 of that kind. They wanted to construct an association, as they said 
 in their articles, on lines which would develop and foster the in- 
 dustry in all its branches and which would he had no doubt deal 
 with and take cognizance of its affairs from start to finish. He 
 meant from the raw material, where it came from, how to deal with 
 the marketing, transport, etc., until the finished product was dis- 
 posed of in the best and most economical manner. One of the things 
 they intended to take up in their industries was improved trans- 
 port, and he hoped some time or other they would see better things 
 than a dozen horses and carts going from one village to the railway 
 station, each conveying a stone or two of goods. It was a waste of 
 time, of labor and of money. They wanted some organization in 
 transport, and he would imagine it was just as necessary in the 
 potting industry, although he knew nothing about its technicalities, 
 as it was in every other industry he had come across in the country. 
 
 FOE THE BENEFIT OF TRADE 
 
 Now, he only had to say this. While they intended — ^Mr. Roberts' 
 recent circular set out the position of the Government — to recog- 
 nize, and having recognized to work through and to give the utmost 
 possible authority and support to any thoroughly representative and 
 properly constructed trade organization, they wanted to help them, 
 and they wanted them to help them and also to help the trade. 
 
 And let it be quite clear that when they spoke of trade organiza- 
 tions, they meant something which was for the interest and the bene- 
 fit of the trade as a whole, including purchases of its goods. They 
 did not want the country to be saddled with organizations, trusts, or 
 price rings, as they were variously called, as they had been a great 
 handicap to industry in many countries, including this one. He 
 had asked a number of experts on both sides to explore the whole 
 of this question, with a view to safeguarding the public interests in 
 connection with this movement. And when he said this — it was 
 much better to be quite frank about it — he said it because he wanted 
 to see in this country comprehensive trade associations; and they 
 would not get them established and permanent unless they had 
 public confidence and unless they were found to be for the good of 
 
518 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 the trade as a whole, as he belived theirs was. He welcomed these 
 organizations. He congratulated them upon the establishment of 
 their Council, and he wished to thank them for giving him the op- 
 portunity of being present at its first meeting. (Applause.) 
 
 MR. ROBERTS, M.P. 
 
 Minister of Labor 
 
 Mr. Roberts, who was very cordially received, observed at the 
 outset of his remarks that, like his colleague, he should like to ex- 
 press his profound pleasure at being invited to attend the first meet- 
 ing of the first Whitley Council formed in the country. He con- 
 gratulated them upon the formation of the Council, but his presence 
 there was tinged with one slight regret. When he worked, he was 
 connected with the printing trade, and he had had an ambition that 
 the first Whitley Council should be established in the trade in which 
 he used to earn his livelihood, and if it be that he had to acknowl- 
 edge that the pottery trade moved much more swiftly and had ex- 
 hibited a greater progressive idea than the printing trade, well, 
 probably it was the highest tribute he could pay to their assembly. 
 Personally, he esteemed it something more than a privilege to be 
 present in order to participate in a very interesting ceremony, be- 
 cause the establishment of that Council marked the consummation 
 of a principle he had desired to see established in the country. 
 
 Most of them who were acquainted with industrial affairs viewed 
 with grave apprehension the relationship of industrial classes before 
 the war. It almost appeared as if we had erected a Chinese wall 
 between the employers and the employed. They were being more 
 and more divorced from each other. That was a state of affairs 
 that could only lead to national disaster. And whilst everybody 
 regretted the outbreak of this horrible war, nevertheless the war 
 had not been altogether a matter of loss, because, as the Chairman 
 had said, at least one great thing had been accomplished. At the 
 outbreak of war, it seemed almost as if a miracle was wrought in the 
 land for those who had been glaring at each other were preparing 
 to make war on each other, but in a trice all sank their differences 
 to display to the whole world one of the most remarkable evidences 
 of unity for the nation. Everybody recognized that in the face of 
 great danger, disunity in our midst meant national defeat. 
 
 A CLOSE ANALYSIS 
 
 He was of the opinion that what was essential for the purpose of 
 prosecuting and winning the war would prove to be equally essential 
 
APPENDIX I 519 
 
 in the troublous days that would follow the war. For, however 
 optimistically we might view things, the close student of industrial 
 affairs would have noted that Great Britain was gradually lagging 
 behind her great competitors of the world. The war had compelled 
 us to subject our industrial conditions to very close analysis. The 
 result of some of these investigations had been cited to them by his 
 friend, Dr. Addison, and now they were going to ask themselves 
 whether the lessons which had emerged through the war were to re- 
 main with them in the years that were ahead. And certain as it 
 was that our country, subjected to perhaps the supremest test to 
 which people had ever been put, bad risen superior to this test in 
 the matter of warfare, he was confident that the same quality would 
 carry us through the industrial test after the war, and our country 
 would retain its proper position of eminence amongst the nations of 
 the world. 
 
 But if we were to do that, we must recognize that just as the 
 world could never progress unless peace was established on a firm 
 and enduring basis, so industry in the land would never flourish un- 
 less harmony prevailed amongst the various elements working in 
 that industry. Therefore, they recognized that some change had 
 to take place in order to remove that strained relationship which 
 characterized industry prior to the war. They Ifad sought to find 
 methods whereby the various parties in industry might be persuaded 
 to come together in order to thrash out matters affecting not the in- 
 dividual welfare of any one, but that broad view outlined by Dr. 
 Addison, to apprehend the industry as a whole. Some of them 
 had been engaged in canvassing this question in various forms, and 
 they were delighted when the Government set up a committee which 
 produced what was known as the Whitley Report. 
 
 AN ENCOURAGING RECEPTION 
 
 This report was submitted to the various organizations of work- 
 people and employers throughout the country, and its reception 
 was most encouraging. He, himself, was most agreeably surprised 
 to find how receptive both classes were in respect of this matter. 
 The Cabinet felt they were warranted in giving their blessing to 
 this movement, and that day they in that room were publicly asso- 
 ciated with a movement which marked the industrial salvation of 
 the land. 
 
 Why was it that the relationship had been so unsatisfactory? He 
 sometimes had told employers that it was not altogether the fault 
 of the workpeople, because they had left them to be talked at mainly 
 by parsons and politicians — not altogether very desirable tj^pes when 
 
520 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 dealing with industrial affairs. (Laughter.) But there it was. 
 The workman had very often got it into his mind that the em- 
 ployer simply regarded him as a means of profit-making; and cer- 
 tainly, owing to a new form of industrial organization which had 
 grown up, some workmen had very good reasons for thinking so. 
 The spread of great combines and the impersonal relationships 
 which thereby prevailed, led great masses of workpeople simply to 
 regard themselves as cogs in a great wheel, unheeded by those on 
 whose behalf they were toiling. That sort of thing was bound to 
 create unrest. 
 
 How widespread that unrest was most of them were familiar with 
 in a more or less degree. We had got to uproot that disturbance 
 if reconstruction was to be hastened, if we were speedily to repair 
 the ravages of war and if Great Britain was not to be handicapped 
 for all time in the great race of world trade and commerce. 
 
 employers' peank acceptance 
 
 They knew what their Whitley Council was. It was representa- 
 tive of the trade unions on the one hand and employers' organiza- 
 tions on the other, and personally, as a trade union and Labor 
 agitator of now more years than he cared to recall, he was delighted 
 to have evidence of the frank acceptance on behalf of the employers 
 of the pottery trade of the principle of organization, and, as exem- 
 plified on behalf of the workpeople, a full recognition of their trade 
 union. The trade union in the pottery trade had, he believed, made 
 very rapid growth during the past few years. Nevertheless, it was 
 a most unsatisfactory state of affairs that not above one-third of 
 the people employed in the industry were within the ranks of the 
 trade union. Certainly the employers' displeasure should no longer 
 be a deterrent. He knew that many people were kept outside their 
 trade union fearful lest their employer might not like it, and yet at 
 the same time they were the most vociferous in singing "Britons 
 never shall be slaves." (Laughter.) The potting trade had now 
 avowed to the whole world that both sides recognized that the prin- 
 ciples of organization were absolutely essential to the progress of 
 the industry. The Whitley Councils were based upon organization 
 on both sides, and if people wanted to get such advantages as would 
 ensue from this movement, they could get them very freely; the 
 workpeople had only to join their organization and if an employer 
 was standing outside his organization he (the speaker) felt sure 
 that he would be just as readily admitted. 
 
APPENDIX I 521 
 
 THE WHITLEY COUNCIL 
 
 Well, now they were hopeful and the Government desirous that 
 the Whitley Council should not be regarded merely as an expedient 
 for relieving labor troubles and that they would not exhaust their 
 endeavors in dealing with wages, hours of labor, or conditions of 
 employment. They were essential things, and he recognized that 
 unless those questions were satisfactorily settled, the future of the 
 Council was not very hopeful. He wanted to see for every willing 
 worker in the land a wage of ample dimensions. Not merely what 
 was talked of in the phrase, a living wage. Personally, he was not 
 prepared to state ^hat was a living wage. He could tell them what 
 was not very easily, and he had to confess that large groups of 
 workers before the war were in receipt of remuneration which did 
 not agree to his standard of a living wage. A wage which simply 
 supplied the needs of the week, was not a living wage. A man 
 must be given a wage with a suflflcient margin to enable him to make 
 provision for all the vicissitudes of life, and he felt by the institu- 
 tion of a Council of that character, that by friendly negotiations, 
 that by being able to put wages in its proper perspective and rela- 
 tion in the whole interest of the industry, they would gradually, 
 it might be, grope their way, but nevertheless they would ultimately 
 arrive at a standard which more correctly reached the standard which 
 he had in mind. • 
 
 There were, of course, many considerations affecting their daily 
 life. Dr. Addison, of course, quite naturally made reference to the 
 consideration of health and sanitation. He was not competent to 
 speak of those matters in relation to the potting industry, but the 
 approbation with which his observations were received, encouraged 
 him to believe the employers in that district recognized, with him, 
 that the conditions, that the environment in which tliey worked, 
 would very largely determine the spirit of their work and the ef- 
 ficiency that was evolved from it. But they were asking them to 
 recognize that the peoples of that Council represented an ever ex- 
 panding vista; they wanted them to take cognizance of trade as a 
 whole. 
 
 GOVERNMENT OWNEBSHIP 
 
 There were friends of his who were urging that the Government 
 should immediately assume ownership of control of all forms of 
 industry. On hearing them speak, he presumed they regarded them- 
 selves perfectly qualified to manage on behalf of the State the most 
 complex forms of industry. Well, at any rate, he had had this ad- 
 vantage. He had had some slight business training. He managed 
 
522 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 two businesses before he sought the easy and luxurious form of 
 getting a livelihood of a professional politician, and therefore he 
 could appreciate the employers' point of view. And he wanted 
 to tell his fellow workmen that the employers had their difficulties 
 as well as they. Trade did not fall to them just as rain fell from 
 the heavens. It had to be sought for and competed for, and unless 
 they could get it they did not win profits, nor did the workers 
 secure employment and the wages that accrued from their labor. 
 They would see, therefore, that whilst it was very easy to talk about 
 ownership and control of industries it was perhaps not quite so 
 simple as the orator might imagine. (Hear, hear.) But even if 
 they had those aspirations, he respectfully submitted that the Whit- 
 ley Council might be regarded as a university through which they 
 would graduate. And he was certain that as they learned more of 
 the conditions of their industry, certainly it would be that they 
 would be endowed with a keener sense of responsibility, and he 
 rather apprehended that the great enthusiasm which inspired them 
 to make the broader demand might simmer as the experience came 
 to them. 
 
 In this new departure the workmen would have an advantage they 
 never previously possessed. They would come into close touch with 
 employers, and the latter would get to know the workmen's point 
 of view first hand, and they would see and learn from the work- 
 men's representatives that the'workmen were just like the employers 
 — human beings, with a desire for a brighter and fuller life, and 
 who were filled with just as intense a love for their wives and chil- 
 dren. And when the employers understood the workmen and knew 
 their aims and aspirations — ^well, perhaps they would even sympa- 
 thize with those who complained, because in their ignorance they 
 felt the employer might be the enemy standing between them and 
 the fuller life. Employers on the one hand would get to understand 
 the workmen better, and the employer would recognize the fact that 
 he was charged with a duty to do the best possible for those he 
 took into his service. For his own part, if he were an autocrat, if 
 they gave him as much power in this country as the Kaiser had in 
 Germany one of the things he would do as soon as he had won this 
 war would be to lay down this very simple formula, "No man shall 
 take into his service a fellow-man unless he is able and willing to re- 
 ward him with a full living wage." Of course, that was directed 
 against the employer. Now against the workman he would say, 
 "No workman shall be allowed to take up employment at wages less 
 than those agreed by the test of a living wage." And, he believed, 
 if he were able to apply that single formula, he would have done 
 
APPENDIX I 623 
 
 something to add great glory to the traditions of the race to which 
 we were proud to belong. Those were the standards he believed 
 that they would still be able to evolve out of their deliberations. 
 
 THE SHORT CUT TO UTOPIA 
 
 Of course, they must not come into the Whitley Council thinking 
 it would establish an automatic Utopia. Such things could not be. 
 And those who sought to delude their f ellowmen into believing that 
 there was one single panacea which could be applied, which could 
 take them out of this imperfect order of things immediately into 
 a perfect paradise — well it reminded him of the story of the young 
 man who got lost while cycling along a dark country road. Ulti- 
 mately he got to what appeared to be a sign post silhouetted in the 
 darkness. The young man took his lamp off his bicycle and climbed 
 up the post only to find the words "Wet paint." (Laughter.) And 
 thus it would happen that if the masses of the people listened to 
 those who promised them a short cut to Utopia — well then they 
 would find they had been led into the portals of a forlorn hope, and 
 would have to retrace their steps and return to the more matter of 
 fact methods of the Whitley Council. 
 
 Those Councils had almost unlimited possibilities. Dr. Addison 
 had lifted the veil and shown them some of them. He had told 
 them of the great work they might be called upon to undertake in 
 the process of demobilization, and what greater work could men 
 apply themselves to? According to the manner in which we were 
 able to settle those splendid soldiers of ours, so would the future 
 spirit of industry be determined. If we were unable to return them 
 to regular employment, well then they would experience a sense of 
 regret, and ask us what they had been fighting for. We wanted to 
 show them we were going to spend as much concern about returning 
 them to civil life as we spent in persuading them to enlist into those 
 wonderful armies which had constituted one of the world's wonders. 
 (Applause.) He believed that in this district, as well as in many 
 other districts, employers had solemnly undertaken to reinstate many 
 of our soldiers. Dr. Addison and himself rejoiced to know that 
 approximately 60 per cent, of our soldiers had such promises. 
 (Hear, hear.) Many men were being discharged day by day, and 
 he had pleasure in acknowledging this fact that up to the present 
 the employers had fulfilled their undertakings in complete and most 
 honorable fashion. (Applause.) And they believed that would 
 be so throughout the whole of demobilization, but there would be 
 many other questions to consider arising out of this war. 
 
524. MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 THE TRAINING OF MEN 
 
 There was the training of men. They were concerned, of course, 
 in educational matters. (Hear, hear.) They were going to give 
 special consideration to invention and research questions. (Hear, 
 hear.) Why? Because they understood that in future the effleiency 
 of the individual workman would be a world-wide test, and after all 
 he thought they were able to say that we had suffered a good deal 
 in past years because of our neglect of the educational side of in- 
 dustry. (Hear, hear.) He had no desire simply to see a man made 
 a perfect workman. He wanted him to be a good workman and a 
 good citizen. But he recognized, whilst he was anxious for the 
 highest possible form of educational development, he also wanted 
 to see workmen having the greatest possible amount of technical 
 skill, in order that they might prove to be what the British workmen 
 had hitherto shown, the best and most eflBcient workmen by the 
 test of either quality or quantity in production. And after the 
 war they would find that the necessity for increased production 
 would be keener perhaps than any of them appreciated. There 
 were some in their midst who felt that those of them who talked 
 about large output were simply concerned to gull the workman into 
 producing a great deal of wealth for the benefit of others than 
 themselves. He told his friends that much more wealth must be 
 produced after the war if this country had to liquidate its war in- 
 debtedness, and to embark on that great policy of expansion which 
 was necessary if we were to provide security for every family in 
 the land, and whilst he, as a trade unionist, recognized that some of 
 the restrictions we had imposed were to be justified in all times, 
 there were other restrictions which were not so defendable in the 
 national interest. 
 
 MINIMUM STANDARD 
 
 And it was in a Council like that that they would be able dispas- 
 sionately to reveal these matters and if there were restrictions which 
 could not be defended, then the workman would be prepared to re- 
 move them providing he got some compensation for the things he 
 would be called upon to remove. He wanted to see a minimum 
 living standard for every worker in the land, and over and beyond 
 that perfect latitude whereby through the exercise of additional 
 skiU or acquired experience the workman might be fully rewarded 
 and thus be a source of profit to the community. Let them banish 
 from their minds the idea that wages ought to be depressed to the 
 lowest limit. (Hear, hear.) 
 
APPENDIX I 625 
 
 Let every workman be encouraged to earn as much as possible, 
 for by that means something would be done to increase the efficiency 
 of all classes, and it would contribute in a substantial degree to the 
 stability of the country. Dr. Addison had pointed out to them 
 many other things they ought to undertake, and it ought to be very 
 encouraging to them to know — having Dr. Addison's assurance rein- 
 forced by his own — that in the future the Government intended to 
 recognize these Councils as a medium to which they would turn for 
 the purpose of getting guidance in all matters affecting these in- 
 dustries. Whether it be legislatively or administratively, these 
 bodies would take an important part in the affairs of the nation 
 in time to come. 
 
 AN AUTHORITATIVE VOICE 
 
 He was sure that if they could get a powerful authoritative voice 
 coming from a particular industry, even if the things they asked 
 for happened to be heterodox or happened not to compare with the 
 fiscal policy of the party in power, well, no Government could ignore 
 the voice of a trade like the pottery trade. The united voice of in- 
 dustry could ask for anything. He hailed the establishment of that 
 Council, not merely because it represented an idea he had long held, 
 but because it would remove from the cockpit of party politics many 
 questions of industry and we should be able to look at them not from 
 the point of view of party but from the standpoint of each par- 
 ticular industry. 
 
 And so he said that if bodies like that made a representation to 
 any Government with which he was associated, whatever the con- 
 templated changes were, he would recognize they were right and 
 desirable, because those in the industries were most competent to 
 judge of the interests of those industries. (Hear, hear.) He 
 viewed with very great pleasure the establishment of bodies of that 
 character, because they would help to remove from the enervating 
 atmosphere of party politics many things which needed to be placed 
 in their proper perspective and viewed from the standpoint of the 
 best interests of industry, so long as they could be squared with the 
 interest of the community as a whole. 
 
 ATTER-WAR SHORTAGE 
 
 Dr. Addison had made reference to certain important inquiries, 
 on which he would desire to consult them after the war. He had 
 pointed out that owing to the war and the withdrawal from industry 
 in all the belligerent countries of all classes of people, there must 
 be a considerable shortage of materials requisite for industrial af- 
 
526 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 fairs, and that that would require that Dr. Addison, through his 
 Department would appeal for industry to continue under some form 
 of State control for a limited period. Some of them were hoping 
 that it would be a very limited period, but they were all reconciled 
 to the fact that there must be some control for a period after the 
 war. Dr. Addison had also shown to them that this shortage of 
 material would require a measure of rationing in most industries, 
 and he agreed with him that those engaged in the industry were the 
 people best qualified to undertake this very delicate task. Certainly 
 they could do it better than any Government Department. 
 
 If it was that an industry Was unwilling to establish a Council 
 of that character, then the task of rationing would have to be un- 
 dertaken, and the Government would have to do it, whereas the 
 Government had expressed a willingness and a desire that the peo- 
 ple in the industries should do it for themselves. He thought they 
 would find that these Councils were endowed with great responsi- 
 bilities, and that they were fraught with great possibilities. In 
 fact he would be a bold man and require prophetic vision to 
 place any limitation to the possibilities of Councils of that char- 
 acter. He thought these bodies would become more and more woven 
 into the fabric of the future State. 
 
 THE RIGHT END 
 
 He was certain they were beginning at the right end, that right 
 end being the promotion of a better understanding, the establish- 
 ment of a more perfect relationship between employers and em- 
 ployed. He made the prediction that those who had come together 
 in the pottery trade into this movement would never regret that 
 venture, and would look back to that day as a red letter day in the 
 history of the industry. (Hear, hear.) He wanted to add one 
 further word. Let not the employers on the one hand nor the work- 
 people on the other think that the mere establishment of that Council 
 ended all their difficulties. They had simply fashioned the ma- 
 chine that might lighten their difficulties. 
 
 They might clear many obstacles from their path, but it was only 
 proportionately as they were able to knit themselves together and 
 to prove that their respective interests overlapped one another, 
 and that there was no sharp line dividing employers and employed, 
 and that the recognition of each was necessary to the other, and that 
 the interests of each had properly to be safeguarded — ^then, if they 
 did that, though Dr. Addison and himself might not live to see the 
 fruition of the whole of their labors, he honestly believed that when 
 Dr. Addison and himself cleared the political stage, they would 
 
APPENDIX I 527 
 
 recognize that, having been privileged to be associated with the first 
 meeting of that Council, they were in at the beginning of a great 
 movement, which would ultimately effect a better industrial relation- 
 ship throughout the land. In that way they would also be asso- 
 ciated in placing the country on a firmer, fairer, juster basis for all 
 time. (Loud applause.) 
 
 MR. TUNNICLIPFE 
 
 Mr. W. Tunnicliffe (President of the National Pottery Workers' 
 Society) proposed a vote of thanks to Dr. Addison and Mr. Roberts, 
 and referred to their speeches as instructive and inspiring. He said 
 that Dr. Addison need not have any concern about them crushing 
 the consumer, because the potting industry could even now com- 
 mence to pay a decent living wage and a fair profit to those engaged 
 in the industry, without the consumers greatly feeling the _pinch. 
 He wanted to suggest that seeing that that was the birth of the Na- 
 tional Council, Dr. Addison and Mr. Roberts should be recognized 
 as its godfathers, and whenever they had any important things to 
 place before the Government, it would be possible for them to make 
 their presence felt on the Council's behalf. (Hear, hear.) He 
 hoped that the interest in evidence that day was only an earnest of 
 the spirit that was going to pervade the industrial Council in con- 
 nection with the potting industry in the years to come. 
 
 ME. J. C. BAILEY 
 
 Mr. J. C. Bailey said that in this district they had an Arbi- 
 tration and Conciliation Board in existence for some 40 years. It 
 was true there had been short breaks, but even in those times the 
 rules that had governed that board had been largely operative. They 
 had had many disputes and many difficulties to settle, but they had 
 generally been settled not by strikes and lock-outs, but by a cross 
 table conference between employers and men. What had brought 
 the National Council into existence was, in a large measure, the fact 
 that the bulk of the principal firms in the district had been members 
 of the Manufacturers' Association, and they had invariably attended 
 the meetings themselves. On the other hand, the whole of the 
 leaders of the employees had been men who thoroughly understood 
 what they were talking about, and at some time or other earned their 
 livelihood in the industry itself. When he told Dr. Addison and 
 Mr. Roberts that a dozen in the potting trade sometimes comprised 
 72 articles, and that one article might count as two dozens — 
 (laughter) — they would understand that the men who discussed the 
 various differences had to know what they were talking about. 
 
528 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 (Hear, hear.) That had all created the atmosphere which en- 
 abled their good friends Mr. Rowntree, Mr. Wethered, Mr. Clay, and 
 the Master of Balliol to advise them with regard to that Council, 
 and they owed it to them that North Staffordshire had been the first 
 to form a National Council. (Hear, hear.) He was proud the 
 Council had been formed, and they intended to pull all together in 
 the future. (Hear, hear.) There was one word of warning, and 
 that was to ask for the virtue of patience. They had launched that 
 day a vessel, they had appointed a crew, and they had certain ports 
 at which to call. Now, they might not make those ports as quickly 
 as some would think they ought to do, but let them have patience, 
 and so long as they were making progress, let them go on with the 
 scheme and he believed eventually they would get there. (Hear, 
 hear. ) In offering to those gentlemen who took up that scheme their 
 thanks, he hoped that they would be able to look back in years to 
 come and not be sorry for their presence that day and in giving to 
 them the benefit of their addresses. (Applause.) 
 
 The resolution was carried with loud acclamation. 
 
 Dr. Addison said both Mr. Roberts and himself thanked them very 
 much indeed. He need not say more. (Applause.) 
 
 INTERESTING PEBSENTATIONS 
 
 The Chairman said that concluded the meeting, and they now pro- 
 ceeded to an interesting little function. It was felt that the mem- 
 bers of the Council would like to make a presentation to Mr. Rown- 
 tree, Mr. Wethered, and Mr. Clay for the valuable work they had 
 done in connection with the formation of that Council. He asked 
 Mr. Rowntree's acceptance of a basalt bowl and two jasper vases, 
 Mr. Wethered's acceptance of two jasper cases of the "Dancing 
 Hours," and Mr. Clay's acceptance of a china tea set and a bust of 
 Scott in basalt ware. 
 
 Loud applause followed each presentation. 
 
 MB. ROWNTREE 
 
 Mr. Arnold Rowntree, M.P., responding in acceptance of the gift 
 presented to him, said that the suggestion of the joint Council did 
 not come from Mr. Wethered, Mr. Clay and himself, as had been 
 stated. It came first of all from that gathering of the operatives 
 at Lawton Hall, and he and his friends were simply the vehicles 
 by which the suggestion came before the manufacturers, who cor- 
 dially accepted it. Then they all came together at Lawton Hall 
 and made the actual arrangements for carrying the matter to its 
 present stage. He thought the two right honorable gentlemen, to 
 
APPENDIX I 529 
 
 whom they had listened with so much interest, would agree that 
 that was exactly the way they liked things to happen; that it was 
 better for such a movement to be the spontaneous wish of the 
 trade, rather than there should be any undue pressure exerted from 
 the center. 
 
 It was important to remember that it was spontaneous because 
 to him, at any rate, that was such a justification of the greatness 
 of the general principles of the Whitley report. When he had 
 listened to them for four and a half days discussing this question, 
 he was certain when he saw the Whitley report, afterwards, that it 
 was founded on true and correct principles, because he had seen it 
 evolved by them. He did hope that the spirit in which the Council 
 had been formed would pervade its future deliberations. (Hear, 
 hear.) It was essential that whilst they must look to increased pro- 
 duction, and all that kind of thing, still it was essential that we 
 should not let the material side of commerce submerge us, but that 
 all along we should remember that we were dealing with human peiv 
 sons, and that what we wanted was not merely the large amount, 
 but the production of real human citizens. 
 
 TRIBXraE TO CHAIRMAN 
 
 He believed that the result of the Council would be that they 
 would have a far greater pride in their industry, and that they 
 would have a far greater pride in the Potteries as a whole. He did 
 not forget that their Chairman was sitting in the right place. He 
 bore an honored name, which had made the Staffordshire pottery 
 industry famous all over the world. (Hear, hear.) Nor did he 
 forget that it was Major Wedgwood's happy chairmanship at the 
 employers' meeting that got them over many diflBculties, and he 
 was delighted to think that Major Wedgwood was now in the 
 chair, presiding at that first Council meeting, and to think that the 
 Council was going to have the benefit of his personality and his 
 wise guiding spirit. He thanked them for their most generous 
 present, and he could tell them that all through his life he should 
 treasure it as one of the pleasantest and happiest gifts he had ever 
 received. He hoped his uproarious children would not break the 
 "jars" but that they would go down to further generations. (Laugh- 
 ter and applause.) 
 
 Mr. Wethered said he should value the vases very deeply. The 
 three days he spent at Lawton Hall marked an historic occasion, and 
 he took it as a great honor that they should have appointed him 
 an honorary member of that Council. He believed they had taken 
 the first definite step forward in a great policy. They were to be 
 
530 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 congratulated not only in forming the first National Council but in 
 anticipating the Whitley report by two months. (Applause.) 
 
 Mr. Clay said it had been a privilege to be associated with the 
 members of the Council. The idea of the Council was sound, but 
 it was to be regretted that it had taken the war to teach them that 
 they must consolidate their forces to meet with success in the future 
 and to deal properly with the industrial problems that arose. It 
 was essentially the first step of reconstruction. He heartily thanked 
 them for the presents they had so kindly given him. (Applause). 
 
 The members of the Council then adjourned for dinner prior to 
 the evening meeting at the Victoria Hall, Hanley. 
 
APPENDIX J 
 
 TRADE PARLIAMENTS 
 Why They Should Be Foemed 
 
 AND 
 
 How TO Form One in Your Trade 
 
 An Explanation of the Whitley Report 
 TRADE PARLIAMENTS 
 
 THE RECONSTRUCTION OF INDUSTRY BY INDUSTRY ITSELF 
 
 The writer who desires to think accurately on trade questions 
 must start with three simple propositions. In the first place, almost 
 the whole duty of the British nation after the war — Government and 
 people alike — ^may be summed up in the phrase "Political and In- 
 dustrial Reconstruction." With the vast issues involved in political 
 reconstruction this pamphlet has nothing directly to do. It is worth 
 while to remember, however, that th« task of rebuilding the political 
 fabric of the British Empire will be greatly simplified if merchants 
 and manufacturers, business men and working men, can reach some 
 broad basis of agreement about social and economic reconstruction. 
 The purely political work of our statesmen will be much easier if 
 the industrial and trading classes shoulder the main burden of in- 
 dustrial reconstruction themselves. It is the work of these classes 
 to prepare schemes, suggest policies and discuss possible lines of 
 development, leaving to the Government and Parliament in the main 
 the simpler task of putting their plans and ideas into final legisla- 
 tive form. 
 
 THE PROBLEM IS URGENT 
 
 Secondly, the business of industrial reconstruction is urgent. It 
 cannot wait. So essential is it to come to an early understanding 
 about the main principles of industrial policy that even while the 
 book of the war is still unfinished it is necessary to write the first 
 few chapters in the book of peace. To be ready for peace, we 
 
 531 
 
53a MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 must prepare during war. Unless our schemes for industrial re- 
 construction are well under way when peace is declared, our in- 
 dustrial competitors may easily steal a march on us, and a golden 
 opportunity be lost forever. 
 
 INDUSTRY RESPONSIBLE FOR ITS OWN DEVELOPMENT 
 
 In the third place, while industrial reconstruction will be the work 
 of many minds, the direct contribution it is in the power of manu- 
 facturers and workpeople to make towards this great undertaking 
 cannot be over-rated. The statesman can help the matter forward 
 by his administrative ability, his power to see all sides of national 
 life and to blend the valuable parts of historical tradition with the 
 economic requirement of the new national environment. The ideal- 
 ist can help it forward by his dreams of a perfected industrial State. 
 But the principal task must lie in the hands of the practical men of 
 affairs, who have built up our great national trades, who are familiar 
 alike with the present industrial situation and with the needs of the 
 new industrial era on which we are entering. Each trade — that is 
 to say the brain and manual workers in each trade — has got a 
 sphere of almost incalculable importance in creating the new in- 
 dustry of the future. 
 
 THE WHITLEY REPORT 
 
 It is because these facts have been growing on the consciousness 
 of the country that the Whitley Report has aroused such intense in- 
 terest. In the United Kingdom it has been hailed with enthusiasm 
 in every quarter. It has many ardent supporters. It has few open 
 or avowed enemies. In Germany the prospect of British manufac- 
 turers adopting the principles of the Whitley Report is apparently 
 viewed with considerable disquietude. A leading newspaper in 
 South Germany, the "Miinchner Neueste Nachriehten," recently 
 said, in an article on the Report : "The attempts made by the Eng- 
 lish to reform industry deserve consideration by us also, since in 
 the great struggle after the war that nation will certainly come off 
 best which carries over unimpaired from the war period into peace 
 the ideal of work for the common good, and which takes due ac- 
 count not only in politics but in the organization of industry, of the 
 self-consciousness of the people which has grown so immensely 
 during the war. Without losing sight of our own special circum- 
 stances, we have every reason to follow with the greatest attention 
 the development of the situation in England." If this is the typical 
 attitude of our national enemies it is worth while pressing home the 
 moral of the Whitley Report. Although, as has been said, it has 
 
APPENDIX J 533 
 
 its enthusiastic supporters, every new departure must make good 
 its case before a vast army of lukewarm Laodiceans. Mr. Bonar 
 Law has said that we must not spread the redemption of the national 
 debt over a long period of years, but that we must aim at its early 
 reduction to manageable proportions. Similarly it will be of little 
 avail for purposes of reconstruction if we take ten years or a gen- 
 eration to put into practical shape the ideas underlying the Whitley 
 Report. It must be now or never. What, then, is the great idea 
 underlying this historic document? 
 
 ITS BOOT IDEA 
 
 The great conception is that each industry is a unit. An in- 
 dustry is not a collection of individual firms, each of which has 
 no connection, except as a competitor, with all the others. Indus- 
 trial concerns, manufacturing or trading in the same commodity 
 or group of commodities, are not to be regarded as simply or even 
 mainly competing for the supply of the same or adjoining markets. 
 A trade is something bigger and finer than the mere sum of units 
 that compose it. It has its own problems, its own internal questions 
 of organization and methods of production, its own special sources 
 of raw material, its own peculiar diflSculties regarding access to mar- 
 kets, home and foreign, its own particular attitude on the one hand 
 to capital and on the other hand to labor. Turther, each trade 
 stands in a well-defined relation to the State, to the consuming pub- 
 lic, and to the transport and financial system, on which, in the 
 modem industrial world, all trades and businesses depend in the 
 last resort. Hitherto no trade has had a corporate organization. 
 When, as has happened during the war, the Government has de- 
 sired to deal with a trade as a whole, machinery for the purpose has 
 had often to be very hastily improvised. We have seen the ad- 
 vantage of industrial organization during war. It is plain that 
 such organization must have equal, or greater importance in the 
 subsequent time of peace. 
 
 THE ORGANIZATION OF AN INDUSTRIAL COUNCIL 
 
 The form the organization of an industry should take has been 
 called the Industrial Council. Before analyzing its functions, it is 
 necessary to describe how such a Council should be constituted. In 
 the first place it is intended that each Council shall deal with the 
 whole trade or industry and not with any special branch. There 
 cannot be in one trade one Council representing Capital, another 
 representing Management, and a third representing Labor. The 
 whole object in having a Council is to bring together all the factors 
 
534 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 in the trade. A trade does not belong to the Capitalist as suchj nor 
 to Management as such, nor to Labor as such. But all these ele- 
 ments ought to be represented on the Council. Again, a Council 
 should not be composed of representatives of individual capitalists, 
 employers or workpeople. It ought to be an Association of Associ- 
 ations. In other words, it ought to consist of representatives of all 
 the employers' groups and of all the trade unions covered by the 
 particular industry. 
 
 AN ASSOCIATION OP EMPLOTEBS' ASSOCIATIONS AND TRADE UNIONS 
 
 The formation of an Industrial Council does not make the pro- 
 vision of other forms of industrial union less essential. It rather 
 pre-supposes them. Without effective employers' associations, and 
 trade unions it is impossible to form a Council. The wider and the 
 more representative the collection of associations that appoint dele- 
 gates to the Council, the more effective it is likely to be. 
 
 NO INTERFERENCE VTITH THE INDIVIDUAL MANAGEMENT OP INDUSTRIES 
 
 Again, the formation of an Industrial Council will not interfere 
 in the slightest degree with the existing system of business manage- 
 ment by individuals, firms and companies. The State has imposed 
 a large measure of control during war, to which all manufacturers, 
 large or small, have been compelled to conform. After the war 
 there is likely to be an instant and even a peremptory demand that 
 the State should release its grip and allow business to go back into 
 the old channels. Suppose, then, that in a given trade a Council 
 is set up during the war. What will be the position at the end of 
 the war? The Orders and Regulations of Government Departments 
 will gradually be abrogated and disappear. But the individual 
 manufacturer will find the situation very different from what it was 
 before the war. There may very well be a shortage of this or that 
 essential material, old markets may be closed and new markets 
 opened under novel conditions. This or that unexpected emergency 
 may arise. Here the utility of the Industrial Council will appear. 
 In that Council all questions affecting the welfare of the trade will 
 be discussed weekly or fortnightly or monthly as the case may be. 
 The whole experience of the trade, the knowledge of its leading 
 members about general conditions will be open and available to the 
 humblest member of the trade. He will still manage his business 
 himself, but he will have more than his own business ability and 
 knowledge to rely on. He will be able to draw on the whole experi- 
 ence and ability of the trade in order to reduce untoward risks and 
 to eliminate many causes of failure. Or if, in the interests of the 
 
APPENDIX J 535 
 
 whole trade, some forms of regulation must be temporarily main- 
 tained after the war, it is better surely that these regulations should 
 be imposed by the trade itself than by the State. An Industrial 
 Council, properly manned, and with functions corresponding to its 
 own dignity and importance, is a better legislative body in all mat- 
 ters relating to the trade than a Government Department, however 
 well qualified, which has to rely on the opinions and judgment of 
 outsiders. An Industrial Council can speak for the trade. A Gov- 
 ernment Department, at the best, can only accept and act upon the 
 opinions of its own appointed experts whose knowledge may be 
 limited. 
 
 THE REIjATION between THE STATE AND THE INDUSTRIAL COUNCILS 
 
 (1.) An Industrial Council would, then, in a particular industry 
 be composed of representatives of associations of employers and 
 working people, and would constitute an effective parliament or 
 representative body for the discussion of all matters referred to it 
 by agreement or legislative enactment or, in course of time, by the 
 custom of the trade. No Council can be formed without the assent 
 and cooperation of both employers and employed. The larger in- 
 terests of the industry as a whole, as contrasted with the interests 
 of an individual business, are the affair of all who derive their in- 
 come or livelihood from the industry, whether they are paid weekly, 
 monthly, or twice a year. 
 
 (2.) In order to safeguard the interests of the trade, and to deal 
 with special emergencies as they occur, the Council ought to meet 
 frequently. Its discussions must be open to the trade, reports of 
 its proceedings must be widely circulated, and every attempt must 
 be made to inform the whole trade of the results of its deliberations. 
 
 VARIETY OF CONSTITUTION ESSENTIAL 
 
 Within these limits there will be room for a great variety of con- 
 stitution and of methods of conducting the Councils. What is suit- 
 able for one industry will not necessarily be suitable for another in- 
 dustry. The important point is that every industry should have a 
 Council or representative body, and that this body should include 
 both workpeople and employers, and that its proceedings and de- 
 cisions should be fully reported to the trade. 
 
 THE INDUSTRIAL COUNCIL AS A FORUM FOR THE DISCUSSION OF ALL' 
 INDUSTRIAL QUESTIONS 
 
 Mere machinery, it may be said, is quite unimportant. What 
 
536 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 are the Councils to do once they are created? This is a point that 
 is often made, but, in the opinion of the writer, it overlooks one 
 vital fact. The mere creation of a representative body for each 
 industry would be in itself a highly important event. All the 
 authorities on the British Constitution are agreed that it is only one 
 of the functions of Parliament to act as a legislative body. Its 
 main function is to be the forum to which all matters affecting the 
 welfare of the people of the country can be brought for discussion. 
 Similarly an Industrial Council, by acting as a forum for the dis- 
 cussion of all trade questions, will enable all grievances to be ven- 
 tilated and all probable future perils to the industry to be antici- 
 pated, and, if possible, averted. The mere existence of Industrial 
 Councils will give a new status and power to British industry. 
 
 PROBLEMS OF THE TRANSITION PERIOD 
 
 But the question of function, although perhaps subsidiary, is 
 also important. Here the post-war period may be considered as 
 falling into two divisions: (1) the period immediately following the 
 peace — the transition period — and (2) the subsequent period, i.e., 
 the period that will begin when industry shall have again settled 
 down into something like routine. The problems that an Industrial 
 Council will have to meet during the first period are obvious enough. 
 
 (a) DEMOBILIZATION 
 
 There are questions like demobilization. The Government will 
 want to know how many men will be required immediately after peace 
 in a given industry to meet the prospective demand of the consuming 
 public. Some industries are now essential for war purposes, other 
 industries will then be essential for peace purposes. Only a Council 
 representing the whole trade can give the Government the informa- 
 tion it requires or deal with the matter as a whole. 
 
 (b) APPRENTICESHIP 
 
 There is also the question of apprenticeship. Much former cus- 
 tom and usage have been shattered by the war. The temporary 
 adoption of conscription has naturally led to the inadequate train- 
 ing of the younger men and women. How this defective training 
 can be quickly made good, and what conditions of apprenticeship 
 shall be required in the future in view of the changed character of 
 many industries, these are problems on which the Government will 
 require advice that no authority but a representative Council is in a 
 position to offer. The war has taught us much about intensive 
 training and workshop organization. How far are we to profit 
 permanently by these lessons? 
 
APPENDIX J 637 
 
 (c) RAW MATERIALS AND ALLIED QUESTIONS 
 
 Further, there are problems connected with the supply of raw 
 materials and their distribution which can only be dealt with in a 
 similar way. Many others may be suggested. But the desirability, 
 indeed, the absolute necessity, for such Councils wiU be apparent 
 when it is borne in mind that after the war the whole system of 
 international commerce and finance will be in the melting pot. 
 
 (d) THE CONPOSION OP THE TRANSITION PERIOD 
 
 It will be a time of extraordinary confusion. Even the largest 
 and best established industries will have to face tremendous prob- 
 lems. For smaller industries the situation may present irretrievable 
 dangers, unless they organize themselves betimes to ensure that their 
 needs are seriously considered and their place in the industrial sys- 
 tem made thoroughly secure. 
 
 THE PERMANENT PROBLEMS OP INDUSTRY 
 
 In the larger world, however, on which industry will enter after 
 the period of transition is over, these Councils will have an even 
 greater sphere of usefulness. The student of this side of the subject 
 would do well to read Mr. Benn's "Trade of To-morrow." The 
 Whitley Report enumerates a number of matters that may be handed 
 over to the Councils for special consideration and treatment. But 
 the eleven questions suggested as appropriate are merely illustrations 
 of the kind of work such bodies ought to undertake. 
 
 (a) RESEARCH AND EDUCATION 
 
 The provision of new sources of raw materials, the endowment 
 of special research work for making new raw materials available 
 and for reducing the number of processes and of cost in manu- 
 facture, the elaboration of schemes for technical and commercial 
 education, are important objects for which no single manufacturer 
 can provide, but on which the Council might throw much light. 
 
 (b) THE DEVELOPMENT OP EXPORT TRADE 
 
 Further, the development of the export trade, as for instance by 
 the adoption of a better Consular Service or the cooperative employ- 
 ment of commission agents or travelers in foreign countries, these 
 are also matters which would naturaly devolve on the Council. 
 
 (e) HARMONY BETWEEN LABOR AND CAPITAL 
 
 Thirdly, there is the great group of labor questions, on the proper 
 solution of which the whole social structure depends. In this con- 
 
538 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 nection it is necessary to remember two points of surpassing im- 
 portance. The Labor Problem, as it is commonly called, is not 
 simply or even mainly a matter of wages or wage adjustments. It 
 is much rather a question of a consciously felt want of knowledge. 
 The community recognizes the worth and ability of Labor. But 
 Labor feels that many sides of modem industry are a closed book 
 to it. Questions of finance and bookkeeping, the whole commercial 
 and technical side of industry, are beyond its ken. Hence the in- 
 dignant protests of the whole modem Labor movement. It feels 
 itself in the grip of impersonal forces which act blindly, but which 
 it cannot control. Now the individual manufacturer may have a 
 difficulty in acting with labor in such matters in his own individual 
 business. But by giving representatives of Labor seats on the 
 Council Board of an industry the situation will be radically changed. 
 Knowledge of the general conditions of trade, the varying costs of 
 raw materials, the constantly recurring difficulties about finance and 
 transport in backward foreign markets — ^these are just a few illus- 
 trations of the thousand and one difficulties of the modem manu- 
 facturer which Labor will begin to know and appreciate. 
 
 INDUSTRIAL COUNCIIiS SOT WAGES BOAEDS UNDER A NEW NAME 
 
 But again, if the individualistic manufacturer must widen his 
 range of vision to the conception of a trade as a whole, in which 
 Labor is interested jointly with Capital, the idea that an Industrial 
 Council is a new name for a kind of glorified Conciliation Board or 
 Wages Board must also completely disappear. Its objects are not 
 limited to the settlement of wage differences. Nothing need be 
 said against Conciliation Boards or similar bodies. They have done 
 useful service in the past, and they are capable of doing valuable 
 work in the future in a selected number of industries. But to-day, 
 to use a famous phrase of Burke, men's minds are being irresistibly 
 drawn to a higher conception of the part which Labor and Capital 
 can jointly play in shaping and controlling the industry of the fu- 
 ture. In this connection it is very important to remember the sub- 
 heading in Section 16 of the Whitley Report, which suggests for 
 special mention as falling to Industrial Councils such subjects as the 
 better utilization of the practical knowledge and experience of the 
 workpeople, and of inventions and improvements designed by work- 
 people, and the cooperation of the workpeople in carrying into effect 
 new ideas about the organization of industry and the improvement 
 of processes. 
 
APPENDIX J 5S9 
 
 AN INDUSTRY NOT A COLLECTION OF SEPARATE FIRMS 
 
 All this is important because an industry must be considered, 
 as has already been said, as something more than a collection of in- 
 dividual firms. Each industry has a common viewpoint, common 
 problems, common interests. The manufacturer A.B. may have his 
 special interests, which differ from those of CD., E.F., or G.H. 
 But besides these special interests of individual concerns there are 
 involved in every industry common objects or interests, and in the 
 discussion of these general problems in a large and statesmanlike 
 way, Labor is as much concerned as Capital. Indeed, it will prob- 
 ably surprise many employers when they first sit round a Council 
 Board to discuss with representatives of Labor the fundamental 
 problems of the industry, to discover how many ideas of substantial 
 worth Labor has to contribute towards their solution. 
 
 THE CORPORATE INTERESTS OF INDUSTRY IN ITS SPECIAL PROBLEMS 
 
 The modem industrial problem is too big for the small employers; 
 it is too big for the larger employers, or even for all employers to- 
 gether. It demands a cooperative effort on the part of the best 
 brains of Labor as well as of Capital and Management. Such ability 
 will best be put at the service of industry through the establishment 
 of Industrial Councils in every industry. 
 
 It only remains, in conclusion, to point out the supreme advantages 
 to be gained by creating these Councils. 
 
 IMPROVED SOCIAL STATUS OF THE INDUSTRIAL CLASSES 
 
 (1) They will eliminate the false distinction so often drawn be- 
 tween trade and the professions. Lawyers, doctors, and clergymen, 
 through their own organizations or guilds, have a definite profes- 
 sional status conferred on them by the State and recognized by the 
 general community, in virtue of which they all feel that in doing 
 their ordinary work they are rendering an important national service. 
 Trade is also a national service. By organizing industries in great 
 National Councils, not only manufacturers and traders, but the 
 artizans, and all ranks in industry would feel that they, too, were 
 professional men, performing work of national moment. To arouse 
 a real esprit de corps in industry will be a substantial national gain. 
 
 THE PLACE OF INDUSTRY IN THE COMMUNITY 
 
 (2) An industry knows its own needs better than any Grovemment 
 or outside body. By setting up Industrial Councils we shall make 
 each industry, as it were, a self-conscious body, without in the least 
 
540 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 detracting from the overriding aathority of the State. Every in- 
 dustry will then for the first time have a recognized place in the body 
 politic. In this way also a new spirit will be created in each trade. 
 It will have a new sense of its own value and importance to the 
 community. 
 
 THE ADVANTAGE OF INDUSTRIAL COUNCILS TO THE STATE 
 
 (3) The state will also have a definite advantage, inasmuch as 
 for the first time it will have a single organization to approach in 
 all matters relating to a particular industry. Hitherto no one body 
 has been in a position to voice the needs or desires of a given trade. 
 The new arrangement will tend to greater simplification and ease of 
 working. The old multiplication of authorities will disappear, and 
 the adjustment of questions between an industry and the Government 
 of the day wiU be more smoothly and rapidly effected. 
 
 THE SELF-DEVELOPMENT OP EACH INDUSTRY 
 
 (4) An Industrial Council will prepare the way for the self- 
 development of each industry. Any persons with new ideas regard- 
 ing the better working of trade, better methods of production, new 
 processes, will have a responsible body to whom they can go. The 
 industry as a whole will have an organ for its own improvement. 
 And the control of that organ will rest not in the hands of a Gov- 
 ernment Department, but with the members of the trade itself. 
 Bach industry will in a sense run itself and be responsible for its 
 adaptation to the requirements of each new situation that arises. 
 
 A STEPPING STONE, TOWARDS INDUSTRIAL RECONSTRUCTION 
 
 (5) Last, but by no means least, the establishment of Industrial 
 Councils will go a long way to reconcile the divergent interests of 
 Labor and Capital. It will be the death blow of the persistent 
 fallacy that Labor is only interested in wages and Capital in profits. 
 The employer and the wage-earner will meet at the Council Board 
 not merely to discuss an increase or reduction of a halfpenny an 
 hour in the remuneration of Labor, but to consider the development 
 and the needs of the whole industry. Both sides in the age-long 
 economic conflict have an equal interest in the growth of their in- 
 dustry and in the discussion of its varied problems. What the fu- 
 ture relationships between Capital and Labor may be, time alone 
 can decide. Meantime the opportunity is open for an immense 
 stride forward. Let us seize it at once and work with both hands 
 earnestly to lay the foundations of a new era in the wonderful his- 
 tory of British trade and industry. 
 
APPENDIX J 641 
 
 REPORT OF THE 
 INDUSTRIAL RECONSTRUCTION COUNCIL 
 
 Report for the Year December, 1917-1918 
 
 The close of this eventful and wonderful year brings also to an 
 end the first year's work of the Industiial Reconstruction Council. 
 The Council was founded in December, 1917, as a propagandist 
 body for the encouragement of the Trade Parliament movement, 
 and for the education of the business and general community to a 
 new conception of industry and to a true appreciation of the indus- 
 trial situation. The success which has attended all our efforts, the 
 crowded audiences at our meetings, the eager requests for our speak- 
 ers, the almost embarrassing demand upon our literature, are a 
 measure of the universal interest now taken in Industrial Recon- 
 struction and an indication of the real progress which the move- 
 ment for Industrial Self-Govemment has made. 
 
 In our last Report, published at the half-year, it was stated that 
 there was hsirdly any trade that had not accepted the underljdng 
 principles of the Whitley Report. Before reviewing in detail the 
 activities of the I.R.C., to which we venture to attribute a leading 
 share in this result, it may be useful to give a list of the joint bodies 
 now actually in existence and already at work on the problems of 
 reconstruction and industrial development. It will be remembered 
 that these are of three types : — 
 
 (a) Industrial Councils, established under the aegis of the Min- 
 istry of Labor in trades already well-organized on both 
 sides. 
 
 (b) Interim Industrial Reconstruction Committees, formed with 
 the help of the Ministry of Reconstruction in trades where 
 the degree of organization is not sufficient for the adoption 
 of the Constitution of an Industrial Council. These Com- 
 mittees are in all cases encouraging organization in their 
 respective trades, and will eventually transform themselves 
 into Industrial Councils. 
 
 (c) Trade Boards, set up by the Ministry of Labor in trades 
 where the organization on the workers' side is poor and the 
 wages are low. These bodies have done and are doing 
 good work, but in so far as they are imposed by the 
 Government upon a trade, with the primary function of 
 settling rates of pay, they cannot be placed in the same 
 category with the other two classes of bodies which are 
 created by the initiative of the trades themselves, and are 
 
542 
 
 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 concerned not so much with the questions of wages and 
 profits as with the welfare and development of the indus- 
 try as a whole. It is hoped that as the status and organi- 
 zation of an industry improve, the Trade Board may be 
 superseded by an Interim Committee or an Industrial 
 Council, 
 (d) Provisional Committees which have been formed to draft 
 constitutions for Joint Industrial Councils. 
 Joint bodies in one or other of these categories now exist in the 
 
 following trades. Whatever the of&cial title, most of them look 
 
 upon themselves as Trade Parliaments: — 
 
 Artificial Stone. 
 
 Baking. 
 
 Basket-making. 
 
 Blacksmiths and Farriers. 
 
 Bobbin and Shuttlemaking. 
 
 Boot and Shoe Trades. 
 
 Brass and Copper Trades. 
 
 Brush-making. 
 
 Building. 
 
 Cable-making. 
 
 Catering. 
 
 Cement. 
 
 Chain-making. 
 
 Chemicals (Heavy). 
 
 China Clay. 
 
 Clay. 
 
 Cocoa, Chocolate, Sugar 
 
 Confectionery and Jam. 
 Commercial Boad Transport. 
 Coopering. 
 Cotton. 
 Cutlery. 
 
 Electrical Contracting. 
 Electricity, Power and Supply. 
 Envelopes and Manufactured 
 
 Stationery. 
 Fertilizers. 
 Furniture. 
 Furniture, Warehoasing and 
 
 Removing. 
 Glass. 
 Gloves. 
 
 Gold, Silver, Horological and Al- 
 lied Trades. 
 
 Hollo w- ware ( Wrought ) . 
 
 Hosiery. 
 
 Hosiery (Scottish Section). 
 
 Iron and Steel Trades. 
 
 Lace Finishing. 
 
 Leather Goods and Belting. 
 
 Leather Production. 
 
 Linen and Cotton Embroidery. 
 
 Lock, Safe and Latch. 
 
 Matches. 
 
 Metallic Bedsteads. 
 
 Musical Trades. 
 
 Newspapers. 
 
 Packing Case Making. 
 
 Paint and Varnish. 
 
 Papermaking. 
 
 Paper and Cardboard Box-mak- 
 ing. 
 
 Patent Fuel. 
 
 Pottery. 
 
 Printing. 
 
 Quarrying. 
 
 Railway Carriage and Wagon 
 Building. 
 
 Roller Engraving. 
 
 Rubber. 
 
 Sawmilling. 
 
 Shipbuilding. 
 
 Shirt-making. 
 
 Silk. 
 
APPENDIX J 
 
 Sugar Refining. 
 
 Surgical Instruments. 
 
 Tailoring. 
 
 Tin Box and Canister Making. 
 
 Tin Mining. 
 
 Tramways. 
 
 Vehicle Building. 
 
 Waterworks. 
 Wire Manufacturing. 
 Woolen and Worsted. 
 Woolen and Worsted 
 (Scottish Section). 
 Zinc and Spelter. 
 
 With negotiations now being carried on in every industry in the 
 country, frequent additions to this list may be expected, and we 
 may look forward with every hope to the establishment of a com- 
 plete system of Industrial Self-Govemment which will enable British 
 Industry to compete fairly and successfully with that of any other 
 nation in the world. 
 
APPENDIX K 
 
 RULES FOR WORKING THE HANS RENOLD SHOP 
 STEWARDS COMMITTEE 
 
 1. — A representative may be appointed by and from each de- 
 partment to act as Shop Stewards, who shall retire at the end of 
 twelve months, but shall be eligible for reelection. Small Depart- 
 ments to be grouped and 2nd Ballot to be taken if no candidate 
 receives clear majority. Any department may appoint a provisional 
 to act in the absence of their elected representative. 
 
 2. — In addition to the above, a Chairman and Secretary, inde- 
 pendent of any one department, shall be elected at the Annual Meet- 
 ing, which shall be held in January. They shall act for twelve 
 months, and shall not be eligible for reelection to either of these 
 offices for a period of twelve months, but shall be eligible for elec- 
 tion as Shop Steward. 
 
 3. — The Shop Stewards shall be members of a recognized Trade 
 Union or a similar organization, and shall as near as possible repre- 
 sent all grades of labor. 
 
 4. — They shall meet regularly once a month, and on other neces- 
 sary occasions when summoned by the Secretary. 
 
 5. — At the first meeting after election they shall elect from their 
 own number an executive of seven including Chairman and Secre- 
 tary, whose duties shall include attendance at joint meetings held 
 regularly with the Management, to discuss business brought before 
 the full Committee. 
 
 6. — The Chairman and Secretary shall perform all such duties as 
 come within the scope of their respective offices, and together shall 
 be the recognized means of discussion with the Management upon 
 a request from either side for an interview. 
 
 7. — The representative of any department whose case is to be dis- 
 cussed with the Management must accompany the deputation to the 
 Management, whether he be a member of the Executive or not. 
 
 8. — The Shop Stewards shall require all in their department to 
 produce their contribution card once every three months, and no 
 business shall be brought before the Committee on behalf of a non- 
 unionist. 
 
 544 
 
APPENDIX K 545 
 
 9. — No drastic action shall be taken in any part of the works, un- 
 less so decided by a two-thirds majority of a general meeting called 
 for that purpose, unless such action has been ordered by the Trades' 
 Union concerned. 
 
 10. — A copy of these rules shall be supplied at cost price to each 
 one working in a department represented on the Shop Stewards 
 Committee. 
 
APPENDIX L 
 
 WORKSHOP COMMITTEES 
 
 Suggested Lines op Development 
 By C. G. Renold 
 
 PREFACE 
 
 Some time ago I was asked to prepare a memorandum on the 
 subject of Workshop Committees, for presentation to the British 
 Association, as a part of the report of a special Sub-committee study- 
 ing Industrial Unrest. The following pages contain the gist of that 
 memorandum, and are now issued in this form for the benefit of 
 some of those interested in the problem who may not see the orig- 
 inal report. 
 
 I have approached the subject with the conviction that the work- 
 er's desire for more scope in his working life can best be satisfied 
 by giving him some share in the directing of it; if not of the work 
 itself, at least of the conditions under which it is carried out. I 
 have tried, therefore, to work out in some detail the part which or- 
 ganizations of workers might play in works administration. And 
 believing as I do, that the existing industrial system, with all its 
 faults and injustices, must still form the basis of any future system, 
 I am concerned to show that a considerable development of joint 
 action between management and workers is possible, even under 
 present conditions. 
 
 Many of the ideas put forward are already incorporated to a 
 greater or lesser degree in the institutions of these works, but these 
 notes are not intended, primarily, as an account of our experiments, 
 still less as a forecast of the future plans of this firm. Our own 
 experience and hopes do however, form the basis of much here 
 written, and have inevitably influenced the general line of thought 
 followed. 
 
 C. G. Renold, 
 Hans Renold, Limited, 
 Manchester 
 546 
 
APPENDIX L 547 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 INTBODUCTION 
 
 SECTION I 
 
 Scope of Workers' Shop Organizations; Management questions which 
 could be devolved, wholly or in. part. 
 
 1. Questions in connection with which Shop Organizations would pri- 
 marily benefit the Workers. 
 
 (a) Collective Bargaimng. 
 ( 6 ) Orievances. 
 
 (c) General Shop Conditions and Amenities. 
 
 (d) General Social Amenities. 
 
 2. Questions on which joint discussion would primarily be of advan- 
 tage to the Management. 
 
 (a) Interpretation of Management to Workers. 
 
 ( 6 ) Education in Shop Processes amd Trade Technique. 
 
 (c) Promotion. 
 
 (d) Education in General Business Questions. 
 
 SECTION 11 
 
 Types of Organization. 
 
 1. Requirements to be satisfied. 
 
 (a) Keeping in Touch with the Trade Union. 
 (6) Representation of all Grades. 
 
 (c) Touch with Management. 
 
 (d) Rapidity of Action. 
 
 2. Influence of various industrial conditions on the type of organiza- 
 tion of Shop Committees. 
 
 (a) Type of Labor. 
 
 (b) Stability and Regularity of Employment. 
 
 (c) Elaboration of Management Organization. 
 
 3. Some Schemes suggested. 
 
 (o) Shop Stewards' Committee. 
 
 (b) Social Union. 
 
 (c) Welfare Committee. 
 
 SECTION in 
 
 Summary and Conclusions of Sections I and II 
 
 SECTION IV 
 
 Comments on Working. 
 
 1. Relation with Shop Foremen. 
 
 2. Provision of facilities for committee work. 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 Throughout the following notes it is assumed that the need is 
 realized for a new orientation of ideas with regard to industrial 
 
548 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 management. It is further assumed that the trend of such ideas 
 must be in the direction of a devolution of some of the functions and 
 responsibilities of management on to the workers themselves. These 
 notes, therefore, are concerned mainly with considering how far this 
 devolution can be carried under present conditions, and the neces- 
 sary machinery for enabling it to operate. 
 
 Before passing, however, to detailed schemes, it is worth con- 
 sidering briefly what the aims of this devolution are. 
 
 It must be admitted that the conditions of industrial life fail to 
 satisfy the deeper needs of the workers, and that it is this failure, 
 even more than low wages, which is responsible for much of their 
 general unrest. Now the satisfaction to be derived from work de- 
 pends upon its being a means of self-expression. This again de- 
 pends on the power of control exercised by the individual over the 
 materials and processes used, and the conditions under which the 
 work is carried out, or in the case of complicated operations, where 
 the individual can hardly be other than a "cog in the machine," — 
 on the willingness, understanding, and imagination with which he 
 undertakes such a role. In the past the movement in industry, in 
 this respect, has been all in the wrong direction, namely, a continual 
 reduction of freedom, initiative, and interest, involving an accentua- 
 tion of the "cog-in-the-machine" status. Moreover, it has too often 
 produced a "cog" blind and unwilling, with no perspective or under- 
 standing of the part it plays in the general mechanism of produc- 
 tion, or even in any one particular series of operations. 
 
 Each successive step in the splitting up and specializing of opera- 
 tions has been taken with a view to promoting efficiency of pro- 
 duction, and there can be no doubt that efficiency, in a material sense, 
 has been achieved thereby, and the productivity of industry greatly 
 increased. This has been done, however, at the cost of pleasure and 
 interest in work, and the problem now is how far these could be 
 restored, as, for instance, by some devolution of management re- 
 sponsibility on to the workers, and how far such devolution is pos- 
 sible under the competitive capitalist system, which is likely to dom- 
 inate industry for many long years to come. 
 
 Under the conditions of capitalist industry any scheme of devolu- 
 tion of management can only stand provided it involves no net loss 
 of productive eflBciency. It is believed, however, that even within 
 these limits, considerable progress in this direction is possible, doubt- 
 less involving some detail loss, but with more than compensating 
 gains in general efficiency. In this connection it must be remem- 
 bered that the work of very many men, probably of most, is given 
 more or less unwillingly, and even should the introduction of more 
 
APPENDIX L 549 
 
 democratic metliods of business management entail a certain amount 
 of loss of mechanical efficiency, due to the greater cumbersomeness 
 of democratic proceedings, if it can succeed in obtaining more will- 
 ing work and cooperation, the net gain in productivity would be 
 enormous. 
 
 Important and urgent as is this problem of re-arranging the ma- 
 chinery of management, to enable responsibility and power to be 
 shared with the workers, another and preliminary step is even more 
 pressing. This is the establishing of touch and understanding be- 
 tween employer and employed, between management and worker. 
 Quite apart from the many real grievances under which workers in 
 various trades are suffering at the present time, there is a vast 
 amount of bad feeling, due to misunderstanding, on the part of 
 each side, of the aims and motives of the other. Each party, be- 
 lieving the other to be always ready to play foul, finds in every move 
 easy evidence to support its bitterest suspicions. The workers are 
 irritated beyond measure by the inefficiency and blundering in or- 
 ganization and management which they detect on every side, and 
 knowing nothing of business management cannot understand or 
 make allowance for the enormous difficulties under which employers 
 labor at the present time. Similarly, employers are too ignorant 
 of trade union affairs to appreciate the problems which the present 
 "lightning transformation" of industry present to those responsible 
 for shaping trade union policy; nor is the employer generally in 
 close enough human touch to realize the effect of the long strain of 
 war work, and of the harassing restrictions of personal liberty. 
 
 More important therefore than any reconstruction of management 
 machinery, more important even than the remedying of specific 
 grievances, is the establishing of some degree of ordinary human 
 touch and sympathy between management and men. 
 
 This also has an important bearing on any discussion with re- 
 gard to developing machinery for joint action. It cannot be em- 
 phasized too strongly that the hopefulness of any such attempt lies, 
 not in the perfection of the machinery, nor even in the wideness of 
 the powers of self-government granted to the workers, but in the 
 degree to which touch and, if possible, friendliness can be estab- 
 lished. It should be realized, for instance, by employers, that time 
 spent on discussing and ventilating alleged grievances which turn 
 out to be no grievances, may be quite as productive of understanding 
 and good feeling as the removal of real grievances. 
 
 Passing now to constructive proposals for devolution of man- 
 agement, the subject is here dealt with mainly in two stages. 
 
 Under Section I, some of the functions of management which 
 
550 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 most concern the workers are considered, with a view to seeing how 
 far the autocratic (or bureaucratic) secrecy and exclusiveness which 
 usually surround business management, as far as workers are con' 
 cemed, is really unavoidable, or how far it could be replaced by 
 democratic discussion and joint action. The conclusion is that there 
 is no reason inherent in the nature of the questions themselves why 
 this cannot be done to a very considerable extent. 
 
 Section II deals with the second stage referred to, and considers 
 the machinery needed to make such joint action, as is suggested in 
 Section I, workable — a very different matter from admitting that 
 in itself it is not impossible! The apparent complication of such 
 machinery is doubtless a difSculty, but it is not insuperable, and is 
 in practice less formidable than it seems at first sight. It must be 
 realized, however, that the degree of elaboration of the machinery 
 for joint working, adopted by any particular industry or firm, 
 must be in relation to the elaboration of the existing management 
 system. It would be quite impossible for many of the refinements 
 of discussion and joint action suggested to be adopted by a firm 
 whose ordinary business organization was crude, undeveloped, and 
 unsystematic. This point is more fully dealt with in this section. 
 
 Section III contains a summary of the scheme of Committees 
 contained in Section II, showing the distribution to each committee 
 of the various questions discussed in Section I. 
 
 In Section IV some comments are made, based on actual experi- 
 ence of an attempt to institute machinery of the kind discussed, 
 and some practical hints are given which may be of assistance to 
 others. 
 
 Section I 
 
 SCOPE 0¥ workers' SHOP ORGANIZATIONS; MANAGEMENT QUESTIONS 
 WHICH COULD BE DEVOLVED, VTHOLLY OR IN PART 
 
 It is proposed in this section to consider the activities which or- 
 ganizations of workers within the workshop might undertake with- 
 out any radical reorganization of industry. What functions and 
 powers, usually exercised by the management, could be devolved on 
 to the workers, and what questions, usually considered private by 
 the management, could be made the subject of explanation and con- 
 sultation? The number of such questions as set out in this sec- 
 tion may appear very formidable, and is possibly too great to be 
 dealt with, except by a very gradual process. No thought is given 
 at this stage, however, to the machinery which would be necessary 
 for achieving so much joint working, the subject being considered 
 
APPENDIX L 551 
 
 rather with a view to seeing how far, and in what directions, the 
 inherent nature of the questions themselves would make it possible 
 or advisable to break down the censorship and secrecy which sur- 
 round business management. 
 
 In the list which follows, obviously not all questions are of equal 
 urgency, those being most important which provide means of con- 
 sultation and conciliation in regard to such matters as most fre- 
 quently give rise to disputes, namely, wage and piece-rate questions, 
 and to a lesser degree, workshop practices and customs. Any 
 scheme of joint working should begin with these matters, the others 
 being taken over as the machinery settles down and it is found 
 practicable to do so. How far any particular business can go will 
 depend on the circumstances of the trade, and on the type of or- 
 ganization in operation. 
 
 Though machinery for conciliation in connection with existing 
 troubles, such as those mentioned, must be the first care, some of the 
 other matters suggested in this section — e.g., safety and hygiene, 
 shop amenities, etc. — should be dealt with at the earliest possible 
 moment. Such subjects, being less controversial, offer an easier 
 means of approach for establishing touch and understanding be- 
 tween managers and men. 
 
 The suggestions in this section are divided into two main groups, 
 but this division is rather a matter of convenience than an indica- 
 tion of any vital difference in nature. The suggestions are ar- 
 ranged in order of urgency, those coming first where the case for 
 establishing a workers' shop organization is so clear as to amount to 
 a right, and passing gradually to those where the case is more and 
 more questionable. The first group, therefore, contains all those 
 items where the case is clearest and in connection with which the 
 immediate benefits would fall to the workers. The second group 
 contains the more questionable items, which lie beyond the region 
 where the shoe actually pinches the worker. These questions are 
 largely educational, and the immediate benefit of action, considered 
 as a business proposition, would accrue to the management through 
 the greater understanding of management and business difficulties 
 on the part of the workers. 
 
 1. Questions in connection with which Shop Organizations would 
 
 primarily benefit the Workers. 
 
 This group deals with those matters where the case for establish- 
 ing shop organizations, to meet the need of the workers, is clearest, 
 (a) Collective Bargaining. 
 
 There is a need for machinery for carrying this function of the 
 
552 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 trade union into greater and more intimate workshop detail than 
 is possible by any outside body. A workshop organization might 
 supplement the ordinary trade union activities in the following 
 directions : — 
 
 1. Wages. 
 
 (Note. — General standard rates would be fixed by negotiation 
 with the trade union for an entire district, not by committees of 
 workers in individual works.) 
 
 To ensure the application of standard rates to individuals, to 
 see that they get the benefit of the trade union agreements. 
 
 Where a scale of wages, instead of a single rate, applies to a 
 class of work (the exact figure varying according to the experi- 
 ence, length of service, etc., of the worker) to see that such scales 
 are applied fairly. 
 
 To see that promises of advances (such as those made, for in- 
 stance, at the time of engagement) are fulfilled. 
 
 To see that apprentices, on completing their time, are raised to 
 the standard rate by the customary or agreed steps. 
 
 2. Tieee-Worh Bates. 
 
 (It is assumed that the general method of rate fixing — e.g., the 
 adoption of time study or other method — would be settled with the 
 local trade unions.) 
 
 To discuss with the management the detailed methods of rate 
 fixing, as applied either to individual jobs or to particular classes 
 of work. 
 
 Where there is an agreed relation between time rates and piece 
 rates as, for instance, in engineering, to see that individual piece 
 rates are so set as to yield the standard rate of earning. 
 
 To discuss with the management reduction of piece rates where 
 these can be shown to yield higher earnings than the standard. 
 
 To investigate on behalf of the workers complaints as to in- 
 ability to earn the standard rate. For this purpose all the data 
 and calculations, both with regard to the original setting of the 
 rate and with regard to time booking on a particular job, would 
 have to be open for examination. 
 
 Note. — It is doubtful whether a shop committee, on account of 
 its cumbersomeness, could ever handle detail, individual rates, except 
 where the jobs dealt with are so large or so standardized as to make 
 the number of rates to be set per week quite small. A better plan 
 would be for a representative of the workers, preferably paid by 
 them, to be attached to the rate-fixing department of a works, to 
 check all calculations, and to look after the workers' interests gen- 
 
APPENDIX L 553 
 
 erally. He would report to a shop committee, whose discussions 
 with the management would then be limited to questions of principle. 
 
 3. Watching the Application of Special Legislation, Awards, or 
 Agreements — e.g.. 
 
 Munitions of War Act, Dilution, Leaving Certificates, etc. 
 Recruiting, Exemptions. 
 
 After-War-Arrangements, Demobilization of War Industries, 
 Restoration of Trade Union Conditions, etc. 
 
 4. Total Hours of Work. 
 
 To discuss any proposed change in the length of the standard 
 week. This could only be done by the workers' committee of an 
 individual firm, provided the change were within the standards 
 fixed by agreement with the local union or those customary in the 
 trade. 
 
 5. New Processes or Change of Process. 
 
 Where the management desire to introduce some process which 
 will throw men out of employment, the whole position should be 
 placed before a shop committee to let the necessity be understood, 
 and to allow it to discuss how the change may be brought about 
 with the least hardship to individuals. 
 
 6. Grades of Worker for Types of Machine. 
 
 Due to the introduction of new types of machines, and to the 
 splitting up of processes, with the simplification of manipulation 
 sometimes entailed thereby, the question of the grade of worker to 
 be employed on a given type of machine continually arises. Many 
 such questions are so general as to be the subject of trade union 
 negotiation, but many more are quite local to particular firms. 
 Tor either kind there should be a works committee vrithin the 
 works to deal with their application there. 
 
 (b) Grievances. 
 
 The quick ventilating of grievances and injustices to individuals 
 or to classes of men, is of the greatest importance in securing good 
 feeling. The provision of means for voicing such complaints acts 
 also as a check to petty tyranny, and is a valuable help to the higher 
 management in giving an insight into what is going on. 
 
 A shop committee provides a suitable channel in such cases as 
 the following: — 
 
 Alleged petty tyranny by foremen. 
 
 Hard cases arising out of too rigid application of rules, etc. 
 
 Alleged mistakes in wages or piece work payments. 
 
 Wrongful dismissal, e.g., for .alleged disobedience, etc., etc. 
 
554 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 In all cases of grievances or complaints it is most important that 
 the body bringing them should be of sufficient weight and standing 
 to speak its mind freely, 
 (c) General Shop Conditions and Amenities. 
 
 On all those questions which affect the community life of the fac- 
 tory, the fullest consultation is necessary, and considerable self- 
 government is possible. 
 
 The following indicate the kind of question: — 
 
 1. Shop Rules. 
 
 Restriction of smoking. 
 Tidiness, cleaning of machines, etc. 
 Use of lavatories and cloakrooms. 
 Provision, care, and type of overalls. 
 Time-booking arrangements. 
 Wage-paying arrangements, etc., etc. 
 
 2. Maintenance of Discipline. 
 
 It should be possible to promote such a spirit in a works that, 
 not only could the workers have a say in the drawing up of Shop 
 Rules, but the enforcing of them could also be largely in their 
 hands. This would be particularly desirable with regard to : — 
 
 Enforcing good time-keeping. 
 
 Maintaining tidiness. 
 
 Use of lavatories and cloakrooms. 
 
 Promoting a high standard of general behavior. 
 
 Etc., etc. 
 
 3. Working Conditions. 
 
 Meal hours, starting and stopping times. 
 Arrangements for holidays, etc. 
 Arrangement of shifts, night work, etc. 
 
 4. Accidents and Sickness. 
 
 Safety appliances and practices. 
 
 Machine guards, etc. 
 
 Administration of First Aid. 
 
 Rest room arrangements. , 
 
 Medical examination and advice. 
 
 5. Dining Service. 
 
 Consultation re requirements. 
 Criticisms of and suggestions re service. 
 Control of discipline and behavior. 
 Seating arrangements, etc. 
 
APPENDIX L 655 
 
 6. Shop Comfort and Hygiene. 
 
 Suggestions re temperature, ventilation, washing accommo- 
 dation, drying clothes, etc. 
 Provision of seats at work, where possible. 
 Drinking water supply. 
 
 7. Benevolent Work. 
 
 Shop collections for charities or hard cases among fellow 
 workers. 
 
 Sick Club, Convalescent Home, etc. 
 Saving Societies. 
 (d) General Social Amenities. 
 
 A works tends to become a center of social activities having no 
 direct connection with its work, for example: — 
 Works Picnics. 
 
 Games, e.g., Cricket, Football, etc. 
 Musical Societies. 
 Etc., etc. 
 These should all be organized by committees of the workers and 
 not by the management. 
 
 2. Questions on which joint discussion would primarily he of ad- 
 vantage to the Management. 
 
 In this group are those questions with regard to which there is 
 no demand put forward by the workers, but where discussion and 
 explanation on the part of the management would be desirable, 
 and would tend to ease some of the difficulties of management. 
 The institution of works committees would facilitate discussion and 
 explanation in the following instances: — 
 (a) Interpretation of Management to Workers. 
 
 In any case of new rules or new developments, or new workshop 
 policy, there is always the greatest difficulty in getting the rank and 
 file to understand what the management is "getting at." However 
 well-meaning the change may be as regards the workers, the mere 
 fact that it is new and not understood is likely to lead to opposi- 
 tion. If the best use is made of committees of workers, such 
 changes, new developments, etc., would have been discussed, and 
 explained to them, and it is not too much to expect that the mem- 
 bers of such committees would eventually spread a more correct 
 and sympathetic version of the management's intentions among 
 their fellow-workers than these could get in any other way. 
 (5) Education in Shop Processes and Trade Technique. 
 
 The knowledge of most workers is limited to the process with 
 which they are concerned, and they would have a truer sense of 
 
656 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 industrial problems if they understood better the general technique 
 of the industry in which they are concerned, and the relation of their 
 particular process to others in the chain of manufacture from raw 
 material to finished article. 
 
 It is possible that some of this education should be undertaken 
 by technical schools, but their work in this respect can only be of 
 a general nature, leaving still a field for detailed teaching which 
 could only be undertaken in connection with an individual firm, or 
 a small group of similar firms. Such education might well begin 
 with the members of the committee of workers, though if found 
 feasible it should not stop there, but should be made general for the 
 whole works. Any such scheme should be discussed and worked 
 out in conjunction with a committee of workers, in order to obtain 
 the best from it. 
 (c) Promotion. 
 
 It is open to question whether the filling of any given vacancy 
 could profitably be discussed between the management and the 
 workers. 
 
 In connection with such appointments as shop foremen, where 
 the position is filled by promoting a workman or "leading hand," 
 it would at least be advisable to announce the appointment to the 
 workers' committee before making it generally known. It might 
 perhaps be possible to explain why a particular choice had been 
 made. This would be indicated fairly well by a statement of the 
 qualities which the management deemed necessary for such a post, 
 thereby tending to head off some of the jealous disappointment 
 always involved in such promotions, especially where the next in 
 seniority is not taken. 
 
 It has of course been urged, generally by extremists, that work- 
 men should choose their own foremen by election, but this is not 
 considered practical politics at present, though it may become pos- 
 sible and desirable when workers have had more practice in the 
 exercise of self-management to the limited degree here proposed. 
 
 One of the difficulties involved in any general discussion of pro- 
 motions, is the fact that there are so many parties concerned, and 
 all from a different point of view. For example, in the appoint- 
 ment of a foreman, the workers are concerned as to how far the 
 new man is sympathetic and helpful, and inspiring to work for. 
 The other foremen are concerned with how far he is their equal in 
 education and technical attainments, social standing, length of 
 service, i.e., as to whether he would make a good colleague. The 
 manager is concerned, among other qualities, with his energy, loy- 
 alty to the fltrm, and ability to maintain discipline. Each of these 
 
APPENDIX L 557 
 
 three parties is looking for three different sets of qualities, and it 
 is not often that a candidate can be found to satisfy all. Whose 
 views then should carry most weight — the men's, the other fore- 
 men's, or the manager's? 
 
 It is quite certain, however, that it is well worth while making 
 some attempt to secure popular understanding and approval of 
 appointments made, and a worker's committee offers the best op- 
 portunity for this. 
 
 It would be possible to discuss a vacancy occurring in any grade 
 with all the others in that grade. For example, to discuss with all 
 shop foremen the possible candidates to fill a vacancy among the 
 foremen. This is probably better than no discussion at all, and 
 the foremen might be expected, to some extent, to reflect the feeling 
 among their men. Here again, the establishing of any such scheme 
 might well be discussed with the committee of workers. 
 (d) Education in General Business Questions. 
 
 This point is still more doubtful than the preceding. Employers 
 continually complain that the workers do not understand the re- 
 sponsibilities and the risks which they, as employers, have to carry, 
 and it would seem desirable therefore to take some steps to enable 
 them to do so. In some directions this would be quite feasible, e.g.: 
 
 1. The reasons should be explained and discussed for the establish- 
 ment of new works departments, or the re-organization of ex- 
 isting ones, the relation of the new arrangement to the general 
 manufacturing policy being demonstrated. 
 
 2. Some kind of simplified works statistics might be laid before a 
 committee of workers. For example: 
 
 Output. 
 
 Cost of new equipment installed. 
 
 Cost of tools used in given period. 
 
 Cost of raw material consumed. 
 
 Numbers employed. 
 
 Amount of bad work produced. 
 
 3. Reports of activities of other parts of the business might be 
 laid before them : 
 
 1. From the commercial side, showing the difficulties to be 
 met, the general attitude of customers to the firm, etc. 
 
 2. By the chief technical departments, design office, labora- 
 tory, etc., as to the general technical developments or diffi- 
 culties that were being dealt with. Much of such work need 
 not be kept secret, and would tend to show the workers that 
 other factors enter into the production of economic wealth 
 besides manual labor. 
 
558 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 4. Simple business reports, showing general trade prospects, 
 might be presented. These are perhaps most diQcult to give, 
 in any intelligible form, without publishing matter which every 
 management would object to showing. Still, the attempt would 
 be well worth making, and would show the workers how nar- 
 row is the margin between financial success and failure on 
 which most manufacturing businesses work. Such statistics 
 might, perhaps, be expressed not in actual amounts but as 
 proportions of the wages bill for the same period. 
 
 Section II 
 
 TYPES OF ORGANIZATION 
 
 Having dealt in the previous section with the kinds of questions, 
 which, judged simply by their nature, would admit of joint discus- 
 sion or handling, it is now necessary to consider what changes are 
 needed in the structure of business management to carry out such 
 proposals. The development of the necessary machinery presents 
 very considerable difficulties on account of the slowness of action 
 and lack of executive precision which almost necessarily accom- 
 pany democratic organization, and which it is the express object of 
 most business organizations to avoid. 
 
 The question of machinery for joint discussion and action is con- 
 sidered in this section in three aspects: — 
 
 1. The requirements which such machinery must satisfy. 
 
 2. The influence of various industrial conditions on the type of 
 machinery likely to be adopted in particular trades or works. 
 
 3. Some detailed suggestions of shop committees of varying scope. 
 
 1. Requirements to be satisfied 
 (a) Keeping in Touch with the Trade Union. 
 
 It is obvious that no works committee can be a substitute for the 
 trade union, and no attempt must be made by the employer to use 
 it in this way. To allay any trade union suspicion that this is the 
 intention, and to ensure that the shop committee links up with the 
 trade union organization, it would be advisable to see that the trade 
 union is represented in some fairly direct manner. This is spe- 
 cially important for any committee dealing with wages, piece work 
 and such other working conditions as are the usual subject of trade 
 union action. 
 
 In the other direction, it will be necessary for the trade unionists 
 to develop some means of working shop committees into their scheme 
 of organization, otherwise there will be the danger of a works com- 
 
APPENDIX L 559 
 
 mittee, able to act more quickly through being on the spot, usurping 
 the place of the local district committee of the trade unions. 
 
 (6) Representation of all Grades. 
 
 The desirability of having all grades of workers represented on 
 works committees is obvious, but it is not always easy to carry out 
 owing to the complexity of the distribution of labor in most works. 
 Thus, it is quite common for a single department, say in an engi- 
 neering works, to contain several grades of workers, from skilled 
 tradesmen to laborers, and possibly women. These grades will be- 
 long to different unions, and there may even be different, and per- 
 haps competing, unions represented in the same grade. Many of 
 the workers also will not be in any union at all. 
 
 (c) Touch with Management. 
 
 As a large part of the aim of the whole development is to give 
 the workers some sense of management problems and point of view, 
 it is most desirable that meetings between works committees and 
 management should be frequent and regular, and not looked on 
 merely as means of investing grievances or deadlocks when they 
 arise. The works committee must not be an accidental excrescence 
 on the management structure, but must be worked into it so as to 
 become an integral part, with real and necessary functions. 
 
 (d) Rapidity of Action. 
 
 Delays in negotiations between employers and labor are a constant 
 source of irritation to the latter. Every effort should be made to 
 reduce them. Where this is impossible, due to the complication of 
 the questions involved, the works committee should be given enough 
 information to convince it of this, and that the delay is not a de- 
 liberate attempt to shirk the issue. 
 
 On the other hand, the desire to attain rapidity of action should 
 not lead to haphazard and "scratch" discussions or negotiations. 
 These will only result in confusion, owing to the likelihood that 
 some of those who ought to take part or be consulted over each 
 question will be left out, or have insufficient opportunity for weigh- 
 ing up the matter. The procedure for working with or through 
 works committees must, therefore, be definite and constitutional, so 
 that every one knows how to get a grievance or suggestion put for- 
 ward for consideration, and every one concerned will be sure of re- 
 ceiving due notice of the matter. 
 
 The procedure must not be so rigid, however, as to preclude 
 emergency negotiations to deal with sudden crises. 
 
560 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 2. Influence of various industrial conditions on the type of organic 
 
 zation of Shop Committees. 
 
 There is no one type of shop committee that will suit all condi- 
 tions. Some industries can develop more easily in one direction 
 and some in another, and in this subsection are pointed out some 
 of the conditions which are likely to influence this, 
 (a) Type of Labor. 
 
 The constitution of works committees, or the scheme of commit- 
 tees, which will suitably represent the workers of any particular 
 factory, will depend very largely on the extent to which different 
 trades and different grades of workers are involved. 
 
 In the simplest kind of works, where only one trade or craft is 
 carried out, the workers, even though of different degrees of skill, 
 would probably all be eligible for the same trade union. In such 
 a case a purely trade union organization, but based of course on 
 works departments, would meet most of the requirements, and would 
 probably, in fact, be already in existence. 
 
 In many works, however, at least in the engineering industry, a 
 number of different "trades" are carried on. Tor instance, turn- 
 ing, automatic machine operating, blacksmithing, pattern-making, 
 foundry work, etc. Many of these trades are represented by the 
 same trade union, though the interests of the various sections are 
 often antagonistic, e.g., in the case of turners and automatic ma- 
 chine operators. Some of the other trades mentioned belong to 
 different unions altogether. In addition to these "tradesmen," will 
 be found semi-skilled and unskilled laborers. For the most part 
 these will belong to no union, though a few may belong to laboring 
 unions which, however, have no special connection with the engi- 
 neering unions. In addition to all these, there may be women, whose 
 position in relation to men's unions is still uncertain, and some of 
 whose interests will certainly be opposed to those of some of the 
 men. 
 
 The best way of representing all these different groups will de- 
 pend on their relative proportion and distribution in any given 
 works. Where women are employed in any considerable numbers, 
 it will probably be advisable for them to be represented inde- 
 pendently of the men. For the rest it will probably be necessary 
 to have at least two kinds of works committees: one representing 
 trade unionists as such, chosen for convenience by departments, the 
 other representing simply works departments. The first would deal 
 with wages and the type of question usually forming the subject of 
 discussion between employers and trade unions. The other would 
 deal with aU other workshop conditions. The first, being based on 
 
APPENDIX L 561 
 
 trade unions, would automatically take account of distinctions be- 
 tween different trades and different grades, whereas the second 
 would be dealing with those questions in which such distinctions do 
 not matter very much. 
 
 (6) Stability and Regularity of Employment. 
 
 Where work is of an irregular or seasonal nature and workers 
 are constantly being taken on and turned off, only the very simplest 
 kind of committee of workers would be possible. In such industries 
 probably nothing but a trade union organization within the works 
 would be possible. This would draw its strength from the existence 
 of the trade union outside, which would, of course, be largely inde- 
 pendent of trade fluctuations, and would be able to reconstitute the 
 works committee as often as necessary, thus keeping it in existence, 
 even should most of the previous members had been discharged 
 through slackness. 
 
 (c) Elaboration of Management Organization. 
 
 The extent to which management functions can be delegated, or 
 management questions and policy be discussed with the workers, de- 
 pends very largely on the degree of completeness with which the 
 management itself is organized. Where this is haphazard and man- 
 agement consists of a succession of emergencies, only autocratic 
 control is possible, being the only method which is quick-acting and 
 mobile enough. Therefore, the better organized and more con- 
 stitutional (in the sense of having known rules and procedures) the 
 management is, the more possible is it for policy to be discussed with 
 the workers. 
 
 3. Some schemes suggested. 
 
 The following suggestions for shop organizations of workers are 
 intended to form one scheme. Their individual value, however, 
 does not depend on the adoption of the scheme as a whole, each be- 
 ing good as far as it goes. 
 
 (a) Shop Stewards Corrwnittee. 
 
 As pointed out in the last sub-section, in a factory where the 
 trade union is strong, there will probably be a shop stewards or 
 trade union committee already in existence. This is, of course, a 
 committee of workers only, elected generally by the trade union 
 members in the works, to look after their interests and to conduct 
 negotiations for them with the management. Sometimes the stew- 
 ards carry out other purely trade union work, such as collecting 
 subscriptions, obtaining new members, explaining union rules, etc. 
 
562 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 Such a committee is the most obvious and simplest type of works 
 committee, and where the composition of the shop is simple, i.e., 
 mainly one trade, with no very great differences in grade, a shop 
 stewards committee could deal with many of the questions laid down 
 as suitable for joint handling. 
 
 It is doubtful, however, whether a shop stewards committee can, 
 or should, cover the full range of workers' activities, except in the 
 very simplest type of works. The mere fact that, as a purely trade 
 union organization, it will deal primarily with wages and piece- 
 work questions, will tend to introduce an atmosphere of bargaining, 
 which would make the discussion of more general questions very dif- 
 ficult. Further, such a committee would be likely to consider very 
 little else than the interests of the trade union, or of themselves as 
 trade unionists. While this is no doubt quite legitimate as regards 
 such questions as wages, the more general questions of workshop 
 amenities should be considered from the point of view of the works 
 as a community in which the workers have common interests with 
 the management in finding and maintaining the best conditions pos- 
 sible. Moreover, in many shops, where workers of widely differing 
 grades and trades are employed, a shop stewards committee is not 
 likely to represent truly the whole of the workers, but only the 
 better organized sections. 
 
 The shop stewards committee, in the engineering trade at least, 
 is fairly certain to constitute itself without any help from the man- 
 agement. The management should hasten to recognize it, and give 
 it every facility for carrying on its business, and should endeavor 
 to give it a recognized status and to impress it with a sense of re- 
 sponsibility. 
 
 It would probably be desirable that shop stewards should be 
 elected by secret ballot rather than by show of hands in open meet- 
 ing, in order that the most responsible men may be chosen, and not 
 merely the loudest talkers or the most popular. It seems better, 
 also, that stewards should be elected for a certain definite term, 
 instead of holding office, as is sometimes the case now, until they 
 resign, leave the firm, or are actually deposed. The shop stewards 
 committee, being primarily a workers' and trade union affair, both 
 these points are outside the legitimate field of action of the manage- 
 ment. The latter's willingness to recognize and work through the 
 committee should, however, confer some right to make suggestions 
 even in such matters as these. 
 
 The facilities granted by the management might very well include 
 a room on the works premises in which to hold meetings, and a place 
 to keep papers, etc. If works conditions make it difficult for the 
 
APPENDIX L 563 
 
 stewards to meet out of work hours, it would be well to allow them 
 to hold committee meetings in working hours at recognized times. 
 The management should also arrange periodic joint meetings with 
 the committee, to enable both sides to bring forward matters for 
 discussion. 
 
 The composition of the joint meeting between the committee of 
 shop stewards and the management is worth considering shortly. 
 In the conception here set forth, the shop stewards committee is a 
 complete entity by itself; it is not merely the workers' section of 
 some larger composite committee of management and workers. 
 The joint meetings are rather in the nature of a standing arrange- 
 ment on the part of the management for receiving deputations from 
 the workers. For this purpose, the personnel of the management 
 section need not be fixed, but could well be varied according to the 
 subjects to be discussed. It should always include, however, the 
 highest executive authority concerned with the works. For the rest, 
 there might be the various departmental managers, and, sometimes, 
 some of the foremen. As the joint meeting is not an instrument 
 of management, taking decisions by vote, the number of the man- 
 agement contingent does not really matter, beyond assuring that all 
 useful points of view are represented. 
 
 Too much importance can hardly be laid on the desirability of 
 regular joint meetings, as against ad hoe meetings called to discuss 
 special grievances. According to the first plan, each side becomes 
 used to meeting the other in the ordinary way of business, say, once 
 a month, when no special issue is at stake, and no special tension 
 is in the air. Each can hardly fail to absorb something of the 
 other's point of view. At a special ad hoc meeting on the other 
 hand, each side is apt to regard as its business, not the discussion 
 of a question on its merits, but simply the making out of a case. 
 And the fact that a meeting is called specially means that expecta- 
 tions of results are raised among the other workers, which make it 
 difficult to allow the necessary time or number of meetings for the 
 proper discussion of a complicated question. 
 
 Where women are employed in considerable numbers along with 
 men, the question of their representation by stewards becomes im- 
 portant. It is as yet too early to say how this situation can best be 
 met. If they are eligible for membership of the same trades unions 
 as the men, the shop stewards committee might consist of repre- 
 sentatives of both. But, considering the situation whict will arise 
 after the war, when the interests of the men and of the women will 
 often be opposed, this solution does not seem very promising at 
 present. 
 
564. MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 Anotlier plan would be for a separate women's shop stewards 
 committee to be formed, which would also meet the management 
 periodically and be, in fact, a duplicate of the men's organization. 
 It would probably also hold periodic joint meetings with the men's 
 committee, to unify their policies as far as possible. This plan is 
 somewhat cumbersome, but it seems to be the only one feasible at 
 present on account of the divergence of interest and the very dif- 
 ferent stage of development in organization of men and women. 
 
 (b) Social Union. 
 
 Some organization for looking after recreation is in existence in 
 many works, and if not, there is much to be said for the institution 
 of such a body as the social union here described. 
 
 Although the purpose which calls together the members of a works 
 community is, of course, not the fostering of social life and ameni- 
 ties, there is no doubt that members of such communities do attain a 
 fuller life and more satisfaction from their association together, 
 when common recreation is added to common work. It may, of 
 course, be urged, against such a development of community life in 
 industry, that it is better for people to get away from their work 
 and to meet quite another set in their leisure times. This is no 
 doubt true enough, but the number of people who take advantage 
 of it is probably very much less than would be affected by social 
 activities connected with the works. The development of such ac- 
 tivities will, in consequence, almost certainly have more effect in 
 spreading opportunities for fuller life than it will have in restrict- 
 ing them. Moreover, if the works is a large one, the diffrences in 
 outlook between the various sections are perhaps quite as great as 
 can be met with outside. For this reason, the cardinal principle for 
 such organizations is to mix up the different sections and grades, 
 especially the works and the office departments. 
 
 The sphere of the social union includes all activities other than 
 those affecting the work for which the firm is organized. This 
 sphere being outside the work of the firm, the organization should 
 be entirely voluntary and in the hands of the workers, though the 
 management may well provide facilities such as rooms and playing 
 fields. 
 
 Two main schemes of organization are usual. In the first a 
 general council is elected by the members, or, if possible, by all the 
 employees, irrespective of department or grade. This council is 
 responsible for the general policy of the social union, holds the 
 funds, and undertakes the starting and supervising of smaller or- 
 ganizations for specific purposes. Thus, for each activity a club 
 
APPENDIX L 365 
 
 or society would be formed under the auspices of the council. The 
 clubs would manage their own affairs and make their own detail 
 arrangements. 
 
 It is most desirable that the social union should be self-supporting 
 as far as running expenses go, and should not be subsidized by the 
 management, as is sometimes done. A small subscription should be 
 paid weekly by every member, such subscription admitting them 
 to any or all clubs. The funds should be held by the council, and 
 spent according to the needs of the various clubs, not according to 
 the subscriptions traceable to the membership of each. This is 
 very much better than making the finances of each club self-support- 
 ing, since it emphasizes the "community" feeling, is very simple, 
 and enables some forms of recreation to be carried on which could 
 not possibly be made to pay for themselves. 
 
 The second general type of social union organization involves 
 making the clubs themselves the basis. Each levies its own sub- 
 scriptions and pays its own expenses, and the secretaries of the clubs 
 form a council for general management. This is a less desirable 
 arrangement because each member of the council is apt to regard 
 himself as there only to look after the interests of his club, rather 
 than the whole. The starting of new activities is also less easy 
 than under the first scheme. 
 
 (c) "Welfare Committee. 
 
 The two organizations suggested so far, viz., shop stewards com- 
 mittee and social union, do not cover the whole range of functions 
 outlined in Section I. In considering how much of that field still 
 remains to be covered, it is simplest first to mark off, mentally, the 
 sphere of the social union, viz., social activities outside working 
 hours. This leaves clear the real problem, viz., all the questions 
 affecting the work and the conditions of work of the firm. These 
 are then conceived as falling into two groups. First there are 
 those questions in which the interests of the workers may be op- 
 posed to those of the employer. These are concerned with such 
 matters as wage and piece rates, penalties for spoiled work, etc. 
 With regard to these, discussion is bound to be of the nature of 
 bargaining, and these are the field for the shop stewards committee, 
 negotiating by means of the periodical joint meetings with the man- 
 agement. 
 
 There remains, however, a second class of question, in which 
 there is no clash of interest between employer and employed. These 
 are concerned mainly with regulating the "community life" of the 
 works, and include aU questions of general shop conditions and 
 
566 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 amenities, and the more purely educational matters. For dealing 
 with this group a composite committee of management and work- 
 ers, here called the Welfare Committee, is suggested. 
 This would consist of two parts: — 
 
 1. Representatives elected by workers. 
 
 2. Nominees of the management. 
 
 The elected side might well represent the oflBces, both technical 
 and clerical, as well as the works, and members would be elected by 
 departments, no account being taken of the various grades. Where 
 women are employed, it would probably be desirable for them to 
 elect separate representatives. If they are in departments by them- 
 selves, this would naturally happen. If the departments are mixed, 
 the men and women of such departments would each send repre- 
 sentatives. 
 
 The trade union or unions most concerned with the work of the 
 firm should be represented in some fairly direct way. This might 
 be done in either of two ways: 
 
 1. If a shop stewards committee exists, it might be asked to send 
 one or more representatives. 
 
 2. Or each of the main trade unions represented in the works 
 might elect one or more representatives to represent their 
 members as trade unionists. 
 
 The management section should contain, in general, the highest 
 members of the management who concern themselves with the run- 
 ning of the works; it would be no use to have here men in subor- 
 dinate positions, as much of the discussion would deal with matters 
 beyond their jurisdiction. Moreover, the opportunity for the higher 
 management to get into touch with the workers would be too im- 
 portant to miss. It is doubtful whether there is any need for the 
 workers' section of the welfare committee to meet separately, though 
 there is no objection to this if thought desirable. In any case a 
 good many questions can be handed over by the joint meeting to sub- 
 committees for working out, and such sub-committees can, where 
 desirable, consist entirely of workers. 
 
 It may be urged that the welfare committee is an unnecessary 
 complication, and, either that its work could be carried out by the 
 shop stewards committee or that the work of both could be handled 
 by a single composite shop committee of management and workers. 
 In practice, however, a committee of the workers sitting separately 
 to consider those interests that are, or appear to be, opposed, with 
 regular deputations to the management, and a composite committee 
 of workers and management sitting together to discuss identical 
 interests would seem the best solution of a difftcult problem. 
 
APPENDIX L 567 
 
 Everything considered, therefore, there seems, in many works at 
 least, to be a good ease for the institution of both organizations, 
 that of the shop stewards and that of the welfare committee. The 
 conditions making the latter desirable and possible would seem to 
 be:— 
 
 1. A management suflSciently methodical and constitutional to 
 make previous discussion of developments feasible. 
 
 2. The conditions of employment fairly stable. 
 
 3. The trades and grades included in the shop so varied and inter- 
 mixed as to make representation by a committee of trade union 
 shop stewards incomplete. 
 
 Section III 
 
 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS OP SECTIONS I AND II 
 
 Gathering together the views and suggestions made in the forego- 
 ing pages; it is felt that three separate organizations within the 
 works are necessary to represent the workers in the highly developed 
 and elaborate organisms which modem factories tend to become. 
 
 It is not suflBcient criticism of such a proposal to say that it is 
 too complicated. Modem industry is complicated and the attempt 
 to introduce democratic ideas into its governance will necessarily 
 make it more so. As already pointed out, the scheme need not be 
 accepted in its entirety. Tor any trade or firm fortunate enough to 
 operate under simpler conditions than those here assumed, only 
 such of the suggestions need be accepted as suit its case. 
 
 The scope of the three committees is shown by the following sum- 
 mary : — 
 
 (a) Shop Stewards Committee. 
 Sphere. Controversial questions where interests of employer and 
 
 worker are apparently opposed. 
 Constitution. Consists of trade unionist workers elected by works 
 departments. 
 
 Sits by itself, but has regular meetings with the management. 
 Examples of questions dealt with: 
 Wage and piece rates. 
 
 The carrying out of trade union agreements. 
 Negotiations re application of legislation to the workers repre- 
 sented, e.g., dilution, exemption from recruiting. 
 
 The carrying out of national agreements re restoration of 
 trade union conditions, demobilization of war industries, etc. 
 Introduction of new processes. 
 
668 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 Ventilation of grievances re any of above. 
 Etc., etc. 
 
 (6) Welfare Committee. 
 Sphere. "Community" questions where there is no clash between 
 
 interests of employer and worker. 
 Constitution. Composite committee of management and workers, 
 with some direct representation of trade unions. 
 
 Sits as one body, with some questions relegated to sub-com- 
 mittees, consisting either wholly of workers or of workers and 
 management, according to the nature of the case. 
 Examples of Questions dealt with: 
 Shop rules. 
 
 Such working conditions as starting and stopping times, meal 
 hours, night shift arrangements, etc. 
 Accident and sickness arrangements. 
 Shop comfort and hygiene. 
 
 Benevolent work such as collections for charities, hard cases 
 of illness or accident among the workers. 
 Education schemes: 
 Trade technique. 
 New works developments. 
 Statistics of works activity. 
 Business outlook. 
 Promotions — explanation and, if possible, consultation. 
 Ventilation of grievances re any of above. 
 
 (c) Social Union. 
 Sphere. Social amenities, mainly outside working hours. 
 Constitution. Includes any or all grades of management and 
 workers. 
 
 Governing body elected by members irrespective of trade, 
 grade, or sex. 
 
 Examples of Activities. 
 
 Institution of clubs for sports — cricket, football, swimming, 
 etc. 
 
 Recreative societies — orchestral, choral, debating, etc. 
 Arranging social events — picnics, dances, etc. 
 Provision of games, library, etc., for use in meal hours. 
 Administration of club rooms. 
 
APPENDIX L 569 
 
 Section IV 
 
 COMMENTS ON WORKING 
 
 An attempt to institute a scheme of shop committees on the gen- 
 eral lines of those here described, revealed certain difficulties, of 
 which the following are instances. 
 
 1. Relations with Shop Foremen 
 
 If a works committee is to deal with the actual conditions under 
 which work is carried on, and if its work is to be real, there is every 
 possibility of friction arising, due to the committee infringing the 
 sphere of authority of the shop foremen. Not only will specific 
 complaints and objections regarding actions or decisions of fore- 
 men be brought up, but more general questions of shop manage- 
 ment will be discussed, on which the foremen would naturally ex- 
 pect to be consulted, previously to their men. Some of these difB- 
 culties would be lessened if the foremen were members of the works 
 committees, but this seems hardly possible, except in very small 
 works. 
 
 It must never be forgotten that the foremen have definite manage- 
 ment functions to perform which cannot be discharged if their au- 
 thority is continually called in question, or if they are continually 
 harassed by complaints behind their backs. Nor can they have any 
 prestige if arrangements or rules affecting their control or method 
 of management are made without them having their full share in the 
 discussion of them. The difficulty arises, therefore, how on the 
 one hand, to maintain the foremen's position as a real link in the 
 chain of executive authority, and on the other hand to promote direct 
 discussion between the workers and the higher management. The 
 solving of this difficulty depends to some extent at least on the 
 devising of suitable procedure and machinery for keeping all grades 
 of management in touch with each other, and for confining the 
 activities of the works committees to fairly definite and known 
 spheres. 
 
 The exact nature of this machinery would depend on the organ- 
 ization of each particular firm. It will, in general, be advisable to 
 lay down that previous notice shall be given of all subjects to be 
 brought up at a works committee meeting, so that a full agenda may 
 be prepared. This agenda should then be circulated freely among 
 the shop foremen, and other grades of management, so that they 
 may know what is going forward. Full minutes of the proceedings 
 of all meetings should be kept, and these again should be circu- 
 lated to all grades of management. 
 
 To facilitate such arrangements it may be advisable for the 
 
570 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 management to provide a secretary whose duties would be twofold; 
 the preparation of the agenda, and the writing out and following 
 up of the minutes. In making out the agenda the secretary should 
 make full inquiries with regard to all subjects brought forward by 
 workers, and should prepare a short statement of each case to issue 
 with the agenda. The secretary in circulating the agenda would 
 then be able to learn, from the foremen and others, to what extent 
 each was interested or concerned in any particular item. Those 
 specially concerned might then be invited to attend the meeting to 
 take part in the discussion. If a foreman intimated that he had 
 decided views on some subject and wished them to be taken into 
 account, discussion at the meeting should be of preliminary nature 
 only and limited to eliciting the full case as seen by the workers. 
 Further discussion with the committee would be reserved until the 
 management had had time to consult the foremen or others con- 
 cerned. 
 
 The certainty, on the part of all grades of management, that no 
 subject would be discussed of which they had not had notice; the 
 privilege of having final discussion of any subject postponed, pend- 
 ing the statement of their views; and finally the circulation of all 
 minutes, showing what took place at the meetings, should go a long 
 way to making the works committees run smoothly. 
 
 2. Provision of facilities for committee work 
 
 For any recognized works committees, the management should see 
 that they have such facilities put at their disposal as will enable 
 them to carry out their work, and will give them standing and au- 
 thority in the works community. In the case of committees dealing 
 with social work outside the direct work of the shop, all meetings 
 and work can be expected to take place outside working hours. 
 This should also apply in a general way to meetings of shop stew- 
 ards or of the welfare committee, but it may happen, as for instance 
 where a night-shift is being worked, that it is almost impossible for 
 the members to get together except at some time during working 
 hours. In such cases permission should be given for meetings at 
 regular stated times, say once a fortnight, or once a month, and the 
 attendance at these meetings would be considered part of the or- 
 dinary work of the members, and they would be paid accordingly. 
 Where possible, however, it is very much better for meetings to be 
 arranged entirely outside working hours, in which case no payment 
 should be ofEered, the work being looked on as in the nature of 
 voluntary public work. 
 
 A committee room should be provided, and in the case of the 
 
APPENDIX L 571 
 
 welfare committee, the secretary might also be provided by the 
 management. For firms suitably placed it is most desirable that 
 a playing field should be provided, suitably laid out for various 
 games. Rent can be asked for it by the management if thought 
 desirable and can be paid by a social union such as that described 
 here. In the case of all kinds of recognized works committees the 
 thing to aim at is to make their work an integral part of the organi- 
 zation of the works community, providing whatever facilities are 
 needed to make it effective. On the other hand anything like sub- 
 sidizing of works committees by the management must be avoided. 
 
 THE LABOR PARTY 
 
 CONSTITUTION 
 
 (Adopted at the London Conference, February, 2Qth, 1918) 
 
APPENDIX M 
 LABOR PARTY CONSTITUTION 
 
 1. — Name 
 The Labor Party. 
 
 2. — Membership 
 
 The Labor Party shall consist of all its aflSliated organizations, ^ 
 together with those men and women who are individual members of 
 a Local Labor Party and who subscribe to the Constitution and 
 Program of the Party. 
 
 3. — Pabty Objects 
 national 
 
 (a) To organize and maintain in Parliament and in the country 
 a Political Labor Party, and to ensure the establishment of a Local 
 Labor Party in every County Constituency and every Parliamentary 
 Borough, with suitable divisional organization in the separate con- 
 stituencies of Divided Boroughs; 
 
 (6) To cooperate with the Parliamentary Committee of the Trades 
 Union Congress, or other Elindred Organizations, in joint political 
 or other action in harmony with the Party Constitution and Stand- 
 ing Orders; 
 
 (c) To give effect as far as may be practicable to the principles 
 from time to time approved by the Party Conference; 
 
 (d) To secure for the producers by hand or by brain the full 
 fruits of their industry, and the most equitable distribution thereof 
 that may be possible, upon the basis of the common ownership of 
 the means of production and the best obtainable system of popular 
 administration and control of each industry or service; 
 
 (e) Generally to promote the Political, Social, and Economic 
 Emancipation of the People, and more particularly of those who 
 depend directly upon their own exertions by hand or by brain for 
 the means of life. 
 
 INTER-DOMINION 
 
 (/) To cooperate with the Labor and Socialist organizations in 
 the Dominions and Dependencies with a view to promoting the pur- 
 
 1 Trade Unions, Socialist Societies, Cooperative Societies, Trades 
 Councils, and Local Labor Parties. 
 
 572 
 
APPENDIX M 673 
 
 poses of the Party and to take common action for the promotion of 
 a higher standard of social and economic life for the working popu- 
 lation of the respective countries. 
 
 INTERNATIONAL 
 
 (g) To cooperate with the Labor and Socialist organizations in 
 other countries, and to assist in organizing a Tederation of Nations 
 for the maintenance of Freedom and Peace, for the establishment 
 of suitable machinery for the adjustment and settlement of Interna- 
 tional Disputes by Conciliation or Judicial Arbitration, and for such 
 International Legislation as may be practicable. 
 
 4. — Party Program 
 
 (a) It shall be the duty of the Party Conference to decide, from 
 time to time, what specific proposals of legislative, financial, or ad- 
 ministrative reform shall receive the general support of the Party, 
 and be promoted, as occasion may present itself, by the National 
 Executive and the Parliamentary Labor Party : provided that no such 
 proposal shall be made definitely part of the General Program of 
 the Party unless it has been adopted by the Conference by a majority 
 of not less than two-thirds of the votes recorded on a card vote. 
 
 (6) It shall be the duty of the National Executive and the Parlia- 
 mentary Labor Party, prior to every General Election, to define 
 the principal issues for that Election which in their judgment should 
 be made the Special Party Program for that particular Election 
 Campaign, which shall be issued as a manifesto by the Executive to 
 all constituencies where a Labor candidate is standing. 
 
 (e) It shall be the duty of every Parliamentary representative of 
 the Party to be guided by the decision of the meetings of such 
 Parliamentary representatives, with a view to giving effect to the 
 decisions of the Party Conference as to the General Program of the 
 Party. 
 
 5. — The Party Conference 
 
 1. The work of the Party shall be under the direction and control 
 of the Party Conference, which shall itself be subject to the Con- 
 stitution and Standing Orders of the Party. The Party Conference 
 shall meet regularly once in each year, and also at such other times 
 as it may be convened by the National Executive. 
 
 2. The Party Conference shall be constituted as follows: — 
 
 (a) Trade Unions and other societies affiliated to the Party may 
 
 send one delegate for each thousand members on which fees are paid. 
 
 (6) Local Labor Party delegates may be either men or women 
 
574 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 resident or having a place of business in the constituency they rep- 
 resent, and shall be appointed as follows : — 
 
 In Borough and County Constituencies returning one Member to 
 Parliament, the Local Labor Party may appoint one delegate. 
 
 In undivided Boroughs returning two Members, two delegates 
 may be appointed. 
 
 In divided Boroughs one delegate may be appointed for each 
 separate constituency within the area. The Local Labor Party 
 within the constituency shall nominate and the Central Labor Party 
 of the Divided Borough shall appoint the delegates. In addition 
 to such delegates, the Central Labor Party in each Divided Borough 
 may appoint one delegate. 
 
 An additional woman delegate may be appointed for each con- 
 stituency in which the number of affiliated and individual women 
 members exceeds 500. 
 
 (c) Trades Councils under Section 8, clause c, shall be entitled 
 to one delegate. 
 
 (d) The members of the National Executive, including the Treas- 
 urer, the members of the Parliamentary Labor Party, and the duly- 
 sanctioned Parliamentary Candidates shall be ex-officio members of 
 the Party Conference, but shall, unless delegates, have no right to 
 vote. 
 
 6. — The National Executive 
 
 (a) There shall be a National Executive of the Party consisting 
 of twenty-three members (including the Treasurer) elected by the 
 Party Conference at its regular Annual Meeting, in such proportion 
 and under such conditions as may be set out in the Standing Orders 
 for the time being in force, and this National Executive shall, sub- 
 ject to the control and directions of the Party Conference, be the 
 Administrative Authority of the Party. 
 
 (b) The National Executive shall be responsible for the conduct 
 of the general work of the Party. The National Executive shall 
 take steps to ensure that the Party is represented by a properly 
 constituted organization in each constituency in which this is found 
 practicable ; it shall give effect to the decisions of the Party Confer- 
 ence; and it shall interpret the Constitution and Standing Orders 
 and Rules of the Party in all cases of dispute subject to an appeal 
 to the next regular Annual Meeting of the Party Conference by the 
 organization or person concerned. 
 
 (c) The National Executive shall confer with the Parliamentary 
 Labor Party at the opening of each Parliamentary Session, and also 
 at any other time when the National Executive or the Parliamentary 
 Party may desire such conference, on any matters relating to the 
 
APPENDIX M 575 
 
 work and progress of the Party, or to the efEorts necessary to give 
 effect to the General Program of the Party. 
 
 7. — ^Parliamentary Candidatures 
 
 (a) The National Executive shall cooperate with the Local Labor 
 Party in any constituency with a view to nominating a Labor Can- 
 didate at any Parliamentary General or Bye-Election. Before any 
 Parliamentary Candidate can be regarded as finally adopted for 
 a constituency as a Candidate of the Labor Party, his candidature 
 must be sanctioned by the National Executive. 
 
 (6) Candidates approved by the National Executive shall appear 
 before their constituencies under the designation of "Labor Candi- 
 date" only. At any General Election they shall include in their 
 Election Addresses and give prominence in their campaigns to the 
 issues for that Election as defined by the National Executive from 
 the General Party Program. If they are elected they shall act in 
 harmony with the Constitution and Standing Orders of the Party 
 in seeking to discharge the responsibilities established by Parlia- 
 mentary practice. 
 
 (c) Party Candidates shall receive financial assistance for election 
 expenditure from the Party funds on the following basis: — 
 
 Borough Constituencies, £1 per 1,000 electors. 
 
 County Divisions, £1 15s. per 1,000 electors. 
 
 8. — ^Affiliation Fees 
 
 1. Trade Unions, Socialist Societies, Cooperative Societies, and 
 other organizations directly affiliated to the Party (but not being 
 affiliated Local Labor Parties or Trades Councils) shall pay 2d. 
 per member per annum to the Central Party Eunds with a minimum 
 of 30s. 
 
 The membership of a Trade Union for the purpose of this clause 
 shall be those members contributing to the political fund of the 
 Union established under the Trade Union Act, 1913. 
 
 2. The affiliation of Trades Councils will be subject to the follow- 
 ing conditions: — 
 
 (a) Where Local Labor Parties and Trades Councils at present 
 exist in the same area every effort must be made to amalgamate these 
 bodies, retaining in one organization the industrial and political 
 functions, and incorporating the constitution and rules for Local 
 Labor Parties in the rules of the amalgamated body. 
 
 (6) Where no Local Labor Party is in existence and the Trades 
 Council is discharging the political functions, such Trades Council 
 shall be eligible for affiliation as a Local Labor Party, providing 
 
576 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 that its rules and title be extended so as to include Local Labor 
 Party functions. 
 
 (c) Where a Local Labor Party and a Trades Council exist in the 
 same area, the Trades Council shall be eligible to be affiliated to the 
 Local Labor Party, but not to the National Party, except in such 
 cases where the Trades Council was affiliated to the National Party 
 prior to November 1st, 1917. In these cases the Executive Commit- 
 tee shall have power to continue national affiliation on such condi- 
 tions as may be deemed necessary. 
 
 (d) Trades Councils included under Section (c) shall pay an an- 
 nual affiliation fee of 30s. 
 
 Local Labor Parties must charge individually enrolled members, 
 male a minimum of Is. per annum, female 6d. per annum; and 2d. 
 per member so collected must be remitted to the Central Office with 
 a minimum of 30s., as the affiliation fee of such Local Labor Party. 
 
 In addition to these payments, a delegation fee of 5s. to the 
 Party Conference or any Special Conference may be charged. 
 
 STANDING ORDERS 
 1. — Annual Conference 
 
 1. The National Executive shall convene the Annual Party Con- 
 ference for the month of June (but not at Whitsuntide) in each 
 year, subject to the Constitution and the Standing Orders, and shall 
 convene other Sessions of the Party Conference from time to time 
 as may be required. 
 
 2. In the event of it being necessary to convene the Party Con- 
 ference upon short notice, in order to deal with some sudden emer- 
 gency, the Secretaries of the affiliated organizations and Local Labor 
 Parties shall, on receiving the summons, instantly take such action 
 as may be necessary to enable the Society or Constituency to be 
 represented, in accordance with the rules. 
 
 3. Any Session of the Party Conference summoned with less than 
 ten days' notice shall confine its business strictly to that relating to 
 the emergency, which cannot without detriment to the Party be 
 postponed. 
 
 4. Persons eligible as delegates must be paying bona fide members, 
 or paid permanent officials of the organization sending them. 
 
 5. No delegate to the Conference shall represent more than one 
 Society. 
 
 6. Members of affiliated organizations claiming exemption from 
 political contributions under the Trade Union Act, 1913, shall not 
 be entitled to act as delegates. 
 
APPENDIX M 577 
 
 2. — Agenda 
 
 1. Notice of Resolutions for the Annual Conference shall be sent 
 to the Secretary at the Office of the Party not later than April 1st, 
 for inclusion in the first Agenda, which shall be forthwith issued 
 to the affiliated organizations. 
 
 2. Notice of Amendments to the Resolutions in the first Agenda, 
 and Nominations for the Executive, Treasurer, Auditors (2), Annual 
 Conference Arrangements Committee (5), shall be forwarded to the 
 Secretary not later than May 16th, for inclusion in the final Agenda 
 of the Annual Conference. 
 
 3. No business which does not arise out of the Resolutions on the 
 Agenda shall be considered by the Party Conference, unless recom- 
 mended by the Executive or the Conference Arrangements Commit- 
 tee. 
 
 4. When the Annual Conference has, by resolution, made a declara- 
 tion of a general policy or principle, no motion having for its ob- 
 ject the reaffirmation of such policy or principle shall appear on 
 the Agenda for a period of three years from the time such declaration 
 was made, except such resolutions as are, in the opinion of the 
 Executive, of immediate importance. 
 
 3. — Voting 
 
 Voting at the Party Conference shall be by Cards issued as fol- 
 lows : — 
 
 Trade Unions and other affiliated Societies shall receive one Voting 
 Card for each 1,000 members or fraction thereof paid for. 
 
 Trades Councils affiliated under Section 8, clause c, shall receive 
 one voting card. 
 
 Every Local Labor Party shall receive one Voting Card for each 
 delegate sent in respect of each Parliamentary Constituency within 
 its area. 
 
 Central Labor Parties in Divided Boroughs shall receive one vot- 
 ing card. 
 
 4. — ^National Executivb 
 
 1. The National Executive shall be elected by the Annual Con- 
 ference as a whole, and shall consist, apart from the Treasurer, of 
 (a) 13 representatives of the affiliated organizations; (&) five rep- 
 resentatives of the Local Labor Parties; and (c) four women. The 
 Executive shall be elected by ballot vote on the card basis from three 
 lists of nominations. 
 
 2. Each affiliated national organization shall be entitled to nom- 
 
578 TvIANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 inate one candidate for List A; and two candidates if the member- 
 ship exceeds 500,000. Each candidate must be a bona-fide member 
 of the organization by which he or she is nominated. 
 
 3. Each Parhamentary Constituency organization, through its 
 Local Labor Party or Trades Council, may nominate one candidate 
 for List B, and the candidate so nominated must be resident or have 
 his or her place of business within the area of the nominating Local 
 Labor Party. 
 
 4. Each affiliated organization shall be entitled to nominate one 
 woman candidate for List C, and two candidates if the membership 
 exceeds 500,000; whether such nominees are or are not members of 
 the nominating organization. 
 
 5. The National Executive shall elect its own Chairman and 
 Vice-Chairman at its first meeting each year, and shall see that all 
 its officers and members conform to the Constitution and Standing 
 Orders of the Party. The National Executive shall present to the 
 Annual Conference a Report covering the work and progress of the 
 Party during its year of office, together with the Financial State- 
 ment and Accounts duly audited. 
 
 6. No member of the Parliamentary Committee of the Trades 
 Union Congress is eligible for nomination to the National Execu- 
 tive. 
 
 5. — Treasueer 
 The Treasurer shall be elected separately by the Annual Confer- 
 ence. Each affiliated organization may nominate a candidate for 
 the Treasurership independent of any other nomination it makes for 
 the National Executive. 
 
 6. — Secretary 
 
 The Secretary shall be elected by the Annual Party Conference, 
 and be ex officio a member of the Conference; he shall devote his 
 whole time to the work of the Party, but this shall not prevent him 
 being a Candidate for or a Member of Parliament. He shall remain 
 in office so long as his work gives satisfaction to the National Execu- 
 tive and Party Conference. Should a vacancy in the office occur 
 between two Annual Conferences, the Executive shall have full power 
 to fill the vacancy, subject to the approval of the Annual Confer- 
 ence next following. 
 
 Nominations for the ofQce shall be on the same conditions as for 
 the Treasurership. 
 
APPENDIX M 579 
 
 7. — Annual Conference Arrangements Committee 
 
 1. The duties of the Conference Arrangements Committee shall 
 be:— 
 
 (a) To attend at the place of Conference two days before its 
 opening, for the purpose of arranging the Conference Agenda; 
 
 (6) To appoint Scrutineers and Tellers for the Conference from 
 among the delegates whose names have been received at the Head 
 Office prior to May 31st, such appointments to be subject to the 
 approval of the Conference; 
 
 (c) To act as Standing Orders Committee during the Conference. 
 
 2. Should any of the five members of the Conference Arrange- 
 ments Committee be unable to fulfil his or her duties, the person who 
 received the highest number of votes amongst those not elected shall 
 be called upon, but should the voting list be exhausted, it shall lie 
 with the Society the member represents to nominate a substitute. 
 
 3. Remuneration of the Conference Arrangements Committee, 
 Scrutineers, and Tellers shall be at the rate of 15s. per day. 
 
 THE LABOR PARTY 
 
 Constitution and Rules 
 
 FOR 
 
 Local Labor Parties 
 
 IN 
 
 Single and Undivided Boroughs 
 memoranda 
 
 The attention of Local Labor Parties and Trades Councils is spe- 
 cially called to sub-sections 2 and 3 of Section 8 (Affiliation Fees) 
 of the Constitution of the Labor Party. As a condition of affiliation 
 (unless local conditions necessitate a departure from such consti- 
 tution and rules, in which case the constitution and rules adopted 
 shall be decided upon after consultation with the National Executive 
 Committee) the following provisions must be observed by Local La- 
 bor Parties and Trades Councils. 
 
 1. Subject to alterations approved by the National Executive 
 Committee, Local Labor Parties must adopt the constitution and 
 rules applicable to their area as a condition of affiliation. Local 
 Labor Parties in single and undivided Borough Constituencies, in 
 single-Member County Divisions, and in Divided Boroughs, affiliate 
 to the National Party. Local Labor Parties in municipal boroughs 
 and urban district areas within County Divisions afiiliate to the 
 Divisional Labor Party. 
 
580 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 2. Trades Councils, afBliated under Section 8, clause b, of the 
 Party Constitution, must incorporate the rules applicable to their 
 area in the local Constitution. 
 
 3. Complete copies of the rules of Trades Councils and Local 
 Labor Parties must accompany the application for affiliation, and all 
 alterations of rules must be notified to the Head Office with the next 
 payment of affiliation fees. 
 
 4. In the London area, Local Labor Parties shall be formed for 
 Parliamentary constituencies with the Metropolitan Borough as the 
 basis for each Local Labor Party. Such Local Labor Parties may 
 adopt the rules for Divided Boroughs or single-member constituen- 
 cies as local conditions may render necessary, and subject to the 
 approval of the National Executive Committee. A Central Labor 
 Party for the whole London area shall be established upon such basis 
 as may be agreed upon with the approval of National Executive 
 Committee. 
 
 5. Trades Councils and Local Labor Parties may adopt additional 
 rules to cover special local purposes, peculiar local conditions, and 
 industrial objects not included in the scope of these rules, provided 
 always that such local rules shall not be inconsistent with the con- 
 stitution of the Labor Party nor be contrary to the provisions con- 
 tained in these rules. 
 
 6. Where Local Labor Parties and Trades Councils are amalga- 
 mated, or where no Trades Council exists, and the Local Labor 
 Party decides to include industrial objects, the following additional 
 rules are recommended, but the adoption of such rules is optional. 
 
 OBJECTS 
 
 Industrial. — To provide the workers with a means of education 
 upon Labor questions, and to keep an oversight on all matters affect- 
 ing the interests of Labor, and to discharge the functions of a Trades 
 Council. 
 
 MANAGEMENT 
 
 The Industrial objects shall be carried out by an Industrial Com- 
 mittee acting as the Trades Council. The Industrial Committee 
 shall consist of the delegates from the affiliated Trades Union 
 branches, and shall meet monthly or as required. Only Trade Union 
 branches shall be entitled to representation on the Industrial Com- 
 mittee, and all purely industrial and Trade Union matters shall be 
 dealt with by this Committee. Where political action is necessary 
 in connection with such industrial matters, the Industrial Committee 
 shall make, through the representatives of the Trades Union Section 
 
APPENDIX M 581 
 
 to the Executive Committee and the delegates to the General Com- 
 mittee, recommendations with regard to the political action neces- 
 sary. 
 
 THE LABOR PARTY 
 
 Rules and Constitution 
 
 (For single and undivided Borough Constituencies. Trades Coun- 
 cils in such Boroughs affiliated under Section 8, clause h, of the 
 Constitution must incorporate these rules in the local Constitu- 
 tion.) 
 
 MEMBEESHIP 
 
 1. The Party shall consist of affiliated Trade Union branches, the 
 Trade Council, Socialist Societies, Cooperative Societies having mem- 
 bers within its area; also individuals (men and women) willing to 
 work for the objects and subscribe to the Constitution and Program 
 of the Labor Party. 
 
 ORJECTS 
 
 2. To unite the forces of Labor within the constituency, and to 
 secure the return of Labor representatives to Parliament and upon 
 Local Government bodies. 
 
 MANAGEMENT 
 
 3. The management of the Party shall be in the hands of a Gen- 
 eral Committee which shall consist of six sections, viz.: — 
 
 (o) Representatives of branches of Trade Unions. 
 
 (b) Representatives of Cooperative Societies. 
 
 (c) Representatives of branches of other societies eligible for 
 affiliation. 
 
 (d) Representatives of the Trades Council. 
 
 (e) Individual men, and 
 
 (/■) Individual women, all of whom must be willing to abide by 
 the Rules of the Labor Party. 
 
 4. The basis of representation to the General Committee shall 
 be:— 
 
 (a) Branches of Trade Unions, one representative for every 100 
 members, or part thereof, with a maximum of five representatives 
 from any one branch. 
 
 (6) Cooperative Societies shall be entitled to representation on 
 the same basis as Trade Unions, i.e., one for each 100 members, or 
 part thereof, with a maximum of five representatives from anv one 
 Society. Where such membership exceeds 5,000 the basis of repre- 
 
582 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 sentation shall be arranged subject to the approval of the National 
 Executive. 
 
 (c) Branches of other societies on the same basis as clause a, 
 
 (d) Trades Council, not exceeding five in number. 
 
 (e) Individual men, such number not exceeding ten, as may be 
 elected by the Section. If the Section comprises more than 1,000 
 members, then not exceeding one per 100 such members. 
 
 (/) Individual women, ditto. 
 
 The Ward Secretaries shall be ex officio members of Sections (e) 
 or if). 
 
 For the purpose of electing the representatives for (e) and (/) 
 the Executive Committee shall each year convene a meeting of the 
 members of these sections seven days prior to the Annual Meeting 
 of the Labor Party. The sections shall also be empowered to hold 
 separate meetings as occasion may require. 
 
 CONTRIBUTIONS 
 
 5. Contributions, to be payable on the last day in June and De- 
 cember, shall be: — 
 
 (a) Trade Union branches and Cooperative Societies shall con- 
 tribute at the minimum rate of 2d. per member per annum, by yearly 
 or half-yearly payments. 
 
 (6) Socialist societies and Trades Council an annual sum of not 
 less than 10s. 
 
 (c) Individual male members shall contribute a minimum sum of 
 Is. per annum, and female members a minimum sum of 6d. per an- 
 num. 
 
 OFFICERS 
 
 6. The OfBcers, the Executive Committee, and two Auditors shall 
 be elected at the Annual Meeting of the General Committee. 
 
 (a) The OfBcers shall be the President, two Vice-Presidents, 
 Treasurer, Financial Secretary, and Secretary. 
 
 (b) The Executive Committee shall consist of the officers and 
 sixteen members who shall be elected at the Annual Meeting of the 
 General Committee upon such proportionate basis of the sections 
 a, h, c, d, e, and /, as the Local Party may decide, subject to the ap- 
 proval of the National Executive Committee. 
 
 (c) The Chairman shall preside at all general and E.C. meetings, 
 and sign all minutes after confirmation. In his absence his place 
 shall be taken by one of the Vice-Presidents in order of seniority. 
 
 {d) The Secretary shall be present at and record minutes of all 
 general and E.C. meetings. He shall conduct all correspondence and 
 
APPENDIX M 583 
 
 prepare an Annual Report. He shall receive such remuneration that 
 may be decided upon by the E.G. 
 
 (e) The Treasurer shall keep an account of all moneys received 
 from the Financial Secretary and prepare an Annual Balance Sheet. 
 All money shall be deposited in the bank. Cheques to be signed 
 by the Chairman and the Treasurer. 
 
 (/) The Financial Secretary shall collect and keep a correct 
 record of all contributions of affiliated societies and individual mem- 
 bers, and shall pay over to the Treasurer, at least monthly, all moneys 
 received by him. He shall endeavor to obtain a complete record of 
 the members of all affiliated branches (together with full addresses) 
 in addition to those of the Individual Members. The list should be 
 compiled for ward purposes, and each Ward Secretary should be 
 supplied with a complete list of Members resident in his Ward. 
 
 WARD COMMITTEES 
 
 7. Ward Committees shall be established in each Ward of the 
 Borough, and include all members of the affiliated branches and in- 
 dividual members resident, or having a place of business, within 
 the Ward. Each Ward Committee shall appoint its own Ward 
 Secretary and any other officials. Ward Committees shall under- 
 take the work of maintaining the necessary machinery for carrying 
 on any election within the area of the Ward, and, with the approval 
 of the Executive Committee of the Party, shall arrange for propa- 
 ganda work. 
 
 ANNUAL MEETING 
 
 8. The Annual Meeting of the General Committee shall be held in 
 April, of which 28 days' notice shall be given, stating as far as 
 possible the nature of the business to be transacted. Special Meet- 
 ings may be called at the discretion of the E.G., or by the written 
 request to the Secretary of at least three affiliated branches or so- 
 cieties, or ten individual members. Seven days' notice of special 
 meetings to be given to the delegates. 
 
 CANDIDATURES 
 
 9. Candidates of the Party for local elections are to be nominated 
 to the Executive Committee by affiliated societies, or by the indi- 
 vidual sections, and shall before standing receive the endorsement 
 of the General Committee. The Committee shall have the power to 
 refuse endorsement if it thinks fit, and may itself nominate a candi- 
 date when no other nomination has been made. A list of the candi- 
 dates so nominated shall be submitted to the Ward Committee where 
 
584 MANAGEMENT AND MEN 
 
 the General Committee have approved a contest, and the candidate 
 or candidates shall be selected at a joint conference of the Ward 
 Committee and the General Committee. 
 
 The Executive Committee of the Party shall have the final de- 
 cision in case of dispute. 
 
 10. The normal procedure with regard to a Parliamentary Can- 
 didature will, when there is no special urgency, be as under: — 
 
 (a) The desirability of contesting the constituency should first 
 be considered by the Executive Committee, in consultation with the 
 National Executive and the Party OfiBcers. 
 
 (6) If it is thought expedient to contest the constituency, the 
 matter should be, unless time does not permit, brought before the 
 General Committee, with a view to nominations being invited. 
 
 (c) The representative of any aflSliated organization, or the in- 
 dividual Sections, and also the Executive Committee itself, may 
 nominate any person for consideration as Parliamentary Candidate 
 subject (i.) to having obtained such person's consent; (ii.) in the 
 ease of nomination on behalf of any organization, to having ob- 
 tained the sanction of the Executive Committee thereof. 
 
 (d) The nominations so made shall be laid before a specially sum- 
 moned meeting of the General Committee to determine which person, 
 if any, shall be recommended to the National Executive for approval 
 £is the Labor Candidate. 
 
 (e) Where no nominations are made, or where time does not per- 
 mit of formal procedure, the National Executive may take steps, 
 in consultation with, and with the approval of, the Local Executive, 
 to secure the nomination of a Parliamentary Candidate where this is 
 deemed advisable. 
 
 11. Every Parliamentary Candidate must undertake to stand as 
 "Labor Candidate" independent of all other political parties, and, if 
 elected, join the Parliamentary Labor Party. 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS 
 
 12. The general provisions of the National Labor Party as stated 
 in the Constitution and the Standing Orders shall apply to this 
 organization. This shall include the payment of affiliation fees, 
 election of delegates to the Party Conferences, nominations for the 
 Executive Committee, etc., and resolutions or amendments for the 
 Conference Agenda. 
 
 13. Members of affiliated organizations claiming exemption from 
 political contributions under the Trade Union Act, 1913, shall not 
 be entitled to act as delegates. 
 
 THE END 
 
INDEX 
 
INDEX 
 
 Admiralty, 59 
 
 Advisory committee, 19, 22 
 
 Agitators, 8 
 
 Agricultural development, 49 
 
 Agricultural Wholesale Society, 93 
 
 Agriculture, 21 
 
 Albert Hall, 4, 188, 190 
 
 Alcohol content, 28 
 
 Alcoholism, 29 
 
 Alcohol, problem of, 27 
 
 Alcohol traific, 27 
 
 Allies, 34, 149 
 
 Amalgamated Society of Engi- 
 neers, 40, 194 
 
 American Federation of Labor, 
 192, 193 
 
 Armistice, 18, 150, 157 
 
 Army, 16, 28 
 
 (Aaquith ministry, 181 
 
 Asquith, Mr., 103 
 
 Australia, 23 
 
 Australian concentrates, 34 
 
 Austria, 35 
 
 Balfour, Mr., 146 
 
 Balkans, 16 
 
 Barnes, 181 
 
 Belgian farmer, 49 
 
 Belgium, 18, 34, 53, 67, 149, 151 
 
 Bolshevism, 4, 186, 189, 204 
 
 Bolshevist, 4 
 
 Brace, 181 
 
 Bradford, 96 
 
 Branting, 202 
 
 British industry, 15 
 
 British labor, 8 
 
 British Socialist Party, 199 
 
 British General Federation of 
 
 Trade Union, 192, 194, 198 
 British Trade Union Congress, 192 
 
 Builders National Industrial Par- 
 liament, 111, 116, 119 
 Building material, 10, 18 
 Building operations, 9 
 Building trade employers, 104 
 
 Cambrai, 67, 68 
 
 Canada, 23, 34 
 
 Canteens, 60, 61 
 
 Cecil, Robert, Lord, 191 
 
 Cement, 149, 150 
 
 Central Agricultural Organization 
 
 Society, 93 
 Central Labor College, 79 
 Central power, 84 
 Central Powers, 16 
 Chamber of Deputies, 201 
 Chambre de Commerce 
 Chapman, S. J., Prof., 103 
 Chaucer, 145 
 
 Chinese labor battalions, 67 
 Class suspicion, 8 
 Claughton, Sir Gilbert,, 103 
 Cleveland and Durham District, 
 
 127 
 Clyde, 6, 189 
 Clyde Valley, 104 
 Clynes, 181, 184, 188, 200 
 Olynes, T. R., 103 
 Coal, 54 
 
 Coal deficiency, 18 
 Coal controller, 128 
 Coalition ticket, 182, 184 
 Commission on industrial Unrest, 
 
 8, 79 
 Compulsory arbitration, 56 
 Confederation Ggn6rale du Travail, 
 
 192, 201 
 Congestion, 9 
 Conservatives, 184, 187 
 
 587 
 
588 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Constitutional methods, 9 
 
 Controller of shipping, 124 
 
 Cooperation, 24 
 
 Cooperative movement, 29, 80 
 
 Cooperative store, 85 
 
 Cooperative trade, 83 
 
 Cooperative Wholesale Society, 90 
 
 Cost of living, 19 
 
 Cotton industry, 196 
 
 Covent Garden, 50 
 
 Defense of the Realm Act, 61 
 Demarkation, 41, 43 
 Demobilization, 15, 16, 20, 124, 
 
 146, 154, 170, 189 
 Democracy, 30, 66, 74 
 Denmark, 202 
 Direct action, 186, 188 
 Discontent, 8, 9 
 Domestic employment, 21 
 Domestic servants, 21 
 Domestic service, 25 
 Dominion Government ofSces, 23 
 Drink question, 27 
 Drunkenness, 29 
 
 Economics, 36 
 
 Efficiency, 13, 14, 38, 66, 165 
 Election, December, 182 
 Emigration, 23 
 Employers, 7, 11, 14, 18 
 Employment, field of, 16 
 Employment project, 11 
 Engineers, Amalgamated Society 
 
 of, 40 
 Engineering trade, 41 
 England, 9, 49 
 
 Exchange, Employment, 19, 20, 22 
 Exemption, 16 
 Extremists, 8 
 
 Fabian Society, 199 
 
 Factory conditions, 29 
 
 Ferrochrome, 34 
 
 Foreman, 73, 74, 76, 94, 96, 98, 
 
 108, 127, 162 
 Foremanship, 74, 99 
 
 France, 16, 18, 53, 67, 84, 149, 151, 
 169, 201 
 
 Front, 6, 16, 41, 84, 149 
 
 Furniture Joint Industrial Coun- 
 cil, 122 
 
 Garden City Press, 92 
 
 Gaston Foundation, 146 
 
 German East Africa, 34 
 
 German farmer, 49 
 
 German prisoners, 67 
 
 Germans, 64 
 
 German Socialists, 181 
 
 German submarines, 49 
 
 Germany, 31, 33, 34, 35, 49, 149, 
 
 168, 204 
 Gompers, Mr., 14, 205 
 
 Hamburg, 34 
 
 Hatfield, Sir Robert, 38 
 
 Health Bill, 28 
 
 Henderson, Arthur, 13, 41, 181, 
 
 183, 188, 192, 201 
 Hickens, W. L., 62 
 Hobson, J. A., 
 Hodge, 181 
 Holland, 34, 202 
 Hours of labor, 14 
 House building project, 11 
 House of Commons, 177, 178, 180, 
 
 181, 184, 185 
 House famine, 9 
 Household servants, 26 
 Houses, 18, 29 
 Houses, shortage of, 9, 9 
 Housing, national aid for, 11 
 Housing program, 9 
 Housing venture, 10 
 
 Independent Labor Party, 199 
 India, 34, 149 
 Indian mica trade, 34 
 Industrial boards, 29 
 Industrial Cooperative Society, 87 
 Industrial Council, 101 
 Industrial efficiency, 44 
 Industrial Parliament, 117 
 Industrial peace, 6 
 
INDEX 
 
 589 
 
 InduBtrial relations, 165 
 Industrial training, 30 
 Industrial unions, 196 
 Insanity, 29 
 
 International Cooperative Alli- 
 ance, 81 
 International Federation of Trade 
 
 Unions, 198, 200 
 Internationalism, 191 
 International labor legislation, 29, 
 
 192 
 International Miners' Federation, 
 
 198 
 International Socialist Bureau, 
 
 192, 199 
 International , Textile Workers' 
 
 Federation, 198 
 Ireland, 9, 93, 122, 187 
 Irish Agricultural Organization 
 
 Society, 93 
 Italy, 151," 169 
 Italian labor movement, 202 
 
 Jackson, Frederick Huth, 158 
 
 Joint councils, 46 
 
 Joint district councils, 107, 111, 
 
 113 
 Joint standing industrial councils, 
 
 107, 111, 113 
 
 Keid, Sir Stephenson, 170 
 Kettering, 92 
 
 Labor demands, 29 
 
 Labor, departments of, 175 
 
 Labor forces, 30 
 
 Labor, ministry of, 16, 19 
 
 Labor movement, 176 
 
 Labor movement in Europe, 201 
 
 Labor Party, 23, 147, 177, 178, 
 
 180, 183, 186, 199, 200, 207 
 Labor problem, 5 
 Labor-saving machinery, 27 
 Lanarkshire, 196 
 Lancashire, 22, 80 
 Land, 21 
 
 Land Army, Women's, 50 
 Lands, 29 
 
 League of Nations, 191, 192, 193, 
 
 199, 203 
 Leaving certificates, 43 
 Leeds, 188 
 Letchworth, 92 
 Lenine, 207 
 Liberal, 182, 184 
 Liquor, 27 
 Liquor business, 28 
 Liquor problem, 58 
 Lloyd George, 13, 28, 41, 58, 179, 
 
 181, 182, 183, 186 
 London, 19, 22, 34, 83, 104 
 
 MacDonald, Ramsay, 188 
 Management, 66, 67, 70, 73, 74, 75, 
 
 94, 95 
 Manager, 30, 71 
 Managers, 5, 45 
 Manchester, 159 
 Marx, Karl, 199, 204 
 May, J. S., 81 
 McLeod, Alexander, 83 
 Mechanical conveyors, 35 
 Memorandum of war aims, 207 
 Mesopotamia, 16 
 Mexican plan, 27 
 Mica, 34 
 Midland City, 33 
 Midlands, 189 
 Middle-class household, 21 
 Mines, 18, 55 
 Miners' Federation, 194 
 Minimum wage, national, 29 
 Mining districts, 9 
 Minister of Reconstruction, 124 
 Minister of Labor, 101, 107 
 Ministry of Food, 85 
 Ministry of Labor, 108, 109, 111 
 Mosses, Mr., 41 
 Mosses, Wm., 13 
 Munition girls, 15, 21 
 Munitions, 16, 18, 19, 33, 38, 40, 
 
 43 
 Munitions' courts, 42 
 Munitions, Ministry of, 16 
 Munitions' tribunal, 98 
 
590 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Munitions of War Act, 42, 46, S6, 
 
 98 
 Munition Workers, 21 
 Murray, Prof. Gilbert, 78 
 
 National Alliance of Employer and 
 
 Employed, 158 
 Nationalization, 29, 186, 187 
 National Union of Railwaymen, 
 
 79, 194 
 Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 34 
 New Lanark, 82 
 Newman, Sir George, 44 
 New Zealand, 23 
 Normal working day, 39 
 Norway, 202 
 
 Optical glass, 35 
 Overcrowding, 9 
 Overfatigue, 15 
 Overstrain, 39 
 Owen, Robert, 80, 82 
 Oxford University, 78 
 
 Painting and decorating trade, 114 
 Palestine, 16 
 
 Paris Peace Conference, 183 
 Parliament, 45, 100, 140, 177, 178, 
 
 180, 181, 183, 185, 188 
 Parliamentary action, 30 
 Parti Socialiste, 201 
 Pauper relief, 31 
 Peace, 16 
 
 Peace Congress, 191, 193 
 Pit committees, 128 
 Plebs League, 79 
 Plunkett, Sir Horace, 93 
 Plymouth, 87, 88, 89 
 Poland, 53 
 Potash, 34, 35 
 Poverty, 31 
 
 Pottery industry, 122, 123 
 Production, 11, 13, 14, 15, 30, 36, 
 
 41, 43, 51, 63-65, 66, 148, 152 
 Production, committee on, 56 
 Profiteering, 7, 9, 158 
 Prussians, 5 
 Public health acts, 29 
 
 Railways, 18 
 
 Raw material, 15, 18 
 
 Reconstruction, 3, 4, 23, 31, 100, 
 
 101, 142, 157 
 Renold, Chas., 159 
 Renold, Hans, 159 
 Renold, 160, 161, 163, 164 
 Rent Act, Restriction of, 10 
 Replacement by women, 26 
 Restoration, 13, 14, 23, 36 
 Restoration pledge, 12 
 Restrictions on output, 36 
 Returned soldier, 21, 23 
 Roberts, 181 
 Rochdale Pioneers, 80 
 Royal Arsenal, 83 
 Royal Commission, 158 
 Royal proclamation, 56 
 Rubber works, 152 
 Runciman, Walter, 13 
 Runciman, Mr., 41 
 Ruskin College, 79 
 Russia, 4, 5, 84, 101, 140, 189, 201, 
 
 203, 204, 205, 207 
 Russian Bolshevlki, 200 
 Russian Bolshevism, 4 
 Russian Revolution, 200 
 
 Saloniki, 151 
 
 Science, 30, 50 
 
 Scientific management, 50, 51 
 
 Scotland, 9 
 
 Self-management movement, 92 
 
 Selfridge, Gordon, 165, 166 
 
 Serbia, 151 
 
 Sheffield, 143, 145 
 
 Shipyard, 46 
 
 Shop stewards, 125, 126, 127 
 
 Socialists, 181 
 
 Soldiers, 20, 21 
 
 South Africa, 23 
 
 South America, 149, 150, 151 
 
 South Wales, 79, 189, 196 
 
 South Wales Mining Federation, 78 
 
 Soviets, 188 
 
 Spelter, 34 
 
 Stassfurt Mines, 34 
 
INDEX 
 
 591 
 
 statesmanship, 7 
 
 Status, 77 
 
 Strand, 23 
 
 Substitution by women, 26 
 
 Sweden, 202 
 
 Technical schools, 36 
 
 Textiles, 33 
 
 Theosophical Society, 134 
 
 Thomas, J. H., 188, 200 
 
 Time keeping, 7, 29 
 
 Times, 105 
 
 Tin plate, 150, 151 
 
 Trade boards, 57 
 
 Trade customs, 39 
 
 Trade practices, 11 
 
 Trades councils, 116 
 
 Trade Union Congress, 177, 178, 
 
 195, 207 
 Trade unionism, 29 
 Trade unionists, 22 
 Trade union privileges, 41 
 Trade union restrictions, 39 
 Transport Workers' Federation, 59 
 Treasury agreement, 11 
 Trenches, 16 
 Triple Alliance, 190, 195 
 Troelstra, 202 
 Trotsky, 4 
 Trunk acts, 82 
 Tungsten, 34 
 
 Unemployment, 5, 6, 10, 20, 29, 39, 
 
 47 
 Unemployment pay, 19 
 Unions, 39 
 Unions, Trade, 11 
 Unrest, 6, 8 
 United States, 27, 31, 64, 85, 149, 
 
 176, 180 
 
 Wage Adjustment, 57 
 
 Wage minimum, 21 
 
 Wage Standards, 47 
 
 Wages, 26, 55, 56 
 
 Wage tribunal, 56 
 
 Wales, 9, 49 
 
 War, 6 
 
 War Cabinet, 107 
 
 War machine, 15 
 
 War Office, 59, 149 
 
 War workers, 16 
 
 Webb, Sidney, 94 
 
 Wellingborough, 92 
 
 Whitley Committee, 105, 106, 112, 
 
 113 
 Whitley Council, 114, 116 
 Whitley Report, 102, 103, 107, 111, 
 
 158 
 Whitley scheme, 153, 173 
 Withdrawal of labor committee, 
 
 104 
 Woman, 26 
 Woman worker, 27 
 Women, 5, 19, 25, 26, 36, 46, 47, 
 
 163, 184 
 Women workers, 25 
 Woolwich Society, 83 
 Workers' Educational Association* 
 
 77 
 Working day, normal, 15 
 Workingman, Educational Associ- 
 ation, 54 
 Works Committee, 96 
 Works committees, 107, 108, 111, 
 
 113, 125, 126, 127, 128, 130, 
 
 131 
 
 Zeppelin raids, 163 
 Zinc smelting, 34 
 
Cornell University Library 
 HD 8390.B55 
 
 Management and men; a record of new steps 
 
 3 1924 002 253 155 
 
 
 DATE DUE 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 inn 1 S 
 
 1993 
 
 
 
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