"We had it in our caution lesson at school today, and I've written it on my blackboard—

NOTE: The figures mentioned in "FACING THE FACTS" are taken from the most recent data available, chiefly:

Bulletin of U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Industrial Accident Statistics, for year 1913.

Mortality Statistics, U. S. Bureau of the Census, for year 1914.

Census of Manufacturers, U. S. Bureau of the Census, for year 1914.

Report of Massachusetts Industrial Accident Board, for year ending June 30, 1915.

Report of Births, Marriages and Deaths, Massachusetts, for year 1914.

Report of Massachusetts Highway Commission, for year ending November 30, 1915.

Report of California Industrial Accident Commission, for year ending June 30, 1915.

Report of Industrial Accidents in Ohio, January 1, 1914, to June 30, 1915. Report of Maryland Industrial Accident Commission, for year ending October 31, 1915.

Report of Industrial Commission of Wisconsin, July 1, 1912, to December 31, 1914.

Report of Commissioner of Labor and Industry, Pennsylvania, for year 1914. Statistics of Industrial Accidents, State of New York, Department of Labor and Industry, for year 1914.

Report of Industrial Insurance Department, State of Washington, for year ending September 30, 1915.

NOTE: This article has been printed in bulletin form (Spirit of Caution, December, 1917). Extra copies can be obtained from Magnus W. Alexander, Executive Secretary, Conference Board on Safety and Sanitation, West Lynn, Mass., at following prices: 10 cents each, $1.00 per dozen, $6.00 per hundred, $50.00 per thousand. Without cover, printed on ordinary paper, $2.50 per hundred, $20.00 per thousand.

EFFECT OF ANTI-EFFICIENCY LEGISLATION ON GOVERNMENT WORK

Reports Show it Now Takes Almost Twice as Long to do a Job as Under the Efficiency System

The disastrous effect of the anti-efficiency legislation passed by Congress last year on the output of the government arsenals and the earnings of the individual workers is shown by the testimony of General Crozier, recently, before the House and Senate Committees engaged in the preparation of the fortifications and military appropriations bills. The abolition of the premium system, it will be remembered, was accomplished by a rider on the different appropriation bills which provided that:

“No part of the appropriations made in this act shall be available for the salary or pay of any officer, manager, superintendent, foreman, or other person having charge of the work of any employee of the United States Government while making or causing to be made with a stop watch or other time-measuring device a time study of any job of any such employee between the starting and completion thereof, or of the movements of any such employee while engaged upon such work; nor shall any part of the appropriations made in this act be available to pay any premium or bonus or cash reward to any employee in addition to his regular wages, except, for suggestions resulting in improvements or economy in the operation of any Government plant."

The rider was passed at the instance of the American Federation of Labor against the advice of those responsible for the operation of the arsenals and in spite of the fact that petitions, signed by large numbers of employees, were presented to Congress, asking that the system be retained.

Men's Output Fell Off when Premiums Stopped

"I called on the Watertown Arsenal," said General Crozier, "for a report as to the effect upon output which had been had by the legislation forbidding the payment of premiums since

that legislation went into effect last summer, and I have received from the arsenal a report giving a number of instances in which the identical job had been done under the premium system and under the regular day-rate system. I will say that our method of paying these premiums was so adjusted that if a workman should do a piece of work in the time which had been ascertained to be reasonable, he received a premium which amounted to 33 per cent of his pay, in addition to his regular pay, and his regular pay was adjusted with reference to the rate in the vicinity for work of like character and for a man of like skill.

"Now, there are reported here 49 instances, selected at random, of the same job done under the premium system of payment and under the regular day-rate system of payment, and in many cases, I think in about one-third of the cases, the jobs were done by the same man. Taking the first job which is mentioned in the list, which is a job of retapping the base of some 4.7-in. shells, a man last August did 100 of those shells in 10 hr. under the premium system of payment. As soon as he had finished that job, he was given the next day another 100 to do, but the second 100 were to be paid for out of funds appropriated in the act forbidding the payment of premiums, and to do the second 100 he took 22.95 hr. The first 100 were done in 10 hr. and the second 100, done immediately afterward, were done in 22.95 hr. That is to say, it took him 2.3 times as long to do the same amount of work under the day-rate system of payment as it took him under the premium system.

The Worst Case

"The worst case which I have of a job done by the same man was a job of cutting a slot in 4.7-in. base plugs. A man did 100 of those in 2.66 hr. under the premium system, and then afterward he did 20, under the day-rate system, in 2.25 hr.; that is to say, it took 2.66 hr. to do 100, and it afterward took 2.25 hr. to do 20, one-fifth the number. It took 4.2 times as long to do one under the day-rate system as it took under the premium system.

General Crozier's compilation showed that it now takes 2.2 times as long to do the average job in the machine shops as it did under the efficiency system; 1.6 times as long in the foundry and 2.1 times as long in the smith shops. The average of four departments is 1.92.

More "Loafing" Since Premium System Abolished

"It is perfectly evident by mere observation that a great change has taken place in our shops, the atmosphere that was so noticeable of industry and application has changed materially, there is much more loafing and a much greater tendency to sit around on kegs, etc., than has existed here for several years, but I do not think any of us appreciated just how much the falling off had been until we had the data indicated on the tabulation which I am sending you. There is no doubt at all that the men have no desire now to exert themselves, and in one case which has recently been brought to my attention the machinist, when taken to task for doing such slow work, stated that now that the premium had been taken away, he did not propose to exert himself."

"Now, under the premium system we asked of every man his best effort, we measured that effort and we paid him extra for it. When we ceased to pay him for the better effort we lost the right to demand it. We now have not the right to demand anything more than what long experience has shown to be the average for the regular day wages. I give this as a reason why we do not at once discharge all these men. I do not think it would be fair."

The fear of the mythical union vote on the part of the rank and file of our Congressmen, and their utter disregard for the rights of the people and of the workers directly involved when it is a question of running counter to the wishes of the American Federation of Labor, is indicated by the fact that the same riders prohibiting scientific management are incorporated in the present appropriation bills.

Senator Thomas, of Colorado, admirably sizes up the situation: "It seems to me that when the burdens of this Government are so exceedingly heavy, when the future looks so dark, and

the necessity for military and industrial preparation seems to be so great, that politics ought not to enter into Government appropriations to compel the Congress to vote away the people's money in a reckless manner. If the premium system is abused

or can be abused, it can be very readily corrected and controlled, because there is not a Senator or a Representative who would tolerate a system that would be inhumane to the men; but here is a system, as it seemed to me and, I repeat, as it seemed to a majority of the committee, that provided an incentive to the Government employees to do good work, to earn better wages, and to save the country a vast sum of money."

THE NATION'S NEED-By Hon. Elihu Root

God knows, we need men now! We need men whose trust is not in words, in rhetoric, in fine phrases, or in noble expressions of sentiment, but men, genuine, sincere, devoted; men who do not so much talk about their love of country or their passion for liberty or humanity as men that do love their country and do love their liberty so much that they are willing to give liberty to others as well as claim it for themselves; men who think not merely of what they can get out of their country, but of what they can give to their country; men who, upon the basis of plain, practical, and sensible hard work in the ordinary affairs of life, carry ever noble idealism and a sincere capacity for self-devotion.

NATIONAL METAL TRADES ASSOCIATION

The National Metal Trades Association will hold its Nineteenth Annual Convention at the Hotel Astor, New York, Wednesday and Thursday, April 25-26, 1917. The following dates have been set for the different committee meetings and convention sessions:

Monday,

April 23-Executive Committee meeting.

24—Administrative Council meeting.

25-Convention.

Tuesday,

66

25-Convention Banquet.

66

26-Convention.