[From Survey, Apr. 1, 1929]

BUSY MACHINES AND IDLE MEN

UNEMPLOYMENT AS PART OF THE PROCESS OF INDUSTRIAL GROWTH

(BY BEULAH AMIDON)

YARDMEN

1. The switching yard of the XYZ Railroad at N employed 305 men. Two-thirds of the force was unskilled or semiskilled labor, while about 100 of these employees were highly skilled railroadmen who had been with the XYZ for from 2 to 19 years. Partly as an experiment in increasing speed and efficiency, partly to meet a local problem of smoke and noise nuisance within a growing municipality, the XYZ electrified its switching yard. As a result, 151 men were able to do the work formerly requiring 305. Also, it was found that less skill and experience on the part of the switching-yard force was called for under the new conditions. Accordingly, 154 men were laid off on a week's notice. The larger proportion of these were from among the higher paid group, most of whom had spent their working life acquiring the skill to hold the jobs from which they were dismissed.

GLASSWORKERS

2. The Owens machine, which mechanized the ancient glass-blowing industry, is a "semiautomatic" machine. More recently, it has been supplemented by a feed-and-flow machine, which makes several divisions of the glass industry practically automatic. It has been estimated that this machine does in 1 hour what it would take 41 workers to do by hand, and with it, 3 operatives can accomplish what 10 could do with the semiautomatic equipment. During the past winter, the D Glass Works, which turns out bottles in various stock sizes, installed the most up-to-date automatic machines. This more than trebled its output. The L Bottle Works, the chief competitor of D tried feebly to maintain its hold on its market. In less than 6 months the L works shut down, throwing 213 men and women out of work in the middle of the slack season for the industries in that community.

STEELWORKERS

3. The use of machinery and power has advanced rapidly throughout the steel industry in the past few years. For example, 2 men now do the work done by 14 in charging furnaces; 7 men can cast as much pig iron as 60 could cast a decade ago; in the open-hearth operation, 1 man does the work of 40; 2 men now replace 128 in unloading

pig iron. By the use of such economies of time and manpower, the T. G. Steel Mills have decreased their personnel by more than 1,300 in the past 3 years. Simultaneously, the gross tonnage of steel produced by these mills increased from 1,730,724 in 1927 to 1,901,707 in 1928.

MACHINE HANDS

4. The L. Shock Absorber Co. received the record order of its history some months ago. It was employing at that time 800 workers. It planned to take on a force of 2,000 more and so advertised; workers came flocking from 3 States. A thousand men were taken on, in groups of a hundred or less. Nine belts or lines were operated, and 400 units were considered a fair day's work for each line. But management began to work out more effective ways of using both machine power and man power and more effective methods of handling materials and equipment. Instead of taking on the second 1,000 workers, mechanical improvements were made, and various "speeding up" devices put into effect, including a "bonus" of a box of cigars to the line that exceeded 400 units. As a result, the day's output has been increased from 400 to 2,200 units with from 2 to 5 hours' overtime per day required to get out a day's work and receive a day's pay.

RUBBERWORKERS

5. Eight years ago the Blank Rubber Co. commenced a series of time studies and process studies, one of the results of which has been the installation of new and improved laborsaving appliances. During these years, it has increased its output from 32,000 units per day to 57,000 units per day, or about 78 percent. At the same time, the production force decreased from 24,000 men to 16,500, or about 30 percent. Much of this increased efficiency was the result of time studies and the rearrangement of various steps along the production line, but the larger part was due to the displacement of men by machines.

MUSICIANS

6. The Rialto Theater in a large eastern city had an orchestra of 40 trained musicians. The Rialto installed a "talking movie," and overnight these 40 musicians were out of a job. In the same city, another theater notified its 22 orchestra members that within a week their services would no longer be required, because of the installation of a "talkie."

SUGARWORKERS

7. One of the large sugar refineries on the eastern seaboard erected a new plant about 4 year ago designed to produce 2 million pounds of refined sugar a day and employ 500 men. By improved manufacturing methods, supplemented by a change in the method of wage payment, a force of 400 men is now producing 3,500,000 pounds daily.

MACHINISTS

8. When young John Doe succeeded his father as head of the Doe Machine Shops, he decided to "get away from mossback methods" and installed the most modern equipment obtainable. As part of this revolution, 1 man with a "gang" of 7 semiautomatic machines now replaces 25 skilled machinists. Thirty workers with 10 machines are doing the work of 220 workers with 20 old-type machines. Some of these men had spent all their working lives in the Doe shops. None of them was given more than a week's notice before being laid off.

REPAIRMEN

9. In railway repair shops, four men with oxyacetylene torches can do in from 3 to 7 hours what it formerly took eight men 3 weeks to perform in repairs to locomotives.

SHEET METAL WORKERS

10. The Blank Sheet & Tube Co. has increased its output and cut its labor bills by installing a tramrail crane, with the help of which 3 workers now do the work of 28. A week before the crane was in place, 25 men were notified that their services were no longer needed. The same concern has equipped 5 men with tractors to replace 48 men as crane loaders.

TOOLMAKERS

11. The Jones Tool Co. makes drop-forged handtools, including hammers, wrenches, chisels, punches, screwdrivers, and so on. It used to take from 3 to 4 days from the time the blank reached the forging hammers till the tool reached the stockroom. Then a new cycle was established, with equipment to keep the work moving almost constantly from unloading stock from cars to laying down finished tools on the platform. In 1922 the company had 16 drop hammers and employed 480 men. Last year it had 22 drop hammers and a working force of 280. Output had increased between 30 and 40 percent.

TEXTILE WORKERS

12. In 1927 the R. F. Textile Mills employing 5,100 workers produced 137,000 yards of woolens of a certain width, texture, and quality. During the slack season, new and improved machinery was installed and an efficiency system, suggested by an engineering expert, was introduced. In 1928, a labor force of 3,000 produced the same yardage, of the same width, texture, and quality. The 2,100 displaced workers were added to an already acute unemployment situation in a disorganized textile market.

[From Survey, Apr. 1, 1929]

"LET OUT"

(BY ISADOR LUBIN)

At the suggestion of the Senate Committee on Labor and Education, the Institute of Economics of Brookings Institu tion has been making a broad study of industrial unemployment. This article is based on one section of the study-a survey of 754 workers "let out" during the 12 months preceding September 1928

"You are hereby notified that after April 1 your services will no longer be required." Neatly typed on his employer's stationery, this was what William Brown found in his pay envelope one day toward the end of last March.

Brown had been with the firm nearly 2 years; he had always shown up before the working whistle blew; he had never knocked off a day. It was his ambition that the boss would never "have anything on him.” He'd done his best to make sure that through no fault of his own would he ever be fired. Nor was he. He was let out because the company's work was slack.

Brown had been out of work before, and he knew what was involved. The last time, back in 1926, it had meant 4 months of trudging from one factory to another. It had meant studying the want ads every night, getting up at 6 in the morning to be at the gate before the crowd got there, and then finding some way to kill the rest of the day. The employment man rarely started interviews before 8, and by the time he had seen Brown it was usually between 9 and 10 o'clock. After that, it was not worth while trying other factories; the hiring was over for the day.

He had tried several private employment agencies, but without success. Somebody had suggested the free State employment agency, a branch of which was located in his city, but it reported no calls for men to operate a lathe. The employers of the city of T- asked occasionally for a gang of unskilled men, but when it came to experienced machine operators they preferred to do their own picking from the crowds that gathered at the gate in response to newspaper ads.

All this had left a haunting impression. Brown could not close his mind to troubled memories:

That last month of unemployment sure was tough for the wife and kids. At first, things weren't so bad. We thought the $300 we had put away would keep things going until a new job turned up. At the end of the first month, the $300 did not look so big. *** Forty dollars sure is a lot of rent, but what's a man with three children going to do? At that, four rooms are crowded.* Little Jack's sickness. Twenty dollars wasn't so much for the doctor. He was over six or seven times. Still * *

During the last month of unemployment every nickel looked big. * * It was funny to find yourself setting the alarm 30 minutes early, to have time to walk over to the west end in answer to a want ad. *** The rent money couldn't be touched. *** Alice had to get old Huber to trust her for the groceries. * * * I didn't realize when I told Alice 6 months earlier to buy all her stuff at Huber's that old Huber would have to come to our rescue before long. *** Can't make me believe you save anything in the long run buying from chainstores *** and when hard times come along you could starve to death for all the cash-and-carry cares. *** What's a man with a wife and kids to do when he loses his job if these chainstores drive out all the neighborhood grocers? *** It looked for a while like we'd have to write to Alice's brother up in Illinois to ask a loan. * * * Luck finally changed. * * *

Over 18 months now, been averaging around $35 a week. Alice has been putting $5 into the Building & Loan Association every Monday. Almost $400 saved up. Things sure have been going smooth.

Next Saturday-let out.

William Brown is one of some 2 million workers who were out of employment in the spring of 1928. What became of him?

Immediately after the closing whistle, March 31, Brown asked his foreman why he had been "let out." He was told that orders for dredging machinery were slow and that the force had to be curtailed. There was no complaint as to his conduct or efficiency. If orders picked up, perhaps they could use him again. It might be worth his while to drop in now and then and see whether there was anything doing. If he hit the right time, he might find something.

Judging by the findings of some who have looked into the unemployment situation of the past 18 months, Brown's problem should have been a relatively simple one. American industry has been expanding. New industries and trades have been springing up, taking on more and more men. During the past 7 years the changing standards of American life have brought into our service industries, for example, over 1,100,000 additional workers who feed us in restaurants, make our beds, or bow obsequiously to us in hotels, cut our hair, manicure our nails, wash our clothes in laundries, and clean and press our suits and dresses.

The new lines of activity, in short, are ready to absorb those workers who have been discharged from the older industries. Indeed, they are doing more than that; they are taking on more people than the older industries are letting out. Recent figures show that between 1920 and 1927 the net increase in workers employed in all occupations was 817,000. Surely, William Brown should not have found much difficulty in getting a new job.

When Brown was interviewed in August 1928, he was still unemployed. For almost 5 months he had been following the want ads, making personal inquiries, and calling at employment agencies. Thirty-seven years of age, well built and vigorous, he impresses one as an intelligent and willing workman. An interview with his former foreman confirmed the fact that his discharge was due to curtailed production and that he had been industrious and faithful. If work picked up again the firm would like to have him back.

By the middle of the summer, Brown had spent all his savings and had had to ask for financial help from a brother-in-law. He was determined to find an opening where he could use his skill and training, for he was loath to sacrifice the results of his whole working life. Dismayed by his inability to secure employment in an industrial plant,