The Iron Age 1918-07-04: Vol 102 Iss 1

New York, July 4, 1918 Te Ra | - ew wi ~Conquerors of Friction | S K-F on battleships, aeroplanes, trucks, -and. tractors are making it-easier for our boys “Over-There”*to*show the World the meaning of Independence Day The Mark of a Quality Ball Bearing 421 QOAMUALL AAMAS AMAL LAU AUMUND EA AAU LHL PUUUCEUUCUUAEVARUU RADARS PARA WAAL SAMNNLAAAAL \ Add AWM lid lili ii MAUDAM AAbMMALA AAddALL SSS TABLE OF CONTENTS - - - 35 ADVERTISING INDEX - - - 516 © Buyers’ Index Section.. ; 496 ntract Work Section 4823 Business Opportunities 477 3 ; Contre Wanted Section. pada 475 Help and Situations Wanted 479 Clearing House Section $20 THE IRON AGE July 4, 1918 ee eae eam a = ; TE a * 7 ot | bad PSisinylen CHICAGO NEW YORK STLOUIS DETROIT OUR DETROIT PLANTIS SITUATED TO BEST SUPPLY THE MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES LOCATEDIN THE STATES TOUCHING LAKE HURON, LAKE ERIE AND LAKE ONTARIO. PROMPT SHIPMENT FROM STOCK OF PLATES, BARS;STRUCTURALS, SHEETS. TUBES/RIVETS)FORGING BILLETS, ETC. “JOSEPHIRYERSON&SON RON’ STEEL) MACHINERY he Pal f. «9 22 Sap eee THE IRON AG New York, July 4, 1918 ESTABLISHED 1855 VOL. 102: No. | Training Women for the Drawing Room Successful Methods Employed by Norton Grinding Co. in the Engineering Department —Its Teaching System and Results Secured BY HOWARD W. AND W UCH has been written of late of the em- ployment of women in the war industries. One of the fields in which they have been peculiarly successful has been that of the draw- ing room of engineering departments and in other capacities in the technical side of industry. A notable success in such employment of women has been attained by the Norton Grinding Co., Wor- cester, Mass., manufacturer of precision grinding machinery. The development of its system has been in progress for a little more than a year. In this period the company has trained approximately thirty women. Twelve of them have been trained in the tracing and detailing sections and the re- mainder in the vault and blueprinting sections. The women engaged for tracing work are of a higher grade than the women hired for the other two branches of the work, but women in each breneh are assured that, if they possess possi- bilities for development they are to have the first opportunity in the work that they may desire to do in preference to new women employees. The blueprint worker may aspire to a position in the vault supervision section; the vault supervision girl may aspire to a tracing position; and the tracer who is capable of development may grow into a detailer. In rare instances those capable of making assembly drawings from details are given a chance to learn that more advanced work. Two of the women who have been trained in the last year are now making assembly drawings. One of these has been very successful in making pat- ent drawings with but little assistance. DUNBAR E. FREELAND The women employed to do tracing work are carefully selected. It is not essential that they should have an extensive school education if they are bright, apt and intelligent. It is more impor- tant that they be of good character and have high moral standards in order that the sections having women employees shall not suffer from class dis- tinctions or class feelings. It has been found that applicants that have had previous training in the high schools on drawing work are not so good as the average intelligent woman who has not had such training. The reason for this is not quite clear, but it is probably due to the fact that girls or, as a matter of fact, anyone who has had some instruction feel that they are quite well versed in the subject and are not disposed to fol- low closely the instructions or to learn the work as it is desired to teach it to them. In other words, they have ideas of their own of which it is difficult for them to rid themselves. Then again the instruction of the public school is arranged for a general, broad knowledge of the subject that is rarely applicable to a particular branch or phase of the work that the students may engage in and it is evident that they are acquainted with the technical terms associated with drawing, but have very little ability to make a practical appli- cation of what they have learned. The ages of the applicants vary from 17 to 35 years. The blueprinting section is conducted entirely with women help. The normal output of this section is 800,000 to 1,000,000 sq. in. of finished blueprint each week. This amount of blueprint- ing is handled by a forewoman and two girls. This 1 “ THE IRON AGE staff, besides doing the work of ordinary blue- printing, take care of all the other forms of re- production work, such as photostats, Van Dykes, etc. The equipment of the blueprint section con- sists of one 45-in. continuous printing machine. one 60-in. continuous washing and drying ma- chine, photostat machine, trimmers, washtrays, hangers, etc. The girls have a weekly basic rate for 44 hours of service. They are guaranteed their weekly rate, but they work on a piece-work system and average 20 to 50 per cent over their base rates. The vault service is in charge of a man of mature years and his assistants are all women. Their duties are the usual duties of filing draw- ings, issuing drawings, making charges, ordering blueprints and checking them for number and quality as a record for the piece-work payments. Women are employed as tracers with a definite understanding as to their duties and advancement. They are given to understand that they are not certain of success and must prove their ability before they can be recognized as a member of the department. They are first taken on with the un- derstanding that they are to work for one month under competent instruction as a sort of proba- tion period in which the supervising engineer can decide whether they are capable of development for actual work. In this period they have eight lesson sheets which they have to make over and over again until their work is satisfactory to the instructor. That they may feel a degree of con- tentment and that they may take care of their financial obligations they are paid a weekly rate of $8. In other words, the company is willing to pay $32 to develop a tracer or, in the words of the supervisor, “It is willing to gamble $32 that it can make a tracer of a girl in four weeks.” At the end of this probation period, or before, if it is possible, a decision is made as to the pro- spective usefulness of the student. If the decision is a negative one she leaves; if it is affirmative she is put on regular work at the normal rate for which inexperienced boy tracers can be hired in that locality. This remains her rate of pay for five months. At the end of five months she is advanced $1 a week, and at the end of six months more she receives $1 a week more. Further ad- vancement in pay is based upon the ability she may develop to perform the work and the degree to which she demonstrates that she is capable of taking on new tasks and new responsibilities. The company purposes paying the women the same rate as would have to be paid to young men for corre- sponding service. As the company is desirous of advancing the women as fast as possible, those showing particular adaptability for drawing work and having somewhat of a mechanical instinct are developed into detailers and for layout work. When a woman is engaged and during the in- struction period of a month or less she is required to charge her time against an order which is issued at the time she is hired. This is done in order that records may be kept of the exact cost of each girl’s instruction. Although a period of four weeks has been set as the limit of time in which a woman shall show her adaptability for the work, in the group that has been trained it has never been necessary to go to this limit of time and many ,have proved their ability to per- form the desired tasks in three or four days. Each woman student is furnished with an equipment complete for the work which she is to perform. It is believed that this is quite a factor in the successful conduct of a woman’s section of July 4, 1918 a tracing division because when they are given only such instruments as are needed in their work they become proficient in the use of those instru- ments and are not confused by having a complete set of drafting implements with many of which they are not sufficiently acquainted to make proper use. As the company furnishes the instruments, it is assured that they are high grade, are all just alike, and that one girl has no advantage over another in the tools she uses. So the common excuse that “If I had such and such instruments like the other girl has I could do better work” is not heard. The Universal drafting machine is used in the entire department, this applying to women tracers as well as the regular draftsmen, and therefore the instructors are not confronted with the prob- lem of teaching the use of the T square, parallel ruler and other instruments. This also elimi- nates the triangle and scales and the equipment is reduced to a very small number of instruments which the women must master. Lesson sheets for the tracers are planned with the idea of providing proper instruction along the lines most difficult for the women to acquire. It is a recognized fact that the most difficult thing for a young woman to do in connection with draft- ing work is to make good, freehand letters. There- fore, this subject is taken up in the first lesson because if the student cannot master lettering sufficiently well to make a drawing appear neat it is virtually a sure sign that she will not make a successful tracer. Much thought has been given to the preparation of the text and the sequence of these lesson sheets. Referring to Lesson 1, it will be seen that the teaching of lettering starts with the simplest lines or combination of lines to make the ordinary capi- tal Gothic letters. First are the vertical lines, a combination of vertical and horizontal, then a combination of vertical and oblique, and so on down to the letters having curves and irregular shapes. These. lesson sheets are prepared by taking the original sheet and making a photostat so as to produce a faint black print on a white background. In all of these sheets the student is required first to trace over the characters produced by this printing process and in the case of the lettering sheets to continue to fill out the blank space in each line as best she can. These lesson sheets are of the same form as the regular drawing sheets with standard title border. This is done with object of requiring the student to fill in the descriptive spaces as she would have to do on regular drawings. She is obliged while a student to put in these spaces words that indicate the use she will make of these spaces in actual work. On the second lesson sheet the student is taught to use the drafting machine and other in- struments. As in the first lesson this sheet starts with simple operations. The student draws di- rectly over the lines appearing on the photostat lesson sheet. On lesson sheet No. 3 it will be observed that the student makes a still further advance by drawing conventional figures in combinations of straight and curved lines. In making these draw- ings particular attention is given to the joining of the lines without overlapping and so that they are clean cut, not blurred or blotted. The fourth les- son is but a step from the conventional drawing to actual nictures of parts as the student will see them in the tracing work. There also is given the a >. iin = dhe, ~ aD July 4, 1918 THE IRON AGE 3 Goins Oonerwree Spacitind Limits On ‘hes Growing Ave 7 OOH Conssuons OF Anglos *1” Reomed And Bored Homes St 4 Te OO) Seat SHEET 1 (TITTITI HKHHHH STOTO o0z2L A oors cass '# 52 ‘SEEEE trrrr eed 26708 48 6 NNNNN K 78 355k ok of 075 KKKK MMMMM AAAAA : sseakhHuid ¥VVVV wwWwww EE ES xXx YYYYY —<—— S222 4444 ssa Cials Oooo Qo00 cantem Unies CCCCC GGGGG PROPOSED Lines DDDDD VUUUU <= o + WWIII PPPpp ie RRRRR BARES Se =SHEET 2-— |= —- SHEET 4 [ oF E JUNCTION ACCURATELY AS Deer + Conny Deer From Bor Sices SHEET 4A eee ar screws MACHINE SCREWS Ova, PRUSTER MEAL FRENCH HEAD RE MEA FLAT PRUSTER MEAD ti«éPLLAS: out AD eS9 sey screw MEX MEAD S Qual ay ee ee ee Getens Otnerwene Specttied (ents Or [tes Ommng te * en ae f/f f Lesson Sheets of Norton Standard Size and System of Drawing Are Reproduced by a Faint Photostat l’rint tor Tracing in the Probation and Educational Period lettering that will appear on the regular drawings. After the student has mastered the first four lessons further advanced work is given her on lesson sheets numbered 1A, 2A, 3A, and 4A. Sheet No. 1A is simply an advanced sheet of Lesson No. 1, which covers the study of lettering, but the letters appear in word combinations and these words are those which the student will use in her actual work later in tracing drawings. This same prin- ciple has been applied in the other advanced sheets. The same principles’ have been applied in com- piling the lesson sheets for detailers. The student is taught to go from simple forms to more difficult ones. The isometric view of the pieces gives the student in a general way the picture of the part which she is to produce and furnishes sufficient dimensions so that she can correctly draw the three usual views of standard drawings. It has been particularly interesting to see how well, step by step, the lesson sheets bring the student from simple things to more difficult pieces and finally THE IRON AGE July 4, 1918 to the most difficult of parts, including coring, blind drilled and tapped holes, etc., and how natu- rally by this process of meeting ever-increasing difficulties the student improves and becomes ac- customed to the class of drawing that she is actu- ally to work on. When the detail drawings are made up they are complete in every essential; that is they have Dl 24 oom £4 Bh Pours se £7 row l oo ame Forty BOTS Wean\s Bows Anos an fore Pr 7D OB in Pace - ~~" eo ee a ee heat °F eee Ae eve Maes we Ne pl rn, 5 a aa The Detail Drawing and the Tracing Made From It the limits established and all the notes written. These notes and other detailed information are put on the drawing in good legible writing. The girls who are to do the tracing have acquired all the training necessary to enable them to make the letters and figures neatly. Therefore, when the tracing is finished all that it is necessary to do is to have it checked by the one in charge of the tracing division to be sure that the tracer has re- produced the detail that was given on the detail drawing, such detail having previously been checked for its mechanical features in regard to limits, material, design, shape, proportions, etc. From the beginning of their training the stu- July 4, 1918 dents work on sheets which are of standard size, 10 x 14 in. Summary of a Year’s Experience The training division is in charge of a man competent by experience and temperament for this special task. The success of such work rests largely in the selection of the man to take charge of it. One must be secured who is competent to direct the girls and, further, can appreciate their little peculiarities and tactfully give instruction and criticism so as to gain their confidence. It has been determined, too, that another important feature in the successful conduct of such a divi- sion of women workers is to place them in a sepa- rate room so that there will be little occasion for them to intermingle with the draftsmen. Refer- ence has been made to the necessity for careful selection of the students and too much emphasis cannot be placed upon the statement that experi- ence dictates that those who have not had previous training learn more rapidly and thoroughly than those who have had some idea of the work and have well-fixed conceptions of what they can and cannot do. Experience, too, dictates that there is little opportunity for group instruction as each woman student must be studied and treated indi- vidually to secure the best results. The work has not been in progress long enough to determine what will be the full measure of success, but a very large measure of success has already been attained. How some of the girls have proved capable of advancement beyond mere tracing work has already been told earlier in this article. Others are showing similar possibilities. The adaptability of women to this work is par- ticularly well shown by some figures of the cost of training. Of the girls who have taken up trac- ing study there has been but one who failed. The A Call for Employment Managers The Emergency Fleet Corporation, Philadelphia, is desirous of recruiting employment managers, assistant employment managers and interviewers for shipyard employment work. Readers are requested to give the subjoined statement of qualifications their considera- tion and either to send the names of likely candidates to the acting head of the industrial service section of the corporation, C. W. Doten, or refer the matter to those acquaintances who seem likely to be interested. Briefly outlined, the Emergency Fleet Corporation is interested in securing men of an industrial experi- ence closely allied to shipyard work, who after taking a six weeks’ course for employment managers, being given at little or no expense at such universities as Rochester University, Harvard University and Colum- bia University, in the fundamentals of employment managers, will be in a position to render valuable serv- ice in shipyard work in the capacity of employment managers, or as assistant employment managers. It is emphasized that the men should be of good appearance and address, general intelligence, tact, of other qualifi- cations calculated to make them of immediate value as employment men. The corporation is also interested in securing men of industrial experience closely allied to the shipbuild- ing trades and capable of entering employment depart- ments of the shipyards as interviewers for selecting skilled shipyard help. These men would, it is explained, be more of the individual type of workers than those referred to as prospective employment managers. A fire on June 22 damaged the offices of the Medart Patent Pulley Co., St. Louis, but the plant is in opera- tion turning out its production as usual. Newspaper reports that the plant was destroyed were entirely erroneous. THE IRON AGE 5 cost of training the first five girls were respec- tively $8.16, $7.35, $6.22, $7.55 and $11.92. The women who have taken up the training since then have cost approximately the same amounts. In the employment of young men for blueprint- ing, vault service and tracing, there is always one great problem. The young man looks upon his work in these divisions merely as a probation period which he must serve as a penalty for eventually becoming a draftsman. He does not consider that this work is experience in his future line and that it is giving him a training which will later fit him for a higher position. Contrary to this general feeling among young men, young women are pleased to have an opportunity to go into these branches of work. Perhaps this is be- cause women have a certain pride in being able to accomplish work which tradition has said should be performed by young men. They are content to remain on their job long after they have mastered it, whereas a young man is always looking for something new. The women are steady in their at- tendance, dutiful to their employer and patient to an unbelievable extent. Unpleasantness is rarely experienced in dealing with a girl tracer, even though you may ask her to redraw the same drawing a dozen times, whereas in the case of a young man, if you ask for a single line to be changed on the drawing there is generally an ex- cuse or complaint forthcoming. A woman is very reluctant to allow work to leave her drawing board if she knows there is a mistake or error in it, whereas a young man is constantly trying to slip mistakes and errors through because he does not like to make the changes. Neatness is the natural characteristic of a girl and where her ability has been properly trained her drawings will be found to be neat, painstaking and in good order. Indianapolis Companies Merged The Lyons-Atlas Co., Indianapolis, manufacturer of Diesel and oil engines and other machinery, and the Hill Pump Co., Anderson, Ind., have been merged in a new organization, the Midwest Engine Co., capitalized at $3,500,000. The Lyons-Atlas Co. has about 1800 employees, and the Hill company 800. The latter manu- factures turbine engines and pumps. Stoughton A. Fletcher, president of the Fletcher-American National Bank, Indianapolis, has a controlling interest in the new organization. -He states that $1,000,000 will be spent at once for plant extension and equipment. It is understood that the Anderson company had Govern- ment orders considerably beyond its capacity and the Indianapolis company had a capacity in excess of its bookings. Orders for turbine engines to the amount of $6,000,000 are in hand. The value of the output of the new company, when extensions are completed, is estimated at $20,000,000 annually, and it is expected 5000 men will be employed. The Lyons-Atlas Co. occupies a tract of 65 acres at Nineteenth Street and Martindale Avenue, Indianapolis, of which 35 acres are under roof in 20 buildings with 600,000 sq. ft. of floor space. The plant is made up of two units. The Hill company occupies one large building at Anderson cov- ering a city square. The officers of the new organization are: John G. Wood, Anderson, president and general manager; Harry W. Griffin, Detroit, secretary-treasurer; O. C. Pantall, Indianapolis, vice-president. Mr. Wood was formerly general manager of the Remy electric division of the United Motors Corporation, and Mr. Griffin was general sales manager of the Remy company. They both re- signed these positions to accept places with the Mid- west company. Fred S. Robinson, assistant to the for- mer president of the Lyons-Atlas Co., will probably be manager of the Indianapolis plant. A Priority System for Labor Recruiting Preferential Industries to Be Taken Care Of, Possibly by Draft Exemptions — Washington Cautious in Dealing with Labor Shifting Problem WASHINGTON, July 2.—The War Industries Board is seriously contemplating two important steps with respect to the labor supply of the industries essential to the conduct of the war. The first of these is the creation of a system of priority under which industries contributing directly to the conduct of the war will be preferred. The second and most radical step, and one which will be taken only after the most careful delib- eration, involves the exemption from military service of practically all the labor required by those industries engaged in certain absolutely essential work. The survey of the common labor of the country to be used as the basis for an exclusive system of allocation to the industries, which has been begun by the United States Kimployment Service, bears an important relation to the project now being considered by the War Industries ltourd, and the employment service will have an im portant part in working out the plan finally adopted. Increased Demands for Shipbuilding The necessity for action by the War Industries Board with reference to an adequate supply of labor for the essential industries has been greatly emphasized of late by the results of the canvass for ship workers which has been carried on under the general direction of the Emergency Fleet Corporation. The enterprising methods pursued in recruiting all trades for shipbuild- ing, together with practical exemption from military service, has enabled the leading shipyards to draw labor, both skilled and unskilled, from all other indus- tries, and the high wage scale now in force, taken in connection with the standardization recently completed for the shipyards of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, has cut down the labor turnover to a marked degree. At present, therefore, all industries are sacrificing men to the shipyards and there is no reciprocal shifting of ship workers to other trades. This fact gives special point to statements made before committees of the Senate in the past week by Chairman Hurley and other Shipping Board officials to the effect that while the shipyards are now employing upwards of 350,000 men it is hoped that within a few months it will be practi- table to increase the number to 600,000. With such a draft on the other industries in prospect, the mem- bers of the War Industries Board are naturally deeply concerned regarding the situation and are seriously con- sidering the steps that should be taken for the protec- tion of other industries. l'rom a war standpoint the industries which must be safeguarded with special care are coal-mining, steel- making in all its stages from the manufacture of coke to the most highly finished products in the category of war material, and the railroads. In considering the possibilities of the application of protective methods to these industries, the manufacturers engaged in steel production must face the fact that coal-mining is under the supervision of the powerful governmental agency known as the Fuel Administration, while the interests of the railroads are being very vigilantly looked after ly the Railroad Administration. While, therefore, it may be assumed that the Ordnance Bureau of the War Department, for example, would be thoroughly alive to the necessity of maintaining an adequate supply of labor for all factories engaged in turning out munitions of dll kinds, it is obvious that a high degree of co- ordination would be necessary to secure full protection for all’ manufacturers engaged on work for other lsmreaus of that department and for the Navy. The Virtual Commandeering for Government Shops The shifting of labor from non-essential to essential work will probably be undertaken by the Government 6 on a more or less comprehensive scale before steps are taken to increase the draft exemptions to include other industries than shipbuilding. Already some progress has been made in this direction through the more or less arbitrary commandeering of workmen for Gov- ernment establishments. Beginning early in the present year, skilled workers and common laborers have been taken from their private employment by labor commis- sioners representing governmental manufacturing es- tablishments and, while there was no specific authority for such action in the standing regulations, few pro- tests have been received here. In nearly all cases the men were given higher pay in their new employment, usually coupled with shorter hours, and as the manu- facturers losing the labor have taken a philosophical view of the matter no issue has been made here of the fairness of the action. As to its legality nearly every intelligent person is doubtless by this time fully aware of the comprehensive authority that may be wielded by the Government under the general war powers with which Congress has clothed the executive departments. The prospect that labor is soon to be shifted on a large scale to speed up the production of war materials has again raised the specter which the Administration has been at such pains to down, namely, the necessity of drawing a sharp line of demarcation between so- called essential and non-essential industries and the definite listing of the latter class. It can be stated on the highest authority that, although the officials here recognize the difficulty of meeting the situation without specifying the non-essential industries, it has not yet been decided to publish a hard and fast category thereof. Rumors that such a list would soon appear have been current for many weeks but they have been categorically denied by such authorities as Chairman Baruch of the War Industries Board, Fuel Adminis- trator Garfield, and others. These officials still hope that it will be possible to handle the problem by ap- proaching it from the angle heretofore employed by the I'uel Administration and the Priorities Committee of the War Industries Board, which have granted pref- erences to the war industries with reference to their relative importance, but have refrained from listing any particular line of enterprise as non-essential. Even in the negotiation of such agreements as have been made by Dr. Garfield involving curtailment of coal supply the ‘uel Administrator has been careful to point out that the industries affected were “non-war” industries rather than non-essential. This statement has applied to cuts in coal supply voluntarily agreed to by manu- facturers of window glass, lime, box-board, and even to the less voluntary adjustment reached with the Fuel Administration by the manufacturers of pleasure auto- mobiles. Official Preferenc2 List in Shifting Labor Whether it proves necessary to promulgate a list of non-essential industries or not the shifting of labor on the basis of relative priority will soon begin on a large scale. The War Industries Board will assume general responsibility in the matter and will doubtless employ as its agencies both the Priorities Committee and the United States Employment Service. There is already in existence an official preference list, recently published in THE IRon AGE, and this, with such modifi- cations as may be made from time to time, will serve as a guide in indicating the industries that are to receive help in maintaining an adequate labor supply. In the opinion of members of the War Industries Board it would seem to be quite practicable to operate a labor priority scheme on the basis of this preference list without specifically indicating the non-essential indus- July 4, 1918 tries. The distribution of coal is now made on the preference list and transportation for raw materials and finished products is being accorded on the same basis. Should this plan be pursued the agents of the Em- ployment Service, instead of taking labor from indus- tries listed as non-essential, would be at liberty to transfer it from any establishment not definitely pro- tected by the preference schedule. What the manu- facturers engaged in industries that do not contribute directly to the conduct of the war especially dread is being included in a definite published category designed to make them the victims of every preferential project of the Government. Such designation would, of course, involve them in serious financial complications, injure or destroy their bank credits, demoralize their organi- zations, and in many cases result in absolute ruin. Caution About Granting Draft Exemption In approaching the question of granting draft ex- emptions to the men employed in coal-mining, railroad work and steel production, the members of the War Industries Board realize that they are treading on dangerous ground and they are, therefore, proceeding with great caution. The actual granting of such ex- emptions would have to be made by the Provost Mar- shal General, but this fact does not threaten a serious complication for the reason that a direction from the President would be sufficient to produce the necessary order and there is no doubt in the minds of those who are familiar with the situation here that the President will give the necessary instructions whenever he re- ceives a specific recommendation to do so from Chair- man Baruch of the War Industries Board.. The cutting of red tape is Mr. Baruch’s specialty, and the confidence reposed in his judgment by the President is almost un- limited. The problem, therefore, is after all a simple one, and action may come wholly without warning at an early date. There is reason to believe that if draft exemptions are extended materially they will first be allowed in favor of the coal-mining industry. Notwithstanding the fact that the recent weekly reports of the U. S. Geological Survey show unprecedented production, the ‘uel Administrator is still convinced that there will be a large shortage for the year beginning April 1, 1918, and that in spite of every effort at economy and cur- tailment the deficit cannot be forced below 60,000,000 tons. Increased production is possible provided mining labor is not further interfered with by the draft and provided also an adequate supply of cars is assured. The Railroad Administration is much gratified with the success that has attended the working out of recently devised plans for giving the coal mines 100 per cent of their needed transportation facilities and the Fuel Administration is in receipt of reports indicating that the coal miners in both anthracite and bituminous fie'ds are doing less idling than heretofore and have agreed in large numbers to forego Saturday half holidays throughout the summer. The next draft call, however, is likely to make heavy inroads on both branches of the industry which, in some districts, is already suffering aus the result of voluntary enlistments by many able- hodied young men. Exemption Possible in Railroading and Coal Mining Every reliable indication here points to the cer- tainty that draft exemptions will be resorted to if necessary to keep the principal railroad systems of the country fully manned. The dependence of the entire ordnance program on steel, coal and transportation, not lo mention the general welfare of the people at large, would fully justify the Administration, it is believed here, in taking any steps that may be necessary to keep the railroads running at full speed. Whether it will prove practicable to maintain the efficiency of all the leading systems on a mere priority basis remains to be seen, but experts here express serious doubts on this point. It is also a question as to whether it would be practicable to recruit desirable railroad labor among other industries to make up for losses to the draft and there can be no doubt that, aside from shop work, the THE IRON AGE 7 efficiency of the railroads would be decreased by sub- stituting engineers, firemen and other workers having no experience in railroad operation. Labor for Steel Making to Be Made Available It will be safe for the steel manufacturers to count upon material assistance from the Government’s laber priority plans when they are fully worked out. As already indicated, the full protection of that part of the industry engaged in war work will be a complicated proposition, but it will not severely tax the ingenuity of the authorities, and so far as the more essentia! features of the industry are concerned it will be a com- paratively simple matter to provide all desired labor. The Government is now giving special attention to in- creasing the coke supply and will provide every worker needed in this connection. The blast furnace situation will receive adequate attention and the United States Employment Service has been at work for some time in the interest of all the establishments receiving Gov- ernment aid in the production of ordnance. If the current volume of output were sufficient to meet the necessities of the Government it would not be necessary to resort to draft exemptions, in the opinion of the authorities here, but production in nearly every establishment is below the desired peak and old plants are being extended and new ones created in several im- portant districts. It has even been found impossible to strictly observe the restrictions of the so-called “red flag” zone. Quantity production has not yet been attained in the big gun program and the maximum out- put of heavy ordnance will not be reached before the end of the present year. The labor demands of nearly all concerns working on heavy ordnance are steadily in- creasing, and it is a serious question whether any mere priority project will take care of the situation as it wil! exist six months hence, complicated as it will then be hy voluntary enlistments and draft calls. W.L. Cc. To Rehabilitate the Wounded for Civil Pursuits Congress, without dissenting vote, has delegated to the Federal Board for Vocational Education the task of re-educating and rehabilitating for civil life and usefulness such of our wounded soldiers and sailors as may be proper subjects. Available statistics show the number to aveFage about 10,000 per million men per annum. In other words, on the present army and navy strength, together with auxiliaries, we are certain of almost 30,000 men to be subjects for re-education this year. As the strength grows the number of men grows. With the more sanguinary nature of the fight- ing in open warfare instead of trench stalemate, the average may run to higher figures. Experience of our allies shows that over 80 per cent of permanently disabled men can be re-educated for useful, self-sustaining, wage-earning employment. Many of them, it is expected, will be made into expert artisans and mechanics. The capacity of the factories of Canada approxi- mates 400,000 18-pounder shrapnel shells complete per week, including cartridge cases, primers, fuses and propellants, according to D. M. Metcalf, chief inspector of steam boilers at Toronto. He delivered an address before the American Boiler Manufacturers Association at Philadelphia on June 18. In addition to this output he says there is a capacity in Canada for almost 400,- 000 high-explosive shells, ranging in sizes from 18- pounders to 9.2-in., making a weekly total of about 800,000 shells, and absorbing in their manufacture ap- proximately 25,000 tons of steel. The value of orders for munitions last year approached $800,000,000, and the value of munitions shipped to date is close te $600,- 000,000. After undergoing extensive repairs No. 2 blast furnace of the Steelton, Pa., plant of the Bethlehem Steel Corporation was placed into operation last week. It had been idle for six months. Lot Cost System in Making Winchester Guns Bonus Payments to Machine Adjusters and Instructors a Feature of Production System—Some of the Cost Forms Used BY W. E. FREELAND— - — tridge plant of the Winchester Repeating given a smaller number of machines. One machine Arms Co. is that of the adjusters, who keep may be more difficult to keep up than another. To the machines in working order to maintain the per- overcome this the rate is based on a less number of fection of the parts produced and also act as instruc- machines. The machines an adjuster looks after tors to the operatives of the machines. The machine need not necessarily all be based the same. Where adjusters receive a bonus. An adjuster whose base’ the less competent adjusters are not given a full rate per hour is a and who has charge over » ma- complement of machines, they lose nothing because chines is considered as having a base rate per their day rate is guaranteed. For each machine an machine equal to a -- ». Whenever one of his ma- adjuster looks after, he has a time operation ticket chine operators produces the task number of pieces showing production corresponding to that of the per hour, the adjuster is paid a bonus piece of one- operator. In other words, an adjuster has his regu- third of the base rate, or a —— 3nN per piece. This lar day work ticket and a ticket for each machine bonus thus becomes proportionately greater if the he looks after. operator turns out more than N pieces per hour. Production orders for guns are issued by the If the operator turns out less than N pieces, a_ planning department in lots and the costs are gath- bonus of five-sixths of the above piece bonus, or ered upon each production lot. An individual cost \ N important part of the work in a gun andcar- more than his number, but the less competent are CMARGE smor fein SYMBOL - LABOR COST ee ‘TLON CARD weer fnoins moves Ay women \ : ‘ 4 SUNDAY : ro NO + nos-CA cae MONDAY | ’ TOTAL cave ip} TUESOAY F wet _ Le =] WEDNESDAY = il AT \ |-— 3 rnurspay ee ~asok | nouns | SU } \ 5 a ORDERES \ _omnect oes [rece WORK + 4 t L } d rRipay Quant’ \ zoo. \—— [oar wont —- 4 1 ane t SATURDAY 4 = | ; 2 SS ae + z pate pares aa 2 se . - “WAR BONUS _ s\n : lo \- }_ = a { ae GRAND TOTAL MANUFACTURING ORDER CHARGE st MAKE oie HE FOLLOWING * esr | va aod wn] ve | won or 7 We. OF PCa. in LOT | S¥uROL OP ARTICLE | ORAWING Ro Co OESCRIPTION OF ARTICLE — ihe OSE SPACE 18 REQUIRED FOR BEMARRS, VEE BACK OF ORDER. Sen OVER) Santo |WAMUFACTURING ORDERS ON WHICH | j ~ MANUFACTURING ORDERS | SHIPPING ORDERS TICKLER DATES | COMPLETION OF THIS DEPENDS | AWAITING COMPLETION OF THIS | AWAITING COMPLETION OF THIS | Wovne cay | wowrn say | wonvm Ov | mowr™ ay [wo wav Bu | | | BY oe | oF PREPARATION | om To worn cost ORDER | PLAN OF mare work EQUIPHENT | tees. cost SCHEDULED | ! C eecaweo fuss, wrirren | wrivTen i warn =! | Compuere FINISHED PREPARED DAY |wOUR) DAY ea DAY |wouR| GAY woun | say oun) BAY | HOUH | BAY | HOUR| Day | wove DAY Wown Gay | WouN Ee Peer Te | | ay | HOUR, OAT say | nous a | ces Forms Used in Determining Cost of Gun Manufacture 5a — 18nN, is paid to the adjuster until the produc- collection card is maintained for each shop through tion drops to 5/6 N pieces. Below this amount the which the work is routed. This shop cost card bonus ceases altogether. For example, an adjuster shows the number of parts received to be worked whose base rate is 36 cents per hour has charge of upon and the number of parts finished upon leav- 12 automatic milling machines. The task produc- ing the shop, showing in each shop the amount of tion on these machines is 107 pieces per hour. When’ work lost through the operation. This permits close production reaches 110 pieces per hour the ad- investigation of shop losses through manufacture juster’s bonus becomes : and also permits the display of the amount ex- 110a 110 & 36 pended upon particular lots by shops. This scheme nN > 5S 12 107 = 1,028 ties in with the general production control scheme of the plant and is an aid to production control as Hence the total bonus per hour is 1.028c. an added check with the dollar and cents value The best men are naturally given the full number attached. of machines that it is determined that a competent * Distribution of pay rolls is by the same method adjuster can maintain at full productive capacity. as used in the cartridge shop, up to the point of In exceptional cases an adjuster may be given even posting to the shop cost card. In the gun depart- 8 July 4, 1918 ment work this posting is done in the cost depart- ment after the cost analysis cards have been checked with the payroll. The particular feature, from the manufacturing viewpoint, in the gun lot cost system, is the charg- ing of consumable production tools directly to the cost order in the same manner as materials and labor are charged instead of absorbing their cost in a burden charge. The production tools in the man- ufacture of a gun are one of the largest individual items of costs entering into such production. The lot system makes it possible to manufacture compo- nents, figure the costs on these components, and \s an Example of Highly Developed Machinery Employed I> This 6-Spindle In-Letter for Magazines in the Gun Stocks turn them into stores when completed and ready for assembly at a specified cost per component. The components are later drawn from worked material stores and charged to an assembly lot order as ma- terials, to which assembly lot order is added, of course, the direct labor of assembly and the burden charge. The principal value of the lot cost system is the statistical feature that permits the comparison of costs between lots and the comparison of tool costs HKEO MATERIALS DESCHIBDED O£L0 THE IRON AGE 9 One of the First Operations in Gun Manufacture Is Cutting the Bar Stock Into Barrel Lengths between lots at various times, in accordance with the condition of the factory as to activity; and further, there is the additional value that comes from showing the figures of the lot costs or tool costs to the foremen. The gun department, in common with all other departments, uses product symbols in gathering costs. Each model of gun has been given a symbol and each part of the gun has also been given a symbol which identifies it as belonging to a certain model. All orders and plans of work of the gun de- partment bear these symbols. When the planning section writes an order it assigns the gun symbol and order number. The planning section maintains one series of order numbers which it assigns to all orders serially, regardless of model or part. One of the important forms used in gathering costs is the gun part process cost card, A. This card is written by the planning section when the manufacturing order is written and is forwarded Forms Used in Determining Cost of Gun Manufacture OT TSS als 10 THE IRON to the cost division. There is one gun part process cost card made out for each order for each part for each shop through which the part is routed. All labor charges against an order on the operation cards or time tickets in the various shops are sum- marized weekly on a labor distribution card, C, and these charges are broken down into piece work, day work and machine hours. All charges appearing on the labor distribution cards must balance with the shop payrolls and these cards and the payrolls are audited periodically and the accounts checked with the operation cards or time tickets. These labor distribution cards when properly audited are for- warded to the cost division where the charges are posted on the gun part process cost card. All tools that are special to gun part manufac- ture and which are carried by drawing number from the gun production tool balance of stores record in the gun department office are drawn from stores on the regular stores issue slip and are charged to the production order for the part on which the tools are to be used. All tools of this nature are manufactured for stores and carried on the balance of stores record at full value. These tools are charged to a production order at full value when withdrawn from stores. Fixtures, gages and standard tools which are not carried on a balance of stores record are carried on a fixed inventory in the tool cages. When an order is completed, all unused tools charged to that order are returned to stores on regular stores credit tickets. All used tools are attached to the fixture and returned to the central tool cage without credit. Credits for unused tools are at full value. When a requisition has been sent through the regular channels to the cost division, the value of the tools is posted on the gun part process cost card. Salvage from tools in the form of high-speed steel is credited to the shop expense account of the shop where the tools were used. When a lot has been finished and the lot sheet audited by the lot auditor in the planning section, he signs a summary lot slip, D, and forwards it to the cost division. It shows the quantity started, Brass Manufacturers’ Meeting That about 75 per cent of the capacity of the brass manufacturing plants of the country is now engaged directly or indirectly on Government work was indicated by reports made at the quarterly meeting of the Na- tional Association of Brass Manufacturers held at the Hollenden Hotel, Cleveland, June 25 to 27. So much of the manufacturing facilities is now being used on Government work that it was stated that production of regular lines is not keeping up with the demand, and manufacturers are behind on deliveries. Members of the organization stated that never previously in the history of the industry were brass manufacturers con- fronted with the question of production. The association decided that for the present it would allow on shipments of 125 lb. and over freight actually paid up to $1.50 per 100 lb. This is not a change from the policy that has prevailed and simply means that the manufacturers are willing to absorb the increased freight rate. The War Service Committee reported that it had filed a list of the plant equipment facilities of the various brass manufacturers with the proper de- partments in Washington with a view of having the Government make such use of their plants as it might require. An important topic taken up during the meeting was trade extension. The association will conduct a cam- paign of publicity in order to educate house owners, plumbers and steam fitters to use better material and goods that bear the manufacturer’s trade name and AGE July 4, 1918 the quantity finished and the loss due to defective manufacture and scrappage. The cost division en- ters the started and the finished quantity to show by the lot summary ticket on the gun part process cost cards, F. The burden for each shop is com- puted separately and applied monthly on the gun part process cost cards. When the cost division receives the gun part process cost cards for a particular order it makes out a summary cost card and enters upon this form all the materials, either worked or raw, withdrawn from stores against the order and the quantity of finished work returned to stores as shown on the stores worked material receipt slip. The cost divi- sion also records on the cost summary card a sum- mary of the monthly charges against the order by shops for labor and burden. Each month the gun part process cost card is totaled, the burden applied and the amount transferred to the summary cost card. The summary cost cards are collected by models and show the total investment on parts in process for each model. The cost of the various parts by orders is forwarded by the cost division on « special form, E, to the planning section of the gun department, where these prices are entered on the worked material balance of stores sheet. These costs are entered on requisitions for gun parts and always are the average value of the parts to date. Specification values are used by the planning section until actual values can be obtained. The planning section makes a monthly report to the superintendent of the gun department, showing the worked material in process and th