The Iron Age 1923-06-14: Vol 111 Iss 24

THE IRON AGE New York, June 14, 1923 ESTABLISHED 1855 VOL. Ul, No. 24 Five Years of Empl yyee Representation Under “The Bethlehem Plan” CHARLES M. SCHWAB EUGENE G. GRACE Chairman BY JOHN CALDER President T is a truism in industry today that “the employee, ine cooperat ventures, in a new spirit of employees like his employer and the nation, reserves the right and employers, which already have passed the experl- to make his own mistakes.” mental stage and the story of which “can now be told.” It has been hard for most employers in the past to accept that truth and there are still not a few un- believers whose wish is father to the thought. Before One of these in particular aroused the writer’s in the war this “right” was exercised either terest; one of the most notable and the oldest of the conference committee plans in the steel industry or in any industry An Independent Investigation at First Hand by employees individually and _ inade quately, with individual consequences, or collectively through unions with destruc tive mass conflicts. a pioneer in fact about which only bare outlines were known hitherto. Recently tarely was there any effective pro- he was permitted to examine its working vision for collective representation of the in his own way, to apply to it all of the whole body of employees in a plant, re- tests which long practical experience could gardless of the external affiliations of some of them or the lack of such affilia- tions. Yet, though unions varied greatly in the quality of their intentions, they were in the main correct when they suggest, and these tests were applied im- partially to officers and laborers. The results disclosed by close scrutiny of the Bethlehem Steel Corporation plan now at work in many plants were so claimed that the greatly preponderating gratifying that permission was asked to non-union men were practically disfran J. M. LARKIN have them independently recorded for the chised economically under conditions Assistant to President first time. The information and con where the employer insisted upon making lusions are set down here for the en all of the mistakes. ightenment of that large majority of employers who In the six years since 1917 a change for the better, still halt between two opinions, and for the encourage greater than is generally realized, has come over the ment of those who are moving in the matter industrial scene and the industrial temper. There hav: To go to Bethlehem as a stranger, to live in it, to been many prophets true and false and numerous i talk to “the man on the street,” to meet the corpora- teresting experiments. But there have been also genu tion’s workmen there and elsewhere in free intercourse on l person to under- * fy msulting engineer, Lea ngton, Mass. Mr. Calder was the Gical C take a survey of “The Bethlehem Plan.” He was trained in the steel industry of Scotland and is an honor graduate of the Royal Technical College. For 20 years he man- aged well-known American plants, including those of the Remington Typewriter Co. and the Cadillac Motor Car Co. He acquired a national reputation in labor management and was called to be the first manager of industrial relations of Swift & Co. with over 100 plants. There, during several years, he developed policies and made a marked success of employee represe ntation, of the organization and education of foremen and executives, and of per- sonnel services. He is now in practice as a consultant. He has been a welcome contributor to THE IRON AGE and is an active member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the Society of Industrial Engineers and other professional bodies. His recent book, “Cap- ital’s Duty to the Wage Earner,” covering the whole field of industrial relations has at- tracted wide attention as a constructive and illuminating contribution by a forward-look ing, practical man. 1689 Pe Ne ee ee ene ete eae ee Bae errors + aria aay poe ee SE. ee ete en a cee ta . 1680 about tne full relations, and to employment after access to the labor records and have there- officials for confirmation, is to discover that both tell the same in and after its official in his that five outdoes the eresting story vears tne worKkel The Beginnings of the Plan What was the setting for that which was nly “the Bethlehem experiment?” Briefly this: After the years of alternating union and employer domination which characterized American industry, the war demanded indus trial peace. But the conference committee system set up at the Bethlehem plant in th fall of 1918 by the War Labor no sense representative of all the workers. It Board was it steadily lost the respect of both employee and employer, while at the same time the Steelton, Lebanon and Maryland steel plant employe of the corporation, not being under War Board regulation, were free to feel their way to some better plan of working. They actually did so a full year ahead of the findings of the Presi dent’s Industrial Commission of 1919, which advocated employees’ representation in the plant as the only way in which the interest of all could be properly safeguarded. In fa more than five years ago, or as early as April, 1918, the Bethlehem Steel Corporation, facing the problem of keeping touch with steadily ir ‘ reasing forces, had decided to introduce a eral scheme of representation whenevs employee desired such a plan Representation Basis In October, 1918, 1 employees of Steelton, Lebanon and Maryland plants, in con ference with the ympany representat adopted that mutually acceptable schem« known as “The Bethlehem Plan” and, though employees and management 1! eacl plar { group are tires 1iter tne plan to sult thelr conditions, it has not been modified materially in the five years since its inception. In its issue of Oct. 24, 1918, THE IRON AGE ished the rules of th plan in full and it will at this time to state the basis of representation: Plant GENL TRAFFIC MANAGER J-NMT- GROSS inceptio! enthusiasm for THE IRON Provided, an AGE June 14, 1923 however, that in no case shall there be les representatives Eighteen years of age and 60 days’ employment qualifies for voting. months’ employment, with citizenship or qualifies as a candidate for election. Twenty-one years of age and six first Company officials papers, ind those hiring or discharging are disqualified. The success of the plan at the three steel plants named above was in marked contrast to the inefficiency of the War Board committee system at the main Beth- Arbitration President of Corporation Management Representative Superintendent, / Employees pub- suffice ton, rows Pa.), Point, (Johnstown, lehem plant, which was practically manipu lated in the interests of a small organized minority. When the steel strike of 1919 was called on the plea that the industry was a “non-con- labor, constituting the Bethlehem plant, promptly threw the Government’s conference ference” one, organized only a small fraction of committee system overboard and pressed the while the corporation adhered strictly to the agreement with the War Board. Nevertheless 90 per cent of the employees and most of the elected com- issue independently and by force, mittee men adhered to the company. Per- ceiving that the board had lost faith in its own badly handled plan, the employees who had been sense its undemocratic working requested that the Bethlehem plan in quick to successful operation for nearly a year at the company’s other three steel plants be adopted at the main plant hitherto dominated by the War Labor Board. By October, 1919, this had been effected to their satisfaction and the plan has now functioned there for nearly four years, at the five years, and has been ex- others for about tended to numerous plants which have been acquired since. The Growth of the Corporation Twelve years ago the corporation employed about 11,000 persons. At the present time the payroll force is 76,000 persons dis- tributed as follows: Seven steel plants—Beth (Steel- (Spar Pa.), Steelton (Lebanon, Pa.), Maryland (Buffalo), (Coatesville, lehem (Bethlehem, Lebanon Md.), ra.) Cambria Pa.), Lackawanna and Coatesville employing 55,000 people are happily functioning unde: the plan, as well as six of the seven shipbuilding plants employing Sparrows (Baltimore), STOCKHOLDERS BOARD OF DIRECTORS CM:-SCHWAB I VICE PRES-RAW MATERIALS trite A BUCK | MANAGER OF PURCHASES WPT TOBIAS 21ivrs. CHAIRMAN (Mass.), Docks Harlan River Dry (Boston), 12,000 people, viz., Fore (Maryland), Dry Point Baltimore Simpson Docks 23 YEARS All Live in Bethle 23 YEARS ~ ING RES: OPERATIONS INCY BENT MGROROMANCE-POWER & MACHINERY GW: STRUBLE ars June 14, 1923 THE IRON AGE OrTTro MEYERS Baltimore Dry Docks (JBORGB D. GINGRICH CLINTON KocH Lebanon Plant bethlehen Plant JOHN JOLLY Moore Plant ROBERT C. McGeEsr, Baltimore Plant Work at W I t rr r \ Service with the Bethlehe ! I i Pree Meyers, machinist, 23 é J n J years Thoma K. Lyne} ce ene velder years George LD. Gingriclt eate! ] ear R shearer, 27 years ( ntor Koc} boiler William Smith, clipper ! ilker ears k engineer, 19 years Jame Moore eet etal ‘ Gibson, blast furnace torel ise il i} vears I THOMAS F. LYNCH night forematr non H Steelton Plant eal (Wilmington, Del.), and Moore (Elizabeth, N. J.) public know plants. A council for the Union plant at San Fran corporation cisco will soon be organized. In addition, the corpora tion owns and operates mines and quarries employing 9000 persons at Ellsworth, Heilwood, Preston, Marion, Johnstown, Cornwall, Pa., and elsewhere. The maxi It is. in mum force has sometimes exceeded 100,000 persons and = and collectiv: has been of such variety of crafts, conditions and na lightened an tionality as to test out the Bethlehem plan thoroughly mistakes an over a period of years. them. That, erent plans, Problem of Increasing Forces application a) save at Chairmen of Employees’ Re at Twelve Bethlehem Plants aly it j i presentatives ADAM GIBSON Cambria Plant } Low Liter? act J HOWARD BURNS Marviand Plant about it.” That day has arrived, but the has preferred to allow the impartial ob server to appraise this great effort and its results. What is Unique in “The Bethlehem Plan?” a sentence, that the workers individually any plant, if properly energized, en i led, can be trusted to make their own can be relied upon to make very few of as a principle, is at the root of many dif- but the extent to which it can be given varies with the actual state of the indus- Rapid growth in number of employees and plants trial relations in individual companies and plants and has presented executive problems also. The Bethlehem with the extent to which the employer is willing to idea has had to be solidly “sold,” not only to new groups participate in the econon education of his employees. of workers but to plant executives of all ranks new to It is no fault of many good plans that they obtain em the corporation and some of them accustomed to othe ployee cooperation very slowly, and that to protect and autocratic methods of handling the human fa igainst unwise action the checks and counter-checks of tors in industry. For these reasons th rporat nt conference are interposed In certain situations confined itself chiefly to publishing thi Itline of its mmon s¢ lemands it and where education is not plan. It has exhibited a wise reticence about result major feature in company policy, as it ought to be, and has not indulged in prophecy. President Grace’ ich a situat iy be perpetuated. In any case it statement to the employe s’ represenitat two yea! ttle aff vella VOrK ‘ exter ve and ago In response to some inquiry as to absences f pub xceent licity reveals the sincerity and caution ups which the The Bethlehes : ‘ immarized very plan was founded. He said: “We are going to see that riefly. Elected e1 € representatives operating by the plan Is approved on all des before t given 1 themselves, with negotiating power Lnrougn commit the public in general. We nave nesitated t pubis! tees f the ng. ar also ir appeals thro igh details for the reason that, when we do, y ne? on vit ppointed management repr got to be in full accord with us. When you believe i: ntat ass UDOT matter arising out of the it, and when we feel that our employees believe in it, nployment relatior D Ww has not beer stisfe and we have something that is good for the general torily settled the first instar with the ordinary public to have, the day you join wi nanny arate ~ cantina at ~ aol treme as ~er « fae eee ee eee ote 1692 also discuss and make constructive suggestions matters for the good of the business sense grievances, but in which the employee is found to be keenly interested and helpful. The unique feature of the Bethlehem l ti ganize as a body, to meet through the resentatives of their own choosing and their opinions or requests. In all this iccess to the company’s information, with the president at headquarters and hi sentative at each plant devoting themselves and available at all times for conferen words, there is not the slightest attempt stage of any Issue to ondition the arrangements under vhich the wh¢ representative body of rr any committee of that body may natter mong ne Sé Ample provis n for review by 10 nad hould either employees or employer and also fo1 ippea eVO!I d that stage. inding 1 4 tne Bethlehen s ns behind its vn inter su Q r f empiloves ’s Dsy nas é r { { é Ve i to : sense of large group S t f I I g spea ne wo! DD es la ind join nference of ¢ f nplove S ind 7 eme ire f moting the nutual education and forbearance of th ssely related group \ few others greater democracy and tying up to profit rather arbitrary final control. But Bethlehem ts employees with no offer of pecuniary elop keen interest in their own economic ind to do it with no more assistance and with ( trolla 9g hand ipon thew by the employ That measure of faith procated in the atmosphere which this 1e employees of each of its plants are trusted to on formulat the assistant : 1 to the work employees committee Co! poratio tions and ideals numbers inctioning today and pro reward to de- relationships they de sire deliberations corporatio! . THE IRON AGE June 14, 1923 by the nature of its organization and personnel, has created, and the character of this atmosphere is natur- ally the next point of inquiry. Bethlehem Officered by Veterans and Home Folks As has been indicated, the pioneer Bethlehem plan after five years is in its main features no longer unique. It has had many imitators and its success compared with some of these has to be sought in other things than in mere form, though the untrammeled employee conference in the first instance about all issues is still unusual. One of the reasons for the atmosphere of confidence is the fact that at the headquarters of the corporation in Bethlehem the officers are all residents and are vet erans in the service of the steel company whose joint terms cover nearly four hundred years. The diagram on page 1690 shows at a glance that, headed by Charles M. Schwab, chairman, and Eugene G. Grace, president, there is not a suspicion of absentee control or unsympa- thetic distance possible in the minds of the workers, many of whom have personal acquaintance with the officers and have seen their steady rise from the lowest positifhs through meritorious performance to their present responsibilities. The unfortunate reaction from absentee ownership in industry is sometimes unavoid able, but it is rarely so, for executives, necessarily so vlaced and with the right spirit, can see to it that their technical and operating plant executives are of a type calculated to forward and realize their ideals. This is amply provided for in the Bethlehem official family. The democratic attitude and feeling of the big chiefs has become the equally genuine practice of the managers, superintendents and foremen in its many plants and is a pleasing contrast to the traditional autocracy of the “boss” in various industries. Every genuine conversion to “leading” instead of “driving,” to “understanding” instead of “aloofness,” is an aid to employees’ representation and every camouflage of sympathy and interest is a nail in its coffin. The work- man cannot be fooled and pretense or ulterior motive , repre nt on f Bethlehen corporatlor had an which carried a wide range of so-called welfare vely prosecuted day Many interesting illustrations being done ipprenticeship, in pensions, housing playground et But is tl ; article is centered only two examples can be given of welfare vn a group of foreign-born employees attending a plant s On page 1695 are some results of the company’s censeseenreaveresroensanevenrosseagnn June 14, 1923 N. B. LupLuMm, Lackawanna Plant J. K. RosBinson, J. E Bethlehem Plant Cc. L. BAKER, Cambria Plant H. J WooDWwa Harlan Plant H. B. DAVIDSON, JR., Baltimore Dry Docks is soon uncovered. The Bethlehem official family are all sincere boosters of the plan and genuine exponents of its virtues and its moral implications. Employees Invariably Choose Ability and Experience to Lead Them What about the employees? when left unfettered to “make their own mistakes’’? Well, whether a Bethlehem plant has fifteen thousand or one thousand men, the writer has found that they take their representation responsibilit°es most seriously, consider office an honor to be sought and elect only able fellow-workmen with years of experience. As a matter of fact over ninety per cent of the employees take part in elections. In the Bethlehem main plant the average service period of the 98 elected men is twelve years and the average over all plants is eight years, though one year qualifies for office. Rome was not built in a day; neither was the Bethle hem plan “sold” to the corporation’s employees by Nevertheless it has been thoroughly How do they perform work- few fine gestures. sold to 70,000 workers who remember the old bad days of “catch ’em young, treat ’em rough and tell ‘em nothing.” These workers appreciate the new spiri and recollect how much better the plan functioned than the war-time comm‘ttees when they operated sim- ultaneously, how it weathered the steel strike, the slump of 1920 and the succeeding boom, with harmony, mutual respect and satisfaction in all the adjustments that were necessary. it Men in the Limelight The group of portraits on page 1691 shows the type of workman who is brought to the front by employees bent upon having the best to represent them. These are the present general and committee chairmen who guide their deliberations. THE IRON Management Representatives Dealing with Indus- trial Relations at Twelve Bethlehem Plants. (The Representative at Baltimore Dry Docks Acts Also at the Sparrows Point Shipyard) Lebanon AGE 1693 H. W. Zook, Steelton Plant uy CULLINEY I. M. MAXWELL, Plant Coatesville Plant + = - H. E. PARKER, Fore River Shipyard HowarRD C. PRrRICct Maryland Plant Walter F. DOHERTY, Moore Plant The three officers particularly concerned in Bethle- hem’s industrial relations are Chairman Schwab, Presi- dent Grace, and J. M. Larkin, the assistant to the president, whose duties as liaison officer with labor are cons'dered of the highest importance and are so hon- ored. Some day all wise corporations will so choose and distinguish the man who becomes their labor con science and remembrancer that the employees will have no doubt that their interests are constantly on the map. The president’s representative is frequently among the plants, meeting his local men and convey- ing news and counsel for the benefit of the employees. The president annually makes a tour of al! the plants for the sole purpose of meeting the elected representa tives of the employees and the appointed management representatives, giving afrank account of his steward- ship and taking them into his confidence on all pend The spirit of such occasions is well illustrated by these recent re- ing issues and the prospects of the business. marks of President Grace at a gathering of employee representatives: “A square dea) has been talked about tonight. If there is any so-called representative of the management of this company who is not fair and honest in his dealings with the employees and it is found out, he cannot work here any longer. If you men have anything on your mind and don’t speak out, it is your own fault. There is no ques- tion that you cannot bring up, that you have not the right to discuss with us and expect a direct answer. If it is something you want and we can- not grant it, we will not hesitate to say so. If our decision is not convincing to you, you have the absolute right to convince us that we are wrong.” The Industrial Relations Department Employees’ representation in the Bethlehem Steel Corporation was not the beginning but the culmination oy ot ce ee ee i Cm te NE oer Fa nee 1 5 38 oo 5 roe a te ta. nat th ely tn 2 tn Nien ts vy le Ce eee ae Se ed ‘ Esty tt 1694 of its industrial relations department, also under the care of the assistant to the president. That had long been functioning and progressively expanding in ser- vice to the employees, not as a welfare measure chiefly, but simply as good morals and good business. In all employment functions, safety, health, sanitation, relief, pensions, employees’ benefit association, housing, and many other matters it had already won a place in the esteem of the employees at every plant. The corpora- tion’s ideal, to make men while it makes things, is well illustrated in the remarks of President Grace commend- ing this department to the employees and reminding them that their representation privilege was a natural and a permanent adjunct—the climax of good under- standing: “We consider this plan of employees’ repre- sentation permanently installed at all of our various plants. We consider our industrial rela- tions department just as important as any we have. We regard it just as necessary as our manufacturing, purchasing, treasury and selling departments, and we are going to organize it just as completely, just as thoroughly and con- sider it just as much a part of our organization as any other which has been necessary in the past to round out a big industry like our own. What we are going to have is a Bethlehem shop in which any man regardless of affiliation can work under the very best conditions possible. These conditions and our success we will jointly work out. We are all employees . . . there is no difference whatever except that I have to do one part of the work while you men have your indi- vidual tasks in the shops and mills, but my work is not any more important than yours and I regard myself just as much an employee as you men.” How the Plan Functions The diagram on page 1690 shows the course of any single issue which goes through all the possible steps. This is a rare occurrence. In five years not a single case has called for arbitration and only one out of nearly 2400, a purely personal issue, has gone beyond the general joint committee on appeals. The company representatives are in daily contact by telephone and through meetings with the president’s representative, in addition to which they render a weekly report giving a complete history of all ques- tions that have arisen at the numerous plants during the week and a statement as to their final settlement. It was very interesting to see how this worked out. In many cases where the plants locally had apparently effected a justifiable settlement of the case, the presi dent’s office, on review and more study of the situation, would suggest a further consideration of the case at the plant. The President’s Participation To the layman, the fact that use had not been made of the provisions of the plan for the reference of cases beyond the plant to President Grace, or of the arbitra- tion feature of the plan, might indicate that the presi- dent was not brought into close contact with the ad- justment work. It is enlightening to know that through his representative he and all the operating officials are kept advised of all important matters that arise at the plants which are of interest to the employees. Often- times the settlement is effected at the local plant upon the president’s advice. In the office of the president’s representative is to be found a complete record of all of the questions that have been taken up by the em- ployees’ representatives in the various plants and their These cases in five years number 2365 and that is of In addition, many more settlement. have to do with every conceivable matter vital interest to the employees. cases were adjusted between the individual employee THE IRON June 14, 1923 AGE representative and the plant authorities without be- coming a matter of formal record. Issues Raised by Employees idea has been conveyed of the intangible effects of a plan which places trust in and responsi- bility upon the worker. What has the Bethlehem em- ployee done with his democratic privileges during the five years of their existence? There is a popular impression diligently fostered by opponents of any coming together in the plant that through a system of this kind the workers’ representa- tives do not have the authority to discuss the vital questions affecting their employment. Nevertheless the Bethlehem records indicate that the great majority of cases brought up and settled have dealt with hours of work, rates of wages, methods of pay, and in many in- stances methods of operation. Not only so, but dis- cussions regarding the future are freely indulged in by the employee representatives, not excepting the dif- ficult but desirable abolition of the long working day in parts of the steel-making process. No topic con- cerning the worker’s interest is “taboo,” nor are the management representatives backward in stating their position on any subject raised and in inviting employee comment. Some Distribution of Cases The following analysis of cases handled to date is confined to the four original Bethlehem plants—Bethle- hem, Steelton, Lebanon and Maryland—where there has been four to five years’ experience with the plan. The statement is typical, however, of the briefer ex- periences at the more recently acquired Lackawanna and Midvale steel plants and at the shipyards and other Bethlehem subsidiary industries. The grouped topics correspond to the names of the various employee representatives’ committees which handled them in the first instance. The joint committees, which may have to function later on some of the cases, are similarly named: Six hundred and twelve (612) cases, or more than one-fourth, were directly concerned with employment and working conditions; 570 cases, or nearly another tortie ane AUEUCEOODEADEDOLECDEROOOODOU DEEL RCO UOOD ROG AOODEADEAUDEEDORO DDO OEEOOOnOREOROAEEDOREDENNONS A VONDOUAOOUDOERO ODAC ONOREODEROOAODAORCAOOtEOAI EL IE® Classification of Cases Adjusted Under the Bethlehem Plan, and the Disposition Made of Them Cases Number Employment and Working Conditions......... 612 Wages, Piece Work, Bonus and Tonnage NI ald adinrie aa hid wae wae ob ede aib's ORs 570 Safety and Prevention of Accidents...... . 298 Practice, Methods and Economy....... Fa : 298 Health and Works Sanitation................. 184 Employees’ Transportation ............ » 162 SUN MANNIE UII, ogg kG oa o's kn @ ue bso Rikswears 122 Housing, Domestic Economies and Living Con- ee oo Bate Mate oa eae aici wail ocd 6 ues 5 Education and Publications ..........eceee0. 22 PUIOTIORN OMG TOCTORTIOR «4 oc cc ccviciccceseres 12 EUOR, WASE BNE BORON ccc ccacciservivccer 35 RE Ge pekawe ratuT ec awe be eaxbiiet Kee hates 2,365 Disposition of Cases Settled in the affirmative* Sid arp Seema ae . 1,682 Settled in the negative ... ane wie eee i a 33 Withdrawn by employees Shi aica Wiel eceiaie eee - 103 CREE, <i 6c ve de eve asedan oa aie new wn 201 co ee ee one era oe 49 BOGE cvetutetsnated dees anew chews seas 2,365 *In favor of employees mre HUOELDODOSOONEDOUEDEOUTONEUONROODENENONSONEDEMROBDELEDOO DORN LT oN FeLi OCEEONORORONNNRONONNHOCtoRD MI fourth, dealt with wages, piecework, bonus and tonnage schedules. Thus exactly one-half of the 2365 cases arising in five years pertained solely to the workers’ direct economic interests, showing the very practical character of the plan and confuting theorists and others who claim that in the nature of things the em- ployee’s essential interests will be neglected by repre- June 14, 1923 sentatives within the plent or stifled by management influence. As a matter of fact, nowhere did the writer find the slightest hesitancy on the part of any Bethle- hem employee or representative to “talk right out.” The other half of the are ac for as follows: Safety and accident, 298 cases, cal methods and economy, 298 ¢ases, another fourth of the settlements. cases settled ounted techni- together furnish Th of all the cases raised went right to the things which were most on the workers’ minds, and these included justifiable criticism and helpful suggestions about con- tinuity of employment and about the efficiency of plant practice and equipment. The remaining fourth of the Bethlehem concerned chiefly with health, sanitation, transportation, pensions and relief, which furnished 468 cases, though, as already stated, these matters are admirably cared for the company through established divisions of its industrial relations department. The 119 cases completing the last one- fourth of the issues raised were on matters less closely us three-fourths cases jas by THE IRON AGE 1695 factory in most of the cases to the employee concerned. Two hundred and one (201) cases—8&.5 per cent after all the facts were brought out, were withdrawn by the employees concerned; 103—about 4 per cent were compromised, and only 49 at this date are pend- ing settlement in four large plants using the plan, thereby indicating the prompt service which it fur- nishes Some Sidelights As this survey is as much an interpretation as a description in aid of those pragmatic employers, em- ployees and the public who ask concerning the Bethle- hem plan, “What is it for?” “Does it work?” the writer devotes some space to certain characteristics of plans and should } 1 and its working which are common to all be intelligently anticipated. The natural history of any sentation acceptable on the face of it to the great ma- jority of the employees of a plant is as follows: At good plan of repre- Future Citizens of the United States Recently related to the “job,” such as housing, education, recre- ation, and ways and means, on all of which employee opinion and participation have been most helpful. Nature of the Decisions Handed Down The nature of the adjustments effected is interest- ing. Of the 2365 cases which actually reached the em ployees’ representatives in committee and in some in stances reached joint committees as well, 1682, or 71 per cent, were settled in favor of the employee. In the old days—and in not a few plants even today—an ecutive decision which had already denied such claims would rarely have been challenged, partly for lack of machinery of appeal but chiefly through genuine fear ex- of the consequences to the employee. The above is a striking illustration of the fact that after all “the world do move.” Three hundred and thirty employees, or 14 per cent of the total, were sett the negative, most of them in the first stage by the em- own (330) raised by cases ed in ployee representatives’ committees, without the complainer or suggestor availing himself of the ample appeal provisions of the plan. The “justice” of his fellow workmen was satis- Company Naturalization from Graduated School first there is a preponderance of cases of the personal the better the and democratic the approach provided, the greater will be the apparent dis- satisfaction. and small-group grievance type; and plan and the more unrestrained Employees and executives must keep their heads and allow the pent-up feelings of employees full expression Such ng on the part of some employees may be due to under the fee] traditional prejudices in the plant or in the industry, new liberties accorded by the plan. to “old, far-off, unhappy things”; or it may be due to recent abuses, personal or group dissatisfactions, both and indifferent haps most of all to reasonable unreasonable, unpleasant experiences with or reactionary supervisors, and per- ignorance or untruth regarding our industrial system That, of course, has long passed in the Bethlehem Steel Corporation; but it is an experience which all plans have to encounter and survive. It should be anticipated and frankly met and lived down. In doing if not their owners to disappear; but that is all in the day’s work, when you invite your employees to help so some “hard-boiled” reputations, as well, may hav« you by managing as far as possible their own interests. 1696 THE ‘t is that, after the first The The one happy thought about taking the lid off, “it can never happen again.” pot ceases to boil for good. Previous good industrial relations and humane and employment Bethlehem possessed do much to smooth the way for the introduc- considerate practice such as tion of good employee representation. Nor The employer himself, however sincere and convinced, is the evolution entirely on the employees’ side. is constantly being surprised at the extent to which his own executives of all ranks and his personal repre sentatives under the plan have to get rid of their pre- conceptions somet'mes absurdly grotesque about what the worker wants, how the worker feels, and the of his intentions in general. cussedness” Social Values in Representation But when manifest abuses are once out of the way all personal feeling and pre- seek for, graple with the facts, the scene is changed. and both sides lay past conceptions, and diligently accumulate and Gradually both sides begin to appreciate and to use the factors of right persuasion. The desire on the part of anyone “to put something over” disappears, and worker and employer have the deep satisfaction of con- sidering together and jointly settling things solely upon their merits. Sentimentalism and greedy opportunities disappear together, and in the Bethlehem steel plants the writer found a close approach by the workers and real noblesse oblige a their representatives to a sense of uneovenated obligation to be fairer and squarer than “the other fellow.” Employee representation is true education, a “draw- ing-out” of unused faculties, and nowhere is “learning by doing” so effectually accomplished for the working man, for we never really know anything which we can- not do. daily job, with adults 25 to 65 years of age and long Such a process proceeding increasingly at the past the formal stages of education, is a public service, and one of the most hopeful things for the social wel- fare of the United States and the self-governing abili- ties of its inhabitants. That it should come through ndustry to thousands of sterling citizens, who, so far ‘cannot as our bewildering press is concerned often see the woods for the trees,” is a testimony to the place that science, the systematized truth about everything organized taking in “the In such an atmosphere the militant doctrine of common sense—is day’s W ork.” “the oppressors and the oppressed” cannot live, be- cause “there aint no such animal.” Some Interesting Examples Not only employer to “right action, by a disposition to formulate principles and to does representation turn employees and persuasion,” but this is followed by follow them instead of merely arriving at favorab'e verdicts. Gradually, as in safety work, prevention becomes the reigning idea, not cure, and it but unrelated spreads among the elected representatives and their voters with interesting consequences. Only a few examples out of hundreds can be given. In one Bethlehem plant it was not the foreman but the employee representatives who asked that the pat- tern-shop apprentices be given instruction in mechan- ical drawing and elementary mechanics in the plant to improve their efficiency, and the management promptly appointed an instructor. In another plant of the corporation the writer found that the employees in the iron foundry drew up a list of unsafe practices there, with suggestions, and pre- sented it to the management through their elected rep- resentatives. It was found the existing equipment was unsuitable and new plant was immediately installed. In other Bethlehem plants the writer found that em- ployees had concentrated upon economy measures, with IRON June 14, 1923 AGE good suggestions on eliminating waste in cutting stock; on better methods of storing materials; on relocation of stairways interfering with operations. Still others drew attention to more convenient locker-room arrange- ments, wash basins, sanitary measures, weather: shel- ters and better lighting on the job. Others criticized constructively the paying-off methods and the efficiency of time-recording and check- ing. Working crews were increased by proof that existing practice on some jobs was not fair or econom- It was employees who asked for a shelter over -ay-shortages, ical. a clay-bed to keep it from freezing. dismissals, transportation delays and a multitude of have yielded to steady presentation of by privileged employees and the errors “mysteries” “more facts” of the latter cleared up in committee. Lessons for the Steel Industry All who know the American workman through years of contact with him are well aware that his desires do not take the form which many who merely theorize about him have prescribed. What does successful em- ployee representation in the Bethlehem Steel Corpora- tion and other industries First, that the worker is initially strictly self-regarding in his desires; that he is little interested in any form of long-deferred reward; that profit-sharing is little in his mind and loss-sharing not at all; that he has no wish to share the burdens of administration and only occasionally has the capacity, but that he is entirely competent to discuss his own economic relationships. Five things are first in his mind, and all progress in broadening his conception of industry and his intel- ligent cooperation in it depends upon these primary satisfactions. They are, in the order of their impor- tance: A steady job; adequate real wages; a good su- pervisor; an individual and collective voice about all of his conditions; and a chance to rise on his merits. Where he can be vocal about these within his plant, without discrimination, without espionage, and apart from any external affiliations, it is found that regard- less of nationality, religion, language or politics, he plays in loyally with his fellow workmen. The craft jealousies so diligently fostered outside gradually dis- brotherhood in which the common reveal? appear in a real laborer at last comes into his own. A Union Chairman’s Testimony The writer found one group of employee represen- tatives in a Bethlehem Steel Corporation plant pre- sided over by a worker high in the councils of one of the oldest and most successful unions in the country. He had been chosen unanimously by his fellow workers 8000 of them—through their representatives to be their chairman. He told the writer that he nad been astonished at the things that are on the minds of the workers, which the rules and practices of no union, not even his own finely organized one, could satisfy. He said that his chairmanship was a liberal education in the true inwardness of business, its risks and adven- ture, its penalties and its meager rewards, which could never have been acquired in any other way. What About the Future? This employee chairman was typical of numerous others with and without outside affiliations who testified to the same experience. As such employees successive- ly function as representatives and “pass the chair,” the plant acquires a growing fund of good will and under- standing which no difference of opinion on any one issue can dissolve. “No discrimination” is not a mere phrase at Bethlehem. It is a fact, and the union man who can bring into the employees’ councils light and leading is welcomed by them. In concluding this survey the writer, who has had June 14 1923 a wide experience in industrial relations, would stress the following considerations for employers and execu- tives in the steel industry: Unionism has done much for the worker. It will always be on the heels of the employer who is illiberal or repressive about labor’s economic status. No amount of generosity in other directions will compensate: it may even irritate. Labor has a solidarity transcend- ing the plant. Though often exploited by its own lead- it has honestly sought to make its own and will continue to do so. It is seeking it attains solidarity within the plant, as centered unionism has not done and occasional manifestations of that lightened workers need worry no ers, mistakes, status anda if self- can do, the narrow never solidarity from en- one. Paint Test Fence at Oakland The Paraffine Companies, land, Cal., a test fence for posed to the sea fog, salt air and other weather con- ditions prevailing in the San Francisco Bay region. It is placed so near the ocean that when the weather is rough the salt water spray dashes upon the Inc., maintained at Oak testing paint which is ex- fence, Mel il at Fs Ut an’ ft i il anil a : ee a THE IRON (ia : nf, all atime I et termes 1697 AGE not claim, nor do employers that the ultimate form of employee reached. What has been proved in five years at Bethlehem’s plants is that it is not in- President Grace does similarly situated, cooperat ion has been telligence which has to be feared, but ignorance and isolation; ignorance everywhere— high positions and facts of life, of the day’s job fancies of “the other fellow.” and then to act intelli- condescension in provid- , about the the feelings and in the lowliest and To understand is to sympathize gently without paternalism or ing a mutually self-respecting basis of cooperation. What that basis will be ten years from now no one can predict. What it might be today is abundantly mani- fested. It is capitalism’s move and Bethlehem has shown the way Supreme Court Decides West Virginia Natural Gas C WASHINGTON, June 12.—Iron and plants in Ohio and Pennsylvania using gas from West Virginia fields will continue to receive supplies of this fuel. The ase steel Supreme Court yesterday upheld the States of Ohio and Pennsylvania in their effort to enjoin West Vir- Panels of Metal Wood and Glass Painted with Vari Kinds of |! and Exposed to the Action of Air and Salt Spray, to De ous ‘aint Fog, Salt termine Resisting Qualiti« he | (‘orrosion- Or opp rer tee Hi an a7) | ad Waly, ee UL 4B uy Ai - giving a severe exposure particularly for paint designed for protecting iron and steel against corrosion. The test fence consists of wooden slats which the panels bearing the paint samples are placed. The panels are made of metal, wood and glass. Each panel is numbered, which corresponds to a similar num- ber in a record book, which shows when the panels were placed in the fence and showing the condition at various times. At each annual convention the sa results of the test fence. It gives the lute confidence in the product which they are selling. between lesmen review the salesmen abso- Certain samples can be made and exposed on the fence under conditions known to the technical department and then sent out to salesmen for use in the field. Test fences also are maintained in the San Joaquin Valley and several foreign countries. Tests can be carried out at Oakland in about one-third the time re- quired in the San Joaquin Valley, because of the severity of the exposure at Oakland and in of the very hot weather in the valley during the summer time. spite The daily melt at the Saco-Lowell Shops, Lowell, Mass., foundry has been increased from 20 to 60 tons. Several weeks ago molders were called out on strike. Since then non-union men have been employed. ginia from regulating the flow of its natural gas across State lines. The majority opinion of the court held that a State cannot prohibit or restrict the exportation of its natural products in interstate commerce. Dis senting opinions Justices Holmes, McReynolds and were rendered by Brandeis. Under the title “A Quarter Century of Cumulative Biography” the H. W. Wilson Co. has put out an at tractive 44-page booklet dealing with its activities and presenting its history from its inception in the Univer- sity of Minnesota in 1898. The organization now occu- five- building at University Avenue and 162nd Street, New York, all being devoted to the service rendered by the company in indexing, catalog- ing and briefly reviewing books published in the United States. With an organization built up through the 25 years, several of the members of which have been ntinuously engaged in the work for upwards of 10 years, the different departments are carried on by the routine found necessary through the handling ples a story regular of so much materia] as passes through the office month by month. In bibliographies, the and reference addition to company works of this same compiling indexes and publishes these indexes character. 1698 MAY STEEL OUTPUT Largest Month’s Total on Record Daily Less Than April—Year’s Rate About 18.500,000 Tons Rate For the first time in the history of the steel indus- try the ingot steel production last month 4,000,000 gross tons. The daily rate in May, however, was less than that in April, because of the larger ber of working days. exceeded num The May ingot output for the 30 companies report ing to the American Iron and Steel Institute was 3 753 tons or 131,027 tons per dav for the 27 days as com pared with 3,321,278 tons or 132,851 the 25 days in April. per day. wot, tons per day for This is a decrease of 1824 tons On the basis that the 30 companies reporting made 84.13 per cent of the total output in 1922, the country’s production of ingots in May was about 4,205,100 tons or 155,700 tons per day. In April the total was about 3,947,800 157,900 tons per day. This would mean that the May production was at the rate of about 48,436,000 tons per year. The statistics of the American Iron and Steel Insti tute since January, 1921, follow in gross tons: tons or Vonthly Product n of Steel Ingots by 30 Companies WI h Prod ed Al t 84.13 Pe Cent of the Steel Ingot Production in 1922 Open All Mont! Hearth Bessemer Other Total January 19 1.591.281 608,276 3,629 2,203,186 Februar 1.295.863 450,818 2,796 1,749,477 March 1,175,591 392, 2,404 1,570,978 April 1,000,053 211,755 2,150 1,213,958 May 1,047,810 216,497 1,543 1,265,850 June SOS,286 193,644 1,476 1,003,406 July 689,489 113,312 575 803,376 August 915,334 221,116 1,621 1,138,071 September 908,381 265,152 1,207 1,174,740 October 1,269,945 345,837 1,028 1,616,810 November 1.294,371 363,912 1,718 1,660,001 December 1,129,174 296,380 1,539 1,427,093 Total, whole yr.13,125,578 3,679,682 21,686 16,826,946 January 19 1,260,809 331,851 822 1,593,482 February 1.395,83 348,571 616 1,745,022 March 1,918,570 451,386 795 2,370,751 April 1,997,465 445,939 1,109 2,444,513 May 2 214,774 494,893 1,474 2,711,141 June 2,143,708 $87,851 2,918 2,634,477 July : 2,020,572 464,047 2,485 2,487,104 August 1,807, 31¢ 104,379 2,893 2,214,582 September 1 911,147 460,127 2,505 2,373,779 October Bae 7 518,010 2,198 2.872.415 November 2.36 ; 525,945 2,449 2,889,297 December 2,241,104 536,214 2,972 2,779,890 Total, whole yr. 23.624,404 »,469,213 22,836 29,116,453 January 1923 2,571,491 677,486 2,717 3 February 2,290,418 625,838 2,761 2 March 2,656,134 742,564 3,009 5 April 2.594.706 722,719 3,853 3 May 2.744,201 788,350 5,202 ] Total mos 12,856,950 5.556.957 17,842 16,431,749 Will Prepare Handbook of Government Specifications WASHINGTON, June 12.—Meeting yesterday with Secretary Hoover, representatives of approximately 15 business organizations pledged their support to the De- partment of Commerce in getting out a “handbook’ covering specifications and standards of the 2500 to 5000 kinds of commodities purchased by the Govern- ment. Mr. Hoover emphasized the fact that the speci- fications and standards being prepared are to cover Government purchases only, but said that ultimately it is expected that they will govern buying for States, municipalities and public institutions. He also made it plain that the department is not imposing specifications or standards of any kind on private business. The work of preparing the specifications is in charge of the Federal Specifications Board and will bring about standards for Government purchases of all commodities, including iron and steel. Among those participating in the meeting were representatives of the American Engineering Standards Committee, the Society for Testing Materials, the Society of Automo- tive Engineers, the National Association of Manufac- turers, the American Electrical Railway Association, THE IRON AGE June 14, 1923 the National Association of Purchasing Agents, the Association for Government Service and the American Hotel Association. Lathe Break-Down Tests of Some Modern High-Speed Tool Steels Comparisons of performance of modern high-speed tool steels in “lathe break-down tests” is the subject of Technologic Paper No. 228 of the Bureau of Stand- ards. The work described dealt not only with tests in which the endurance of tools is measured under lefinite working conditions, but likewise with the limitations of this method of testing when applied to the purchase of steel. The modern steels are first classified according to chemical composition and this division is made use of in discussing the results obtained. Important features developed may be summarized as follows: Break-down tests are not satisfactory as the basis of pur- chase for tool steels While ar performance are not competitive comparisons of brands of nearly simi- justified, owing to the qualitative nature