The Hermiston herald., February 02, 1922, Image 2

Golden Rule in
Plant «------------
Succeeds
Directors Try to Conduct Bir­
mingham Iron Works as
Christ Would.
WORKERS ARE ALL SATISFIED
Year Round Jobs, No Layoffs or Short
Time, No Cuts in Pay is Policy
—Care for Welfare of
Employees.
Birmingham, Ala.—Directors of the
American Cast Iron Pipe company of
Birmingham were In annual session,
itoutine business had been disposed of
»nd l lie time for the election of officers
3ad come. A member arose and pro­
posed the name of John J. Eagan,
prominent In business, philanthropy,
ind in reform projects in the South.
Born with the silver spoon in his mouth
je had increased his fortune by wise
nvestments and sage business deals,
ind had become known as u leuder in
»11 movements for the betterment of
3is fellow man.
Mr. Eagan was unanimously elected
president of this great concern, one of
[he largest and the most prosperous in
:he South, nnd on^ marked by-the good
will evident nluuys between employer
ind employee.
Then unother member took the floor
to propose thnt from tills time on it be
formally made a platform of the com­
pany that employer and employee:
•‘Do unto others us you would huve
them do unto you. Follow In the foot­
steps of Christ.”
Motion Unanimously Adopted.
There was mild surprise only ex­
pressed ns the motion was seconded.
There were no questions as to its wis­
dom. There was only the motion to
adopt made and the second. The vote
in its favor was unanimous. And when
this most unusual action of the com­
pany directors became known. It
seemed to embarrass the new president
that he was called upon to explain nnd
almost defend the new standard of
action.
“I don’t see why anybody should feel
thnt It is unusual, this action of ours."
he said, "and I really don't like to talk
about It. The directors didn't care to
have this plntform advertised. It didn’t
mean anything to them, because that
Is what we have been doing in reality
all the time. AH the plntform meant
was a mere formality.
"I wouldn't even talk nbout It If It
were not for the fact thnt it is possible
other business concerns may read
about It and may think it worth while
trying.”
Mr. Eagan asserted his belief thnt It
was largely due to the favor In which
the Lord held this plan of co-operation
thut the company had prospered during
whnt had proved a hnrd nnd difficult
year for other concerns.
He stated It ns his belief thnt one of
the things most necessary In a concern
run after the manner of the teachings
of Jesus Christ Is that every employee
get continuous employment even If the
employer mannged to make no prolit.
Not that Mr. Eagan Is doubtful over
ttint point. He is really nnd honestly
convinced that Christ will help those
who aid others and that In the Inst
analysis the spirit of Jesus is predom­
inant in all men. 11» believes thnt all
who are fair nnd square In business
dealings—nnd thnt is all lie believes
Christ would ask—will in the long run
win over trickery. He believes in hon­
esty.
He believe* thnt employees, if they
receive a square and honest deal. If
treated like human beings und not like
chattels, if paid wages us high as their
value und compuuy protits will allow,
and if met man to man by the em­
ployer, will give the sume sort of a
deal.
If Christ Conducted Plant.
Mr. Eagan pointed out two of the
dominant ideas of the program of the
teachings of Christ, as lie understands
them. Oue is that if Christ were to
run a plant he would:
Give every man and woman a year-
round Job; no layoffs; no short time;
no reductions in pay at any time.
Give every uiau a living wage, one
that would make him and his wife
and children comfortable nt least.
And this has been strictly followed
in the Birmingham plant. All tlie year
round the employees have worked full
ti" le and have earned it, and all the
year round the plant has paid more
than the standard scale. In other
words, it lias become a badge of dis­
tinction in Birmingham to have it
known that you work for the plant.
The company has provided the em­
ployees with a big Y. M. C. A. building,
which lias become a center of all their
social activities. And it has grown to
mean more than that. Now it has a
staff of dentists, physicians, nurses and
all kinds of experts.
It has been the aim of the company
from the beginning to take care. In so
far as is possible, of the social,
physical and economic welfare of all
Its employees and to bring about a
healthful spirit of co-operation und
good will.
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^INTCRNÀTtOWAU
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An everyday scene In one of the public markets in Moscow. Everything from a pin to a passport Is for sule here.
Seeks Remedy
for Bad Times
Unemployment Bureau Making
Investigation of Recurrence
of Industrial Depression.
SITUATION IS NOW SERIOUS
Mme. Kajl Yajma placing a
on the suffrage statue at the
Washington, as a tribute to
suffrage—from the women of
wreath
capitol,
woman
Japan.
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Children’s Bureau Experts Give
Result of Investigation
Throughout Country.
months. At the same time those for
girls increase from 20.89 inches nnd
8.05 pounds under one month to 43.52
Inches and 40.30 pounds at seventy-one
months. The boys average from one-
third to one-hnlf inch taller nnd weigh
about a pound more than the girls of
the same age.”
New York Average Lowest.
Comparisons mnde were for Iowa,
Iowa Children Exceed the Average by California and New York city with
a Fifth of an Inch In Stature-
averages for all white children in the
United States. California stood first
Boys Under Six are Heavier
and New York city last in this com­
Than Girls.
parison. The proportion of children
Washington.—New York city chil­ whose parents were born in the
dren, according to the Children's United States wnsxhlghest In Iowa,
Bureau experts, are shorter than others 82.2 per cent; In California it was
examined in a general investigation 62.4 and in New York city, 22.7.
“In New York,” the report declares
throughout the country. This is at­
tributed to tlie presence in the New in this connection, “Italy was most
York group of a "larger proportion largely represented with 20.7; followed
than In the country us a whole of by Russia, with 11.7 per cent; Austria-
sliort-statured races, such as the Hungary, 13.2; Great Britain, Ireland
and British possessions with 9.5 per
Italian and the Jewish."
"Boys under six years of age are cent. (Ireland alone, 7.5 per cent.)
found to lie slightly taller nnd heavier Germany with 1.9 per cent, and Po­
than girls of the same nges,” says land with 1.7 per cent.”
The same three groups were studied
the report. “The averages for boys
Increase from 21.10 inches and 8.08 to determine whether In different sec­
pounds under one month, to 43.87 tions there are significant differences
indies nnd 41.40 pounds ut seventy-one In stature and weight.
Tables show thnt measurements of
the Iowa children exceed the average
by n fifth of an Inch in stature. Cal­
ifornia children averaged two-fifths
of an Inch taller and three-quarters
of a pound heavier than the mean.
New York city children show half an
Inch deficiency in stature.
The tables show that the average
boy in the United States seventy-one
months old is 43.1 Inches tall, while
the average New York city boy of the
same age is 43.45. A similar com­
parison of girls shows these figures:
43.57 and 43.14 Indies.
In weight the figures ire: Average
boy seventy-one m onths, old, 41.60
pounds; New York city boy Is but
41.15 pounds: girls, 40.56 for the na­
tion and 40.61 for New York.
Defects Recorded.
In California and New York city
defects were also recorded. The defect
most often reported was diseased nnd
enlarged tonsils, 17.7 per cent of the
children under seven years of age who
were examined being reported as
having abnormal tonsils.
Six and four-tenths per cent of the
children examined were reported as
having adenoids. The percentages In­
crease from 1.7 for children under
one year to 11.6 for children six years
of age.
In California and New York city
683 children under seven years of age
were diagnosed as having rachitis.
These children, in comparison with
average children showed a deficiency
In atature of 1H inches or 3.4 per
cent. A tendency appears for this de­
ficiency in stature to Increase with age.
Thus among children two years of
age the deficiency is twice as much as
that among those three years of age.
A plan for the showing of movies In hospitals to help while away the The deficiency weight Is even more
hours of bed-ridden patients. Is being sponsored by Marshall Nellan. An ex­ marked. Thus the average deficiency
periment nt the California hospital In Los Angeles recently. In which a small for all children under seven was nearly
suitcase projector designed for this purpose was employed, proved highly suc­ two pounds, or 7.8 per cent.
cessful. Wesley “Freckles” Barry, tlie boy star. Is here seen projecting a pic­
In all. 501 children were diagnosed
ture on the celling of the hospital ward.
as being malnourished.
Movies for Hospital Patients
(M
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New York Kids
Below Average
CALIFORNIA STANDS AT HEAD
;
TRIBUTE TO SUFFRAGE
Almost Catches Fox
After 130-Mile Chase
Cadillac, Mich.—A cloud of
dust—denoting speed—rose from
the hind legs of a pup owned by
Henry Keeler of Cadillac.
A cloud, no less large or
speedy, also rose from the pair
of posterior nppendages of a fox.
The fox was being pursued.
Two days later the pup and the
fox arrived in Mackinaw City,
130 miles away, where a hunter
saw the pursuit and shot the fox.
By that time both were walk­
ing.
Mr. Keeler's name and address
were on the pup’s collnr and the
hunter hns promised him the
fox-skin when he arrives there
to claim the footsore and some­
what set setter.
Everything for Sale in the Moscow Market
City and Town Administrations Can
Halp in Present Crieis by Speed­
ing Up Public Works—Every*
one Can Help.
By COLONEL ARTHUR WOODS,
Chairman, Committee on Civic and Em er­
gency Measures, President's Conference
on Unemployment.
Does the new year bring a pros­
pect of better times to the average
American worker? Are there to be
more names on the shop's pay roll In
1922 than In 1921? Will there be
work for more hands on the farm?
Has the nation-wide spread of unem­
ployment been checked? What are
we doing about this critical situation,
both In industry and agriculture, any­
where?
We all know that early In October
last. President Harding called a con­
ference on unemployment. Speeches
were made, reports were read, and
committees appointed.
Then this
significant gathering of men and
women from all over the country took
an adjournment. What has been done
since then? I think I can answer
this question, and some other queries
which might arise In any thinking mind
over this disturbing state of affairs.
Briefly, as a starter, let me say that
this recent conference has not been
like some other conferences, which
have met, discussed the subject, passed
resolutions, and then gone home, leav­
ing ns the only net result of the pro­
cedure a printed report. Our con­
ference is following up the conclusions
to which it came when It met in
Washington and It will continue to
keep on the Job until real results
are achieved.
But in the final result the last word
must be spoken by tlie American people
themselves—you and I.
To Ward Off Bad Times.
The unemployment situation has
two distinct features. One is that
wherever a period of industrial de­
pression comes around nnd a lot of
people are thrown out of work, people
puzzle over why in the world it all
happens, and wonder what can be
done to prevent it from happening
again. As soon as things ease up again,
however, they atop puzzling and the re­
sult is thnt when the cycle comes
around again down drops business
activity the same as before, and out
into tlie class of those out of work
drop hundreds of thousands of our
fellow eltlzcijs.
It Is Important, therefore, to try
this time to see If something cannot
he worked out to ward off these bad
times. The standing committee of the
conference Is engaged ou a study of
this subject, and expects to put In
enough time on It to learn all it can
and to be able to put into effect, so
far as its powers go, tlie measures
necessary to prevent or alleviate these
recurring depressions. One way that
has been much talked about Is through
public works. If the various kinds of
public works which city, state and na­
tion are going ahead with all the time
could be done a little less during
periods when private industry is boom­
ing and a little more in times when
private industry has slowed up, this
procedure might tend at any rate to
make the cycle of depression when it
comes a little less severe than it
otherwise would have been. People
who have studied the situation estimate
that a plan of this kind could be
worked out which would not involve
the postponement of any puolic work
which it was Important to do soon,
yet would serve to make a period of
industrial depression at least 30 per
cent less severe than it would other­
wise have been. A measure like this
Is well worth while looking Into very
carefully and trying to bring about
if it can have this sort of good re­
sults.
Help Needed Now.
The other feature of periods of un­
employment Is tlie Immediate emer­
gency, and the fact that hundreds of
thousands of our fellow citizens need
work and, through no fault of their
own but because of an industrial situa­
tion beyond their control, can’t get
it. The unemployable we have always
with us, the man who would rather
do most anything else than work, and
we are tempted to think of all people
out of work as being like him. In
times like these, however, we must not
forget that there are enormous num­
bers of capable workmen, eager to
work at anything thnt will enable them
to maintain themselves and their
families, yet unable to find a job.
This Is everybody’s business.
Al­
though the situation Is worse In some
parts of the country than In others.
It ts a country-wide condition, and
can be met adequately only by coun­
try-wide action. Ever/one can help.
In the first place, city adminlstra
tlons can help. They can speed up
public works which have got to be done
soon anyway and which, if people get
a little busy, can be done now rather
than
later.
Public
employment
bureaus can be started and operated
skillfully and vigorously, so as to
find ail the jobs there are and to fit
into them people who are qualified
to do the work. The YJnited States
employment service offers Its help, in­
cluding the franking privilege, to any
such bureau. It can be brought to the
attention of the people in the city that
private work that has got to be done
anyway should be undertaken now.
rather than "sometime.” It can be
made clear to everyone In town that
even little odd jobs done now help
the situation, since the men who do
Ram Sacrificed in
Christian Church
Fervid re-enactment of a Bibli­
cal episode to depict the faith­
fulness of Abraham in offering
his son, Isaac, as a sacrifice took
place recently when a 75-pound
ram was killed by Rev. T. I.
Jones, pastor of Mount Calvary
Baptist church in Springfield,
Mass., in the presence of a con­
gregation thut taxed tlie church
uuditorium to capacity. The
slaying of a ram on a religious
altar has never before, it is said,
taken place In Massachusetts.
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<S>
them get little pay that they wouldn’’
otherwise have got, and so add to
the purchasing power of the country
Many cities have carried on sustained
“spruce-up” campaigns with the re
suit that the old town never looked
so well-groomed and spick and spaa
nnd that many people who were Io
hard luck were helped out of a verj
distressing situation.
Everyone Can Help.
And you aod I, what can we doi
We can help out someone who Is
in hard luck, who can’t get a chance
to earn a living that he is capable
of earning, and who would give hie
eye teeth if he could get the oppop
tuuity of earning. We can help him
out, perhaps with clothes, perhaps
with a place to live in for himsell
and his family, perhaps with some
regular meals, even if we haven't any
extra cash that we could devote te
the purpose. The American workman
is a pretty self-reliant Individual
When he loses his job he will take
care of himself as long as he can,
economizing, doinff odd jobs, living on
his savings. When he can’t last any
longer this way he will take from
people from whom he has a right ta
ask it, because they are relatives ot
real friends, because he has helped
them before wtien they have been out
of luck or because they know that
If the conditions were reversed he
would help them. He gets help too, per
haps, from his church, his lodge, from
groups to which he belongs. This sort
of thing enables him to hang on a
while longer In the class of those
who make their own way, and the
American sticks In this class Just as
long as he can manage to. It is only
when he has exhausted every resource
and knows not where to turn that he
finally drops into the class of those
dependent upon the public. The men
and women of America who have Jobs
can help those who haven't to keep in
the class of the self-sustaining and
keep out of the class of those who
have to throw themselves on the pub­
lic for help.
And we can help also, you and I, by
having work done now that we other­
wise might not have done until next
spring.
The only cure for unem­
ployment is, of course, employment,
and each in his little way can help
to bring this about. We live In a big
•ountry, and if most of the people in
it help, even in a little way, we can
move mountains.
Beautiful View of Robert College
Neighbors Glad as
Boy’s Pet Disappears
i
Middletown, N. Y.—Ten-year-
old Wade Williams, who lives In
Montgomery, is looking for his
pet skunk. Blackle.
Recently, while walking in a
cemetery near his home, Wade
found Blackle sleeping on the
windward side of a headstone.
He carried him home and. In
spite of the protests of friends
and his family, he bnllt a house
for the antrnal in the back yard
of his home. Every time that he
went on an erran;. Blackle went
with him at the end of a string.
The protests of neighbors and
others finally resulted In the call­
ing of a conference In the Willis
home, and the next morning
Blackle was gone.
Wade's
queries obtained him no definite
information. The fur dealer who
got the skunk promised not to
lead him around on a leash.
Robert college of Constantinople represents the best we have In “Amer­
ica projected" abroad and adapted to Oriental conditions. It la strictly non*
sectarian, and opens Its doors to studies of snv race and religion.
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