BRAINS IN THE WORKSHOP

Evening Star, Issue 15076, 7 January 1913, Page 3

BRAINS IN THE WORKSHOP

It is sometimes said that in the modern factory men have been turned into mere machines, and labor dehumanised, but the assertion is the exact antithesis of the truth. _ In the modern factor}' (says ‘ Engineering ') it : : s the mental qualities of the employees on which a demand is made, and it is for this reason that the reduction which has boon effected in the working hours usual a century ago has been reasonable and justifiable. A Chinese sawyer will spend 12 or more hours a day in splitting up, by sheer muscle, a balk of timber as much as 42in square. Practically no mental effort is demanded from him during 99 per cent, of his working hour's. So far as this portion of his work is concerned, he is a mere machine, and an ineffective one at that. His mind may therefore wander to other themes than the matter in hand, whilst his puny strength often fails to move his saw through a stroke of more than 6in or Tin. Labor of this kind may well be considered dehumanised, since it makes little demand on qualities other than those possessed by the brute creation. On the other hand, the sawyer in a modem saw-mill must keep all his attention riveted on his occupation, since a moment's lapse may lead to irreparable injury to either himself or the work in hand. The whole of his value as a workman is thus dependent upon the possession of certain mental qualities, the exercise of which involves a definite nervous strain. Every year, in fact, sees the introduction of machinery which more and more relieves the workman of duties which can be equally well effected automatically, and increases, on the other hand, the demand on his care and attention.