HARDWOOD RECORD 



27 



ance there is a jjositive loss. Besides, it is by no means certain square inch, and each (.ne may become the lurking place for swarms 



that an enameled iron chair will be more sanitary than one of of bacteria. In view of this it is not improbable that a trial of 



oiled and finished wood; because it is well known that enamel a few years will result in bringing wood into popular favor again 



sometimes develops hundreds of small cracks or crazes to the as material for barbershop furniture and fixtures. 



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A student of economics recently declared that the high cost of 

 living is another way of referring to the high cost of labor, since 

 the price of labor starts with the cost of living, as a minimum. It 

 is impossible to get labor for less than it costs the laborer to maintain 

 himself and his family; and the factors which have contributed to 

 increasing the cost of living for the entire country have been brought 

 home graphically and unmistakably to the man who is a purchaser 

 of labor. 



He can 't help knowing that it costs him more to handle lumber 

 now than it used to, because his books show it. It costs him more to 

 put logs through his mill than it formerly did, chiefly because • the 

 men who run the saw and handle the lumber are getting more money 

 than was the ease a few years ago. He has been gradually increasing 

 their wages as he found necessary, and the sum total is shown iri 

 the analysis of his expenses of operating and in the final statement 

 of the cost per thousand of making and handling lumber. 



This inescapable condition only emphasizes, however, the importance 

 of knowing that the money laid out in labor is properly invested; 

 in other words, that the laborer not only gets, but earns, his hire. 

 The slipshod yard foreman, the careless mill superintendent, and the 

 sleepy inspector are all in a position to waste labor; and their 

 inefficiency or indifference will be speedily reflected in heavier labor 

 bills, without any adequate explanation being forthcoming. 



One method of solving this problem has been explained in Hard- 

 wood Record previously ; that of paying men on piecework and thus 

 putting up to them the question of delivering the goods. That is a 

 fair and satisfactory method of handling the yard question, and has 

 worked out well in many instances, not so much from the standpoint 

 of lowering the cost of the work, which doe^ not always happen, as 

 because of the more rapid movement of the stock through the yard. 

 There are fewer emergencies when the lumber is kept moving in and 

 out at good speed. 



A plan which is an adaptation of this idea, and which was recently 

 decided on by the head of a large wholesale hardwood concern, oper- 

 ating two yards in the same city, deserves mention because it is 

 unusual, and at the same time commends itself because of its sim- 

 plicity and ease of operation. It consists of subletting the labor 

 contract to the yard foreman, so that the dealings of the company 

 are entirely with him. He is paid on the piecework basis, the total 

 ,amount of lumber handled by his crew during the week determining 

 the sum that he receives; and from this, of course, he pays the 

 inspectors and the members of the crew. 



As indicated, the concern using this plan has two yards, and the 

 system has been put into effect at the yard which is not directly 

 under the eye of the lumberman. It is some distance from the office 

 of the company, and is used for a special purpose, which will be 

 explained later. But while it was being operated on the day wage 

 system, the lumberman found that the cost of handling stock was 

 apparently out of reason, one excuse after another being given, but 

 none of them seeming satisfactory. He came to the conclusion that 

 his own presence at the yard adjoining the oflSce, where he was able 

 to look after things and direct the movements of his men so as to 

 avoid wasted time between jobs — which, by the way, is a most prolific 

 source of increased expense — was responsible for the lower cost of 

 handling lumber shown there. 



In order to stimulate the other force, he conceived the plan of 

 putting them simply on a straight piecework system; and then the 

 idea occurred to him of putting it up entirely to the yard foreman 

 to get the work done, and done right. 



"My plan has always been," he said, in explaining the proposition, 

 "to appoint men to do certain work and then hold them responsible. 

 I look to the superintendents of my mills for results, and to the fore- 

 man in each yard for economical handling of my lumber. In this 

 way I avoid alibis, and insure getting results or knowing the reason 

 why if I do not. In planning to relieve myself of all worry regarding 

 the handling of lumber in the more distant of my two yards, I simply 

 carried out my general policy to a little further extent. 



"I figured what the average cost of_ handling lumber in that yard 

 had been, including the wages of the crews, the salaries of inspectors 

 and that of the yard foreman. I was convinced that the work could 

 be done for less, and fixed a price per thousand that was somewhat 

 less than had been expended previously* and was about what it cost 

 to handle it at the other yard. Then I told the yard foreman that 

 I was going to pay him for the work done at the yard, and that his' 

 men would get their pay from him. I suggested a scale of piece- 

 work for them that would allow him a pretty big slice of the total, 

 and also indicated that it would be a good plan to allow the better 

 men something in the way of a bonus to stimulate their work. 



"He jumped at the chance of making more money than he had 

 done before, and explained the new plan to his crew. He told them 

 he thought they would all make more money than they had done 

 before, but that they would have to step lively. Well, step lively they 

 did. Even the inspectors, who had been working slow and easy, being 

 pretty far away from the office, and entirely out of sight of the heads 

 of the concern, found that they had to ginger up, because the crews 

 wouldn't let them loaf. They simply had to work fast. 



' ' Under that plan no special hours of work have been arranged, of 

 course, and the result is that the men get there early and work until 

 they have accomplished a good day 's total. They usually quit fairly 

 early in the afternoon, which gives them a chance to rest up and 

 return in good condition the following morning. I don't have to 

 worry about the labor end of the business, and the yard foreman is 

 perfectly willing to take the worry off my hands. He is now making 

 about $30 a week, and earning every cent, because he is putting in all 

 kinds of extra time, and simply delights in piling up the work a 

 little faster than he did the day before. ' ' 



This system also has a few minor advantages such as relieving the 

 office of bookkeeping. The yard foreman keeps his own accounts as 

 to the work done by the men in his crew, and the tallies of the in- 

 spectors of lumber unloaded and loaded out check up the account that 

 he handles. He is paid the full amount, and pays off the men 

 under him. 



It is a good deal like the plan used by coal dealers of having coal 

 delivered by teaming companies. They know just what it is costing 

 them to make deliveries, whereas they never do when they are doing 

 their own hauling. The lumberman referred to has reached the posi- 

 tion where rain doesn 't . worry him, because if lumber isn 't being 

 handled . he isn 't losing anything. At the same time the men are 

 doing enough work to be able to lose the time due to interruptions 

 from bad weather without suffering. 



The special purpose which the yard where this plan is in vogue is 

 used for is the handling of green lumber. It has to be put on sticks, 

 of course, and is a slower operation than when it is simply bulked 

 down. All of the dry stock, which does not need to be put on sticks, 

 is unloaded at the other yard. The advantage of having the s'ticking 

 work done by a crew trained to this kind of work, and handling 

 nothing else, is appareni, especially to the man who has had trouble 



