PUSH-BUTTON FACTORY — SHALLENBERGER 247 



When I look around at western plants I see many where the volume, 

 the type of product, or the lack of finances make automation of any 

 magnitude completely impracticable. On the other hand, when, as a 

 consumer, I look at the articles I buy, many of them (such as pens, 

 pins, pencils, lamp bulbs, cigarettes, bottles, nails, paints) already 

 produced by virtually automatic processes, and others (hardware, 

 clothing, toys, plumbing fixtures, plastic products, radios and televi- 

 sion) which could be automatized, I lose any fears of overstating the 

 possibilities. Certainly there will be many plants which will never 

 enjoy extensive automation. There will be many products which will, 

 for purely economic reasons or by customer demand, continue to be 

 made by nonautomatic methods. Yet every plant will have some 

 degree of automation, and I cannot doubt that the vast majority of 

 the things we eat and use and wear will be made in plants where the 

 only workers will be technicians, not producers. These will not always 

 be products as we know them today, for automation very often involves 

 new materials and complete product redesign. 



In assessing the prospects for automation, we must stretch our think- 

 ing far beyond manufacturing alone. The punched card, which may 

 some day run our machine tools, had its beginning and greatest de- 

 velopment in the clerical field. It has recently been predicted that 

 electronic brains will "keep business accounts, run continuous sales 

 records, compute and send out bills, handle entire payrolls, keep run- 

 ning inventories, fix production schedules, serve as vast filing systems, 

 and chart corporate expansion," all without human aid. In retailing 

 there is no reason why electronic circuits could not automatically 

 record each sale, check credit, bill the customer, post the new stock 

 balance, reorder if necessary, and at the same time give management 

 a continuous and up-to-the- second accounting of all operations. For 

 a, long time we have had "Automat" restaurants in New York. Auto- 

 matic vending of candies, beverages, fruits, and other products has 

 ^rown rapidly in recent years. 



With increased air-traffic congestion and travel at supersonic speeds, 

 the shortcomings of human control of aircraft become critical. Auto- 

 tnatic electronic controls are not subject to such shortcomings, and it 

 is reasonable to believe that they may some day take over full control 

 of aircraft in flight. The same may be true of rail, ocean, and other 

 transportation. Computers are already used to handle plane reserva- 

 tions in large centers. And the possibilities in accounting, statistical, 

 securities, research and engineering organizations, and in the making 

 of management decisions are tremendous. With the aid of computers, 

 decisions can truly be based on calculated risks, not on hunches. 



The possibilities in agriculture are likewise great. Early in 1952 

 a Senate subcommittee estimated "conservatively" that chemicals 



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