A BUSINESS PROPOSITION. 59 







should reap their reward in the form of increased rental or 

 return on capital, and their profit and loss account would then 

 be as in Table III. It will be observed that in Table II the 

 farmer theoretically gets double the return that he would in 

 Table III, and in practice this would, I think, be substantially 

 true in time. 



This matter is also of overwhelming importance to labour. 

 The economic future of labour depends on the application of 

 scientific management on the farm, standardised conditions, 

 standardised operations, despatching, standards of performance, 

 and an efficiency-reward. 



An interesting pamphlet by Mr. T. B. Ponsonby is the only 

 farm literature I have seen on the subject, but the matter has 

 received much study in commerce and we have learnt by our 

 mistakes. Mr. Ponsonby barely mentions standardised con- 

 ditions, but this is the root of the matter. If peace-work, 

 bonus schemes, stints, differential rates, or any other form of 

 efficiency-reward, is based on existing conditions, any improve- 

 ment that involves capital or effort on the part of the farmer 

 must be paid for by a reduction in bonus rate, though not in 

 weekly total, and then the trouble begins. How can equip- 

 ment be standardised under the English system of land tenure ? 

 I have seen farms where a very large part of all labour was 

 obviously wasted by the bad arrangement of buildings and 

 equipment, and a considerable expense would be necessary to 

 cure it, but I doubt whether a new tenant who never made time- 

 studies of each operation would pay id. extra in rent. My wife 

 informs me that each meal prepared in our house in England 

 takes 3! times the running about that it did in our American 

 home, 300 ft. against 80 for afternoon tea for example, and 

 she has properly scaled charts which have passed expert criticism, 

 to prove her point. But there is no cure. Our temporary 

 residence here would not justify pulling about scullery, pantry 

 and kitchen, and the landlord would not find one person in ten 

 who would pay for the rearrangement until after a period of 

 occupancy. I examined last year time-studies in painting shell. 

 In 25 establishments the labour hours per thousand shell varied 

 as 5 to i. The worst took five times as long as the best. The 

 cure lay first in the arrangement of benches and machines, 

 smoothing of floors and minor changes of that character, and 

 second in instruction. There was little visible improvement in 

 the physical equipment, but there was doubled efficiency shown 

 in the reduction of cost and increased earnings to the workers. 

 In the last year I have seen dozens of startling improvements 

 of this character, most of which would have been stultified 

 under a tenancy system. 



The farm labourer lies under a burden of unintelligent and 



