220 REPORT OP THE FORESTRY COMMITTEE 



Labor 



Methods of employment. — There is wide variation in the methods employed 

 to secure laborers for lumbering work, especially logging. 



Some rely upon general employment agencies to provide such men as are 

 needed; others maintain an agency of their own for this purpose; while others 

 hire men at the main office or at the logging camp. The methods used vary with 

 the amount of labor required, the abundance of laborers, and the character of 

 general organization maintained by the company. 



One of the largest employers of woods and sawmill labor in the South some 

 time ago established an employment agency on lines somewhat different than 

 has been the usual practice in the lumber industry. 



The demand for labor both in the woods and at the mill were constant, and 

 it was necessary to be on the continual lookout for workmen. The plan in vogue 

 for some time was for each foreman to employ such workmen as were required 

 in his department, and when new workmen made application at the office for 

 work they were referred to such foremen as were in need of additional men. 

 The man was assigned to some task and if he did not prove adapted to it or in 

 some way won the ill will of the boss, he was discharged and seldom could get 

 work from foremen on other parts of the plant, even though there might be a 

 scarcity of men. The company found it difficult to keep its force up to the proper 

 strength by this method and devised a plan somewhat as follows : 



A central employment bureau was established under the supervision of the 

 main office, which, as necessity demanded, secured new workmen, making a care- 

 ful study of the character of work for which each new workman was particularly 

 adapted. A foreman needing workmen now applies to the bureau stating the 

 number wanted, and the duties they are to perform. The bureau then turns over 

 to the foreman the available men best fitted for the particular kind of work they 

 are to perform. In case the men do not prove satisfactory or for any reason they 

 are not needed, the foreman turns them back to the employment bureau with a 

 statement of his reasons for so doing. In the light of the new knowledge gained, 

 the bureau again assigns such men to some other line of work, each man being 

 thoroughly tried out before he is discharged permanently. The old method often 

 was the means of attempting to fit a square peg in a round hole, while the new 

 method has the virtue of giving a man a thorough test before he is pronounced 

 incompetent. This is especially essential where labor is scarce and the demand 

 of the company is constant. 



While it would manifestly be impossible to conduct such a department at a 

 medium-sized plant, yet it is believed that the principle underlying the manage- 

 ment of the bureau is in line with economy and should be attempted at every 

 plant. 



Special methods to secure cooperation among employers and employes. — 

 There are numerous schemes in practice in the lumber industry looking toward 

 the closer cooperation of employer and employe. They may take the form of 

 the payment of a bonus or reward for good work; the provision of attractive 

 homes and surroundings for the workmen and a general application of the 



