Show LABOR VS MACHINES boss hitler of germany has issued a new edict and one which is designed to reduce the amount of labor jabor saving machinery now in use in germany substituting hand labor for the same institutions which put in more labor saving machinery ina chinery are am to be deprived of certain assistance from the government ern ment already it is said many institutions which were getting ready to install mechanical calculators have decided to keep the old human bookkeepers the old cry has been raised that the present plight of germany is due to mass production and the substitution of machinery for hand labor the result of hillers Hit lers experiments peri ments in germany if they are carried out can be watched with interest elsewhere we have heard in the united states a great deal of complaint that our depression was due to the substitution of labor saving for hand machinery thus throwing many people out of jobs similar complaint has been heard beard irom from time to time for more than a century ever since the world entered on the mechanical age in fact usually the introduction of a new machine has resulted in the displacement of hand labor but this labor has generally found a place p ace elsewhere elseth ere perhaps this has been en harder to do since the present dep depression n arrived but it is to be remembered that most of the labor saving machinery was in use before the depression in 1929 when there seemed to be a shortage of labor it is the argument of those who favor labor saving devices over hand labor that the machinery is actually a benefit while it increases the 0 output they say that by cheapening the cost it increases the demand and puts the finished product into the hands of poo able to buy it and opens up new able to but it and opens up new fields for mechanical and hand exploitation for example they say if the machines for making shoes were suddenly eliminated and we had to go back to the old hand labor there would be a scarcity of shoes and a price so high that most people would have to go without footgear the number of shoemakers to supply the demand would be so inadequate that there would be a shoe famine those who favor the return to hand band labor would not have it commence on so large a scale they suggest that in the building of roads for example and in other construction designed to increase employment that all the work where public relief funds are used be performed by band this would provide no road famine and no labor abor shortage but might add greatly to the general employment the subject is an interesting one and there are able debaters on both sides perhaps it would be just as well that we wait for a little while and see whether mr hitler is able to put it over |