Category: Industrial Organization

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Exam Questions Harvard Industrial Organization

Harvard. Railways and public utility regulation. Exam questions. Meyer, 1902-1903.

Besides adding to the database of economics examination questions, this post provides us with additional biographical information for the railroad and municipal utility expert, Harvard economics Ph.D. alumnus Hugo Richard Meyer (1866-1923). He was an assistant professor of economics at the University of Chicago in 1903-05.

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From a review of Meyer’s book,
Government Regulations of Railway Rates

Hugo Richard Meyer is a native of Cincinnati, O., and is now 39 years of age. He attended the pubic schools of that city in early childhood and in 1877 he was taken by his parents to Germany, where he remained five years. From Germany, his father returned to America and made his home in Denver, Colo., where in the high school young Meyer prepared for Harvard college, from which he was graduated in 1892. Afterward he attended Harvard Graduate school five years.

Prof. Meyer’s usefulness began as an instructor of political economy in Harvard, serving from 1897 until 1903. In 1903 he was one of three commissioners appointed by the Governor to investigate and report on the wisdom of amending the laws of Massachusetts, governing the exercise of the right of eminent domain by cities in public improvement. In 1903, he wrote a series of leaflets on the subject of municipal ownership, taking the side of private ownership. Mr. Meyer began the study of economics with a prejudice in favor of socialism, but came out in a strong belief of individualism. He has studied socialism in Australia and the operation of municipal ownership in Great Britain. He especially has paid attention to the government regulation of railroad rates in the United States, Germany, France, Austria Hungary, Russia and Australia. In his book, Government Regulation of Railway Rates [a study of the experience of the United States, Germany, France, Austria-Hungary, Russia, and Australia] , he gives a comparative study of the experiece of public regulation of railway rates in countries where he has been.

In addition to this book, Mr. Meyer has two other works in preparation. One deals with municipal ownership in Great Britain [followed by The British State Telegraphs (1907) and Public Ownership and the Telephone in Great Britain (1907)] and the other with state socialism in Australia. Mr. Meyer has written also articles on the regulation of railway rates in Europe, and an article entitled, “Rate Making by Government,” which were published respectively in 1903 and 1905.

Mr. Meyer came into national prominence in May last, when he appeared before the Senate sub-committee of interstate commerce and gave his views on the question of rate making by government. It was the clearest statement given by any witness on either side of this great question. He presented an array of facts that no other witness had summoned, and when he left the chair it was the judgment of all that he had been the most impressive witness that had appeared before the committee.

Source: The Topeka Daily Herald, October 14, 1905, p. 8.

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Course Description
Economic 5
1902-1903

  1. 1hf. Railways and other Public Works. under Public and Corporate Management. Half-course (first half-year). Tu., Th., Sat., at 1.30. Mr. Meyer.

This course reviews the history and working of different modes of dealing with transportation, and deals with the questions of street railways, gas, and electric light supply.

The manner in which Germany [Municipal Ownership in Germany. Journal of Political Economy, (1906), 14(9), 553–567.], France [The Breakdown of State Railway Building in France. Journal of Political Economy (1906), 14(7), 450–453.], and Russia have regulated railway rates, either by exercising control over private corporations, or by assuming public ownership and operation, will be studied with special reference to the effect of such regulation upon the elasticity of railway rates and the ability of the railways to develop trade and industry. In this connection will be studied the part played by the railways and by the waterways in the development of the leading industries of Germany, France, and Russia; as well as the question why Germany, France, and Russia are obliged to have recourse to the waterways for the performance of services that in the United States are rendered by the railways.

The attempts of the railways of the United States to regulate railway rates through pools will be compared with the attempts of the several states and of the federal government to regulate rates through legislation and through commissions. Typical decisions of pools, of state commissions, and of the Interstate Commerce Commission will be studied for the purpose of ascertaining whether those decisions are founded on a body of principles that may be said to have the character of a science, or whether they express merely the judgment of administrative officers on questions of fact to which no body of scientific principles can be made to apply. In conclusion, the question whether railway rates should be regulated through pools or through legislation and commissions will be discussed by means of a comparison of the experience of the European countries, the United States under the régime of regulation by pools, and the United States under the régime of regulation by state and federal legislation and by commissions.

The problem of the public ownership and operation of the railways will be discussed under the following heads: the difficulties experienced by Prussia, France, Italy, Russia, and the Australian Colonies, in making the railway budget fit into the state budget; the problem of a large body of civil servants in a self-governing community, as illustrated in the experience of the Australian Colonies.

The question of the regulation and control of private corporations operating street railways, gas, and electric light plants will be studied by means of a review of the experience of Massachusetts, which exercises control by means of legislation and commissions; and the experience of Great Britain, which exercises control by means of legislation, and, in many instances, supplements that control by the policy of municipal ownership.

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Enrollment
Economics 5
1902-1903

Economics 5. 1hf. Mr. Meyer. — Railways and other Public Works under Public and Corporate Management.

Total 60: 1 Gr., 30 Se., 14 Ju., 5 So., 1 Fr., 9 Others.

Source: Harvard University. Annual Report of the President of Harvard College, 1902-03, p. 68.

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ECONOMICS 5
Mid-year Examination
1902-1903

Give one hour to question 1

  1. If the Act to Regulate Commerce has been enacted at the close of the Civil War, and if it had been interpreted and enforced in the spirit in which the Interstate Commerce Commission has interpreted it, what, in your opinion, would have been the effect upon the development of the resources of the United States; and what would be the present position of affairs as to local discriminations and personal discriminations? Indicate briefly the facts upon which you base your opinion, but do not recite the details of those facts.
  2. If you were asked to ascertain with what efficiency and reasonableness of charges the railways of a country were serving that country, what information should you seek to obtain?
  3. What facts, and what statistics should you use, were you asked to discuss the question whether the “basing-point” system concentrates trade and population?
  4. Among the dicta of the Interstate Commerce Commission is this one, that the railways have no right to drive out of business the vessels upon the rivers. Discuss the soundness of this dictum, basing your discussion upon the experience of several countries.
  5. The Northern Pacific Railroad Co. charges 65 cents per 100 Ibs. for carrying Pacific slope sugar from the Pacific slope to St. Paul. That charge is fixed by the lake and rail route which carries Atlantic sea-board sugar from the Atlantic sea-board to St. Paul. The N. P. R. Co. charges 97 cents per 100 lbs. for carrying sugar from the Pacific slope to Fargo, which is 240 miles west of St. Paul, on the direct line between the Pacific slope and St. Paul. It also charges 32 cents per 100 lbs. for carrying sugar from St. Paul to Fargo.
    The distance from New York to St. Paul is 1373 miles; from San Francisco to St. Paul, 2300 miles. The charge of 97 cents from San Francisco to Fargo is reasonable per se.
    The San Francisco output of refined sugar is 140,000 tons to 150,000 a year; and of that output, between 30,000 tons and 40,000 are sold to St. Paul, the balance being sold to points upon the Pacific slope and points in the mountain districts between the Pacific slope and St. Paul.
    M. Raworth, a wholesale grocer at Fargo, complains that the rates charged by the N. P. R. Co. are in violation of Clause 4 of the Act to Regulate Commerce.
    What, in your opinion, would be (1) the decision of the Interstate Commerce Commission; (2) the decision of the Supreme Court of the United States?
    Base your opinion upon decisions made respectively by the Commission and the Supreme Court.
  6. State the conditions under which the Interstate Commerce Commission said that certain cuts in the rates on “grain for export” were “a gratuitous gift to the foreigner”; and criticize the reasoning with which the Commission sought to support its position.
  7. When it was suggested in England that the Justices of the Court of Common Pleas be constituted a railway tribunal, Lord Campbell, afterward Lord Chancellor, in behalf of his associates declined the responsibility, saying: “This is not a code which the judges can interpret, it leaves them altogether to exercise their discretion as to what they may deem reasonable. They are, besides, to form a just judgment on all matters of complaint relating to railway management that may come before them, and they are to lay down a code of regulation for the government of railway companies. The judges, himself among the number, feel themselves incompetent to decide on these matters. He had spent a good part of his life in studying the laws of his country, but, he confessed, he was wholly unacquainted with railway management, as well as the transit of goods by boat. He knew not how to determine what is a reasonable rate…”
    What judicial opinion does this quotation recall to your mind; and what is the significance of that opinion?
  8. A recent Siberian Census revealed the fac that there were large and fertile regions in Siberia in which the farmers cultivated, on an average, sixteen acres of land. The farmers in question had emigrated from European Russia in the seventies. What do you presume to be the reasons for that state of affairs?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Mid-year Examinations 1852-1943. Box 6. Papers (in the bound volume Examination Papers Mid-years 1902-1903).
Also included in: Harvard University Archives. Examination Papers 1873-1915. Box 6. Papers Set for Final Examinations in History, Government, Economics, History of Religions, Philosophy, Education, Fine Arts, Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Music in Harvard College, June 1903 (in the bound volume Examination Papers 1902-1903).

Image Source: A newspaper sketch of Hugo Richard Meyer from 1905 reproduced in Wikimedia Commons.

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Exam Questions Harvard Industrial Organization Labor

Harvard. Problems of labor and industrial organization, Student Reports, Exams. Ripley, 1902-1903

William Zebina Ripley

 

William Zebina Ripley began his career as racial social anthropologist, with a scientific legacy that could have reduced him to the fate of a poster-child in later histories of popular and academic racism. At the latest, his work as transportation expert for the United States Industrial Commission in 1900 helped to divert his attention to disputes between organized labor and organized capital and away from “problems of immigration”. And so we find his course “Problems of Labor and Industrial Organization” at Harvard which is the subject of this post. Besides a thick course description in the division announcement of its course offerings for 1902-03, course enrollment figures, and the semester final exams, the Harvard archives also has a copy of a four-page printed instructions for the student reports to be prepared during the first semester covering “problems of labor”.

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Economics 9
Course Description
1902-1903

  1. Problems of Labor and Industrial Organization. , Th., and (at the pleasure of the instructor) Sat., at 10. Professor Ripley.

The work of this course will consist of two parts, one concerned mainly with the economic and social questions relating to labor, with especial reference to legislation; the other with the fiscal and industrial organization of capital, especially in the corporate form.

Among the topics included under the first head will be the following, viz.: methods of remuneration, profit sharing, cooperation, sliding scales, and collective bargaining; labor organizations; factory legislation in all its phases in the United States and Europe; strikes, strike legislation and judicial interpretation, conciliation and arbitration; employers’ liability and compulsory compensation acts; compulsory insurance with particular reference to European experience; provident institutions, friendly societies, building and loan associations; the problem of the unemployed; apprenticeship, and trade and technical education.

With reference to the organization of capital and especially the economics of corporations, the principal topics will be industrial combination and the so-called trust problem. This will be considered in all its phases, with comparative study of the conditions in the United States and European countries. The growth and development of corporate enterprise, promotion, capitalization and financing, publicity of accounting, the liability of directors and underwriters, will be illustrated fully by the study of cases, not from their legal but from their purely economic aspects; and the effects of industrial combination and integration upon efficiency, profits, wages, the rights of investors, prices, industrial stability, the development of export trade, and international competition will be considered in turn.

The course is open to students who have taken Economics 1. Systematic reading and report work will be assigned from time to time.

Source: Harvard University. Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Division of History and Political Science[Comprising the Departments of History and Government and Economics], 1902-03. Published in The University Publications, New Series, no. 55. June 14, 1902.

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Economics 9
Enrollment
1902-1903

Economics 9. Professor Ripley. — Problems of Labor and Industrial Organization.

Total 112: 3 Gr., 26 Se., 55 Ju., 17 So., 11 Others.

Source: Harvard University. Annual Report of the President of Harvard College, 1902-03, p. 68.

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ECONOMICS 9
ASSIGNMENT OF REPORTS

GROUP A

Students will report upon the comparative conditions respecting Trade Union organization, functions, and efficiency in corresponding industries in the United States and Great Britain. The particular, industry assigned to each man is indicated by a number on the enrolment slip, which refers to the Trade Union number on the appended list of National Labor Organizations.

GROUP B

Students will report upon the comparative efficiency of Trade Union organization in two distinct lines of industry in the United States. Numbers against the names on the enrolment slip refer to the numbered Trade Union list, appended hereto.

GROUP C

Students will report upon the nature of Trade Union organization in two distinct lines of industry in Great Britain. Names on the enrolment slip as numbered refer to the industries concerned in the appended list of Trade Unions.

→ The letters preceding the assignment number against the student’s name refer to the group in which the report is to be made. Thus, for example: “8A” on the enrolment slip indicates that the student is to report upon the Cotton Spinners’ Unions in the United States and Great Britain; “1 & 8B,” that a comparison of the Spinners’ and of the Boot and Shoe Workers’ Organizations in the United States is expected : while “1 & 8C” calls for the same comparison for the two industries in Great Britain.

NATIONAL LABOR ORGANIZATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES

A star indicates that the Trade Union journal is in the Library. [Loeb Fund.]

*The Knights of Labor
*The American Federation of Labor

  1. Boot and Shoe Workers’ Union.
  2. The United Hatters of North America.
  3. The United Garment Workers of America.
  4. The Journeymen Tailors’ Union of America.
  5. Custom Clothing Makers’ Union of America.
  6. International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union.
  7. The Shirt, Waist and Laundry Workers’ International Union.
  8. National Spinners’ Association of America.
  9. The Elastic Goring Weavers’ Amalgamated Association of the United States of America.
  10. International Union of Textile Workers.
  11. Trunk and Bag Workers’ International Union of America.
  12. *International Typographical Union of North America.
  13. German-American Typographia.
  14. International Printing Pressmen and Assistants’ Union of North America.
  15. International Brotherhood of Bookbinders.
  16. Lithographers’ International Protective and Beneficial Association.
  17. International Steel and Copperplate Printers’ Union of the United States of America.
  18. Bricklayers and Masons’ International Union of America.
  19. *United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America.
  20. Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners.
  21. International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
  22. *Granite Cutters’ National Union of the United States of America.
  23. Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators, and Paper Hangers of America.
  24. Operative Plasterers’ International Association.
  25. United Association of Journeymen Plumbers, Gas Fitters, Steam Fitters, and Steam Fitters’ Helpers.
  26. National Association of Steam and Hot-Water Fitters and Helpers.
  27. Journeymen Stone Cutters’ Association of North America.
  28. Mosaic and Encaustic Tile Layers and Helpers’ International Union.
  29. Glass Bottle Blowers’ Association.
  30. American Flint Glassworkers’ Union.
  31. *Amalgamated Glassworkers’ International Association.
  32. National Brotherhood of Operative Potters.
  33. *United Mine Workers of America.
  34. Northern Mineral Mine Workers’ Progressive Union.
  35. Amalgamated Woodworkers’ International Union.
  36. United Order of Box Makers and Sawyers.
  37. *Piano and Organ Workers’ International Union.
  38. International Wood Carvers’ Association.
  39. Coopers’ International Union.
  40. Carriage and Wagon Workers’ International Union.
  41. National Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel, and Tin Workers.
  42. *International Association of Machinists.
  43. Amalgamated Society of Engineers.
  44. *Brotherhood of Boiler Makers and Iron Ship Builders.
  45. International Association of Allied Metal Mechanics.
  46. Metal Polishers, Buffers, Platers, and Brass Workers’ International Union.
  47. Amalgamated Sheet Metal Workers’ International Association.
  48. *Iron Molders’ Union.
  49. Pattern Makers’ League.
  50. Core Makers’ International Union.
  51. Grand Union of the International Brotherhood of Blacksmiths.
  52. Chain Makers’ National Union.
  53. Stove Mounters and Steel Range Workers’ International Union.
  54. Tin Plate Workers’ International Protective Association.
  55. American Wire Weavers’ Protective Association.
  56. Metal Trades’ Federation of North America.
  57. *International Seamen’s Union.
  58. National Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association.
  59. International Longshoremen’s Association.
  60. Amalgamated Association of Street Railway Employees.
  61. Switchmen’s Union.
  62. Journeymen Bakers’ and Confectioners’ International Union.
  63. Journeymen Barbers’ International Union.
  64. National Union of the United Brewery Workmen.
  65. *National Brickmaker’s Alliance.
  66. International Broom Makers’ Union.
  67. *Cigar Makers’ International Union.
  68. Retail Clerks’ International Protective Association.
  69. Team Drivers’ International Union.
  70. International Union of Steam Engineers.
  71. National Brotherhood of Coal Hoisting Engineers.
  72. Watch Case Engravers’ International Association.
  73. International Brotherhood of Stationary Firemen.
  74. International Union of Journeymen Horseshoers.
  75. Hotel and Restaurant Employees’ International Alliance and Bartenders’ International League.
  76. International Jewelry Workers.
  77. The United Brotherhood of Leather Workers on Horse Goods.
  78. National Association of Letter Carriers.
  79. *Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen.
  80. American Federation of Musicians.
  81. International Brotherhood of Oil and Gas Well Workers.
  82. United Brotherhood of Paper Makers.
  83. National Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees.
  84. National Stogie Makers’ League.
  85. *Tobacco Workers’ International League.
  86. Upholsterers’ International Union.
  87. *Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers.
  88. *Order of Railway Conductors of America.
  89. *Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen.
  90. Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen.
  91. *Order of Railroad Telegraphers.
  92. Brotherhood of Railway Truckmen.
  93. Switchmen’s Union of North America.

The constitutions of most of the Trades Unions for the United States will be found in Vol. XVII, Reports, U. S. Industrial Commission. Similar data for Great Britain is in the Appendix to “Foreign Reports, Vols. 1-2,”Royal Commission on Labour, pp. 15-324. [Volume I, United States; Volume II, Colonies and Indian Empire] [Both reserved in Gore Hall.] Additional evidence as to labor conditions in each industry will be found in Vols. VII, VIII, XII, XIV, and XVII, U. S. Industrial Commission (consult Digest and Index in each volume); and in the Reports of the British Royal Commission. The student should also consult Charles Booth’s Life and Labor of the People;

[(Original) Volume I, East London; (Original) Volume II, London; (Original) Appendix to Volume II; Note: the previous three original volumes were re-printed as four volumes that then were followed by Volume V, Population Classified by Trades; Volume VI, Population Classified by Trades (cont.); Volume VII, Population Classified by Trades; Volume VIII, Population Classified by Trades (cont.); Volume IX, Comparisons, Survey and Conclusions];

Webbs, Industrial Democracy; and other books reserved in Gore Hall.

Data respecting the various unions among railroad employees in the United States will be found in a separate section on Railway Labor, in Vol. XVII, U. S. Industrial Commission: as also in Vols. IV and IX. (See Digests and Indexes.)

In cases where the American Trade Union journal is not in the library, the student will be expected to procure at least one copy from the Secretary of the Union. [See list of post office addresses posted with the enrolment slip.] These are to be filed with the report.

→ Exact references by title, volume and page must be given in foot notes for all facts cited. This condition is absolutely imperative. Failure to comply with it will vitiate the entire report.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Syllabi, course outlines and reading lists in Economics, 1895-2003. Box 1, Folder “Economics, 1902-1903”.

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Economics 9
Mid-Year Examination
1902-1903

  1. What is the “fellow-servant doctrine” as applied to the interpretation of Employers’ Liability? Upon what reasons was it based; wherein did it fail; and how was it remedied?
  2. Describe, briefly, the causes and results of five great strikes in the United States since 1870.
  3. What was the recent Taff Vale case in Great Britain, and why was it so important?
  4. What is the position of the leading political parties and statesmen in England on labor questions?
  5. What is the general attitude of the American courts toward—
    1. The rights of strikers?
    2. Boycotts?
    3. Non-union men?
  6. What is an injunction? What are its merits and evils?
  7. Where has compulsory arbitration of labor disputes been attempted? What is the main objection to such a policy?
  8. What is the relative importance of the different causes of labor disputes? Are they different in different countries?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Mid-year Examinations 1852-1943. Box 6. Papers (in the bound volume Examination Papers Mid-years 1902-1903).

Economics 9b
Year-end examination
1902-1903

  1. Outline with approximate dates, the development of the so-called Trust Problem in the United States.
  2. Show how the methods of promotion usually adopted have affected capitalization; illustrating by a case familiar to you.
  3. In what ways does the financing of industrials differ from railways; and what has been the principal effect upon their dividend policy?
  4. What are Jenks’ main conclusions as to the effect of combination upon prices? How do these compare with Ely’s?
  5. What are the three main inducements for transforming a partnership into a corporation?
  6. Contrast the attitude of the English common law toward monopoly with that of the law in Germany and France.
  7. What has been the attitude of the U.S. Steel Corporation toward its employees? Illustrate by concrete experience.
  8. Is “publicity” a sufficient remedy for the existing abuses of corporate management, in your opinion? Give specific reasons for your view.
  9. What was the decision in the Northern Securities Co. case, and what may be its possible effect?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Examination Papers 1873-1915. Box 6. Papers Set for Final Examinations in History, Government, Economics, History of Religions, Philosophy, Education, Fine Arts, Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Music in Harvard College, June 1903 (in the bound volume Examination Papers 1902-1903).

Image Source: Harvard University Archives.  William Zebina Ripley [photographic portrait, ca. 1910], J. E. Purdy & Co., J. E. P. & C. (1910). Colorized by Economics in the Rear-view Mirror.

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Cornell Exam Questions Harvard Industrial Organization Labor

Harvard. Exams for labor economics and industrial organization. Durand, 1902

This post adds to the growing collection of transcribed course examinations from the Harvard economics department. The “labor question” and “problems of industrial organization” courses were taught during the second semester of 1901-1902 by a visiting instructor hired by the department, E. Dana Durand. In the Harvard Archive’s collection of course syllabi and reading lists I found a four page printed leaflet, “Systems of Agreements and Arbitration”, from Durand’s labor course. It is added to this post.

Archival Tip: 5 manuscript boxes for Edward Dana Durand (1885-1959) are found at the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum in West Branch, Iowa.

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Backstory

Following the resignation of Edward Cummings in the summer of 1900, William Franklin Willoughby was hired for the year (1900-1901). The exams for Willoughby’s Economics 9 courses for 1900-01 have been transcribed earlier. 

William Franklin Willoughby, Instructor in Economics, resigned, effective September 1, 1901.

Source. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1900-1901, p. 290.

Temporarily taking the Cummings/Willoughby courses next was Edward Dana Durand who was appointed Instructor in Economics, December 2, 1901.

Source. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1901-1902, p. 319.

Durand was also appointed for the first term of 1902-1903.

Source. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1901-1902, p. 321.

Along with material for his first semester course taught 1902-03 on taxation, you will find some additional information about Durand’s life and career in this earlier post. 

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Short Biography
from U.S. Census Bureau

Edward Dana Durand (Director, 1909-1913): Durand was born, in 1871, in Romeo, Michigan. When he was still a child, however, his parents moved to a homestead in South Dakota. Durand attended Yankton College for one year before transferring to Oberlin College. He received a Ph.D. from Cornell University in 1896. After receiving his doctorate, Durand moved between several government and academic positions until 1909, when he became deputy commissioner of corporations. Later that year, President Taft appointed him the new director of the census. He replaced Samuel North, who had left after repeated clashes with the secretary of commerce and labor, and took over the Census Bureau well into the planning process for the 1910 census.

Durand concentrated much of his energy on improving the preparation of census reports. He pioneered several lasting innovations in the presentation of data at the Census Bureau. For example, Durand introduced the publication of state-level reports and the early release in press releases of statistics for which there was the greatest demand (such as the total population of individual cities, states, and the United States population). These releases were be followed by bulletins, abstracts, and final reports with greater detail.

After leaving the Census Bureau in 1913, Durand eventually took a place on the U.S. Tariff Commission, where he served from 1935 until his retirement in 1952. He died in 1960.

Source: United States Census Bureau website. Webpage Directors 1909-1921.

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Course Enrollment
for Economics 9

For Undergraduates and Graduates:—

[Economics] 9 2hf. Dr. Durand. — The Labor Question in Europe and the United States.

Total 116: 5 Graduates, 20 Seniors, 46 Juniors, 32 Sophomores, 1 Freshman, 12 Others.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1901-1902, p. 77.

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Course Description
Economics 9

[Economics] 92 hf. The Labor Question in Europe and the United States. Half-course (second half-year). Tu., Th., Sat., at 10. Mr. [William Franklin] Willoughby.

Course 9 is chiefly concerned with problems growing out of the relations of labor and capital in the United States and European countries. There is careful study of the methods of industrial remuneration — the wages system, profit sharing, sliding scales and collective bargaining; of the various forms of coöperation; of labor organizations; of factory legislation and the legal status of laborers and labor organizations; of state and private efforts for the prevention and adjustment of industrial disputes; of employer’s liability and compulsory compensation acts; of the insurance of workingmen against accidents, sickness, old age, and invalidity; of provident institutions, such as savings banks, friendly societies and fraternal benefit orders; of the problem of the unemployed.

While the treatment will necessarily be descriptive to a considerable extent, the emphasis will be laid on the interpretation of the movements considered with a view to determining their causes and consequences, and the merits, defects, and possibilities of existing reform movements.

A systematic course of reading will be required, and topics will be assigned for special investigation.

The course is open not only to students who have taken Course 1, but to Juniors and Seniors who are taking Course 1

Source: Harvard University Archives. Official Register of Harvard University 1901-1902, Box 1. Bound volume: Univ. Pub. N.S. 16. History, etc. Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Division of History and Political Science comprising the Departments of History and Government and Economics (June 21, 1901), p. 40.

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ECONOMICS 9
SYSTEMS OF AGREEMENTS AND ARBITRATION.

Agreements at present existing between the Stove Founders’ National Defense Association and the Iron Moulders’ Union of North America.

Conference, 1891. — Whereas there has heretofore existed a sentiment that the members of the Stove Founders’ National Defense Association and the members of the Iron Moulders’ Union of North America were necessary enemies, and in consequence a mutual dislike and distrust of each other and of their respective organizations has arisen, provoking and stimulating strife and ill-will, resulting in severe pecuniary loss to both parties; now this conference is held for the purpose of cultivating a more intimate knowledge of each other’s persons, methods, aims, and objects, believing that thereby friendly regard and respect may be engendered, and such agreements reached as will dispel all inimical sentiments, prevent further strife, and promote the material and moral interests of all parties concerned.

Clause 1, conference 1891. — Resolved, That this meeting adopt the principle of arbitration in the settlement of any dispute between the members of the I. M. U. of N. A. and the members of the S. F. N. D. A.

Clause 2, conference 1891. — That a conference committee be formed, consisting of six members, three of whom shall be stove moulders appointed by the Iron Moulders’ Union of North America and three persons appointed by the S. F. N. D. A., all to hold their offices from May 1 to April 30 of each year.

Clause 3, conference 1891. — Whenever there is a dispute between a member of the S. F. N. D. A. and the moulders in his employ (when a majority of the latter are members of the I. M. U.), and it can not be settled amicably between them, it shall be referred to the presidents of the two associations before named, who shall themselves or by delegates give it due consideration. If they can not decide it satisfactorily to themselves, they may, by mutual agreement, summon the conference committee, to whom the dispute shall be referred, and whose decision by a majority vote shall be final and binding upon each party for the term of twelve months.

Pending adjudication by the presidents and conference committee, neither party to the dispute shall discontinue operations, but shall proceed with business in the ordinary manner. In case of a vacancy in the committee of conference it shall be filled by the association originally nominating. No vote shall be taken except by a full committee or by an even number of each party.

Clause 4, conference 1892. — Apprentices should be given every opportunity to learn all the details in the trade thoroughly, and should be required to serve four years. Any apprentice leaving his employer before the termination of his apprenticeship should not be permitted to work in any foundry under the jurisdiction of the I. M. U. of N. A., but should be required to return to his employer. An apprentice should not be admitted to membership in the I. M. U. of N. A until he has served his apprenticeship and is competent to command the average wages. Each apprentice in the last year of his apprenticeship should be given a floor between two journeymen moulders, and they, with the foreman, should pay special attention to his mechanical education in all classes of work.

Clause 5, conference 1892. — The general rate of moulders’ wages should be established for each year without change.

Clause 6, conference 1892. — When the members of the Defense Association shall desire a general reduction in the rate of wages or the Iron Moulders’ Union an advance, they shall each give the other notice at least thirty days before the end of each year, which shall commence on the first day of April. If no such notice be given, the rate of wages current during the year shall be the rate in force for the succeeding year.

Clause 7, conference 1892. — The present established price of work in any shop should be the basis for the determination of the price of new work of similar character and grade.

Clause 8, conference 1892. — Any existing inequality in present prices of molding in a foundry or between two or more foundries should be adjusted as soon as practicable upon the basis set forth in the foregoing paragraphs, by mutual agreement or by the decision of the adjustment committee provided by the conference of March, 1891.

Clause 9, conference 1896. — Firms composing the membership of the S. F. N. D. A. should furnish in their respective foundries a book containing the piece prices for moulding, the same to be placed in the hands of a responsible person.

Clause 10, conference 1896. — New work should always be priced within a reasonable time, and under ordinary circumstances two weeks is considered a reasonable time, and such prices, when decided upon, should be paid from the date the work was put in the sand.

Clause 11, conference 1896. — The members of the S. F. N. D. A. shall furnish to their molders: Shovels, riddles, rammers, brushes, facing bags, and strike-off; provided, however, that they charge actual cost of tools so furnished, and collect for the same, adopting some method of identification; and when a moulder abandons the shop, or requires a new tool in place of one so furnished, he shall, upon the return of the old tools, be allowed the full price charged, without deducting for ordinary wear; any damage beyond ordinary wear to be deducted from amount to be refunded.

Clause 12, conference 1896. — When there is a bad heat, causing dull iron, the foreman’s attention shall be called to it, and payment shall be made for work that is lost from this cause only when poured by foreman’s order, or person next in authority.

If sufficient iron is not furnished the moulder to pour off his work, and such work has to remain over, he shall be paid for such work remaining over at one half the regular price.

These rules shall apply excepting in case of break down of machinery or other unavoidable accident, when no allowance shall be made.

Clause 13, conference 1898. — Whenever a difficulty arises between a member of the S. F. N. D. A. (whose foundry does not come under the provisions of clause 3, 1891 conference) and the moulders employed by him, and said difficulty can not be amicably settled between the member and his employees, it shall be submitted for adjudication to the presidents of the two organizations, or their representatives, without prejudice to the employees presenting said grievance.

Clause 14, conference 1898. — In pricing moulding on new stoves, when there are no comparative stoves made in the shop, the prices shall be based upon competitive stores made in the district, thorough comparison and proper consideration being given to the merits of the work according to labor involved.

Form of agreement adopted and recommended by the National Association of Builders to secure the establishment of arbitration committees, with plan of organization of the same, for the use of associations of employers and associations of workmen in all branches of the building trade.

Agreement.

For the purpose of establishing a method of peacefully settling all questions of mutual concern [name of organization of employers] and [name of organization of employees] severally and jointly agree that no such question shall be conclusively acted upon by either body independently, but shall be referred for settlement to a joint committee, which committee shall consist of an equal number of representatives from each association; and also agree that all such questions shall be settled by our own trade, without intervention of any other trade whatsoever.

The parties hereto agree to abide by the findings of this committee on all matters of mutual concern referred to it by either party. It is understood and agreed by both parties that in no event shall strikes and lockouts be permitted, but all differences shall be submitted to the joint committee, and work shall proceed without stoppage or embarrassment.

The parties hereto also agree that they will incorporate with their respective constitutions and by-laws such clauses as will make recognition of this joint agreement a part of the organic law of their respective associations. The joint committee above referred to is hereby created and established, and the following rules adopted for its guidance:—

Organization or joint and rules for its government.

  1. This committee shall consist of not less than six members, equally divided between the associations represented, and an umpire, to be chosen by the committee at their annual meeting, and as the first item of their business after organization. This umpire must be neither a journeyman craftsman nor an employer of journey-men. He shall preside at meetings of the committee when necessary.
  2. The members of this committee shall be elected annually by their respective associations at their regular meetings for the election of officers.
  3. The duty of this committee shall be to consider such matters of mutual interest and concern to the employers and the workmen as may be regularly referred to it by either of the parties to this agreement, transmitting its conclusions thereon to each association for its government.
  4. A regular annual meeting of the committee shall be held during the month of January, at which meeting the special business shall be the establishment of “working rules” for the ensuing year; these rules to guide and govern employers and workmen, and to comprehend such particulars as rate or wages per hour, number of hours to he worked, payment for overtime, payment for Sunday work, government of apprentices, and similar questions of joint concern.
  5. Special meetings shall be held when either of the parties hereto desire to submit any question to the committee for settlement.
  6. For the proper conduct of business, a chairman shall be chosen at each meeting, but he shall preside only for the meeting at which he is so chosen. The duty of the chairman shall be that usually incumbent on a presiding officer.
  7. A clerk shall be chosen at the annual meeting to serve during the year. His duty shall be to call all regular meetings, and to call special meetings when officially requested so to do by either body party hereto. He shall keep true and accurate record of the meetings, transmit all findings to the association interested, and attend to the usual duties of the office.
  8. A majority vote shall decide all questions. In case of the absence of any member, the president of the association by which he was appointed shall have the right to vote for him. The umpire shall have casting vote in case of tie.

Clauses to be incorporated with by-laws of parties to joint agreement.

A. All members of this association do by virtue of their membership recognize and assent to the establishment of a joint committee of arbitration (under a regular form of agreement and governing rules), by and between this body and the ______, for the peaceful settlement of all matters of mutual concern to the two bodies and the members thereof.

B. This organization shall elect at its annual meeting ______ delegates to the said joint committee, of which the president of this association shall be one, officially notifying within three days thereafter the said ______ of the said action and of the names of the delegates elected.

C. The duty of the delegates thus elected shall be to attend all meetings the said joint committee, and they must be governed in this action by the rules jointly adopted by this association and the said ______.

D. No amendments shall be made to these special claims, A, B, C, and D, of these by-laws, except by concurrent vote of this association with the said ______, and only atter six months’ notice of proposal to so amend.

Rules for the Year 1900

Boston, February 8, 1900.

The Mason Builders’ Association of Boston and vicinity has, through the joint committee on arbitration, made the following agreement with Bricklayers’ Unions Nos. 3 and 27 of Boston and vicinity, as follows:—

  1. Hours of labor. — During the year not more than eight (8) hours’ labor shall be required in the limits of the day, except it be as overtime, with payment of same as provided for.
  2. Working hours. — The working hours shall be from 8 A.M. to 12 M. (one hour for dinner during February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, and October). During November, December, and January it shall be optional with the men on jobs whether they work half hour at noon and quit at 4.30 p.m.
  3. Night gangs. — Eight hours shall constitute a night’s labor. When two gangs are employed, working hours to be from 8 p.m. to 12 m. and from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. Where regular night gangs are employed, from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. Sunday morning, the minimum rate shall be paid.
  4. Overtime. — Except in cases of emergency no work shall be done between the hours of 5 and 8 a.m. and 5 and 6 p.m. Overtime to be paid for as time and one half, except the hour between 5 and 6 p.m. which shall be paid for as double time, but this section as to double time is not to be taken advantage of to secure a practical operation of a 9-hour day.
  5. Holiday time. — Sundays, Fourth of July, Labor Day, and Christmas Day are to be considered as holidays, and work done on either of these days is to be paid for as double time.
  6. Wages. — The minimum rate of wages shall be forty-five (45) cents per hour.
  7. That the bricklayers shall be paid their wages on or before 5 p.m. on the regular pay day.
  8. If an employee is laid off on account of a lack of material, or for other causes, or is discharged, and if said employee demands his wages, intending to seek other employment, he shall receive his money.
  9. The business agent of the Bricklayers’ Union shall be allowed to visit all jobs during working hours to interview the steward of the job.
  10. In the opinion of the joint committee the best interests of the employing masons demand that all journeymen bricklayers shall belong to the Bricklayers’ Union. Therefore preference of employment shall be given to union bricklayers by the members of the Mason Builders’ Association.

Issued by order of the joint committee on arbitration.

John T. Healy, Secretary of Committee.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Syllabi, course outlines and reading lists in Economics, 1895-2003. Box 1. Folder “Economics, 1901-1902”.

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ECONOMICS 9
Final Examination
(1902)

  1. Discuss the charge that labor organizations, by fixing a standard rate of wages, injure both the most efficient and the least efficient workmen.
  2. How far do labor organizations enforce restrictions upon the number of apprentices? Give fully one reason for and one against the justice of this policy of restriction.
  3. Describe fully but in general terms the more systematic process of collective bargaining, as practiced, for example, by the coal miners or the glass workers.
  4. Distinguish the two chief classes of boycotts. What do you think of their justice and legality, and why?
  5. What in a broad war has been the movement of nominal and real wages in the United States since 1870, and since 1890? Name three leading sources of information as to wage statistics.
  6. State briefly four causes which contribute to the evils of the “sweating system.” Discuss one thoroughly.
  7. Give briefly three arguments in favor of the eight hour day, and criticise one fully.
  8. Describe the existing legislation regarding child labor, in the United States and England.
  9. Has the employment of women in gainful occupations increased in the United States, or not, and why? Give three reasons why the wages of women average less than those of men.
  10. What is the doctrine of the common law in the United States regarding the liability of employers for injuries to employees by their fellow servants? What do you think of this doctrine, and why?
  11. Distinguish three main forms of coöperation. What degree of success has each attained in the United States, and England (statistics unnecessary)?
  12. State the leading arguments in favor of further restriction of immigration.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University, Examination Papers, 1873-1915. Box 6, Bound volume: Examination Papers, 1902-03. Papers Set for Final Examinations in History, Government, Economics, Philosophy, Education, Fine Arts, Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Music in Harvard College (June, 1902), pp. 28-29.

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Course Enrollment
for Economics 9a

For Undergraduates and Graduates:—

[Economics] 9a 2hf. Dr. Durand. — Problems of Industrial Organization

Total 45: 5 Graduates, 19 Seniors, 12 Juniors, 7 Sophomores, 2 Others.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1901-1902, p. 77.

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Course Description
Economics 9a

9a2 hf. Problems of Industrial Organization. Half-course (second half-year). Mon., Wed., Fri., at 9. Mr. [William Franklin] Willoughby.

This course will give a critical study of modern industry with special reference to the efficiency of production and the relations existing between employers and employees. The actual organization of industrial enterprises will first be considered. Under this head will be treated such subjects as corporations, the factory system, the concentration and integration of industry, and the trust problem in all its phases. Following this, or in connection with it, will be studied the effect of the modern organization of industry, and changes now taking place, upon efficiency of production, stability of employment, and industrial depressions. Careful attention will be given to the relations existing between employers and employees, and the functions of organizations of both classes. Finally will be considered the position of the individual under the present system, – his preparation for a trade through apprenticeship, technical education, or otherwise; his opportunities for advancement: his economic independence. Conditions in Europe as well as in the United States will be shown.

Topics will be assigned for special investigation, and the results of such inquiries will be considered in class.

This course is open to students who have taken Course 1, and it is desirable that they shall have taken Course 9 as well.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Official Register of Harvard University 1901-1902, Box 1. Bound volume: Univ. Pub. N.S. 16. History, etc. Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Division of History and Political Science comprising the Departments of History and Government and Economics (June 21, 1901), pp. 40-41.

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ECONOMICS 9a
Final Examination
(1902)

  1. Discuss methods by which corporation stockholders may be defrauded by officers, directors, and other stockholders.
  2. What form and degree of publicity would you think desirable to require from great corporations, and why?
  3. Describe a typical case of the methods of promoting, capitalizing, and floating the securities of a modern industrial combination.
  4. Describe the trust form of combination and contrast it with two leading forms of combination in single corporations.
  5. Discuss the relation of the principle of increasing returns to monopoly, distinguishing between possible meanings of the phrase.
  6. Discuss economies from the integration of plants performing different processes into a single corporation. How far do such economies tend toward monopoly?
  7. Define four unfair advantages or unfair methods of competition which may strengthen a combination, and discuss one fully.
  8. What do you think of reduction of the tariff as a remedy for abuses by industrial combinations, and why?
  9. and 10. Discuss fully the character and scope of such Federal legislation regarding corporations and combinations as seems to you desirable.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University, Examination Papers, 1873-1915. Box 6, Bound volume: Examination Papers, 1902-03. Papers Set for Final Examinations in History, Government, Economics, Philosophy, Education, Fine Arts, Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Music in Harvard College (June, 1902), p. 29.

Image Source: E. Dana Durand. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. Washington, D.C. 20540.