were sure, however, that 47 tons was a proper day's work for a
first-class pig-iron handler, the task which faced us as managers under
the modern scientific plan was clearly before us. It was our duty to see
that the 80,000 tons of pig iron was loaded on to the cars at the rate
of 47 tons per man per day, in place of 12 and a half tons, at which
rate the work was then being done. And it was further our duty to see
that this work was done without bringing on a strike among the men,
without any quarrel with the men, and to see that the men were happier
and better contented when loading at the new rate of 47 tons than they
were when loading at the old rate of 12 and a half tons.

Our first step was the scientific selection of the workman. In dealing
with workmen under this type of management, it is an inflexible rule to
talk to and deal with only one man at a time, since each workman has his
own special abilities and limitations, and since we are not dealing with
men in masses, but are trying to develop each individual man to his
highest state of efficiency and prosperity. Our first step was to find
the proper workman to begin with. We therefore carefully watched and
studied these 75 men for three or four days, at the end of which time we
had picked out four men who appeared to be physically able to handle pig
iron at the rate of 47 tons per day. A careful study was then made of
each of these men. We looked up their history as far back as practicable
and thorough inquiries were made as to the character, habits, and the
ambition of each of them. Finally we selected one from among the four as
the most likely man to start with. He was a little Pennsylvania Dutchman
who had been observed to trot back home for a mile or so after his work
in the evening about as fresh as he was when he came trotting down to
work in the morning. We found that upon wages of $1.15 a day he had
succeeded in buying a small plot of ground, and that he was engaged in
putting up the walls of a little house for himself in the morning before