An interesting illustration of the desirability of individual piece work
instead of gang work came to our attention at Bethlehem. Several of the
best piece workers among the Bethlehem yard laborers were informed by
their friends that a much higher price per ton was paid for shoveling
ore in another works than the rate given at Bethlehem. After talking the
matter over with the writer he advised them to go to the other works,
which they accordingly did. In about a month they were all back at work
in Bethlehem again, having found that at the other works they were
obliged to work with a gang of men instead of on individual piece work,
and that the rest of the gang worked so slowly that in spite of the high
price paid per ton they earned much less than Bethlehem.

Table 1, on page 54, gives a summary of the work done by the piece-work
laborers in handling raw materials, such as ores, anthracite and
bituminous coal, coke, pig-iron, sand, limestone, cinder, scale, ashes,
etc., in the works of the Bethlehem Steel Company, during the year
ending April 30, 1900. This work consisted mainly in loading and
unloading cars on arrival or departure from the works, and for local
transportation, and was done entirely by hand, i.e., without the use of
cranes or other machinery.

The greater part of the credit for making the accurate time study and
actually managing the men on this work should be given to Mr. A. B.
Wadleigh, the writer's assistant in this section at that time.

TABLE 1. -SHOWING RELATIVE COST OF YARD LABOR UNDER TASK PIECE WORK AND
OLD STYLE DAY WORK

[Transcriber's note -- table 1 omitted]