The full possibilities of functional foremanship, however, will not have
been realized until almost all of the machines in the shop are run by
men who are of smaller calibre and attainments, and who are therefore
cheaper than those required under the old system. The adoption of
standard tools, appliances, and methods throughout the shop, the
planning done in the planning room and the detailed instructions sent
them from this department, added to the direct help received from the
four executive bosses, permit the use of comparatively cheap men even on
complicated work. Of the men in the machine shop of the Bethlehem Steel
Company engaged in running the roughing machines, and who were working
under the bonus system when the writer left them, about 95 per cent were
handy men trained up from laborers. And on the finishing machines,
working on bonus, about 25 per cent were handy men.

To fully understand the importance of the work which was being done by
these former laborers, it must be borne in mind that a considerable part
of their work was very large and expensive. The forgings which they were
engaged in roughing and finishing weighed frequently many tons. Of
course they were paid more than laborer's wages, though not as much as
skilled machinists. The work in this shop was most miscellaneous in its
nature.

Functional foremanship is already in limited use in many of the best
managed shops. A number of managers have seen the practical good that
arises from allowing two or three men especially trained in their
particular lines to deal directly with the men instead of at second hand
through the old style gang boss as a mouthpiece. So deep rooted,
however, is the conviction that the very foundation of management rests
in the military type as represented by the principle that no workman can