Newspapers / Henderson Daily Dispatch (Henderson, … / Nov. 9, 1937, edition 1 / Page 2
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PAGE TWO How Bedaux Made Fortune And Why Labor Criticism Rose to Such Volume as to Bring Cancellation of Duke’s Visit By Central Press . Akron, 0., Nov. 9. —It was in Akron that Charles E. Bedaux, the indus trial engineer who was to guide the Duke and Duchess of Windsor thro ugh America, made his success. And it was in Akron that resentment a gainst the dapper French-born “guide” of the duke smoldered deepest. Although Akron regrets that the duke and the duchess cancelled their American trip, there is a sigh of re lief. For if Bedaux had accompanied them through the rubber plants here, there might have been hisses for Be daux. Unions have been bitterly out spoken against the Bedaux system which is a means of speeding up pro duction without the use of greater manpower. came to U. S. in 1908, Bedaux, who rose to great wealth through the adoption of his syctem by American industralists, came to the United States in 1908 from France. The Akron Beacon Journal tells of his career from then on in these words: While laboring in the tunnels under New York City as a “sand hog,” dig ging skyscraper and subway founda tions, Bedaux conceived the idea of selling to industrialists his formula, based on the “efficiency doctrines” ex pounded by the late Frederick W. Taylor just before the turn of the century. Finds Test of Idea. He found swinging a shovel and hammer, tightening bolts and stamp ing dies ideal laboratories for experi menting with his nebulous plan that was to make him a multi-millionaire before he reached the age of 50. His first opportunity for giving his formula practical tests came after he obtained a new job with the Mallinck rodt Chemical Works. He persuaded his bosses to give him a chance to try out the plan in a single department. It worked. ' get up nights? FLUSH KIDNEYS WITH Juniper oil, buchu leaves, etc. Make this simple test if passage is scanty, irregular, smarts or burns, have fre quent desire, get up nights or if kid neys are sluggish causing backache. Use juniper oil, buchu leaves, etc., made into little green tablets called Bukets to flush the kidneys, just as you would use castor oil to flush the bowels. Help nature eliminate trouble some waste and excess acids. Ask any druggist for the test box of Bukets. Locally at Parker’s Drug Store, Miles Pharmacy. H IB BTi 4g]Bnr JKlip * |ra9 HR yyj IgH BH WA I Qn gjggg HI He ironed out a few wrinkles and sold the plan to a manufacturer of spectacle frames who was being forc ed to the wall by competition from competition able to undersell him. Be daux saved the business with his scheme for cutting costs and increas ing output. Sells Treatise at 825. One of the industrial giants began to take notice of him. General Elec tric Company offered to buy his sys tem, but the shrewd little Frenchman saw a veritable gold mine in his brain child. He wrote a treatise on the plan and sold it widely to industrialists at $25 a copy. The seed which he planted in America’s fertile industrial soil was beginning to bear fruit. He came on w r est. Plants through out the industrial middle west paid him large fees to put his plan into effect. He moved into* Ohio and at Cleveland in 1917 brought his formula to this great industrial area. B. F. Goodrich Co., adapted his plan to the rubber industry and Bedaux came to Akron. He has preserved a friendship with a number of indus trialists in this area which undoubt edly I I'd —'nVitirg plans to bring his royal ..i.UuS through this region to inspect the results of his work. Both company officials and union leaders here decline to discuss the sys tem, union officials explaining that there is a difference of opinion among workers. They said many rubber workers feel that the system enables more skilled workers to earn more, al though a majority of them apparently oppose the* formula on the grounds that it tends to force “speeding up” of workers. Rich now beyond his dreams, he re turned to his native land to purchase an imposing old chateau in Touraine for some $750,900. There he took his American-born second wife, the for mer Fern Lombard of Grand Rapids, Mic)i. Bedaux spread his operations to many other nations and his wealth brought him new friends. Along the French Riviera he became a familiar figure. Among his new friends, were Mr. and Mrs. Herman Rogers and Mrs. Rogers was a friend of the cap tivating Wally Simpson. His friendship with the then Prince of Wales grew. When Edward of Windsor gave up his throne for love of the former Baltimore beauty, it was at the Bedaux chateau they were wed. Bedaux, the man, was virtually an HENDERSON, (N. C.) DAILY DISPATCH TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 1937 "Nr Charles F. Bedaux unknown until his name was linked with the Duke of Windsor. He is somewhat of an amateur explorer, some years ago having promoted an expedition of caterpillar cars to sub arctic regions of Canada. Shortly after he purchased the French chateau he directed workmen to tear up sections of its ancient vine yard to make way for a golf course. He is said to be an enthusiastic golfer There are more than 1,000 plants in some 22 countries, involving more than 1,000,000 men now using his sys tem, according to Bedaux. The percentage of American plants is “surprisingly low,” he asserted the other day in Washington. The system that has provoked such bitter labor criticism is built upon “B units” —B for Bedaux. A wage in centive system, it operates roughly in this manner: A Bedaux staff man watches men at in a given department and s^ 1 ,ts what he considers is an aver se worker. If the operation takes an hour, the standard is set at, say 60 “B units.” If the pay for 60 B units is 60 cents, then another worker, if he can do the job in 40 minutes, has saved 20 “B units” and earns, say 80 cents an hour. >. Proponents of the Bedaux system point out that labor criticisms of the plan are unjust because if a worker requires more than 60 minutes for the job he still receives the basic rate. Bedaux, himself insists the plan re wards the more industrious and the more skilled workmen. Labor’s criticism, however, con tends foremen receive a bonus for the speed of workers under them and charges that• is the source of the “speed up.” A VERDICT HAS BEEN RENDERED BY THE TOBACCO FARMERS OF NORTH CAROLINA AND VIRGINIA \ 4 HIGHER MORE TOBACC ° OXFORD SELLS
Henderson Daily Dispatch (Henderson, N.C.)
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Nov. 9, 1937, edition 1
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