Part 17

DIAMOND CHAIN AND MANUFACTURING COMPANY

Indianapolis, Indiana

I am sure that you will be interested in knowing that we have already undertaken this work. For some weeks we have had a school going on for the training of screw machine operators with every success. We also have here a man who is giving detailed attention to the personnel in connection with our hardening and cyanide work. He is talking to these men individually and in small groups, thus instilling into them the fundamental principles of heat treatment, which is making a marked impress on the character of our product.

We are also having a detailed study of the operations now being done by women with the idea in mind to substitute women where possible when it becomes necessary and we have here two women studying our operations preparatory to giving instructions to women as to how to perform the operations that men are now doing.

July 25, 1918.

(Signed) L. W. WALLACE.

HENRY DISSTON & SONS

Philadelphia, Pa.

We have established a school for vocational training, appointing an instructor in each department who takes direct charge of each new employee. Through this system we have placed many women on work which was entirely operated by men heretofore.

One of the delicate situations confronting us at this time is the transferring of help from one department to another. We are appealing to their patriotism and have established a Disston Volunteer Transfer System—Industrial Soldiers Volunteering for Heavier Work, Filling Jobs Where Women Cannot. We are very much interested in this work and are making every endeavor to eliminate the labor turnover which we are all experiencing in these times. We have women operating milling machines, drill presses, emery grinding machines, file hardening, saw setting and filing machines, also power punching presses, all work never attempted by women in our factory before. The result has been more than satisfactory.

August 7, 1918.

(Signed) WM. D. DISSTON, Vice-President.

THE GRATON & KNIGHT MANUFACTURING COMPANY

Worcester, Mass.

We do not maintain a regular separate school for training the employees on our business because of the fact that we have such a large variety of trades that it would not be practical for us. We do, however, maintain a training system for the employees in our various departments and have men assigned for such work in the departments.

When we have a large number of employees to train in some one line of work we establish a separate organization for them with a view to training them to carry on very efficiently and become skilled employees as soon as possible.

August 7, 1918.

(Signed) F. H. WILLARD, Assistant General Manager.

THE SPARKS-WITHINGTON COMPANY

Jackson, Mich.

We are very glad to be able to state that we are operating a school especially for women to train them for toolmaking.

We have found that there is not a sufficient number of experienced toolmakers to meet the demand and the only way is to have the women help out, and we have a school for this purpose, also have been teaching them to operate production machines.

July 31, 1918.

(Signed) W. J. CORBETT, Assistant Manager.

LOCOMOBILE COMPANY OF AMERICA

Bridgeport, Conn.

The writer was in Detroit a few weeks ago and was much interested in the work being done by Packard and Lincoln with women that were trained in their schools.

We are confident that much good will result from the co-operative plan that you have adopted in developing operators. We wish to be considered among those who approve of this plan and we will arrange for a Vestibule School or Training Room as soon as we can do so. We have been training young men and boys from our local high school as junior toolmakers, with excellent results.