International projectionist (Jan-Dec 1954)

separated — the ownership of land carried with it many powers that have since become functions of the state. The gigantic units of modern industry appear to be bringing about a revision to the days when the sovereignty was an attribute of property. Pre-Operating Procedure With the ownership of property went the power to prescribe rules which affected employees as intimately as did the ordinances of the city in which they lived, rules which prescribed when work should begin, how long the men should have for lunch, when work should cease, for what reasons and how long employees might absent themselves without losing their jobs, whether payment should be by the day or by the piece, by whom and for what reason a man might be discharged, how promotions and lay-offs should be made. Modern business enterprises, unlike feudal lords, do not have their own courts, but the control over discharge gave them a rough equivalent. Decisions Based Upon Rules Wage-earners have sought, through the organization of trade unions, to resist the tendency of property to acquire sovereign or quasi-sovereign powers. Wherever trade unions have sprung up, they have sought to make shop rules a matter of joint determination and their administration a matter of joint control. In other words, in the place of despotism under which the word of the manager is final, unionism seeks to introduce the principle that decisions should be based upon rules and that rules should be based upon the consent of the governed. Management-Employee Cooperation Fruitful Quite a large number of labor unions — notably the machinists, the electricians, the sheet metal workers, the boilermakers, the blacksmiths, the carmen, the printing pressmen, the photo-engravers, and the clothing workers — have demonstrated not only their willingness to cooperate with managements in solving proplems of operation but their ability to make an important contribution. Needless to say, these organizations are not willing to cooperate on any terms or conditions. Naturally and properly, they put the interests of their members ahead of the interests of the stockholders for whom they work. The fact remains, however, that ingenious and farsighted leaders on both sides who possess the will to cooperate have succeeded in discovering a basis on which management and labor can join to promote the interests which they have in common. Union-Management Cooperation? Whether or not the dominant role in American industrial relations during the next generation will be union-management cooperation or bitter class-struggle depends upon the leaders on both sides. My prediction is that the policy of union-management cooperation will prevail, because I am confident that there is enough industrial statesmanship among American business men for them to realize that the policy of suppressing organization is the policy of sitting upon a safety valve. EASTMAN Synonym for Photography George Eastman n ^J F all the fields open to young men in the 1870's, photography was one of the most challenging. George Eastman, founder of Eastman Kodak Co., discovered this when he purchased a photographic outfit in 1877 and set about penetrating the mysteries of picture-making. If they were not actually held in disrepute, practitioners of the art were viewed with humorous indulgence, and the back-breaking paraphernalia which they were obliged to carry about with them did nothing to relieve their plight. The 23-year-old George Eastman shouldered his darkroom tent and cumbersome wet-plate apparatus with the rest — but unlike them he was not content to carry the burden for life. His inquiring mind explored the possibilities for improvement, and he found the challenge a heady one. He proceeded to devour all the photographic literature of the day and applied himself in his spare time to experimentation and study. Eastman's Historic Dry Plate The result of his painstaking — and sometimes heartbreaking— work was the perfection of the photographic dry plate in 1880 which, in contrast to the wet plates used prior to that time in conjunction with bulky and complicated equipment, made photography a relatively simple process. Eastman once said: "A lot of failures often lead up to success." He spoke out of his own experience: ruin threatened him more than once. His energy, application and purpose turned those failures into success — but it was his vision that built an industry and brought photography within the reach of almost everyone. Very early in his career that vision led him to devise a plan of action for the conduct of his business from which he never deviated. The wisdom of his program became more and more apparent in the ensuing years: Kodak's part in the advancement of science and the betterment of humanity through photography may be directly traced to the principles he laid down. They were followed during his life and continued after his death up to the present day: Eastman Kodak Co. Basic Principles 1. Mass production at low cost 2. Intensive photographic research 3. Development of new products 4. World distribution 5. Growth of company facilities and services 6. Extensive advertising 7. Employee benefits The history of Eastman Kodak Co. is the iteration I. A. CONVENTION EDITION • July 1954 37