, FEBRUARY 12, 1958

THE MICHIGAN DAILY

PAGE t

FEBRUARY 12, 1956 THE MICHIGAN DAILY

PAGE NINE


EX aminaion
Of Building
Trade Made
A strong tendency toward lib-
eralization of union policieis. in
building trades is one of the num-
erous points discussed in a book
entitled "Labor Relations and Pro-
ductivity in the Building Trades."
Written by Prof. William Haber
and Prof. Harold M. Levinson of
the economics department, the
book concludes that the liberali-
zation has resulted in a substan-
tial improvement in the productiv-
ity of the construction industry.
Development Explained
They find that the most import-
ant explanation for the favorable
development is the high level of
employment which has prevailed
in the industry since 1945. As a
result of full employment, unions
have not been so concerned with
possible technological unemploy-
ment. Union practices towards
technoloical change, prefabrica-
tion, incentive methods of produc-
tion and similar devices have been
less restrictive.
The authors' analysis, which
was published by the University's
Bureau of Industrial Relations, is
based larely on information gath-
ered through a field survey cov-
ering 16 cities in ten states and
the District of Columbia. A total
of 268 interviews were conducted
with representatives of unions,
employers and government offi-
cials.
Productivity Problems
The central focus of the book i
on problems most directly related
to productivity. The issues of
"featherbeddin" and other work-
ing rules, restriction of output and
union policies related to the use
of new machines were analyzed.
Also discussed were materials and
methods of prefabrication, rules
involving the training of appren-
tices and the issue of "too high"
wage rates for building tradesmen.
Social Forces
Set as Course
'Social Forces in the Changing
American Scene" is the theme of
a new University extension course
which will open in Ann Arbor
Tuesday.
The 16 weekly sessions will meet
at 7:30 p.m. in 131 School of Busi-
ness Administration.
Current important developments
in American political, social, and
economic life will be discussed by
members of the political science,
economics, history, sociology, and
psychology departments.
Among the specific topics to be
covered are growing urbanization,
automation, industry, increasing
international responsibility and
committment, and changes in do-
mestic social and political atti-
tudes. There will be panel dis-
cussions from time to time during
the course, presented by several
of the lecturers.
Registration may be made at the
time of the first classession, or in
advance in the Ann Arbor Area
Office of the University Extension
Service, 4501 Administration Build-
ing from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Mon-
day through Friday.


1890 Over per 100 Workers

Percentage of State Populations
Composed .of Persons 65or Over-
z0.O-12.o0 E111.o-S.9z
- 8.-9-9% --5%

Fifty People
List Marks
For Students
80,000 Grades
Recorded By 'U'
Fifty people work eight hours
a day for two weeks to record more
than 80,000 grades for 20,000 Uni-
versity of Michigan students.
Turning out "report cards" for
students in 13 out of the 15 schools
and colleges on campus is the job
of the University's Office of Regis-
tration and Records.
More than 6,000 grades a day go
through this office during the end-
of-semester rush. An average of
200 completed student records are
wrapped up and mailed each hour
during this time.
The cycle that takes a student's
original election card, showing his
choice of courses, through to a
transcript, on whicsh his grades
are recorded, covers four floors of
the Administration Building and
runs from hand filing and copying
to IBM punched cards and tabulat-
ing machines, spaghettied with
multi-colored wires that guide the
machines through their paces.
Twenty-five year ago the whole
operation was done by hand and
took about twice as long for half
the present number of students.
If a student takes an exam on a
Friday, his professor is given until
Monday to grade it; on Tuesday
the grade is sent to the records
office; on Wednesday it is trans-
ferred to an IBM card; on Thurs-
day it is posted on the student's
permanent record; and by the fol-
lowing Friday it is mailed to the
student.
Multiply this operation by 20,000
students, each taking five or six
,ourses, and you'll know why clock-
work coordination is essential,
notes the director of the office,
Edward G. Groesbeck.

if

FIRST
FOR SECOND SEMESTER
TEATOO4

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AP Newsfatures
Most Aged in New England Midwest;
California, Florida Below Average

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BOOKS

By DAVID L. BOWEN
Associated Press Newsfeatures Writer
Where do old people live - in
warm, sunny latitudes or in the
familiar, although perhaps harsh,
surroundings of their earlier lives?
A new comprehensive survey of
the problems of the aged published
by the Twentieth Century Fund in
New York indicates that despite
the popular opinion to the con-
trary, most of the aged persons in
the United States live where they
spent their active lives.
As the accompanying map shows,
the aged constitute the largest
proportion of state populations in
Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont,
Massachusetts, Iowa, Missouri, Ne-
braska and Kansas.
Information compiled by John
J. Corson and John W. McConnell,
authorities on old-age insurance
and retirement problems and auth-
ors of "Economic.Needs of Older
People," shows that the ratio of
the aged to the rest of the popu-
lation is higher in New England
than elsewhere. In Maine, New
Hampshire, Vermont and Massa-
chusetts the proportion is more
than one third greater than in the
nation as a whole.
Four states in the farm belt,
Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska and Kan-
sas, also have relatively high pro-
portions of aged persons. Accord-
ing to Corson and McConnell, this
is a result of emigration of the
younger generations. ,
In contrast, they maintain, the
proportion of the aged in Cali-
fornia and Florida is below the
national average. The two found
that other than the fact a "con-
siderable number" of retired per-
sons have settled in Florida and
California, "little is known about
the migration of the aged."
It is estimated that at present
36 per cent of the more than 13;
million persons in the United
States over 65 have no income of
their own, that 38 per cent have an
annual income of less than $1,000,l
and that 11 per cent have an in-:
come between $1,000 and $2,000.

Only 15 per cent have incomes
of $2,000 or more.
The number of older persons is
steadily increasing in relation to
the total population. Since 1900,
the number of persons 65 and over
in the United States has quad-
rupled, while the total population
has only doubled. The number of
aged dependents per 100 workers,
as the chart indicates, is climb-
ing.
Despite this, Corson and Mc-
Connell claim that the prospective
growth of the country's basic re-
sources "makes clear that as a na-
tion we' can afford to provide for
the nonworking aged at an in-
creasingly generous level."
In outlining a program for the
future, the authors maintain that
to achieve a decent standard of liv-
ing present policies should be im-
proved to provide, among other
things: (1) a minimum annual
income (in 1952 dollars) of $2,100
for an aged couple and $1,500 for
Dean Keniston
Gets Position
Dean-Emeritus Hayward Keni-
ston of the University's Literary
College has been made a Corres-
ponding Member of the Spanish
Academy (Real Academia Espan-
ola) and of the Academy of His-
tory (Academia de la Historia).
The appointment was announced
recently by the romance languages
department.
Dean Keniston is currently in
Spain on a two-year Guggenheim
research fellowship. He was pre-
sented with the gold medal of the
Spanish Academy at a luncheon
held recently in his honor.
He retired from the University
in 1951 and taught for two years
at Duke University. He was pres-
ident of the Modern Language
Association in 1953.
A Spanish translation of one of
his studies of the Spanish Renais-
sance will shortly be published in
Spain.

an unattached individual, (2) a
"built-in adjustment" of these
benefits to prevent them from be-
ing erased by rising costs of liv-
ing; and (3) further extension of
the coverage of old-age and sur-
vivors insurance.
"Generations passed before the
American people became fully
aware of their stake in the de-
velopment and training of chil-
dren as future workers and citi-
zens," the authors say. "Addi-
tional decades will be required to
bring about a social consciousness
of what is involved in conserving
the health, capabilities and social
relations of the populations living
in retirement."


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