Employers who will take the trouble to study their records for some years past, will, unless they are very exceptional, find that the average length of service in their organization is much shorter than they would be prepared to believe unless the actual figures were before them. We have the word of its manager in regard to a certain foundry in the Middle West that the average period of employment for any one man in that foundry is only 30 days. We know a large steel mill employing 8,000 where the average length of service per employee is a few days more than four months. These figures were given to us by the employment manager of the mill. The head of the employment department of a large electrical manufacturing company stated to us that the average length of service per employee for his organization was one year or a little less.

From "Current Affairs," Boston, we quote the following significant editorial:

"Do employers realize the waste and extravagance and actual money loss due to haphazard hiring and firing?

"Twelve typical factories were recently investigated as to their employment records by Mr. M.W. Alexander. He chose the normal industrial year of 1912. He chose representative factories, big and little, in several States. The results of this inquiry were reported in an address before the National Association of Manufacturers.

"Mr. Alexander found that this group of factories had 37,274 employees at the beginning of 1912, and 43,971 at the end of the year—a net increase of 6,697 workers. But the books showed that the factories had actually hired 43,571 new hands, 35,874 having been dropped during the year Of course, not all were fired. Some were absent because of sickness, some died, some left voluntarily; but these were only a small proportion. And the fact remains that in order to increase their

working force by 6,697 these twelve industries had to break in 42,571 new employees and suffer the consequent extra expense of instruction cost, reduced production, and beginners' spoiled work. Making liberal discounts for the workers unavoidably withdrawn, it is estimated that these twelve factories suffered a definite money loss of more than $831,000 during the year on account of reckless hiring and firing.

"The conclusion seems justified: 'The highest grade of judgment in the hiring and discharging of employees is needed. The employment "clerk" of to-day will have to be replaced by the employment "superintendent" of to-morrow, not merely by changing the title and salary of the incumbent of the office, but by placing in charge of this important branch of management a man whose character, breadth of view, and capacity eminently qualify him for the discharge of these duties.'"

It is probable that most executives and employers do not know because they have not fully considered what this rapid ratio of change costs. This cost, of course, varies over a very wide range, according to the kind of work to be done and the class of employees. The sales manager of one organization told us that it cost his concern $3,000 to find, employ, train, and break-in to his work a new salesman. The employment manager of one of the largest corporations in the world in-forms us that it costs him $10,000 in actual money to replace the head of a department. The employment manager of a large factory employing people whose wages ran from $5 a week up, told us that the records of his department showed that it cost $70 to get the name of a departing employee off the payroll and to substitute thereon the name of a new permanent employee to take his place. But these are only costs that can be computed. There are other costs perhaps even greater, records of which never reach the accounting department or the employment department. Let us tell you a story:

A COMMONPLACE STORY

Joe Lathrop, foreman of the finishing room, had a bad headache. It had been along toward the cool, clear dawn of that