Decentralization: key to economic defense

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Part of The Coconut Journal

Title: Decentralization: key to economic defense
extracted text: e [el us learn a 1eiiOH {ro111 China. 1ly a decenlralized pro ductiou of vital JtJar materials sbe has kept H/) an 11 n/Jic/.l ing resi.�laflce agaitlSI superior forces. DECENTRALIZATION: KEY TO ECONOMIC DEFENSE By HILARION G. HENARES T HE leading theme of the day is War. The leading problem National Defense. But National Defense is itself reducible to military and economic prepared ness. We are concerned, at the moment, with the eco nomic phase of the problem. In the light of present-day events, it seems to me that our industt·ial set-up needs revamping if we expect to survive the existing crisis. Not that indus trialization, in its modern concept, is no good per se. Rather, its application here is inappropriate. or at least premature. In the United States, mass production is both effective and necessary. By mass production I refer to the large-scale output of commodities by a big cor poration utilizing automatic machines to supplant hu man labor. This method has been proved effective in every phase of economic activity, from automobiles to canned salmon, from tooth-brushes to electric bulbs. It was necessary to resort to mass production because human labor in America costs high. To cut down overhead, to reduce unit cost, manufacturers were practically forced to turn to precision machines. The desired result was achieved, all right. Cost of labor per unit product was cut to a minimum. The Engineer Henares with Mr. Van Der Jagt. Photo taken at a sack factory in Amien5, France. public rejoiced at the flooding of the market with goods at low prices. But the nation had to pay for benefits -derived. Mass production created the spectr� of Technological Unemployment. Why? Because mass production means bigger profits for capitalists. This in turn induces labor to demand high wages. Capitalists have to accede to ]•age 18 these demands or else close down their plants. By way of retaliation, however, engineers and inventors are hired by capitalists to create better automatic machines capable of reducing human labor to a mini mum without curtailing production. These new ma chines will again bring increased profits for capital ists, inducing further demands from labor. And so on around the vicious circle till a breaking point is reach ed, or till there are left only a few privileged workers earning $10.00 or more. Against this handful aristo crats of labor will be armies of unemployed. I have watched breadlines in America�lawyers, doctors, engineers, line up with common hoboes to get their relief checks. It is a pathetic sight. It knocks the pride off any man. One night, I saw a husky man parading down Broadway with a placard on his back that read: I DON'T WANT GOVERNMENT HELP; I WANT WORK. The experience of Amet·ica and England should not be repeated here_ They were forced into mass production because of high living standards and high cost of labor. But here in the Philippines, condition:-; are different. Our mode of living is simple. LabO!' is cheap. Moreover, agricultural masses periodically increase the supply of Philippine labor due to the sea sonal nature of their crops. Still another reason why mass production is not essential to our economy is that unlike the United States and other highly indu.� trialized countries, we are not out to compete in the world market. We strive primarily to produce locally what we ordinarily import from abroad. To take a concrete example: say we want to pro duce coir sacks or sand-bags under the American in dusti:ial system. We put up a highly mechanized plant capable of turning out 10,000 bags a day. But this fac tory will require around 500 men who will have to bE:' paid from 'Pl.OO to 'P3.00 a day, all in all a total inveflt ment of at least two million pesos. By harnessing home industries, and taking ad vantage of "in between" labor made idle by seasonal crops, the same production can be effected with an in vestment of half a million pesos and the labo1· of :30,000 men, women and children. Of course they will consume more time, and they will not earn as much as the 500 workers in the factory unit, but we shall have the consolation of knowing that more people are being kept busy, are given the chance to earn a livelihood, and that unnecessary exodus of labor to crowded indus trial centers such as Manila is being pre\'ented. Moreover, in the event of war, a single bomb can wipe out an entire factory or industrial district. We know by now that the crippling of factories engaged AUGUST, lfH1 in producing war-supplies is as important an objective for air-raiders as strafing a battalion of infantrymen. Successful bombings of these objectives demoralize troops dependent upon them, interfere with planned strategies, and tip the scales of war in favor of the e:·:emy. Large factories, under the American system of mass production, are usually clustered together, con centrated in urban centers. They are not difficult to locate from the air. Tall chimney stacks, large build ings, rows of laborers' dwellings mark them out to the enemy's bombs. Let us leat·n a lesson from China. For years, she has withstood invasion by Japan. 1\Iilitarily, she uses guerilla warfare to advantage. Industrially, she has decentralized production of vital war materials, yet keeping up an unflinching resistance against superior forces. Instead of concentrating her raw materials in large factories and making use of bulky, stationary machineries, she has organized small but well-co ordinated cooperative factories in every village and town. Household factories are mobile units, with port able tools and equipment, whose output are assembled into finished arms or supplie� "somewhere in China." Just where, Japanese bombers never can locate-for the simple reason that it has no permanent location. When one, or two, or more household factories are blown up, others spring up elsewhere. There is no permanent concentration of either labor, raw material, ot· finished products. Yet production is unceas ing. This is what decentralization is doing for China. For a country like ours, scattered and far-flung geo graphically, decentralization can do no less. Nor is this system good only during war-time. In the Philippines, it could be utilized to keep our idle man-power from unnecessarily crowding urban and industrial centers; it could solve seasonal unemploy ment; it could increase the earning capacity of labor ing masses as well as inculcate in our people the spirit of industl·y. It is not a backward step. It is a cot·ol lary to economic progress. Compliments of A. Z. SALVA CION General Merchant & Hardware Dealer Exclusive distributor of "Salvacion" Brooms & Push Brooms in the Philipp'ines Manufacturer of Spinning Machines and Handlooms for the NACOCO Tayabas COMPLIME�lVTS of UN SING T ABLERIA AND HARDWARE H. S. Gomez Manager "'.HOLESALE AND RETAIL Building Contractor for Private, Govern1nent Corporations Road Construction Cable Address: Manager H. S. GOMEZ P. 0. Box 6 Washington Street Atimonan, Tayabas, Philippines Dealers in All Kinds of Philippine Lum ber and galvanized sheet. Black Pipes Plumbing fex+ures, Building fi x t u r e s agency Petroleum, Gasoline Diesel oil and flour Sampan Brand. Page 10
Date: 1941
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