One operation attracted my particular attention. A large freight ship
was being unloaded under a store building. I could very clearly see
it on the television. The ship had just anchored directly beneath the
elevator shafts, following the orders of the clerk by whom we were
standing. A removable metal frame was being put together by the ship's
crew to fit into the up-going shaft, through the hatch, and right down
to the bottom of the hold.
Meanwhile, the clerk was manipulating an empty elevator platform in
the down-going shaft to the ship's deck. When the frame had been
securely placed in the up-going shaft, he guided the elevator into
it and down to the bottom of the ship. Then, propelling it out, from
this frame to a large loader of four units on the platform within the
ship, he skillfully loaded it on the elevator. The loaded elevator he
now moved back into the temporary frame, up the elevator shaft, and
on to its floor. He neatly unloaded it at its appointed place. All
that maneuvering was accomplished quickly without hitch or man power
by buttons and two-inch levers on the desk. The clerk certainly had
complete control of his elevator platforms.
I could not help calling out, "Bravo! Bravo!"
At the adjoining desk another clerk was loading an underground subway
freight car and speeding it to its distant destination.
Addressing myself to Mr. Amony, I asked, "These clerks seem to have
great responsibility. Do they have the authority to give their orders
to the producers or factories supplying the merchandise under their
control?"
"Of course," he answered. "Not only that, but the manager at the
factory has that floor where his goods are kept constantly under his
vision; therefore, he knows when the floor is under or overstocked.
After daily consultation, he and the clerks here on duty manage to keep
the supply sufficient. Samples of the merchandise in these units are
always mailed to this office for inspection before the merchandise is
shipped. We have only one factory for every individual article, with
its branches on all our continents. They work together and compete with
each other to produce the best of a single material thing or article
allotted them. Executives for our industries are appointed solely for
their experience, and efficiency, and not through political or other
influences. It is the same in personnel.
"This system of remote control, with few exceptions, is used by us on
vehicles, locomotives, passenger airplanes, and machines doing heavy
duty work, such as those you would call bulldozers, plows, or other
farm machinery. In fact, we use it for almost all laborious work
and engineering projects, on stationary and mobile engines, and on
machinery used on dry land, marshes, and on the fertile floors of the
sea."
Addressing Xora, he said, "Let us give our visitor a look into one of
our mechanical factories across the river. I will meet you outside
factory No. 100 in half an hour."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account