RACIAL FACTORS IN AMERICAN INDUSTRY

By Herman Feldman, Ph.D. Harper & Bros. 1931.

No discussion of racial factors in industry could be complete or to any appreciable extent constructive without a broad understanding on the part of the author of the race problem in society—for racial problems are first of all social problems.

Mr. Feldman's fine background of sociology and political science has provided him with an unusual equipment for dealing with the race factors in industry and he has given us a thoroughly worth while book with his subject attractively and constructively presented. The foreword by Raymond B. Fosdick stimulates the interest of the reader at the outset.

The book is divided into two parts. The first part, entitled Facts and Interpretations, is based quite largely on a study made by The Inquiry under the direction of Bruno Lasker. The Inquiry is a national organization for the promotion of cooperative studies of problems in human relations. Mr. Feldman has taken the factual data collected by these field studies, supplemented them with the results of his own extensive research and produced a graphic picture of the situation as it confronts society and industry in the United States today. This marshalling of the facts makes it quite clear that as the racial problems of society are carried over into industry they bring new perplexities to the individual and complicate for those responsible for the management of industry their already difficult problem of establishing and maintaining satisfactory relations with their employees.

In part two, entitled Remedies: Social and Industrial, the author suggests ways and means in which these difficulties may be minimized or removed. Very wisely he does not undertake to state that he has found the whole answer, but he offers for consideration various methods by which a given industry may undertake to itself work out the answer in its own particular case. This section of the book is most comprehensive and constructive and cannot fail to be found of value by the management of any industry that is called upon to deal with any phase of the race problem. The chapter dealing with special problems in the adjustment of negroes is especially good and quite complete.

The book is a distinct addition to the bibliography of industrial relations and almost equally so to the bibliography of sociology. This is the first book that has undertaken to cover exactly this field.