Fraternity-Testvériség, 1957 (35. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1957-05-01 / 5. szám
FRATERNITY 11 first annual meeting, let us close our brief resume with one thought: Though officer personnel and Council membership have changed, though a more modern underwriting system has been substituted for the former one — there is no change in the spirit of the Federation. Our aims are the same today as they were sixty years ago: To serve our faith and our people. From time to time old and worthy leaders will be replaced by younger ones — but our fine spirit will stand unchanged as long as the new generations feel obligated to maintain the ideals and standards established by their predecessors. As we look back upon the first annual meeting of the new Supreme Council of 1957, it is gratifying to note that not only is our insurance business in good hands again but that our heritage is in good hands also. With this positive assurance we look ahead to a bright future! OCCUPATIONAL SHIFT FROM PRODUCTION TO SERVICES One phase of the continuing American social and economic revolution is the occupational shift that has taken place. This country was predominantly agricultural until about 1890. Today, of a labor force of 65 million, only seven million are farm workers. Last year another important shift took place without fanfare, a change that has only just been noted by economists. Today the number of persons employed in the production of goods is fewer than the number employed in services — trade, government, finance, utilities, transportation. This is the result of a long process, characteristic of an advanced industrial civilization. It means that fewer workers are needed to produce the quantity of goods needed. In the ten years before 1956, the production of things increased by 45 percent, while the number of workers engaged in production went up less than three percent. The average worker produced more in less time. The explanation is higher skills, better machinery and improved methods. Workers displaced by technological advance in production found jobs in the service enterprises, so there was no increase in unemployment. The greatest increase in the service field has been in government. The number of public servants rose by 31 percent in ten years. The Federal Government’s payroll is now at a record one billion dollars a month.
