Electricity in the American Economy: Agent of Technological Progress by Sam H. Schurr, et al

Abstract

technology and culture Book Reviews 395 nuclear movements, Luckin misses the opportunity to employ that abundant literature to enrich his book. Jonathan Coopersmith Dr. Coopersmith, an assistant professor at Texas A&M University, has completed a book on the electrification of Russia from 1880 to 1926 and is now working on the history of the fax machine. Electricity in the American Economy: Agent of Technological Progress. By Sam H. Schurr, Calvin C. Burwell, Warren D. Devine, Jr., and Sidney Sonenblum. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1990. Pp. xv + 443; figures, tables, notes, appendixes, indexes. $45.00. Electricity’s contribution to 20th-century American life was ex­ pressed in the 1940s by a farmer’s witness in a rural Tennessee church (quoted in the Tennessee Valley Authority’s official history): “Broth­ ers and sisters, I want to tell you this. The greatest thing on earth is to have the love of God in your heart, and the next greatest thing is to have electricity in your house.” Sam Schurr et al. provide a more ambitious appreciation for electricity’s role based on three economic trends of 20th-century America: electricity’s share of total energy use has increased, technological progress has led to increased productivity and output, and energy consumption per unit of output has declined. In the title, introductory chapter, and at other places, the reader is told the book will show that these three trends are interrelated and that increased electrification is the main causal factor. This is an ambitious promise, and one not kept. Instead, interesting documen­ tation for the three trends is provided. Whether or not other factors have played independent and primary roles in the development of one or more of the three trends is ignored. The book is a collection of articles divided into four sections. The first three sections contain case studies concerning electrification, energy use, and productivity growth. The fourth section analyzes aggregate statistical data. The articles appear to differ in objective, scope, and style, and this contributes to a lack of cohesion. Appen­ dixes include an article relating electrification, energy use, and national economic growth. Its concern with national product rather than industry productivity relegated it to an appendix, but it is one of the book’s highlights. A second appendix provides tables of statistical data for the period 1899—1985 analyzed by the articles in the fourth section. The data appear to have been carefully constructed from several sources and are well documented. Their presentation is an important contribution. The article that contributes most to the book’s stated objective is Warren Devine’s chapter 1. Before electricity, a factory would typi­ cally be powered by a single engine: a waterwheel or, later, a steam 396 Book Reviews TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE engine. The mechanical power provided by this engine would be distributed throughout the factory to the individual tools by means of elaborate systems of shafts, belts, and pulleys. Initially, electrification kept the same scheme, but the steam engine was replaced by a large electric motor. Electrification, however, permitted “group drive,” and finally “unit drive,” in which small electric motors provided mechan­ ical power to each tool. The whole system of shafts could then be replaced by electric wires. This led to a revolution in the organization of factories. With shaft drive, the mechanical power demands of individual tools dictated their location within the factory. With electric “unit drive,” the manufacturing process could determine the place­ ment of tools, thus rationalizing the flow of material through the factory and increasing overall productivity. Energy losses with the shaft drive system were substantial, and electrification led to reduced energy use. The timing of this shift is not clear, although Devine suggests that it did not become widespread until the 1920s. The case studies that follow generally do not meet the promise of chapter 1. Chapter 2, also by Devine, discusses the history and role of automation and computer control in manufacturing. Besides raising the question of whether electrification can be given credit for the computer revolution, Devine simply does not make as good a case that this has led to increased productivity as he made for electric unit drive. The next five chapters provide case studies...