Why is it significant that the president’s voice is the only one heard in the factory in the first few factory scenes?

The President represents progress even at the expense of humanity or safety of emplyees: he represents progress and greed. An inventor and two salesmen come to the factory to try to sell the President a Feeding Machine, which feeds the workers while they work, eliminating the need for a lunch hour. The President decides to try it out on The Tramp, but the machine malfunctions and slaps the Tramp around, feeds him bolts, and pies him in the face. None of the salesmen, nor the President, seem to care about the Tramp at all, and the President only turns down the machine because it is not practical, not because it is dangerous.