The Opelousas journal. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878, 1873-06-21
The Apprentice system.
BY AN OLD PRINTER.
From the American Newspaper Reporter,

From the American Newspaper Reporter.
1t is a melancholy fact "a fact, too, of
the last Importance to the trade) that,
for more than a third of a century, we
have babe goodbye to the apprentice
system; and the lamentable results are
OF so serious a character as to call for the
most earnestcOnsideratiOn of the subject
In the good old time the printer-boy was
regularly ~apprenticed until he reached
his majority. Under a reasonable code,
he was amenable to the law forhis tract
able behavior, which had a healthy and
restraining effect upon his general con-
duct and 'cultivated' a proper sense of
obedience; but the same law was equally
applicable to the master-printer, who
was obligated to instruct the apprentice,
or cause him to be instructed in the whole
art and mystery of his profession. to
treat him with proper consideration du-
ring his minority, and, finally, to turn
him out i'll his tWenty-first year with a
thorough knowledge of the art in all it's
branches and details.
But the restraints of the sytem, pro and
con, entailed considerable responsibility
on the master-printer, which he felt to
be Oner0us and more OnerOus from de-
cade to decade, and he gradually slack
ened theTeins (perhaps without meaning
lt) until at length the restraints of theO one
and the responsibilities of the Otherwere
alike thrown overheard, and for more
than thirty years the apprentice system
has been completely discarded, to the
vital injury alike Of the apprentice, the
employer and the trade at large. In
stead OF the serious fOrmality Of indent-
urlng the apprentice, the ladnOW enters
the printing office simply as an Grand
boy, and is made otherwise generally
useful. II there is anything in him, of
course he is ambitious of something
more than running on messages Orsweep-
ing out the office, and presently he ex-
hlblts an aptitude for the case, which
lnsures hlsprOmOtion, while another boy
is engaged to take his place in the less
important duties he has just escaped
from Thus he goes ON %cOntentedly for
a time until his ambition takes another
stride and he is fully persuaded he should
nave an increase of wages. Doubtful of
obtaining the increase for the asking, of
he goes, without a word, to another of
flee us q "tWO-thirder.n The "bOss'
grOwls a little, but is pOwerless to bring
BACK the runaway; promotes number
two to the case in his stead, replaces
him by number three with like results
and, finally, without intending it, turns
his office into a tWO-thirder factory, while
other and shreWder "bOsseSn secure the
services OF the graduates, just as they
become OF any real value, and without
regard to the future interests either OF
the lads or the trade. But the mischief
does not end even here. The lads be-
come rapid ~cOmpOsitOrs, and long before
their majority, present themselves in
other offices as full-f1edged iourneymen
with little or no knowledge of the art OF
printing beyond the simple branch OF
composition.
Now, the results of all this are being
demonstrated in the fact that skilled
operative printers are becoming year BY
year scarcer and scarcer; and if some.
thing IS not done to avert the evil, the
day Will arrive when artistic operative
printers will rarely be found at any price
10 be sure, once in q while a sensible
y0ungster comes to the conclusion tina
knowledge of simple composition does
not make him a printer; that there are
several other branches of equaI or great,
er Importance, and that it is ~essentia
for him to bend his energies to master
them in detail. These cases, however
are far too few to keep up the supply O
skilled wOrkmen, and nothing short O.
a return to the vigorous apprentice sys
tenn of our fathers will cure the evil.
In the occasional disputes between thu
employers and WOrkmen on the score O
wages, we have frequently heard tn
former complain that thew were uniustl7
compelled by arbitrary rule to pay tn
incapable operative the same weekly
salary as the capable. On such occasion
we could not but reflect that the on,
great aus of incapable wOrkmen wa
the abrOgation of the apprentice system
and that this wa the work of their Owl
hands. We have tried to give a pen pic
ture of how it came about, and how i
works to the disadvantage of all con
cerned, and how it will ultimately b
ruinous to the best interests of the trad
if a remedy is not adopted; and we ar
satisfied that most of the readers of tn
Reporter will recognize its correctness
But how is the evil to be corrected
We suggest that the subject be talket
over in every office, and thus, by an in
terchange of views among the wOrkmer
some tangible method of Apprenticeship
suitable to the present condition an,
appliances of the businessmay be arrive
at. The men are really, if that be pos
sible, more interested than the employ
ers. Let the employers, also CAREFUL
and impartially discuss the subject, an
interchange their views with the men
and thus, by an honest desire on the pan
of each, let some settled plan be agree,
upon. Don't let 1t stop here. The EN-
p1Oyers of the city of New York have
society; so also have the jOurneymer
When aprOper planhas been,thoroughl
discussed and agreed upon betwee
them, let it be authoritatively declare
by a joint committee as the lac of til
~trade-subiect to amendment, but neve
again to be abrogated. This donein tn
metropolitan city, other cities will tax
the matter up and follow suit; and so
will go on from city to town, from tow
to village, until every hamlet Of tn
United States will have re-adopted tn
apprentice system to the greatadvantag
of all concerned.
A Girl Who NEVER SAW A YoUN
+ MAN.-An old man who lives near S
Helena, Cal, in a. wild solitude, has
| very pretty daughter, aged 10, who ha
probably never cen a young man ii
q L., eo4Ior, 410Jr Loo4o c., IL