The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1875-01-26
WANTED-A PLACE.

WAN IED-A FLACE.
SOME OF THE THINGS LEARNED WHILE
LOOKING FOR A POSITION - WORK AND
WAGES.
The Macoupin Qll.) Enquirer gives the
following interesting personal experiences:
A few weeks ago we received letter from
farmer in the northwest part of the county,
desiring us to get place for his son in one
of our stores. The boy could read, write, and
was a fair mathematician. An inquiry who
ever. revealed the fact that places were
promised FOR several years ahead, in casethe,
various proprietOrs should want anyone.
The inquiry revealed the further fact that
clerks are the poorest paid lot of people in
the city. They are the poorest paid tor two
reasons:
l. There is so much competition that mer-
chants are not averaging per cent. on the
amount of money they handle, and cOnse-
lowest possible limit.
2. There are so many persons seeking en-
plOyment in stores, that plenty can be found
who will work faithfully behind counter
for less than the same ability and capacity
would command in the workshop.
This announcement led us to an investi
CATION of some important facts, which we
| commend to our readers. There are more
applications in Carlinville for clerkships in
stores during the year than for positions IN
all the shops and offices combined. There is
| growing up among the great majority of
boys a feeling of repugnance TO any bust
| ness except clerkships in stores, the
| law, teaching, medicine and the ministry.
The result is that the wages of clerks are
low, the teachers are getting poor salaries,
| the Supreme Court has been compelled to
adopt very stringent rules with regard to the
admission of new members to the bar, the
| country is filled with medical quacks, and
| the word of God is expounded by many
| persons whose idea OF theology consists of q
big salary and fashionable congregation.
| Competent mechanics are getting scarce. A
good carpenter blacksmith, wagonmaker,
plaster-painter, bricklayer, printer or a COM
petent man in any of the other trades, as
| they are termed, can make from three to
five dollars per day the year through, while
there are not two clerks in the city who are
receiving
A THOUSAND DOLLARS,
and there is not firm in the city which
could afferd to pay any one connected with
it that amount. The education for any OF
the positions named in this paragraph need
not be so thorough and expensive as that re-
quired for the persons named in thS pre-
ceding paragraph, yet the former makes
more than the latter-and they make it be-
cause, though there is greater demand for
good journeymen in the trades named, the
supply is very limited as compared with the
supply in the other cases. In our effort to
get place for the son of our friend, we
talked with the head of one of the firms of
our city. We learned that the highest
WAGES paid to clerks of that establishment
was $50 per month. We expressed surprise
and informed the gentleman the highest we
paid was SIS per week or 1886 more per year
than his clerk received. We asked him
what he would do if his clerk should de-
mand the same salary our foreman received;
he would let him go where he would re-
.e...l Nl@nN1 h. 1.xsw h..
might lose some trade; he admitted that 1t
would no donbt make difference of $4,000
in their sales "but" said he, tour profits on
the g, 600 would not exceed $500; or we could
not afford to pay the additional 1896 tor the
sake of saving 5000. And then, it he were TO
leave we can supply his place at much less
wages than we are paying him and not lose
more than the estimated $1,000 in trade"
Upon further inquiry we found that other
firms were like situated, and an inquiry at
Springfield and st. Louis revealed no better
state OF affairs. There are too many
boys who are afraid of dirt--they pre-
fer some trade where little muscle
will be required, and where they
can wear nice white shirt and fashionable
suit of clothes all the time. These things
are all very nice, but they are all doing more
than all else 10 degrde labor and centralize
capital. Our reply to our friend is the ad-
vice we would give to all boys: Have him
learn trade if ne wishes to leave the farm;
if he will master il and become proficient,
he can always make more than living
unless he is worthless, extravagant spend
thrift, which few good mechanics are. He will
be equally as much respected as if he spent
his days in measuring tape, and at the end
will have something left for his family. To
the farmers boys we would say: "Stick to
dad" Get all the school book education you
can, but learn how to cultivate the soil; don't
try to get into town, where you will learn to
smoke cigars, play billiards, and drink gin
cocktails-they may be nice accomplish
ments, but there is good deal more manli-
ness and ultimate happiness in raising tur-
! nips and buckwheat.