Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-05-24
American Skill.

When was In Cincinnati bricklayers were
earning Fl day, and the same rate prevails In
many other cities. But the work was far more
exhausting than In England. Here hrcklayer
is reckoned good hand If he sets 900 bricks
per day; ECO is high-water mark. In the United
States 500 Is the average. and some smart fell
lows have set 2.0OO per day. Now at the out
set, most Englishmen find this rapid style sim
ply destructive. And there Is no doubt that
IT taxes the energy of the strong and clever
Yet such Is the custom of the trade. For the
weak and incompetent it means exclusion
from frst-class employment. and Danish
ment to places remote from thriving cities
where speed is slower. competition feebler and
wages lower. Although the standard is so
much higher than in England our immigrants.
after periOd Of probation and Hardening"
are found equal to all corners. An instance of
this will be apropos. A German master-buider
was erecting block of houses and his employees
were exclusively Germans. Four young English
br'ckiayers applied for work. They were newly
arrived, and met with several refusals. At
length two were taken on trial By the end of
the week the four were engaged; by the end of
fortnight, all the Germans were dismissed and
the Englishmen carried the building to its COM
pleti0n. Their power TO work, quickness and
steadlness gave them marked advantage over
the Germans. But their determination not to be
licked was the real cause of their triumph
That British characteristic tells prodig iously in
favor OF the Anglo-American and makes him
fdcste pri,.ceps amid natives and strangers
These Young bricklayers told me thew never
worked so hard in their lives before and were
glad that crucial test had revealed to them
what they could do" After this breaking-in
they were equal to the highest standard of
American labor. One of them soon became an en-
ployer. AID was making sure tracks for fortune
when last saw him. What have said Of the
building trades applies to all others. Indeed. the
higher dexterity. taste. and skill business re-
quires. the mere does the American workman
repond to the demand. The Elasticity of type
TO which i have referred is nowhere seen SO
plainly as In the domain OF the useful arts
Germans and Frenchmen have given finish
TO American manufactures that ia wanting i'm
our own Besides, there is native neat
ness, the result of a high ideal Of excellence.
This matter deserves the serious attention OF
British manufacturers who are losing MANY
markets simply from the clumsiness Of their
goods There is rising in the United States a
race of artists designers, and artificers who
promise TO surpass those Of all other nations
The fervOr of the climate develops the esthetic
s:ee OF man; the clash of millions Of eager, in
ventive minds Is producing q standard of excel
ience that Is both novel and exalted; the posi-
oiiities OF wealth are vastly beyond those OF any
European state, and the love of the elegant and
the beautiful pervades all classes. The ineyi-
table sequence Of these conditions must be wide
spread. ali-dorninatng art. 1t ia seen i'm the
gorgeous public buildings in the exquisite
villas. in the light yet strong furniture. in the
beautiful appointments of drawing-rooms and
table-eGuipages: while every American lady
yea. though black. is living evidence of an innate
taste in dress that makes the English suffer by
contrast. Into every ayenue Of life this charac-
teristic OF taste goes, modifying manners and
behavior as much as architecture furniture
0ress, ornaments. and tools.-Chdnabers' Jour-
6cl