Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1883-08-08
Does Good Work Pay!

Properly considered, this question adj
mits of but one answer, and yet there
ere advocates of "cheap" work and
excuses of sighted jobs among our
manufacturers; men who claim that
close competition and close bargaining
are circumstances which permit, il they
do not exact, passable rather than eX-
cellent work. A business run among
the shops and factories i'm the same line
of production, in the same or adjacent
localities, where each shop has equal or
similar facilities, shows that no two of
them will furnish the same estimates of
the same job. Indeed, in some in
stances, the difference i'm the terms Is
quite surprising when il is considered
that the materials and the methods and
facilities of working them are the same.
Under these circumstances the only
possible means of lowering price is by
sighting work, sure to be detected
sooner or later, to the injury of the
makers reputation and the ultimate
loss of the cream of his business. This
is particularly true of the manufacture
of tools and machinery; in either case
poor workmanship is certain to reveal
the using, or machine breaks down,
the user and owner does not console
himself with the consideration that he
got it cheap" bat he eXecrates the
maker as heartily rs though he had
paid the highest market price; and he
goes no more to the low-priced manu-
tacturer, neither does he recommend his
productions.
The manufacturer who "'puts the
work. into his tools and machinery is
building up for himself cumulative
extending reputation for excellence of
product that is far more valuable than
reputation for low prices only. In
fact, the price of a piece of work is not
absolutely high nor low; it bears a rela-
ton to its cost of production. A high
priced article may be cheaper than a
low priced one, and should be if ,the
proper relation between price and value
is preserved. In fact, high prices dc
not repel so many would-be customers
as frst-class workmanship attracts.
The truth of this could be attested by
the success of Il firm whose productions
have reputation extending far beyond
the limits of this country. Their spe-
cialty is the manufacture of machine
| tools, and within less than twenty-five
years has grown from Il shop of fom
employees to an establishment of more
! than seven hundred hands. At the be.
! ginning the tools made by this company
bore II high price, and as compared will
most others in the same line of manu-.
facture the prices have always been
! high. Yet the fact of the building ~
of large business from insignificant
beginnings proves that the high prices
have not offset the benefits arising from
good work. And that has been the main
object for which this company hav,
striven from the first. No job ever went
out from this establishment "scrimped'
in workmanship because of an error in
contracting too low. Better lose dol
lars than reputation" has been the
principle of the company. They have
always used the best materials, cm
ployed the best skill, cXacted the fines
work, and aimed ut producing superior
tools. For years their name has beer
synonymous with the highest possible
excellence in their line, and their tool
are regarded as standards of compari
son. Substantial prosperity has kept
pace with constant improvements, ant
it is much more the result of producing
irst-class work than of shrcwd busineS,
management or fortunate contracts.
This single case, taken as an example
for illustration, is not an isolated ant
peculiar one. There are producers b,
manufacture in this country and other
whose name is a guarantee of excel
lencc, II protection to purchasers ant
users, and an evidence of the prosperi-'
almost certain to follow earnest, homes
endcavor to do good work. Scicntif
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