Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1888-09-07
TRIALS OF TIE T0lLERS.
THE WORK AND WAGES OF THE
GLASGOW MECHANIC.
Evidences of Scotch Mechanical Skill and
the Basis Upon Which 1t is Rewarded
The Observations of a Banker and
Mechanics Testimony.

Mechanics Testimony.
copyrighted by the Authorl
GLASGOW, Aug 10, 1885,
"Our workmen are wrought like slaves
and treated like dogs" was the exact IAN
guage in which q Buchanan street BANK
er expressed the condition OF the wage
workers of Glasgow in the courseot con-
versation with me only day or Two since.
Subsequent investigation proved the as
sertion not to be without foundation. The
gentleman in question is identified with
the Glasgow Home Mission work, and his
statement was based upon his observa-
tons of the working classes as he has
been made familiar with their condition
through his efforts to provoke their inter-
est in religion calculated to Tighten the
burdens which fall to their lot in life
True, however, to the British instinct con
ceived in self-interest, this gentleman fer
vently expressed the hope that free trade
relations with the United States might be-
come an accomplished fact His hope was
also laid in orthodoxy from British point
of view. He said, as every American
should know full as well as every Britis h
er, that they would then have famous
market for their manufactured products,
and their tagging interests in various
ines would have a needed outlet that
would provoke new era OF prosperity.
He accused the protectionists of the Unit
ed States of selhshness in erecting bar
riers against the goods the British stand
ready to export, but he declined to see the
analogy of his position IN seeking to de-
prive American producers and American
laborers of the American market That the
British manufacturer and operatives in
the British factories might be benefited,
Glasgow with its suburbs has pOpula-
ton of about 500 OOO Possibly one half
and certainly one third of that number
are directly or indirectly dependent upon
the shipbullding industry of the Clyde,
while fully another third are maintained
by other phases of the iron trade than
those which contribute to shipbuildug
and the sister industry OF marine engl-
neering.
The conditions which have contributed
most towards placing he Clydeside ship
construction interest TO the tore are found
in the proximity of coal and iron, ana the
inherent mechanical skill of the Glasgow
lans.
The foundation for the fame of Glasgow
and the clyde as the shiphuldlng centre
OF the word must he credited to Henry
Bell, who set the comet atOat on the Clyde
in 1872. But before entering into a dis
cussion of the facts pertaining to the IN
duStrial conditions of the men employed
in the shipDullding and other related in
dustries it will be interesting to note a
few facts connected with the growth and
present proportions OF such mammoth
business AS 1t now represents.
The Comet which piled between Glas-
gov and Helensburgh was 40 feet in
length and was propelled at the rate OF
five miles per hour by an engine OF three
horse power This was indeed small be-
ginning, both in the size of the craft and
the speed attained, but to the designer OF
the Comet belongs the honor of first sue
cessiully applying steam as vessel motor.
The next step was the adaptation Of steam
to deep sea traffic and at this point the
development of marine engineering began
to be steadily in the line of increased speed
until the period was reached that furnish
ed the Cuuarder Britannia, which made
the trial trip from Liverpool to Boston in
Ia days and 10 hours thus affOrdng facil
ity for bridging the ocean That was at the
time regarded rs remarkable. Since then
the era OF larger and faster steamers has
arrived, and such vessels AS the Arizona
the Alaska and the III starred Oregon nav {
shown what superior mechanical skill
may render possible, by making the run
across the Atlantic IN less than half thu
time consumed by the Britannia. The
end is not yet, tor the city of New York
of the Inman line which was Launched
from Clydebank Yards-and concluded
her trial trip to New York but few dav'
| ago-together with her sister steamer, tn
| City of Paris, now on The stocks in cours
OF construction. have been entered III stu
a more rapid class than any of their Drede
cessors. But still more ambitious are h
managers of the Guion line, for whom h
| Fairfield company-tormerly John Eide
& Co.-are to build a vessel that shHl
break all previous records. The keel la
been laid and the dimensions of the Yesse
when completed. will be $50 feet in lengtl
IA times the length of the Comet-63 fee
in the breadth OF deck and 50 feet deep
The tonnage of this monster steamer WI!
| be II 800 tons-l0OO more than the City O
New York. She will have twin screws
operated by engines of Ii 600 horse power
| She will be made to accommodate 200
| passengers, and must be built to max
the passage from Queenstown to NeS
York in five days. The model of thi
promised marvel of speed is to be seen
the Glasgow exhibition, and in the faul
lesSnesS of the lines which make for he
success in the matter of speed, she is Gel
tainly destined 10 meet the expectation
of her builders. The proportions of tn
| mammoth triple-eXpansiOn cylinder.
| when will constitute an essential featur
| of her engines, contrasted with the To
cylinder of the ancient Comet rs / saw
among the relics IN the Bishops Paac
collection at the exhibition, impressed m
in the fullest degree with the wOudertl
strides which have been accomplished
marine engine building in Glasgow, viii
in he memory of men stlll nVlug,
The facts already cited, coupled wit
what Is seen by "A sitor to Inc depar
ment OF machinery al the exhibition or
any of the other departments III whlc
evidences Of mechanical SIKH are dleplA.
ed in an infinite variety, provoke but on
conclusion. The Glasgow mechanics HAY
no superiors in the world in the ipgcnut
and excellence Of their work.
The question is accordingly pertinent
"Do they receive return tor their WoI
| commensurate with their genius and il
dustry -
Before presenting a detailed reply
the question as relates to shlpbuilders pr
er, | desire to divert Tor moment to Il
fact which no one disputes, namely, th
the cheapness of iron, or more proper
steel-the chief material used in ship co
structon-has rendered possible the ma
vellous growth of the business on Il
Clyde, and in this connection 1t is prop
to invite attention to the further fact tn
the cheapness of the iron or steel is due
the starvation wages paid to those enga
ed in the various stages OF It's produ
ton.
BY a trip through one of the largest ire