Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1888-09-17
APPRENTICES AND UNIONS.

MT. j.. ID. CulllVhu, lOE manJ
years master painter in Chicago,
has been talking of apprenticeship
to the trades. He gives some good
advice, because he is intelligent
and speaks from experience. Labor
unions, almost without exception,
limit the number of apprentices, the
theory being that if more journey
men are made, wages will De cat
down by competition. The result
of restricting the number OF young
men to whom trades may be taught
is bad in more ways than one. Mr..
Sullivan points ont that the denial
of trades to Americans has brought
in foreigners who do the work
which should be done by native
born citizens. This cannot be de-
MED. There is a certain amount
of skilled labor, and if there are
not skilled Americans to do it,
others will put in an appearance.
Another evil is this, that young
Americans being denied apprentice
ships and thus deprived of the privi-
lege of learning trades, acquire on
ly superficial knowledge of me-
chanical arts and cannot, therefore
successfully compete with the skill
ed mechanic from abroad. Our
boys grow up without practical
knowledge, and when it comes to a
struggle for existence they are han
dicapped by lack of the training
essential to good workmen. There
is not room for them all in the pro-
LESSONS. They cannot all be doc
tors, lawyers and teachers; nor can
they all be clerks, bookkeepers and
cashiers. A very large percentage
of them must give themselves up to
manual labor, or get their living in
some other than honest and regular
ways.
THE CAPITAL has, on several &C.
casions, referred to this matter. 1t
has urged young men to learn trades
and has often been met by the dec
laration that the young men can
not learn trades because the union
will not permit employers to take
those who want to become appren-
tices. Wise parents who have desir-
ed to give their sons as an inheri-
lance knowledge of the mechanical |
arts, have been baffied in their ef-
forts by the opposition of the crafts
men. Any OF US can name men
who have gone to wreck, or who are
working for the wages of the CON-
mon day laborer, who would have
been successful and prosperous if in
their youth they had been given an
opportunity to learn trades. Any
of us can name among our youth
full acquaintance boys who are GO
ing to the bad because they cannot
be apprenticed.
We cannot but think the unions
stand in their own light in this
matter. America ought not to re-
cruit her skilled labor from Europe.
We have the material, and we do
wrong by not giving it chance.
1t is certainly better for the country
that American youth be skilled and
American labor employed. Ifthere
is more work than our own people
can manage, we can send abroad at
any time for assistances.
There should be good appren-
tice law in every State, and the la
Dor unions should remove the re-
strctions which prevent many young
men from becoming worthy, self
supporting citizens.
Canker humors of every description,
whether in the mouth, throat or stomach,
are expelled from the system by the use
of Ayers Sarsaparilla. No other remedy
can compare with this, as cure for all
diseases originating 10 impure or impov-
erished blood.
THE GREAT