Great Falls weekly tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1894-1???, 1894-11-30
UNIONS and APPRENTICES.
A Current ChA-Ee Against Labor Orgnni.
zations Thoroughly Disproved.

zations Thoroughly Disproved.
Professor Bemis has done a real serv.
ice to the labor organizations Of the
United States in disproving the very
current charge that they discriminate
against American boys in choosing ap.
prenticcs to the various mechanical
trades, and that therefore native born
Americans are unable to engage in such
occupations. This assertion, which has
gained wide c%redence. was made some
time ago in an article in The Century
Magazine i'll these words:
THE American boy has no rights
which organized labor is bound to re.
spect. He is denied instruction as an
apprentice, and if he be taught his trade
in a trade school he is refused admis.
sion to nearly all trade unions and is
boycotted if he attempts to work as a
nonunion man. The question of his
character and skill enters into the mat.
ter only to discriminate against him
All the trade unions of tha country are
controlled by foreigners, who comprise
a great majority of their members.
While they refuse admission to the born
American boy, they admit all foreign
applicants with little or no regard to
their training or skill"
These allegations, if they could be
substantiated, would be a serious thing
for organized labor. There is no more
room in this country for industrial or.
carnations which discriminate against
the native born than for political or.
CARNATIONS which o~stracize those of for.
eign origin. "Know Nothingism' and
''apaism' are as detestable in business
as i'll politics. Professor Bemis, how.
ever, has demonstrated, we think, with.
out leaving room for reasonable doubt,
that this very serious charge against
our labor unions is without foundation
1t is a pity that his article did not ap.
pear in one Of the popular magazines Of
general circulation rather than in the
purely economic publication in which
it was given space, and which circu
lates mainly among college professors
and theoretical students Of politics. 1t
would be we'll for people Interested in
furthering the aus Of organized labor
to procure the publication of a careful
summary of it as widely as possible.
1t is impracticable in a necessarily
brief article to give any just idea of tbs
extent OF tie investigation which Pro.
fessor Bemis made before announcing
his conclusions. He, however, explains
his method with sufficient explicitncss
to warrant confidence in the results OBJ
tanned. AS to the assertion that foreign
ers control our labor unions and refuse
admission to the American born boy he
says:
"Whlle the foreign born are in the
majority in many of the hard handed
industries, this is not because of our la.
Dor organizations, but often in spite OF
their etforts-of late increasing-to
prevent, by restricting immigration,
this form of competition Of those with
a lower standard of living. Where the
American born are not in u unions j:
is either because the American boy docs
not like manual labor, and so is not en-.
gagged in the trades in which there are
unions, or else he refuses to Join the
union Of his trade. An intense, self sui.
ficicnt individualism, which was more
fitted to u earlier history. where Or
%ganizatiOn Of capital was also little de.
yeloped, than in the present era of the
corporation and the trust, keeps a large
but Of late decreasing percentage Of the
American boys actually in Our trades
from joining the unions of those trades"
OF the other charge-namely, that the
unions are hostile to the apprenticeship
system per se~-Professor Bemis says:
"Only II of the AZ unions had any
national rules restricting apprentices,
and only II of these unions, with H..
900 members, or II per cent Of the 50O,.
600 in the IS unions, reported any sue.
cess in tho enforcement of such rules.
Of these II, 600, $500 were glass work.
ers, J,Il7 were h%atnakers, 2S, 900 We're
iron moldrrs and 20, 600 We're journey.
men ~tail)rs, and these last allowed one
apprentice to every journcynlan, tho ap.
premiership lasting four to five years,
a very liberal rule. The downfall Of the
apprenticeship system is largely due to
the introduction of machinery and the
consequent subdivision of work III large
SHOP. This renders it impraclicable for
the ,nployol to take Il personal interest
in carl Of his men or to give them al
all around training. 1t is more proiita.
BILE to set The learner at work upon a
single machine or branch Of work,
whore he Will 0 O acquire speed. The
boy prefers This, because he Is eager to
begin earning rs soon as possible, but
the apprenticeship system as managed
und,r modern conditions is at best Il
poor method Of trade Instruction.
Tine disappearance OF apprentices Is
only one Of the phenomena in the pro.
grus-ivo development Of machine pro.
uuctipi. 1t Is a necessary result Of the
substitution Of purely mechanical Labor
for t.''&kill"d work Of trained urtiiicVrs.
Thv boy who Us an apprentice was ::
helper to tine ~JUurnryman noW becomes
his competitor, and save IL 4 very few
cru,j+ has 80 brief Il period ol uutclaGo
rs l.. to he in the proper sens" an AZ,
Pre- .I'" ut all. New conditions govern
inuu.,ry TO-DAY, ANA LrI4 hut blind VIII,
woa.I Try IL solve tir problem Of l"iu'
nov ny lhu principles which applied i,
it til. .Qua.ig.t If a century ago. Yet
TIN lS exactly what IL host Of urOfpSst0