Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-10-05
1T is No. 297 D, that is wanted"
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When John Burroughs realized that he
was, temporarily at least, poor man. he
resolved to learn something practical, by
which he could not only support himself
with feeling of independence. but even
rise in the world through his own exer-
tions. He had good college education,
but that was worth little in the battle of
life, except as mental training for learning
things of real use. The learned profess
sions''-refuges for the lazy and incom-
petent genteel-did not tempt him; he had
neither liking nor capital for mercantile
speculation. A trade presented itself to
his mind as the desirable thing, some good
sort of honest, skilled labor, produc tive of
something useful to humanity and likely
to be in permanent demand. And of all
the trades that even the census takers have
found out, none suited him so well as iron
working. particularly that branch of 1t now
SO important in our large cities. the con-
struction of buildings. To this he resolved
to devote himself.
Relieving in knowing from the ground
up anything he sought to learn, he COM
menced his new career as a day laborer
in the foundry of the great Vulcan
works" wheeling sand and cleaning cast
ings. At the same time, with an eye to
some day becoming an employer. he deem
ed this an opportune time for acquiring
thorough knowledge of the class of tolers
among whom he had cast his lot. and to
boarding house. Men could not expec t
much OF the comforts of life for 50 per
week. the rate paid there, but would have
been justified in disappointment at what
was actually afforded in that establish
ment Its only abundances were dirt and
foul air.
Within a fortnight, his quick observation
and alert Intelligence made him valuable
helper and in u little time more he had
so far mastered the details Of iron-found-
Ing, as practiced in that foundry, that
though still only ranking and paid as a
laborer, he was really doing the work of a
skilled molder. He had been at this a
couple of months. when one day he cleo
trified the foreman by calling his atten-
ton to the inferior quality of new lot Of
pigs the first melting from which had
just been made. Clearly and with tech
nical accuracy he stated the defective
chemical composition of the iron, by rea-
son of which castings made from 1t would
fall at least 10 per cent below the mini
mum of strength they should possess. Not
another among the thirty molders of the
foundry. all supposedly skillful men. had
or could have, made that discovery the
correctness of which was readily proved
When asked how he. laborer. came to
know so much about iron. he modestly re-
piled that he had picked up little about
it in college,"
That incident gave him a new standing
for not only the foreman. but his employ
ers-to whom 1t was duly reported-were
grateful and appreciative. Learning that
he wished to gain knowledge of the iron
business IN all its departments. they en-
couraged and in a short time aided him. by
transfer to the rolling mill. where he
speedily learned the making of steel Cir
ders, beams. etc. Then an incident need
less to relate, but fortuitous as that which
gave him distinction in the foundry,
brought out the fact that he was a good
mechanical draughtsman, with evidences
of taste as designer, and he was pro-
NOTED to the Drawing room. Here he
remained until. in an emergency, he was
called upon to essay the duties of assist
ant foreman in the actual construction of
great steel frame building. and that was
the point he had reached when Constance
Dessine found him.
All this progress he had achieved in
one year, SO he had certainly done well
with the Industrial half of this problem;
hut as much could not be said for the So
cial half Of it, He did not get along well
at the mechanics boarding house. Insen-