Omaha daily bee., 1895-10-06
A SCARCITY or SKILLED LABOR.

A SCARCITY or SKILLED LABOR.
The Industrial revival has developed
a demand for skilled labor in excess of
the supply, thus repeating an expert
ence common to periods of more thar
ordinary industrial activity in this coun-
try. OF unskilled labor there is a plenti-
full supply, as there always is. but of
that which is trained in the higher work
OF the various mechanical pursuits there
are opportunities for well paid employ
lhent almost everywhere. One thing
suggested rs explaining this scarcity Of
skilled labor is the extraordinary
growth of new forms of mechanical
production. The development of ap-
piled electrical science, the construction
of the bicycle. the manufacture of tin
and the making of structural iron and
steel, are noted as having within Il few
years made great demands upon the
skilled labor market. In all these indus
tries intelligent and trained working
men are required and with their rapid
development it has been found difficult
to get all of this class needed, while the
expansion of the older industries has
called for many skilled workers.
1t would seem that there should never
be i'll his country Il scarcity of well
instructed and competent labor and
there would not be but for the ~restric-
tons that are put upon the youth of the
land in the matter of acquiring me
chanical knowledge. There are many
thousands of boys all over the land to-
day-intelligent and ambitious Ameri-
can boys-who would gladly learn
trades if they could get the opportunity.
but this is denied them. 1t is perhaps
Il fact that mos. American boys do not
want to learn trades with a view to
following mechanical pursuits, but there
can be no doubt that there
are enough who do to keep the supply of
skilled labor equal to the demand. This
is clearly shown by the number who
avail themselves of the technical schools
in which the mechanical arts and sci
ences are taught, out only n very small
fraction of those who would become
III INEQUALITIES ii thty COtlu cln yet
into these i,schools. Not only are the
applications for admission greatly be-
yond the accommodations, but there are
thousands of boys eagerly wanting the
knowledge there impaired who mo
afford to attend these schools.
The leading organ of the iron and
steel industry, referring to the urgent
demand for skilled labor in that indus
try due to the marked revival, says it
now appears to be absolutely necessary
to devise further means of conducting
manufacturing operations by labor saw
ing machinery il. the supply of work
men cannotailt some way be augmented.
1t also says that the highest grade of
wOrkmen annot be recruited from
abroad. at must essentially be q homa
product, trained in American methods.
dominated by American ideas, and
gifted with American ambition" But
if we cannot have the home product,
and the evidence seems to be conclusive
that it is not being supplied as rapidly
as the demands of the market, under
normal conditions, require, why it is
plain we shall have to do the best we
can with the foreign product. Obvi-
ously what is needed is greater freedom
for American boys to learn mechanical
trades. Perhaps very few would coun-
sci IL return to The old apprentice sys-
TEN, now virtually extinct, and in any
event it would probably be impossible
to restore that system, but it is prac-
ticable to remove some of the ~restric-
tons which prevent thousands of in
telligent and ambitious boys from learn
ing trades, and only those who are
prompted by utter selishness will make
any objection to this being done.