Eagle River Democrat. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1893-1896, 1896-06-08
APPRENTICESHIP SYSTEM.
Some Change Needed in the Inter
est of the Youth Of
America.

T..
who are privileged to live in the closing
years of the Nineteenth century, are
forever telling ourselves what a mag
nifcent age it is; and we never weary
Of hearing and repeating the count Of
our numbers, our wealth and our Wis
DOM More often than not, this self-sat-
isfied recital is rounded off with con-
trast between what our forefathers We're
and what we have grown to be. In the
main. the comparison is just one, for as
{; matter OF fact man, individually and
collectively, is today better clothed, bet
ter fed, has more money in his pocket,
and is cleaner in morals and person than
he was so or 100 years ago. In the
midst of this general advance, and in
some measure as the result of it, the
student of social economics can detect
here and there the signs of a decided
retrogression. Happily such cases are
few; but they exist, and no amount of
material prosperity should be allowed to
blind us to the fact. Among the many
customs of our forefathers that have
fallen into disuse there are some whose
lapse can only be regarded as misfor-
tune, and whose revival would prove
to us that these customs were the out
come of experience and that they We're
prompted by solid wisdom.
There was a time in the country when
strictly guarded, and the boy who as
pired to the dignity of being ranked as
journeyman carpenter, machinist or
builder could only hope to do so by be-
coming bound i'll an apprenticeship Of
greater or less duration. His instruc-
ton, which was carried out with the
characteristic thoroughness of former
days, commenced with the very alpha
bet Of his trade; and each department
was fully mastered before ne was passed
to the next. He attained at once man
ual dexterity and knowledge of detail;
and incidentally he acquired also thor
ough respect for his trade, efficiency in
which could only be gained after SO
many long years Of training At the
close of his apprenticeship he was emit
tied to be called skilled workman, and
could command journeyman's wages.
But today, as the French would say,
1--WE have changed all that" Appren-
ticeship is no longer the invariable rule
it is the rare exception. The careful,
detailed instruction of the apprentice
by the master mechanic has given place
to a "hit-or-miss,' 'get-there'' system,
or, rather, lack of system, in which the
boys instruction is dependent upon the
caprice of the journeyman whom he is
told off to assist In place of the reg
ular daybyday instruction of the ap-
prentice, who, by virtue of his articles
employment, the boys of today have to
take their chance of picking up knowl-
edge and acquiring manual skill at the
odd times when they may be SO fortunate
as to secure employment.
Under the old arrangement. the boy
was sure Of receiving instruction-his
master was pledged to give it him; and,
moreover, he would be at times intrusted
with job which was little beyond his
powers. 1t was taken for granted that
he would spoil some of his work; and to
a certain extent he in this way offset
the profit accruing to the master from
his unremunerated labor.
Under the present system there is no
obligation, and certainly no disposition,
to give the boy helpers any work which
they are likely to spoil. They are en-
gagged to do mental labor, and it is only
in rare cases of emergency that they get
an opportunity to try their hand at a
green hand in a machine shop is never
regarded as a pupil. He is judged from
the standpoint of profit making, and the
tendency is to keep him at work in
definitely at the machine with which
he is familiar: The apprentice was
from shaper to lathe; from lathe to wise;
and by this varied experience he ac-
quired an all round knowledge and eff
fciency. But the specialization of work
in these days has limited the range of
a boys opportunities to such an extent
that he can never hope to gain much
knowledge or execution outside the par
ticular class of work to which he is as
signed.
1t must be admitted, however, that ex-
cellent as were the results under the old
apprenticeship system, it would be i'm
possible to carry it out under the present
Industrial conditions. The apprentice
was bound to his master, lived under
his roof, and ate at his board. Modern
social conditions and the modern tenn
permanent would not lend themselves to
a compact in which the position of the
boy was one of very pronounced servi-
tude and the keen competition in the
various industries, the close margin upon
which the master mechanic has to figure
in competing for share OF the trade,
the speed and thorough system which are
necessary in a modern workshop. all rem
der the careful training of green hands
in the shops practical lmposslblllty.
Neither the master mechanic nor the
journeyman can spare the time for such
personal oversight; and work which has
been contracted for upon the smallest
margin Of profit cannot be trusted to
the clumsy if willing, hands of be-
ginner.
But if the old system, good as it was.
is impracticable today. and the methods
VI lOudy dIC 81 1dultys Wudl, II VIII sUc
asked, is to be the remedy? We think
that it will be found in an arrangement
which shall embody the best features Of
both systems, and which shall be sup
yDlemented by that admirable institution
known as the trade school,
The idea Of oversight was an excellent
one and, SO far as it can be exercised
without interference with shop routine,
it should be encouraged--at the same
time the term of service should be very
much reduced, and the relation of the
boys to the master mechanic rendered
more elastic
The National Association of Builders
has recommended that a lad who wished
to enter trade should go first to a
trade school and discover in which di-
rection his tastes and aptitude lay. After
passing an examina ton by a committee
of master mechanics at the close Of
his course, he should enter the workshop
as a Junior. Here he would acquire
speed and execution, and by the time he
was capable Of doing ''full days work"
he would be subjected to a second ex-
animation, the passing of which entitled
him to be ranked as .journeyman.
~