The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-12-19
THE GOLD BEATINGTRADE
THE DINGLEY LAW RESTORES TO 1T
IT'S OLD-TIME PROSPERITY.
American Manufacturers Now Com
MISUNDERSTANDING Gold Leaf.
New YORK commercial advertiser.

New York Commercial Advertiser.
The recent advance Of IS per cent. in the
wages of workers in gold leaf is significant.
Previous to the enactment of the Dingley
bill the workmen employed in this indus
try were for four years scarcely able to
earn enough to support their families.
The manufacturers were willing and anx-
ious to give their men employment at a
living wage, but the depression in the trade
created by the Wilson tariff act made it
necessary for them to reduce wages Men
were not allowed to work full time, and
wages for the time they did work had to
be reduced The highest wage the beaters
had ever received was $500 per beating"
This was paid about a year previous to the
passage of the Wilson bill After the en-
actment of the bin wages were reduced to
1920 beating" and men with large fam
lilies were unable to earn more than 81 or
S a week.
Unable TO work full time, the gold beat
ers were obliged to walk the streets, seek
ing employment when and where they
could. A few were able to transfer their
energies into other fields of labor, but they
felt the general depression that affected
other trades as well as their own trade.
What made the situation particularly hard
was the fact that the gold beaters are
sober, honest and trustworthy. The lat
ter quality is necessary for when working
each man has from 500 to $3.50 worth of
pure gold entrusted to his care. with which
he might decamp if he wished.
Employers realized the gravity of the sit
nation precipitated by the Wilson act and
tried to alleviate it as far as was in their
power. Work was divided so us to give
each man "a little TO do.
There are about sixty factories in the
United States engaged III the manufacture
of gold leaf. Most of them are small, en-
ploying a few men each. The largest fac
tory employs eighty men. There are in
all about seven hundred men engaged in
gold beating In addition the industry az
women. Gold beating is a trade that has
been known almost since the metal was
first used by man in the arts. The method
of making the leaf is likewise very ancient
and few changes or improvements in it
have been made.
The finishing of the leaf is the most i'm
portant detail and no mechanical contri-
vance has been found which do the
work rs satisfactorily as the hands of man
directed by the keen and srue eye of the
trained worker. Until about twenty years
ago American manufacturers of gold leaf
worked on what IS called the "l1nglish sys
tenn" Since then the German system has
been adopted, and now probably three-quar-
ters of the gold leaf is Produced in that
way.
h<Ahh4*Nf NCitD .>4@-Ai.
In the English method the workman
takes strip or ribbon of gold and beats
Il out. perfecting every detail of the task
himself. The best leaf is produced in this
way. In the German system each man has
an allotted task. and the output is CORE
spondingly greater. The division of labor is
an old economic principle, the value of
which here finds striking exempllhacton
The German system of gold leaf manu-
facture Is now used throughout the world.
When protection a principle in Eng
lands policy there were probably thou
sand men employed in the manufacture of
gold leaf. Free trade reduced the number
10 little more than one hundred English
factories rule. now buy German gold
sending their books 10 Germany to be
filed with gold beaten by German work
men
German gold leaf Is likewise sold i'm large
quantities ia South America. japan and