The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1897-01-13
TECHNICAL TRAINING.

The fast that within the past few years
wages have risen from 15 to 20'per cent in
the German empire m axes the news from
England that number of her citizens,
interested in technical art instruction,
have recently been in Germany studying
the industrial conditions there, a matter
of no surprise. English merchants have
found it profitable TO import goods from
Germany and then export them to South
America and the various British colonies.
and the reason why Britain does not
manufacture as well as export the COM
modities is of such importance as to call
for careful investigation.
The men who have undertaken this
work performed similar service fifteen
years ago, when they were selected by the
British Government to report whether
there were any methods in German in
dustry which might be protitably adopted
by Great Britain. That the recent investi-
eating com mittee were enlightened dur
ing their visit to the realm of the Kaiser
and came home we'll prepared TO instruct
their countrymen in skilled production is
no more matter OF surprise than their
going, for the Germans are the most
scientific and scholarly of all peoples, and
when they bring their scientific scholar
ship to bear upon the useful arts the re-
suits are sure to be progress worthy OF
imitation.
Sir Philip Magnus, who was the chair
man of the commission fifteen years ago,
and is the leader in the late inquiry, has
recently delivered an address showing
wherein chiefly lies German superiority.
g Al - 81
technical training. When these gentle
men were in Berlin fifteen years ago there
was big building being erected there, to
be used as a technical school, the cost OF
which was to be 81, 850, 600. On their sec
ond visit they found this school was
training 1900 students, and it had been
necessary to put up additional buildings.
In single German factory they found 100
thoroughly educated chemists employed
to experiment to discover better methods
of production. This is an enterprise for
turning scholarship to practical account of
such magnitude as to startle English and
American manufacturers and awake them
to the necessity of careful training in those
who would stand up long in the ring of
industrial competition.
In his address Sir Philip stated that al
most all the profitable results from valu-
able discovery made by an English chemist
were being reaped by Germany, because
of the large number of practically trained
chemists available for use in the factories
in that land of widely extended technical
instruction.
So great has been the advantage thus
gained by Germany in some branches of
manufacture over England Sir Philip
Magnus gravely suggests that his Govern
ment should repeal that part of her mer-
chandise marks law which requires i'm
ported articles to be marked with the
name of the country whence they came
The German brand is giving the British
exporters away, and their colony GUS
toners are learning to SEND direct to
Ham burg for their merchandise. The adj
vice is such conf ssion of inferiority as
seems like suggesting that German skill
can only be met by English fraud. An
other interesting revelation of the report
is that the manufacturers of Germany find
thai shortening the hours of labor does
notincrease the cost OF prod uction; brains
are far more important factor in pros
perity than drudgery, and the fact that
the great manufacturers are getting a
practical proof of it augurs we'll for the
future CT the working man.
The moral OF this story is obvious
Every effort should be made in this coun-
try to establish thoroughly equipped
technical schools and give all our workers
chance to be skilled. The community
will reap the benefit in better and cheaper
commodities, AMI the workman will at
A.. L. L
ton and improvement and cease to be
drud0a