The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-05-17
BRITISH WORKMAN.
He Suffers by Comparison with His
American Brother.

London Letter in Philadelphia Inquirer.
And apropos to the question of American
competition in trade in general the Daily
Mail admits that England is not keeping
pace with her commercial rivals in devel-
oping new industries
France and America are largely absorb
ing the trade in automobiles. Nearly all
the typewriters are made in the United
States. Tens of thousands Of cameras are
sent from New York for the London mar
ket every year. All the best printing ma
chinery has crossed the Atlantic. For ma
chine tools they are almost wholly de-
pendent upon America.
And the Daily Mail asks: ''why is this?
Why can the Paris and New York me-
chanics beat our workingmen at their own
business?" reporter was sent to talk to
"a prominent American, whose official po-
sition and wide experience with railways
in the United States gives him the right
to speak with authority
Said the American: II was In Sheffield
recently, and in going over the factories
numbers of American machine tools in use
there Think of Ii. The headquarters of
the English trade cannot make what IL
wants for its own use.
The American machine tool not only has
all the excellencies of the hom. article. but
has much greater speed. This factor d.
minishes the cost of its operation, without
impairing the value of the product SUI
periority in this respect is the marked
characteristic, generally speaking. of the
American article.
your trade unions have created a sys-
tenn of repressive regulation which Amer
lean employers would not endure. The idea
of the men seems to be TO turn out as little
work as possible. ! came across a striking
instance recently Of the result of this.
An American contractor undertook TO
erect a great London building He found
that the bricklayers he could get in London
refused to lay more than certain number
of bricks a day, giving as reason that the
rules of their union forbade IL, or some
similar excuse. This will never do for
me- said the contractor. He brought a
number of American bricklayers over from
New York. paying them considerably high
er wages than the London rates. But the
amount of work they performed made their
services much cheaper than the English
men at the lower wage.
English manufacturers lose trade because
they cling too much 10 hand labor and to
obsolete machinery. To take one thing
alone, the use of compressed air as a
power for hand tools has rapidly risen in
the States TO a recognized place, while here
1t has not been much heard of. Your stone
carvers do their work by hand. The Amer
lean carvers use air-driven tools
You had better not ask me what think
of the British workingman. 10 me he APP
pears to suffer by comparison with the
American In points OF intelligence and edu-
cation. in personal habits and cleanliness.
in the quality of the food and the drink he
consumes. in the apparent want of desire
to better his condition by aspiring to some
thing higher. in his abject conservatism
and blind adherence to custom and tradi-
tion and finally by his narrow and selfish
indifference to the interests OF his en-
ployers He acts IL there were an OPP
posing interest of common interest be-
tween them
OF course. there is often to be encounter
ed in the United States condition similar
to this last. but II is by no means so gen.
eral or 50 hopeless as II seems to be In
England.