Hutchinson gazette., 1902-01-09
AMERICAS ADVANTAGE.
Why American Industries Aro goBuusrlng
European MarkOis,

tlOn Of American competition in
which the most Of the writers agree
that Americas success In the manu-
featuring world Is due to our superior
workmen, The article Is, incidental
Ily, the greatest temperance lecture
we have ever read The following
brief extracts will give m idea Of the
arguments presented;
Mr., Walter MacFarlNnd, of Pitts
burg, says 1T appears that the
American wOrkmen are much better
time keepers and far less given to dis
slpatl0n than those In Great Britain,
One OF the best firms Of British ship
builders, which has had no trouble
with Its men for years, recently
stated that there Is loss Of time,
amounting to nearly twenty per cent,
due largely 10 drunkenness. II any
thing approaching these figures Is
true generally, there can be no sur
prise that (EnglIsh) firms open to
competition from well managed
American works should have u hard
time" In inquIrlng into the cause
Of this greater sobrlety Of the Amer
lean, the fact appears that twenty
years ago business interests In the
United States paid no attention to the
effect Of the beverage use Of tobacco
on working ability About that time
the now almost universal study of
physiology, which includes, with
other laws Of health, those which re-
late to the nature and effects Of alco-
hollc drinks and other narcotics, be-
gun to be a legal requirement for all
pupils in the public schools OF this
country
During the past ten or fifteen years
the children have been carrying from
the schools to the homes Of the 10,
600, 600 people Of the United States
the story OF the evil nature and bad
effect Of alcoholic drinks and narcot-
les.
As u result OF the diffusion OF this
knowledge the railroads Of the United
States now almost universally refuse
employment to men who drink
whether on or of duty
Hon, Carroll d. Wrights Labor Bu-
reau Investigations show that more
than 10 per cent Of the employers Of
skilled labor in the United States re-
quirc total abstlnance Of their cm-
plOyeeS and 80 per cent OF the employ
crs Of unskillcd labor demand the
same, These requirements, the cor
dial acQuicScence in them by the em-
plOyed, and the commercial Suprem-
Ncy which this knowledge helped to
secure to the United States, have been
prOhted by the truth taught In the
schools that alcoholic drinks inlurc
working ability
The different reception given by
wOrkmen to the employers demand
that abstinance where scientific tenn
perance Is not taught in the public
schools Is well illustrated by the fol-
lowing incident:
The manager Of the BorSig factory
in Germany recently posted an order
forbiddlng the workmen to bring into
the factory beer or Spirltuous liquors
or to drink the same during working
hours. The %Qrknien, Numbering
over a thousand, Held a meeting and
objected to the order. The next day
they conspicuously carried in their |
beer. During the excitement caused
by the order u pamphlet appeared by |
an old factory official who affirmed
that the use Of alcoholic drinks was |
detrimental to the labOrcrs' own in
tercst. lie referred to the clevcrneSS |
and SObrety Of the American work
men which makes them able to do |
very exact and precise work which |
he says is not possible in German in
dustry because Of the drinking habits
Of the labOring classes. The Ameri-
can workman does not resent the en-
plOycr's demand for abstinence be-
cause he has learned, often from his
child in the public schools, that alco-
hol not only dulls the brain but
weakcns the nerve control Of the
muscle that is necessary to the pre-
risiOn essential for fine work.
The nomination for knightho0d of
Sir Hiram Maxim, the American
born inventor for his work In Eng
land was one of the last Otiicial acts
Df Queen Nictora. In an article in
the June number Of the Worlds Work !
Sir Hiram furnishes indirect tcSti-
nOny to the same point, While de-
,crhng the results Of the English
.Wde unions, he adds
1.-The English workman spends u
great part of his earnings In beer, to-
DaccO, and betting; he has no ambi-
ion. or course not, for beer In dull