Evening star., 1902-08-16

adjoining the town expecting to grow rich
off the increased values created by the
Westinghouse works.
Yankee Contractor With English En-
ployes.
The rapid construction of this factory has
been a miracle to the English. The job was
offered to the local contractors on the con-
dition that it should be finished within
twenty months. The Englishmen replied
that no man living could put up buildings
like these in less than five years.
The Westinghouse Company thereupon
went to America for it's builder. They
chose a smooth-faced stocky contractor
named Stewart, who had made a reputation
for quick work in Pittsburg. Chicago ard
New Orleans. They showed him the plans
and told him that they wanted the build
ings completed within fifteen months. Mr..
Stewart replied that he could do it, and he
put the plans in his left breast pocket and
started for England. He had never crossed
the ocean before, but this did not phase
him. He took corps of Yankee assistants
with him to use as superintendents and
settled down in a little hotel outside the
works. He had only 236 men when
he began, but four weeks later his force
numbered 2.5OO, and by advertising extra
wages he got the best of the English brick
work on his job His men kept record of
what each hand did. and the prospect of
completing the buildings was daily esti-
mated by the amount being done.
American VS.. British Workmen.
He soon saw that he must get more work
out of his men or the buildings would not
be completed in time. He was surprised
at tne poor results obtained in comparison
with what he had been accustomed to in
the United States, and 1t seemed to him
that the men were not doing half work.
The masons were laying only $50 bricks
day, and upon his objecting he was told
that $50 bricks were the tale required of
each man by the London county council.
Mr.. Stewart told the men that they ought
to lay as many as 1000 bricks a day. and
they laughed at the idea. BY pushing and
by rewards he at last got them up to an
average of 800 bricks a day, but there
stopped He then imported some Ameri-
can masons and set them working beside
the English laborers. The Americans easily
laid from 1,sOO to 2,2o0 bricks daily, and
the Eng1ishmen, who were too proud to be
beaten by the "blarsted Yankees" Put on
a squirt and did equally well. Stewart in
creased the pay according to the work, and
there was no objection. from the trades
unions The bricklayers kept up their hus-
ting from that time on to the end, and the
result was that he got an average of 1900
bricks daily out Of each of them.
He pushed the carpenters in much the
same way and by the use of automatic ma
chinery quadrupled the product of his steel
and iron works. To make a long story
short he put up all the buildings in the time
he had contracted for and made a reputa-
tion for himself as a wonder among the con-
tractors of England. He is still in the
country and has been asked to take charge
of the building of the Midland Hotel In
Manchester. This hotel was begun before
the laying of the foundations of the Wes-
tiugheuse works, but little or no progress
has been made upon it. The Midland rail-
way wants the work rushed, and they have
given the charge of it over to Stewart. Mr..
Stewart says that there is no trouble in
handling English labor If you do it after the
American methods of paying big wages and
of insisting that 1t be done your own way.
The Ghosts of Feudalism Shaken.
These Westinghouse works are shaking
the ghosts of feudalism. They stand upon
the old Trafford estate. which has been cut
up to make a building site for them. The
Trafford estate has been in one family for a
thousand years. 1t consisted of 1000 acres
and is known as Trafford Park. Ralph
Trafford held it at the time of the Norman
conquest. and you stand in the Westing-
house buildings you can plainly see the old