The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1902-10-25

~ THIS subject, Mr. Ewing Mathe-
son. NJ. l.. G. f.. of England has
" published a very interesting pam
phlet ! quote the following
-"li ii Is true, a3 the present writer be-
liereS, and as most will agree. that the
meat-eatine people are those who con-
qucr III the contests of the world the
greater capacity for concentrated work
possessed by the American is largely en-
planned. 1t is not only the artsan and
laborer who can do the most in a given
time, but the banker. the stockbroker and
the journalist. All Of them will conccn-
trate into Il working day as much more
than AN EngliSnman, as the latter exceeds
the German or the I'rcnchman. But at
what cost. The cmiSrant from Europe
has hot in him ii total fund of energy
greater lhHn he had at home, and the
born American has no more than his I.u-
ropcan ancestors But ii is compressed
into shorter life. From the age of y
to Il the man is at his best. Meat three
times II day supplies the fuel. and the
dry compared with the British Ises)
climate. causes il to he eaten 50 UNDER
done or rare as to repel the newly ar
rived Britishcr Between forty and so (?)
the reaction comes. and others take his
place.
"Abundance of imported labor enables
the employer to run his tools quicker and
get more out of given area of shop
room with the same number Of men,
American employers do not care much
for apprentices. Why should the en-
ployer take the trouble of teaching them
when ready-made full-grown workmcn,
the most euterprising of those In the Old
Wnriu, are always available? The almost
universal desire of the American-born
hoy Ia pose as man, also helps to
account for this The best artisan. SUCH
for instance. as millwrightS, engineers
Smiths aud n tnIn-n1u;.rS those
who have lahorlousiy learned their trades
in Europe. The American youth avoids
the long training essential To the working
of n iirSt-rlasS workman, and becomes
shallow. American employers are not as
ready Ia point out the fact that many of
their best wOrlimcn are not American
born, as they or others, when riots and
tumultS occur are to attribute them al
most entirely tu the foreigner.
"A career which leads 10 head place
early. n position in which the labor of
others can be exploited; in short, the DO
Hitlon of boss is the one that hest suits
the American instinct. In the United
States, as in England, the material in
fiurncc diSCouInseS dirty hands, and
thus Is Swcllcd III" army of nOndesCriptS
who crowd the ranks of sccOnd-tate
clerks, etc The ruder work in the United
States IL done by 'Iunsarians, Italians
and Russians The best skilled work
German, who have learnt their trades in
Europe. The children of European imml-
grants quickly imbibc American ideas,
and avoid long training and manual
labor, In the manufacturing districts II
the United States, tho supply of able
craftsmen Will fall Off If the emigration
from Europe ceases. (An important
point for us to notel,
"rho reason why American trades
unions cannot, or do not, impose the same
4, slrnints ON individual eNcrtiOn as do
the unions of Great Britain. is because
ui tha "reat variety of nationalitieS who
cannot he brought into line and dSci-
plned 80 effcctuallN us workers of one
race. liigh-priced labor obtains The hest
results for the employer and the em-
ployed but as a condition precedent the
workman must have liberty which Is too
often denied him by the trades union
rules i'm European cities. As TO piece
work, the American range of wages has
wider limits than in Great Britain.
"lEnterprsns workers whether me-
chanics, manufacturers or ,hop-keepers,
have in America no limit to their ambi-
tion; the social ladder Is accessible, and
the ambitious man, able and willing 20
strive, Is stimulated accordingly 1t Is
not the zeal of servant working for
n master. but Il as a means 10 an end
practically mattainable in Great Britain.
GLASS distinction, as such, between
rich and poor nearly all rich people being
workers does not exist In America. The
few rich Americans Who live without
work have 10 settle In Europe to enjoy
such distinction. The absence of this
class distinction does leave IA clearer
field for the best Of the working classes,