The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1903-04-05
Why We Beat England.
Success of American Manufacturers
Explained by an EngIishman.

Success Of American Manufacturers
Explained by an Engishman.
We do not remember ever to have
read a more interesting article upon
the industrial development of tlis
country thaE the enc which appears
IN the current number Of the Nine
tenth Century"
The writer of the article Is John
Foster, an EngIishman, who recently
visited the United States with the
view of studying the industrial con-
ditions prevailing here, He knows
the conditions prevailing at home
from lifelong association with men
who have helped to build up English
industries. He was brought mt con-
tact in this country with most OF the
great captains of industry and left
the United States profoundly i'm
pressed with the restless but iGteIi-
gent energy of our people, and with
the conviction that that energy IS
bound, before long, to distance all
competitors, Great Britain included.
Interesting as is the account Of
what he saw and learned in the course
Of his visit to the United States, more
interesting by far Is his summing up
Of certain American traits to which
IN part he ascribes the phenomenal
growth, within the last few years, Of
cur industries and commerce
In England, he says, much store Is
set by experience. In America, on the
other hand, it IS youthful enterprise
that counts
In England, according to Mr.. Eos
ter, the man who has been in business
longest Is thought To know most about
it. In America a man who has been
at it too long Is apt to be considered
fossilized and as unable, or, at any
rate, unlikely, to keep abreast Of the
needs Of the times.
In England a young man Is always
more or less under suspicion. if
thrown into a place of responsibility,
Of probably making a mess of it. In
America, Mr.. Foster thinks, response
biIity brings ballast and an eager de
sire to prove that responsibility was
not ill-placed,
And, on the whole, Mr. Foster be
lieyes, the American is right. Time
and time again, as have gone
through the workshops Of the United
! States says he, Z have almost been
staggered at the mere boys who are
managers and heads Of departments;
not the sons Of proprietors. but young
/ fellows who have started at the bot
tom. proved their grit, shown their
energy, and been pushed on to high
position. 1t Is not at all unusual Ia
/ find a man Of twenty-four years hay
! ing the control of several thousand
men. And the fact that a man is
young and unmarried Is no reason. in
the employers mind, why he should
receive comparatively small salary.
! The question of how cheap you can
/ get such men Is not considered. No
price Is too big TO give & lad who has
brains and adaptiveness- It Is recog-
Inized that by paying him well, appre-
/ ciating him, you fire his enthusiasm"
We are disposed to differ from Mr.,
Foster when he says that the tendency
within the next decade VIII be to pay
lower wages III the. United States for
mere physical labor On the con
trary, the tendency, in our opinion,
will be constantly upward, 1t Ger
tainIy VIII be, If the economic policies
which have prevailed for nearly half
a century continue to prevail in the
future.
The trend VIII no doubt be, as Mr..
/ Foster asserts, to pay more, never
mind what, for brains, but that very
fact will, we think, operate to prevent
the depression Of wages Nothing Is
more disastrously expensive than un-
intelligent labor, whether it be per
formed in the machine shop or iu the
/ digging Of trenches. It will be a
sorry day for tins country when tie
general wage scale is lowered No
one realizes this more keenly than orr
own manufacturers.
On the whole, Mr. Foster looks into
a glass darkly that Is, from the Eng
| ish point Of view lie whistles N a