Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-05-16
OUTSIDE POINT OF VIEW

| In the days of our forefathers. oni
of the regular trades, recognized a.
SUCH was the travelling tinker. Wei
coined everywhere. when night over
| took him, he was sure of good meal:
and a comfortable lodging. This be-
cause he could make himself usefu
in house and on farm, in town, or il
country, the travelling tinker with his
kit of tools on his back, with head
erect, walked into every house, making
no apologies, with his familiar ques-
ton: What have you got that needs
| fixing?" His talent did not end with
starting up the dead clock. 1t extended
to the locks of the doors, the dish pans
broken crockery and the spinning wheel
and hand loom. And if there was a
sick horse or COW in the neighborhood
fixed things.
But he has gone to his reward and
with him ALL of his kind. No more have
we "all around men," This is the day
of the specialist. The trades are dis
appearing. No longer does the sign
matchmaker mean anything. It's jew
eler these days, and not one jeWeler
in ten thousand can make a watch 1t
is asserted that in the four big watch
factories in this country, not man
is employed that can make watch
entire. No longer do wagon makers
make wagons. In an IoWu wagon man
ufactory today there is man earning
good wages that for the past fifteen
years has done nothing but punch
holes with machine. of course) thru
the tires that are bolted on the buggy
wheel Another man puts the bolts In
the holes, and still another screws on
the nuts.
But to get away from the trades
into the professions. Law practice IS
now divided and sub-divided. Every
big trust and combine now has in it's
employ speciality lawyers. Young men
now study law with reference to some
branch of the law. The same is true OF
the medical profession. Each organ
o fthe human body, now has scores
of eminent men, that treat one, and
only one, diseased member of the hui
man frame. The all around doctor and
the general practitioner Of law will
soon be unknown. Disappear as COM
pletely as, the travelling tinker. When
it cimes to commerce here the specially
man is the in largest numbers and
the greatest demand. In big dry
goods store, the linen man hardly
knows how silk is made. In the whole
sale grocery the coffee man has heard
some people still drink tea, but is not
sure whether the firm sells green or
black tea.
Not to enlarge upon this feature in
all OF our trades, professions and oc-
equations, this fact stands out. A
young man to succeed these days, to
stand on the top round of the ladder,
or better to state it to stand on the
top round of some ladder, must make
a special study Of some speciality OF
some branch Of some trade or profess
sion. For example ten years ago
sure of good wages and reg
ular employment Today there are
thousands of men working in electrical
plants, but few are en-
ployed by Marconi in his wireless
telegraphy experiments. Again there
are thousands of men already at work
the. Panama canal, but the
world was hunted over to get ten ex
perts to say whether it should be sea
level or locked.
Where all this will end no one can
foresee. Whether this specialism is to
result in the greatest good to the
greatest number, is open to debate. The
coal miner Of ten years starves to
death on top of the ground, metaphor
ically speaking. The professor of
higher criticism in our big university
almost needs the supervision of his
wife to properly dress himself. Edi-
son, the wizard, literally doesn't know
enough to go in when it rains, and
only family interference gets him to
bed after forty-eight hours of expert
ments Russell Sage. the greatest
specialist in his line, cares more for a
five dollar gold piece than for bodily
health CIR the respect of the world.
the richest man in the
world, is a specialist in his line, actu-
ally morally deal. The travelling tink-
er got more out Of life than does John
D. Rockefeller. Sr.
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