Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-11-24

the same bell that called him to work when,
as boy of eight he entered the ranks Of
labor in an English linen factory. The
blacksmith refer to is the Rev. DIR. Robert
Collyer who for the past fifty years has
been one of the leading lights of our Amer
lean churches, and who now, at eighty
three has a voice as clear, an eye as
bright, and a mind as active as any man
who pounds the pulpit. His sermon this
week was full of vigor. He held his au-
dience from the opening reading until the
benedicton and showed himself thoroughly
abreast of and in sympathy with the world
of today When he had concluded L met
him in the college chapel and then made an
appointment for an interview. / called upon
him in his rooms at Sage College this AFTER
noon, and for an hour, in response to my
questions, he talked freely Of his life and
work.
Doctor Collyer on Child Labor.
During the conversation I referred to the
bell above mentioned, and asked the doctor
to tell me something Of his work as
child. He replied:
IT began the hard labor of my life at
about the time the average American boy
starts to school. My father was black
smith, and the wages of that time were
such that he could earn only about $500
week. We had a large family. and the
near by as soon as they we're able. I went
in at the age of eight Our hours were
from o'clock in the morning until at
night, with an hour off at noon for dinner.
At s o'clock the great bell of the factory
was wrung and all we children for miles
around were aroused from our beds to pre-
pare for the day. That bell seemed to ring
every morning before had been asleep ten
minutes and its sound was an Internal one
to my ears. 1 can hear it still as 1t rang
then. It remained in the factory until
number of years ago. when the buildings
were torn down. happened to be in Eng
land at the time and the owners gave me
the bell and I shipped it here to Cornell.
It will never call another child to work.
How did those long hours affect your
health?"
II don't know as to that, but 1t seems to
me now that could never get enough sleep
In those days and the life seems very hard.
We worked seventy-six hours week. and
when, a few years later, the factory act
was passed reducing the hours Of child
labor from thirteen to eleven, we considered
1t great thing"
"How long do you think man ought to
work."
II think eight hours is long enough for
any one engaged in physical labor, and as
the world grows richer believe the hours
will be cut down to six: AS to children.
they have no business in factories, and they
should be kept from hard labor until they
have finished their schooling"
Doctor Collyer, the Blacksmith.
when did you begin your work as
blacksmith. doctor?' I asked.
1T was kept in the linen factory until
was fourteen and was then taken out to
learn trade. I was apprenticed to a
blacksmith at nkley, and remained with
him until I was twenty-one. That COM
pleted my apprenticeship, but / continued
to work at the trade much longer. My first
work in this country was as a blacksmith. I
came to America when I was twenty-seven,
taking passage from Liverpool to New York
on sailing ship. From New York went
to Philadelphia in search of work. I saw an
advertisement In tie Ledger of that city,
'Wanted-A blacksmith to make claw-ham-
mers I applied and got the job. I knew
nothing about making claw-hammers thon,
but soon got the hang Of 1t and kept on
at that work for about nine years. was
stu there when was thirsy.six:"
Were you good blacksmith"
q II think I did fairly well," replied DR..
Coilyer. During recent visit to the old
country looked at some gates In church.
yard which had made about fifty years
ago. They were not very beautiful. and az
! examined them felt like buying new
pair and substituting them for the old ones.
As locker closer, however, I found that
they were Just as sound and strong as when
they were made notwithstanding they had
swung back and forth for more than fifty
years. The lock. which had been put on by
another person, had broken, but Of the
gates themselves not rivet was sprung
His Thousand Dollar Horseshoe.
"Could you make horseshoe today, doc
tor" asked.
yes. You may have seen one here in
Cornell which made at the time Of the