Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-06-26
MELVILLE DENOuNCES UNIONS
sHIPBUILDING HELD BACK BY
LACK OF SKILLED WoRKMEN.
Brazilian Wership Contract Went
Abroad When It Should Have
Been Filled Over Here.

PHILADELPHIA, June 28-"Because
the labor unions won't let skilled work
| man teach his trade to his own son, Is
the reason the United States lost The $50
CO0,0O0 contract for ships for the Bra
lillian navy" said Rear Admiral George
w. Melville yesterday.
I'VE have the best steel and iron in the
world right here. We have the timber
| which England must import, but because
the labor unions have put their restr:c-
ton on the number of apprentices. skille d
labor has become SO scarce in the United
States that it costs 10 per cent more to
build a ship in America than it does in
Great Britain or Germany.
"One apprentice to every four skilled
workmen Is what the labor unions are
trades. In soma trades they do not allow
any apprentices unless the after pay
.arge sums to the trade unions. Is 1t sur
prising that the ranks Of American work
men have become depleted?
Travesty on American Freedom.
mo greater travesty on American free
dom exists than this robbing of the young
American Of his birthright to work at
the trade he chooses. Nothing to my
mind Is SO un-American as to deprive q
BOY Of his right to learn trade or
man of his right to teach it. Nothing is
so dangerous to our manufacturing su
premacy.
ITO this pernicious practice Of limiting
and restricting apprenticeship l attribute
the loss Of TINS great contract. The labor
unions want to raise wages by reducing
the number of wcrkmcn. They have sue
ceeded, but Samuel Gompers and his al
lies have constructed a boomerang which
has come back and hit labor at a very
inopportune time. During this period of
financial depression a $JO0OO,O00 contract
would have been a. great boon to the
american mechanics.
THE common idea that the American IL
more efficient workman than the Eng
lishman or German is no longer true.
The Englishman. not being as indepen-i
dent as the American workman. Is will
ing to work under 'gaffer.' SO called be-
cause his BUSINESS Is to gan or spur the
men on to work. There is one garter to
same thing in this country in :he case of
unskilled labor. but our skilled workmen
resent such supervision. The result is
the increased cost of labor Germany is
apprentice laws And soon this will show
results in Germany having the most skill
full mechanics of the world.
Trade Unions Domineering.
II see a future for this country similar
to that of Spain and Italy. There the
trade guilds in the towns became SO
strong and domineering that me nobility
could not invest its capital. DON the
labor unions will keep the capitalist from
investing in railroad, mine, or manulac-
tory At the bottom OF 1t all Is the re-
striction Of the number of apprentices.
What should the United States do to
make sure of the next ship contract from
Chile or Peru or Argentine? Every
state should pass < law prohibiting the
restrictions by trade unions OF the num-
Der of apprentices and the United States
government should admit all skilled
workmen Then we will become tue ship
building country of the world, because we
have the steel, the timber. the men Of
hra nm and the men of brain"