Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1908-05-26
From One of the Blacksmiths.
Horticultural Editor Democrat

In the Democrat of May ~ We read a
somewhat amusing communication
written by one of our farmer friends,
J Brother E. e. Field. 1t is amusing for
one reason-it shows how little the good
man knows of what he is writing about.
He also seems to call particular atten.
ltion to the unpleasant remarks that the
farmers are making about the black
smiths. We have rarely heard one say
lanything about the prices charged for
horse shoeing as being too high, and we
honestly believe If our brother Field
would try horse shoeing for a short
time, it would be very easy to convince
him that the price has not advanced as
much as it should.
He also says that we have banded our
selves together for the sole purpose Of
obtaining larger wages and profits; that
we deserve all the abuse and ill-will
which is so lavishly heaped upon us.
We beg to differ with our friend in
several ways. First, we organized our
selves to obtain better prices on certain
kinds of work, and to have standard
price, that we might all charge the
same.
The price of horse shoeing has been
very unsatisfactory for the past few
years, on account of the large draft
horses that havo taken the place of our
small native horses. For the first three
sizes of shoes it costs one dollar to shoe
horse all round new. Can my friend
remember back far enough to recall the
time in his day when horse was ever
shod with new shoes by competent
workmen for less than that price, one
dollar?
Twenty years ago l shod horses in
South Paris, having all that two men
could shoe. At that time we had one
horse only that wore No. shoe.
That one belonged to o. G. Curtis. A
very few No. SIS, the large sized horses,
we got more for than for the small ones,
but not so much as we do now. To-day
we use comparatively few of the small
sizes of shoes. The bulk of the shoes
now are from No. to No. Z, making
the labor much harder, besides taking
from one-third to one-half longer.
Shoes cost from one-half cent to three
cents per pound more than they used to.
Labor is from two to five dollars per
week higher. Everything that we buy
is higher.
l think my friend Field must have
forgotten that the potatoes that we are
buying to-day for so cents per bushel
we used to buy for 25 cents. The but
ter that to-day costs 38 cents used to be
bought for about one half that price.
The eggs to-day cost US on an average
one half more than they used to. There
is nothing but that costs the blacksmith
more to-day than ID used to. Besides
the horses being larger, it takes more
iron, more labor, more coal, and can
see no reason why horse shoers should
not get more for their labor.
Our brother says we band ourselves
together for no other purpose than to
get more money. Since our organiza-
ton we have hired speakers to lecture
to us on the anatomy of the horses foot.
We have had lecturers on horse shoeing.
We have met and discussed the different
methods of horse shoeing for faulty
gated horses, and for different diseases
of the feet. And the horse owner has
had the benefit of all that We have gain
ed in these different ways.
being the cause of the rise in smith
work. would say for the benefit of
the growler on horse shoeing that l
visit once in six weeks one hundred
horse shoeing shops. l know of only
one apprentice that is learning the
horse shoeing trade, and unless some
thing is held out to induce young men
to learn the trade, the price will advance
much more in the next few years than
it has in the past.
There are many reasons that we could
give If we saw fit why we organize our
selves into bands. The Grange-one of
the grand organizations of the country
what was it organized for but to better
the condition of the farmerp So say to
our friend, the National Horse Shoers'
Association is to better the condition of
the horse shoers.
Our friend says that he knows of
blacksmiths that are making from five
to seven dollars per day. If they can
do this it seems strange to me that there
are not more of them in the country;
more to own their homes; more to own
their shops; more of them that can pay
for their stock on the plan of two per
cent ten days cash.
Surely it seems to me, knowing the
condition of blacksmiths as we'll as do,
that the writer of the article published
May 18th must be very ignorant on the
subject on which he has written, and
little realizes how much he exposes his
ignorance in writing about something in
regard to which he is not informed.
S. j. RECORD.