Franklin's paper the statesman., 1909-04-03
ORGANIZED TRADE GUILDS.
Large Number Of Competent Negro
Mechanics In phiIadslphia.

SeioV sNSsssS~s W SSs"tSeS's 'ss0s~
Mechanics In Philadelphia.
The Armstrong association, at Phila-
delphia, which has for Its object the
Improvement Of Industrial conditions
among Afro-Americans, especially
those In skilled mechanical trades, is
sued the following statement recently:
Up to the present the association has
been successfui In getting In touch with
more than 20 Negro MECHANICS. includ-
Ing carpenters. bricklAyers. plaaterers, &C.
ment workers. roofera. iathsrs. electri-
eians. engineers. machinists. painters. pa
psrhangers and decorators. excavators
and stonsmasons and various other me-
chAnical trades. II has sought to organ
iEe these men into trade guilds. not labor
unions. whose purpose Ii TO raise the
standard OF efficiency among Negro work
men. to assist one another in getting
work and to act a. .. general Industrial
bureau OF Information. 30 far the sue
Gees Of this organization has been sur
prtsing Through its efforts more than
S1D0oo worth Of work has been secured
for Negro mechanics. being about 100 dif-
fsrsnt Jobs. employing more than lso dif-
fsrsnt men. II has done work for the
Union Insurance company Of Third and
Walnut streets. for J. Henry sca,tereood
Of Haverford. for John T. Emisn OF Ger
man,own. Miss Ellen Morris. for the oc-
tAvia Hin association. for the city of Phil
adelphia and for other persons and insu-
tutions II has done practically all Of the
large building and repairing among the
colorcd people in the past few months.
II has altered and repaired the new Ne
gro bank building on Lombard street, the
new building Of the largest Negro insur-
ancc company. the Keystone Aid society.
Sixteenth and Lombard strcets: the new
building OF the Morris Loan and Invest
mcnt company. also on Lombard street.
one Of the bidders for the new Carnegie
library to be built for the Institute For
Colored Youth At Cheyney. Pa
Knowing the prejudice Of the general
public agains, Negro mechanics. the asso-
citation has made II a point to get hold Of
competent men and TO recommend only
the best mechanics among them. and II
has been successful In finding many thor
ouxhiy competent Negro mechanics, The
president OF the carpenterB' branch OF the
Armstrong association was the superin-
tendsnt OF tho building Of Pennsylvania
hall Of the Downingtown school. He was
also for many years employed In the
school operations Of John d. Rockefeller
and was . foreman on the Rockefeller
hall At Bryn Aawr college and also at
the University Of Chicago. the Virginia
Union university, Richmond. Va: the
0pellman seminary. Atlanta. Ga. and
other Institutions. Its plumber had charge
Of the plumbing At Bryn Nawr college for
. number Of Year,. Another one OF its
carpenters was . foreman on the Panama
canal up to six months ago. The prssi-
dent Of the plastsrsrs branch employs a
group Of from ten to twenty plasterers
and At present has a contract for over
10 houses to b plastered. One OF its
brickiaysrs u now doing under contract
tbs brickwork for ten houses in West
Philadelphia. Several Of Its men are
graduates Of Hampton and Tuskesee In
stitutes. Ono was the head Of tho cleo
trical department In Tuskegee institute. a
graduate Of the Massachusetts, Institute
Of Technology. Another was teacher In
the Industrial department In Clark uni
vsrsity. and still another refused q posi-
ton ~ teacher In Tuskegse institute, de-
string rather to follow his trade At prac-
AA-s-s s-~.b