New Iberia enterprise and independent observer. (New Iberia, La.) 1902-1944, 1910-07-09
CLERICAL LABOR DRUG ON
MARKET.

Recent reports from New York
declare thai clerical labor IS a
drug on the market IN the larger
cities Of that State. Investigation
would, undoubtedly, develop th2
existence OF similar condition
i'll many Of the cities of the South,
as we'll as the other sections of |
this great country. Doubtless !
there are ambitious, capable young |
men walking the streets in all the |
large cities hunting clerical en- |
ployment at 81 day and less,
while skilled labor. in many see
tionS of the United States is hard |
to obtain at from $3.50 to $6 per
day. and sometimes even more.
Yet. few Of those who are seeking |
clerical Jobs are equipped to do
ilttIi VIZ tia Il !IN Iobliii' VI ~ |
work. Many cf them arc college |
graduates, but their diplomas get
them little or nothing at the start
unless they signify the acquisition
of practical technical knowledge. |
Then they are IN BIC demand.
If those diplomas read "electri- |
cal engineer, or ''teXtile engi-
neer.' or master mechanic.
there are good jobs awaiting the
holders Of them the minute they
leave the graduating stage. Or,
if along with their literary educa
ton, they have acquired knowl-
edge of trade, whether mechan-
les, carpentry, masonry or what
not, there are opportunities tor an
excellent beginning that can give
the average clerical position a bic
discount. Skilled labor lands I'M
mediately upon job at a good
wage; but lack of skill means a
clerkship Of doubtful value, and
often long search for it at that
There are opportunities in the
shop as well as in the office. A
clerk may rise or he may remain
clerk for life. A skilled labor
er may become an employer OF
others, contractor and builder,
valuable constructive force in
the commlmity-in which there is
both profit and honor The de
mand for technical training and
skilled labor is not confined to
any one section of the country.
It is as broad and as wide as the
country itself. There have been
too few to realize the opportunity
which this demand presents.
While it is well to learn to work
with the hand it is doubly adj
vantageous and profitable to know
how to work with the head and
the same time. And there is more
room at the top for intelligently-
directed hand work than for the
head work alone. Though both
involve a struggle, there is less
pushing and crowding in getting
there.
We have long preached the par
amount value Of the practical in
education. The conditions today
abundantly demonstrate the ne
cessity for it. Instead of actual
ly wasting three and four years
precious time acquiring the rudi-
ments of certain dead languages,
filling the mind with useless rules
for working prepOsterous prob
lens in algebra, and taking up
time in other unnec essary stud
les, if real practical knowledge
was impaired the child would be
better able to compete with the
problems of real life when hand
ed a diploma on graduating dow
We do not decry higher education
for those who can afford it.
But for 95 per cent of the boys
and girls who attend our public
schools a practical education is far
more beneficial. Too many OF
those who graduate today whap
they leave the school room are
forced to accept employment at
the first thing offered, and in nine
cases out of ten their pretty, rib
bedecked diplomas, carrying with
them a smattering of Latin, alge-
bra, or other equally useless study
are of no benefit. Had they, in
stead, been thoroughly schooled
in some useful accomplishment
they might have walked out of
the school room and selected some
employment that would have
yielded a comfortable salary, and
later been advanced to still high
er positions. Not only are grad
yates thus Handicapped. but those
pupils who must leave school be-
fore reaching the ninth and tenth
grades are equally embarrassed
when it comes to meeting the obi
cations Of life and struggling for
existence.
There will be no diminution in
the demand for skilled workmen
we are in comparative industrial
infancy. The young man who is
not going to be satisfied with
more or less indefinite tenure of
a $50 clerkship, should equip him
self in some branch of technical
ira ming. Then it becomes only a
| question of what is in him. There
are plenty of real good jobs wait
ing for the man who knows how
to do things-well And there is
no danger that, like the would-be
clerk. he will ever become drug
on the market. Monroe News