American Falls press. [volume] (American Falls, Idaho) 1907-1937, 1910-12-10

A 5 yOA watched some young
NSA, fellow working in the cold
NAEAN on some half-finished build
&AK ing, driving nails with
@@ numbed fingers and han
ding frozen, rough boards,
and you heard that he was getting
only about 81 a day and was a car
p~enter's helper, there was every evil
dence to you that there was little
more to carpentry than driving nails
and putting boards together, Ell, what?
For you know that the plans of the
building were prepared by an archi-
tect, and therefore, supposed that all
the carpenter had to do was to follow
them, which anybody could do that
knew enough to handle a hammer and
q saw" AS for brain work being re-
quired in carpentry, you never imag-
ined such a thing. It would be n
Of the last occupations. possibly, that
you would choose for your boy.
But 1t is never safe to generalize, in
this instance particularly; for that
same carpenters helper, II he pos
sessed average intelligence and ambi-
ton would in all likelihood be fore
nan of carpenters within a very few
years, and would have a big career in
front of him. It all would depend
upon his application. Given grit and
ambition, a boy can work up through
the carpenters trade to comparative
eminsnce, as well as through most
better known lines of work. 1t re-
Quires hard work; but what occupa-
ton does not require hard work to
reach success?
After you have thought ove 1t for
q while and learned a few things
about it, you might do worse than
start your boy in this trade. How to
go about 1t and the requirements?
Well, there are few preliminary re-
quirements to speak of further than
that the applicant should be a reason
ably healthy boy of about 16 or more,
and have had some rudimentary
schooling. Go to a boss carpenter at
work somewhere and ask him for a
job. II you are successful, as you
will be after seeing a few bosses, your
boy will be put to work as helper at
somewhere round IS q week. This
work will not be ca~rpentering. The
boy knows nothing about 1t yet, you
know, except that he a probably tell
a hammer from a square, and he has
to learn before he can become one.
And so, for the first year. he will be
nothing more than the crudest kind of
assistant to one of the carpenters
carrying boards and running errands,
end after a while, probably saving off
the ends of rough lumber and mailing
on joists and scantling. The work will
be generally the same If the boy goes
into a factory and does what Is gen.
orally known as inside work. and in
the. latter he will be advanced at the
end Of the first year to prabably 81
a week, and be set at bench work,
mailing holdings. putting window
frames together, etc.
At the end Of the second year there
will be another promotion to probably
$3.50 q day (pretty good pay for a
boy of Is who is learning a trade).
when he will be q sort of first assist
ant to one Of the master carpenters
and be doing pretty advanced things,
practically. the same work, except the
most particular. that a master does.
though, Of course, under the l~atter's
direct supervision. His pay will go
up q little. probably to Sits q day.
Having served these three years he
will be obliged to 30 into the carpen-
ters' union. The union will be hold
ing out persuasicns before this: but.
generally speaking. in most cities It
is not necessary to Join the union till
after three. years preparatory work.
Your boys standing In the union will
be that of apprentice. which will con-
tinue for two years. His pay will be
81 a day. and his work, If inside. will
be making doors, sash and blinds,
mantels, wainscoting, etc, and, out
side, the general work of carpentry on
buildings.
After these nve years OF prepare
ton, your boy will have finished his
course of training and be known as a
f%ull-fedged master carpenter. able to
do any of the work that any carpen-
ter of that stage is capable of, and
his pay will be around 81 a day ct
eight hours for inside work. and 81
more when employed on the outside.
And all this by the time he comes Of
Z 1t Il. There are few occupations
that offer returns As large as this to
young men.
Advancement from here on to high
or positions depends. az . rule. OF
much more than has been learned in