The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1911-03-17

SH7WN belonging to great news
|&slG paper and watched the
~ Ri tremendous whirring press
es pulling paper off an end
less roll so fast that your eye could
scarcely follow it, and delivering at
the other end of the machine count
less printed and folded newspapers SO
rapidly that the indicators on some Of
the modern electric presses record as
many as 100000 eight-page papers al
hour? Or have you watched one Of
the tremendous multi-lithographic
presses that pull out roll similarly
and deliver at the other end colored
pictures that pick up six different COL
ors of ink in passing and come out so
fast that no human being could count
them?
And has it ever occurred to you then
that here was an occupation for your
boy, that he could start in, without
any more education than the common
est Of common schools could give him,
when he was only sixteen, and learn
all about these innumerable whirling
rollers and cogwheels and other
wheels, and interrelated moving
things, and finally be at the head of
the multitude of men that stand
around and touch levers now and then
and put in new rolls of paper to take
the place of the exhausted ones, and,
in short, know everything about it all.
and still while he was young man?
Well, your boy can do this very
thing and, furthermore, he can rise
to a superintendency of the biggest
printing establishment in the land,
and, and all based on his humble be-
ginning when he was sixteen. And
when he reaches the top-which is
within the compass of your ambi-
tious, energetic son-he will occupy
a place quite as high in development
and with salary that will enable him
to own an automobile If he wishes to-,
sooner than If he took job in the
first place that let him wear white
shirt and creased trousers (Let me
say emphatically that the best po-
si.ions in the land are generally won
alls.) All he needs is the desire, for
a job is always awaiting an ambitious
boy who is willing to work.
The best opportunities are probably
found in the large printing houses that
get out photographic and job
work, books, and and perhaps print
magazines; for the work is more d.
versified and of larger character, and
there are openings to be filled by men
who have made good.
Your boy applies to the foreman,
and. If there is an opening, he will
start in as an apprentice at about 81
a week. There will be four or five
years of work ahead Of him before he
will reach what he will consider a real
position; but the drudgery will pass in
about year. At first he will keep
things In order around the press, help
wash the ink off the rollers when one
job is finished and prepare them for
the next; but all this time he will be
learning the details of presswork, and
the mysterious machinery will be-
come familiar to him.
Pretty soon, say year or two aft
er he began, If he Is bright and ambi-
tious, he will be set to feeding Cor
don press Zone of the small job press
es that print cards, letterheads, en-
velopes, etc.,, and while doing this
50 a week His next advancement
will be feeding a pony (smalD cylin-
der press. when he will be paid "a
high as $12, then a larger cylinder
press, receiving $14 weekly; and
finally he will be competent to feed
the largest sheets of paper properly
into one of the biggest cylinders, at
SIS week.
At this time, which is after about
four years Of apprenticeship, he will
be admitted to the labor union as a
full-hedged feeder. The days work
will last for eight hours. After con-
dnuing feeding for several months, he
will attract the attention of the fore
man by his application and industry,
and will be put on as apprentice
pressman at SIS week, to equip him.
self to operate all kinds of presses, un-
til after years training, he will get
a union card announcing that he is a
qualified pressman and entitled to the
full scale of wages OF $24 week.
Then he will be given direct charge
OF couple Of cylinder presses, with
the feeders under him.
All this thine he will be reading and
studying everything he can find that
relates to pressman's duties and con-
sultirg with more experienced men:
In short, making himself capable to fill
any position IN the department. So it
will be matter Of course that in a
year or so more. vacancy occurring,
he will be made assistant foreman, at
$50 weekly. OF course, this is in d.
rect line to the foremanship, the direct
head of the entire press department
of the establishment, who has some
times 100 men and boys under him,
a position that, conditions being ia
vorable, he will reach by the time he
is thirty or soon afterward. AS fore
man he might have charge OF as many
RS Is cylinder presses and 20 job