The Washington herald., 1913-07-06

Profitable Trades Plentiful;,
Good Chance in Granite Work.
D. n d AEN0NAIn

Granite Work.
DONALD.
the traced line strikes 1t three or four heavy
blows, which cause the rock to part smooth
Iy along the traced line. He continues this
process with the different pieces until he has
all his blocks mapped out-broken out rough
ly.. Then with the reel. timer. or side ham
mer he dresses his blocks to conform to what
ever specifications he may have before him.
q d
Need Good Eye and Stroke.
The tifiier is q sharp edged hammer
weighing six pounds: the side hammer
weighs about nine pounds; the reel. . long
fiat piece Of steel. finely sharpened. also 10
used as a hammer and weighs about three
pounds. The reel is welded with an over
hand stroke.
The paving cutters greatest assets are
a straight eye and . sure stroke. I have
seen trained cutters strike dozen blows in
the same groove and never vary q hairs
breadth on a single stroke, which makes the
uniform character Of the blocks a. seen in
the finished product.
These dressing tools have to Be resharp-
ened every two hours. and an expert black
smith or tool sharpener earns IS cents an
hour.
THE ability of a workman 10 shown by
the manner in which he maps out a stone
and minimizes the subsequent dressing re-
quired. Cutters often have contests. Ten
or a dozen trained cutters will get together
hang up a purse, and the man who cuts the
greatest number of blocks in q day receives
the prize. In addition to this prize. he gets
the increased earnings. and IL he Is working
by the piece his earnings are quite high. He
has his choice OF pay-by the day. SO cents an
hour; $3.50 a thousand for certain Sizes $24
a thousand for others. and $3.50 for a third
size. As he can. II he il a good workman,
dress 800 or more blocks a day. it will be
seen his earning capacity Is in the neighbor-
hood Of $40 a day on piecework. and most
Of them prefer to get paid for what they
do. He works nine hours a day and five hours
on Saturday. and is paid on the first and
fifteenth days Of each month.
Steady Work Draws Good Men.
Cutters in a granite quarry seldom are
idle. About the only thing that stops work
is a heavy snowstorm. The companies per-
NIT them to work along even in dull seasons
Sometimes in representative quarry, YOU
will find millions of finished blocks on hand
awaiting work that may not develop for a
year or more. The steadiness with which
these quarries operate has the effect Of
drawing the right class Of workmen from
all over the country.
In most instances the companies have
erected scores Of houses and sold them to the
workmen on easy payments. Over half Of
the quarry employees own their ,own homes
and the remainder will in time become prop
erty owners. They are encouraged in ac-
curing their own homes. Lots may be OBJ
tanned on most reasonable terms Of payment
extending over long periods.
1T has been my experience that the best
paving cutters are those who begin before
they reach their majority. Most of the cut
ting is done with a wrist movement. and
the young men become more adept at dress
ing than those whose muscles are more set.
Foreign Wages Too Low.
Until four or five years ago practically all
granite block cutting in the country was done
by men Of foreign birth. In the last few
years. however. many apprentices have been
taken on. and a concerted effort now 10 being
made to teach the young American citizens
the business lines Of this trade.
The large Quarries in Leistershire Eng
Land, yield small remuneration to their cut
tiers. compared with that paid by the Ameri-
can companies. In the Leistershire Quarries
a competent paving cutter receives on an
average of one pound Is. sol a week In this
country the cutter must be a poor one indeed
who cannot earn his pound a day. In Swe-
den. where large granite block Quarries are
in operation. the average wage In 90 cents
a day. In Wales the cutter makes 81 . week,
in Scotland about s.. With wages running
as high as s. day In this country, great
numbers Of foreigners have sought work
here.
Contrary to the general belief. . chisel or
a foot rule cannot be found in a big American
quarry. The cutters span the slabs with
their fingers and they do it As accurately
to the fraction Of an inch as you or could
me sure the slabs with q rule.
"Quarrying in general affords 'remunera-
tive and healthful work for thousands Of
young men. The field is not overcrowded Es-
pecially is this true of paving cutters"