The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1921-05-05
Making Mining Engineers From Disabled
Soldiers Through Federal VOca-
tional Training System

NNN NAAAlANf Al nc nAlNNA HA NHHAAAN NA
the work of deciding ON eligibility
for training arranging employment
objectives for those who desire train
ing. selecting places and inducing
men into training has prevented
those in administrative positions from
making a comprehensive and critical
survey of the educational facilities
employed. 1t is thought that such a
survey could best be made by a sell
ected committee of large employers.
representatives of labor. and produc-
ton engineers, a carefully chosen
group large enough to represent the
various occupations for which men
are being trained. such a commit
tee, selected by the board itself. could
accomplish much within short time
I Occupations could be grouped sub
committees appointed for each group
and typical schools and establish
ments selected and studied. This plan
of survey which the board has UNI
der consideration can be made eff
fective only if there is the right kind
of cooperation from public spirited
employers
Students From All Glasses Must Be
Considered.
Now in regard to the men, Here
is where the greatest difficulties ex-
list If the job called for the voca-
tional education of 200, 600 young men
who We're normal and properly pre-
pared to enter training for definite
calling that alone would represent a
huge educational and administrative
task, but the difficulties after all,
would be of normal type. But
though the number of disabled sol
diers, trainees of the board, who are
approximately normal is increasingly
large. the number who are appreci-
ably abnormal from shock. gas, dis
ease. and wounds runs into the thous- /
ands; the number who are eligible to
train but not feasible to train yet. be- 1
cause of mental diseases, tuberculo- /
sis, and other causes. runs into thou /
sands. In the composite group will be |
found disabled eX-service men from
every college and university in the
country. from nearly every important |
commercial technical and trade
school and thousands from Industrial
and commercial establishments rep
Iesenting almost every known occu-
patton.
There are men with an incomplete
common school education, including a
large number of illterates and for
eign born. On the other hand, there
are men with academic and profess
sional degrees, and many with par
tial or complete high school training.
The foreign born illiterates are eager
to speak the language and know
of the history and govern
ment of the country they fought for,
as well as to learn some useful oc-
cupation. The gifted. highly trained
men need to learn new speciality to
overcome their vocational handicap.
Some regard their training pay only
as new form of pension. carrying
with it no obligation to profit by the
opportunity for DECENTRALIZATION.
The effort of the training officer to
stimulate self-respect and an honest
effort toward Decentralization is
frequently frustrated or delayed by
on the part of sentimen-
talists. Perhaps at no point is there
need OF greater wisdom than here;
and the student must be taught that
he government can only give the
opportunity and that he himself must
'ecognize an obligation to work hard
md to accomplish something. The
moment training pay is permitted to
become comounaged pension a dis J
factor enters into the
whole plan.
The organization of the federal S
'oard is more completely decentral- t
zed than any department of the gov
rnment. There are IA distinct geo. n
raphical divisions of the whole I
ountry, and many subdivisions OF T.
ach zone or district In all, there n
re more than 40 local offices After n
man has been declared eligible, his
ase is sent to the proper local office r
nd the supervisor is held RESPONSE
le for the induction into training q
nd the supervision of his training In n
large minority of cases considerable G.
\ RECOMMENDATION Is tSStnlldl DcIOie '
n employment objective is selected y
nd frequent changes are often ne Y
essary even after a selection has b.
cen made. Wastage here, both of I'll
me and money is greater than at q
ny other point. ii
The Mining Contingent.
What is the federal board doing for p
zen who have chosen employment III
electives connected with the oil in lie
ustry and coal and metal mining? nj
erhaps $50 men have selected such m
electives, exclusive of electricians. p
'countants and Others some of Il
no mmay find their way into the m
nploy of oil or mining companies. az
f this number perhaps about IS are la
king regular mining engineering as
purses leading to a degree. These CT
zen are distributed among the best c'
'hools Of the country including the bi
massachusetts, Institute of Technol- II