The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-09-27
Frederick Haskin's Letter
Where Handicraft Still Reigns
Especial Correspondents Of Tho Arsus.l

: work, and Illuminating, quite gen
orally wear these flowing black or
blue ties, partly, we imagine, as a
j concession to the artistic tempera-
ment, but more as a tribute to the
departed leader.
/ Gilbert Hubbard II. sits down TO
talk, but he is interrupted every
few minutes by messages and con-
situations. Obviously, he is no fig
urehead in the plant.
! Gilbert Hubbard left the Roy
croft plant as a monument" he ex-
plains, land l am preserving it as a
/ live monument People have told
me that 1 am submerging my own
personality here. but l do not agree
with them 1 find satisfaction in
! bringing fathers work to other
people, and 1 can do things for him
along that line that he never had
time to do, for himself.
| 1.-THE Roycroft community should
go on in his way until something
better can replace it-and l believe
that is a long way of He builded
better than he knew"
Hubbard's big idea, his son re-
minds you, was work. He contend
ed that there is no such thing as
mental labor. He said, THE man
that has a Job is lucky" 1t was
one of his favorite axioms, and he
played with the idea in all sorts Of
epigrams, such as Happy is the
man who has found his work"
But though Hubbard regarded all
work as sacred, he was discrimin-
ating enough to realize that crea-
tive work is more interesting and
satisfying than purely mechanical
processes. So when he started his
craft shop he installed machinery
for only the tedious processes. For
the rest he believed the old simple
ways of doing craftswork we're best.
Works by Hand.
Men and women were set to work
making things by hand, Spending
as much time as necessary on their
bookbinding. sewing. or modelling
with no strict factory rules to drive
them on.
Hubbard further sought to insure
contentment and industry by max
ing his factory cooperative. If a
workman had a share in the profits
he figured that there was nothing to
fear from capital-labor difficulties.
The shops he built of stones.
which the farmers were glad to sell
for a dollar a load. They are low,
well designed buildings, set in green
lawns and partly covered with %
vines. Hubbard set out to make his
shops attractive as another means
Of contenting his workers, especial
ly the boys and girls of East Aur-
ora He disnked to see the young
people growing up restless at home
on the little farms Yet he disIik-
ed still more to hear that this one
or that had left for the city. So,
from the time of the first little shop
with its eight workers, Hubbard
encouraged and made possible art
istiC surroundings.
The power of suggestion was
reverenced by Hubbard, and it is
everywhere employed to keep East
Auroraites mindful of their posi-
bilities. Notices for every emer-
gercy and emotion are found about
the Roycroft buildings. Such
thoughtful sayings as 'The mint
age of wisdom is to know that rest
is rust, and that real life is in love,
laughter and work. may be follow
ed by a more irOnical warning rs
Your eyes and your ears inform
you, not your tongue"
The final psychological factor in
project was that he took
a vital interest in every phase Of
the work He was always eager
to experiment with new benefits
for his RoyCrOfters. The shop g1ad-
ualIy expanded from one small
room to d cluster of buildings. An
inn had to be built to take care Of
visitors. a bank was started to
encourage the RoycrOfteTs TO save
their money.
Ebert Hubbard II is, he himself
says, more of a business man than
a literary genius, or pioneer. He
finds enough to do simply carrying
on. He does not indulge in inter
esting experiments, as his father
delighted to do. In the first Hub
bard's day, Roycroft was a cumula-
tive project, always broadening
and branching out Now It seems
to be advancing straight ahead.