Evening star., 1922-12-03

lied and soon many hundreds of ap-
following conditions: Boys with a
minimum age Of sixteen are enrolled.
note being taken of their personal
working experience and education.
They are then placed with a contrac-
tor at an initial wage Of $2.7O for an
eight-hour day. The apprenticeship
covers period of eight terms of six
months each. At the end of each
term the apprentice receives an in
crease per cent per hour for the
even terms. alternating with 10 per
cent increase for the odd terms. That
is, at the beginning Of the second six
months he receives an increase OF )
per cent, etc. At the end of the sec
ond year of his apprenticeship he is
receiving between s. and $6 a day,
and during the last six months nearly
ss. AS a youth of twenty completes
his apprenticeship he will graduate
as journeyman at 50 q day. instead
Of working as q laborer as at present
for from 40 cents to 60 cents an hour.
with no present in view and nothing
to which to look forward.
Practically since the beginning Of
American industry this country has
been largely dependent on the huge
volume OF immigration for me-
chanical workers and skilled la
borers. and this labor suf1ced up
until fifteen years ago. when the
tide of immigration changed and. in
stead of thrifty. well educated and
Woodworking Scotch, English. Irish,
French. Germans and Scandinavian
nationalities, there has been coming
from southern Europe an influx of
unskilled laborers having a large
percentage Of il1iteracy among them.
Generally Had Trades.
The northern Europeans generally
knew a trade and represented highly
skilled labor by training in the
mother countries. where it was man
datory by statute for all persons to
be versed in mechanical and skilled
lines AS boatloads of these various
our harbors. the docks were lined
with employment agents seeking
their services. No one was idle, pro-
duction was high. living costs were
low and labor was happy. Cnfortu-
nately. We have seen the reversal Of
this condition in the last decade,
eliminating in the acute situation in
the building industry today, brought
about very naturally by American in
dustries making no preparation to
perpetuate themselves. Unfortunate-
ly, this state of affairs was un-
recognized until postwar activities
brought about the realization that
the training of the American youth
had been sadly deficient in mechanical
lines.
"Afan power is the important thing
today" states Mr.. Glynn. in discuss
ing modern apprenticeships. but the
man power must be Intelligent and
the Industry as a whole must be con-
scious in its responsibility to the pub
lie in absorbing young men as we'll
as creating efficient and self-support-
ing citizens who will render produc-
tion at a saving wage and produce
erage family.
What We are really aiming to do
in the New York building congress
is to have employer, labor and edu-
Gator Join hands around q table Of
common interest and achievement to
tho ond that tho sulf may be bridged
between production, better labor and
lower costs through the systematic
creation and conservation Of our vast
human resources.
Building Trades Handicapped.
'.Never in history were the build
ing trades so Handicapped as they
are today. It is estimated we have
less than 50 per cent of the skilled
mechanics we had before tho war,
while the production Of the average
workman today Is materially less
than it was eight years ago. The
shortage has resulted in Now York
city, where standard wages agreed
upon by employers and unions run
from 50, to SO psr eight hours. In
men being paid In many lines. q bonus
Of from so to Is per cent on q straight
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