The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1922-07-10

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boy 7 said tBus It doesn't seen
to have hurt you
WORK never hurt anyone" was
the emphatic reply. The condi-
tions under which you work may
hurt you. You will suffer if yo1,
don't get enough food and sleep for
the rebuilding and rest you need.
Worrying over your work will
wear you out. But the hard work
l did as boy never injured me.
I went to bed earl yand I went
to sleep without losing a minute.
wish I could sleep now as r did in
those days! Summer evenings we
used to play out of doors for a
while after supper; but we went to
bed early even then.
II believe that every man who
has accomplished anything will tell
you that his early training had a
good deal to do with it. My father
was a sort of genius He could
build anything. from a. wheelbar-
row to a boat. That's what he
loved to do. He would make a
wonderful kite and be out flying
it. a group Of delighted children
around him. When he ought to have
been at work That's why we were
PCoip .I$51l IiC Alttu 20 SeS
into the kind Of work he loved,
things probably would have been
different. But he didn't and he
lacked the initiative or the IN
Outstanding. to find the right place
FLOR himself. He worked at the
thing he hated and played at the
thing he loved; and that's a bad
program for anyone
but suppose i got from him
my inventive instinct, SO have
that to thank him for MY mother
was entirely different from him
She was a woman Of great. prac-
teal sense. OF great energy and
purpose. Perhaps I inherited fron.
her some of these qualities. Ger
tainly l owe more to her training
than to anything else.
Tried to Learn Everything
In the factory. went through
all the Jobs which boys performed;
and I enjoyed every bit Of the ex-
.pe siEnce. u wanted to learn
everything theer was to- be learn
ed. And as theer weer no unions
then to put obstacles in my way,
I did learn every step Of the pro-
cess: and at fifteen I was a glass
blower, working alongside Of men
two or: three times my age. That
was the situation until 1888, when
I was twenty eight. years old
AT that point, Edward D. Lib
hey came into my life. Mr.. Libbey
had inherited a glass business. at
East Cambridge, Massac lusetts,
from his father. But to compete
with other concerns he was forced
to move his factory nearer a
cheap fuel supply, and to get a
force of up to date workmen. He
chose Toledo as his new location.
And he went to Wheeling for his
workmen. was one Of them.
"A friend of mine. older than
myself. was engaged as superfn-
tendent, but later decided to stay
at Wheeling, SO wrote to Mr..
Libbey and asked for the position
myself.
II had become a glass blower
when I was fifteen Now, thirteen
years later. I was still glass
blower. I didn't think much of that
as progress. Furthermore, the
wor kwas irregular. If production
stopped for day. or a week, my
earnings stopped too. l knew that
this wasn't true of men in a salar-
led position; so wanted to be on
a salary.
.In answer to my letter. Mr.
Libbey wrote that he thought he
would first try out one OF his old
men as superintendent; but that.
IT this arrangement failed he
would consider by application
lin August 1883 I started work
at Toledo as glass blower. From
the very first$I knew that the
superintendent would not be sue
cess. He was too old a man to
take up new methods. He was in
capable OF handling men who did
not know him and who did know.
far more about the new methods
than he knew. Within three
months the workmen were pretty
badly demoraized. They were
drinking too much they were
Stacking their work and they had
lost respect for the man over them.
In November Mr.. Libbey let this
man go and put me in as superin-
tendent.
Men Discharged
At this point Mr.. Owens stopped
as il that finished the incident.
What happened ?'s5I asked !!
You had been one Of these men,
a workman like themselves. It's
not an easy thing for man to
step into position Of authority!
over men who have considered