Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-10-06

The country learns with surprise
| that the blacksmith is still the vigor.
Gus character of history and litera.
| ture, and that in the United States his
army is marching 10000 strong. The
| smthy, in one form or another, seems
| to have survived the onslaught of the
motor car, and even to have profited
| by added business from the horseless
carriage truck and tractor.
He is still at the anvil in an age
Of motor cars" observes the Boston
Transcript. at is true that in many
cases the village smithy has been sue
| ceeded by the garage. 1t is recalled
that a northern New England town
some time ago advertised for a black
smith who would 'relight the fires at
| its old-time forge. But the Master
Horseshoers and Blacksmiths, holding
| in jersey City their annual conven.
| ton, want it understood that there
are 10000 blacksmiths in the United
States TODAY, While the fact
remains that were it not for the motor
car the number of blacksmiths in the
country would far exceed 10000, we
have evidence that the trade still
fiourishes. The trade that
has since the days of Tubal Cain been
glorified in song and story still exists,
village smithy."
X X X
Quoting statistics from the Depart
| ment of Agriculture. which show that
there were 15,7SS,000 horses in use on
farms in the country on January /.
1926, and assuming that there must
be several million more in use in the
Cities" the Buffalo Evening News
says: "What with the work that they
provide and the odd jobs that fall to
q smith, the trade should afford a good
livelihood for those remaining in it.
The smith today is not as mighty a
man as he was when he moved the
poet to song, but he still is factor
in industry. AS long as the horse
remains his forge fire will continue to
! burn"
Though the spreading chestnut
tree no longer may cast its shadows
around the high, red flame of his
forge according to the Atlanta Jour
nal. 1.-The muscles of his brawny arms
still ARE strong as iron hands, and
still the poets saying holds, The
smith. a mighty man is he
May the kind increase, and with them
the music of hammer on anvil while
the sparks swarm upward. Around
the forge and its stalwart master hang
so many rich memories of humankind
from the days of Homer down that we
could never be content to lose them
from life's picture. In Georgia, hap
PLY. where old customs find congenial
haunts, the smithy is to be seen pros
pering. and it's village Vulcan still
earns the tribute:
His brow is wet with honest sweat,
He earns whate'er he can.
And looks the whole world in the face,
For he owes not any man.
x X
Reverting also to statistics. the Day
ton Daily News finds that of the
millions of horses in the country the
decline was only $4,000 between the
census of 1910 and that of 1920. Not
at all a bad showing" the Dayton
paper comments, "in view of the trac-
tors inroads and other factors tending
toward motoriZation of the farm. The
decrease in value. however, was APP
proXimately $500 100000. or Is per
cent. The automobile is responsible
for that. The horse is no longer so
marketable commodity. but there are
certain fields of service in which it
seems Indispensable"
THE 900 craftsmen and their fami-
lies attending the convention" ;tates
the Newark Evening News, heard
the prophecy that the number of
horseshoers and blacksmiths in the
country will increase rather than grow
smaller. A surprising assertion. but
one which one Is prepared to believe.