Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-01-07
Printing Apprentice
Restrictions Scored

TO the Editor OF The star:
On December 9, 1880, The Star pub
lished an article taken from the Ty-
politician, q weekly publication Of the
Washington Employing Printers Asso-
citation. The article was an attempted
defense Of Public Printer Carriers re-
strictions on apprentices at the Gov
eminent Printing Once, which restric-
lions have recently received much I'M
favorable publicity at the hands OF the
Washington daily press.
The restrictions imposed on these
boys by the public printer are many
and varied and would need strong de-
tense indeed to justify them. Those
which strike the average person most
forcibly as being unreasonable are those
which provide the apprentices shall not
marry during the term Of their ap-
premiership; that they must attend night
school a certain number Of times per
they may not take up any other course
Of study than that laid down for them
by the public printer-all on pain of
instant dismissal from their Jobs.
Among the courses forbidden the boys
are those leading to any Of the pro-
feSsions-law, medicine, etc.
One of the reasons advanced In the
Typothetan's attempted defense Of the
public printers unwarranted interior
ence in the rights Is American citizens
Of these boys u that the Government
expends approximately 5000 In train
ing each one of them, and that It real
ICES nothing on the investment until the
apprentice completes his term and be-
comes q joVMneyman-that none Of the
product Of the apprentice Is used dur
ing such apprentice ship-and that this
fact gave the public printer the right
to regulate the private lives and activi-
fhRGA q
the Government in the case of cadets
at the Military and Naval Academies.
A rather far-fetched conclusion, to say
the least.
Even were the statements true that
the product Of these apprentices Is not
used commercially, 1t still would be
questionable as to the fairness of the
service schools of the United States and
the trades school conducted by the
Government Printing once, because,
among other things, the boys educated
at the service schools are taken over
bag and baggage by the schools from
beginning to end Of their schooling
they are housed, fed, clothed, compen-
stated, given medical attention when
necessary, and even buried should they
die at the schools; and they are assured
Of their future. None OF which Is true
as regards the apprentices ct the Gov
eminent Printing once. The latter
boys, after completing their training,
necessarily come into competition with
others in their trade, where, other
things being equal, the flttest survive.
The boys in the service schools all have
real chance for their white alley" in
that they cannot be separated from the
service except for real cause and then
only after a fair and impartial trial.
Regardless, however, Of the Typothe-
tan'S statement that the product Of the
apprentices Is not used (and the public
printer himself only recently is quoted
as making the same statement in con-
nection with the reinstatement of sew
eral of the boys who had been dis
charged for disobeying his non-mar-
rage ordeF), 1t u not true that the prod
uct of the boys Is not used-that Is, it
Is not true II the annual report Of the
public printer Is to be relied upon. In
the report of the public. printer for
1929, at page 81, will be found the fol-
lowing:
"The apprentice section alone set
year 1929. Part of this composition was
used in printing 1,167 jobs for other de-
partmentS of the Government, BOT Of
which were run on the presses in the
schoolroom. Numerous publications for
the use of the Government Printing
ONCE are also set up and printed by
the apprentice school, including the d.
rectory OF employees, cafeteria menus,
programs, plate catalogues and daily
work summaries.
1.-THE apprentices 10 other trades are
also engaged in productive work, the
total value Of which for the year, based
on regular scale Of charges for the
product Of journeymen, was 1922, 1891 80.
During the year the apprentices, other
than printer, were employed 1887
hours on pFessWork, S2,O3l hours ON ma
chine and hand operations in the bind
cry, approximately 10000 hours at
platemaking and photoengraving proc
esses and 1000 hours on machine -shop
work." HERBERT z. JAMES.