'4 



THE 1 1 A R 1 ) W < ' M 1 ) RECORD. 



The Ma^n About To\vn. 



THE AMERICAN WORKMAN. 

 Till- siciis sri-iii to in<lii-jit<> thiit CicmI 

 Krltiiiii Is ^oiiiK III k'vi- lip lii'r iMiliry i>t' 

 friH' tniili' ill fiivor of ii iinitoctive tiirlff. 

 Tills Is a iiiiitti'r In wlilcli tlic IiiisIiioks lii- 

 liMvsls iif till- riiiti'il Stntes iirt' most vl- 

 tiill.v liitfn-stiMl. liroat Brituiu lias boi-ii 

 for ri'iiiuries. ami still Is, tlie chlrf coiii- 

 nuTrlal. iiiiluslrial and tlnaiioial nation of 

 llio world. npiiiK but a pair of undersized 

 islniids. lier mighty fleets have brought ma- 

 terlal from all corners of the earth for 

 use ill her great foundries and factories, 

 and have distributed the finished produil 

 to all nations. Should tireat Hrltain aban- 

 don her traditional policy of free trade it 

 would mean the readjustment of the in- 

 dustrial and commercial relations of the 

 whole world, and no country would be so 

 directly affected ns this. Forty per cent 

 of our exports goes to Great Britain, and 

 .•my movement on the part of the British 

 people that would force us to climb a 

 tariff wall with our produce would unsettle 

 things l>eyond measure. 



The exports of this country to Great Bri- 

 tain in the past were almost exclusively 

 food products and raw material. In re- 

 turn for this Great Britain brought us 

 manufactured goods. She bought our cot- 

 ton, took it to England and made it into 

 cloth and brought it back to us. It was 

 the same with wool, iron and other mate- 

 rials. Then all those who worked in her 

 factories had to be fed, and she bought 

 food products of us to feed them. 



It was inevitable that, as this country 

 became older and richer and better organ- 

 ized, this system would be changed. Why 

 should we send our raw materials to Eng- 

 land to lie manufactured and brought back 

 to us. paying the freight both ways and 

 also the freight on food for the English 

 workmen? 



There is but one thing tliat would keep 

 business and industry in that channel, and 

 that is that the British jieople should kee)) 

 so far in advance of our people that they 

 could carry the handicap of the freight 

 both ways and still undersell us. But the 

 British people have not done this. In fact. 

 Instead of keeping in advance of us in in- 

 dustrial and commercial methods they 

 have fallen behind. We always possessed 

 the advantage in that we iiroduced the raw 

 material in almost unlimited quantities, for 

 almost any kind of an indusfr.v, and could 

 feed our laborers at less cost — far less cost. 

 For years we lacked capital and expe- 

 rience, but now, still retaining our advan- 

 tage regarding raw material and food 

 products, we have abundance of capital. 

 we are rapidly acquiring experience, and 

 what is of even gi-eater moment, as an in- 

 dustrial nation we have the British beaten. 

 We work harder, more intelligently, more 

 economically and more effectively. 



BY C, D, STKODE. 



Thai is what ails Crcal Brilain and a 

 protective tariff won't help her. 

 * • • 



.Vnolher thing tlial ails Crcat Britain is 

 that she has an I'xpeiislve arlstoci-acy In 

 support in Idleness. 



We will not go .Into an ctlilcal discussion 

 of Great Britain's aristocracy. It is a very 

 creditable arlstoi'racy^I'll say that for it — 

 but it is a luxury with which the British 

 people will be forced to dispense. 



Everybody works in this country. We 

 have no leisure class which considers that 

 more or less disgrace attaches to labor or 

 trade. On the revcr.se, it is in this counli-y 

 a disgrace to Ite idle, no matter how rich 

 one may be. In this country there is noth- 

 ing so honorable as labor. That a man is 

 a hard worker is the best recommendation 

 for social and political, as well as indus- 

 trial and commercial, advancement. 



The burden of maintaining her aristoc- 

 racy is, for Great Britain, no inconsider- 

 able one. and when that burden is added 

 to the other disabilities under which the 

 Briti.sh people labor in their competition 

 with this country — which is the competi- 

 tion which is driving her to the wall — it is 

 cruelly heavy. 



-Vnother disadvantage of the British as 

 compared with the people of this country 

 is in the immense armanent, both in land 

 and naval forces, which they are compelled 

 to maintain. The burden of the British 

 is not so heavy in this regard as is the 

 burden of the nations of continental Eu- 

 rope, but it is very much heavier than the 

 linrden borne by the people of this country. 

 .\nd when this burden is added to tlie 

 other weights which the British carry in 

 tlie race for commercial and industrial su- 

 premacy, it becomes evident that the Eng- 

 lish people ilTTist be immeasurably supe- 

 rior if they are to win. 



* * • 



But, speaking in all fairness, the Eng- 

 lish people are not eitlier industrially or 

 commercially the equal of the American 

 people. 



The British business man gets to his 

 oflico along about 10 a. m. and quits it 

 along about 4 p, m„ having in the mean- 

 time taken out a couple of hours for lunch- 

 eon. Now, there is much to be said in fa- 

 vor of that way of living and working, and 

 it may be mighty fine, but when the busi- 

 ness man who puts in four hours a day 

 at his business runs up against one who 

 puts in twice or thrice that amount of 

 time and energy and thouglit. the four- 

 hour man Avill get left. Tliere isn't any 

 doubt about that. 



Then our laboring men and mechanics 

 and artisans are. man for man. superior. 

 Tliey draw bigger pay, counted by the 

 day's work, but they do more work, do 



It lietlcr and al less cost lliau iln lln- Kril- 

 ish workmen. 



.\nd that superiority of the .Vuierlcan 

 men as workers Is not due to any trnnsl- 

 lory conditions. In the beginning they 

 were Inferior in skill and o|iportuiilties. 

 That tliey are superior to-day is due to 

 the natural develoinnent of our system of 

 goveriiineiit. II has taken centuries for 

 this condition to be brought about, but the 

 .\inerican jieople have sudi a start of the 

 other peoples that not In a thousand years 

 can they be overtaken. 



-Villi the secret of it all— of all the ad- 

 vance which the .\nierican people have 

 made, is that In this land no man goes 

 dully and hopelessly to his task. The 

 highest i)laces in the land arc within his 

 reach and the reach of his children, if 

 only he will work hard enough. Ho knows 

 his ciniiloyer started as poor as he, he 

 knows tliat one of the greatest presidents 

 of tlie country started in life as a rail 

 splitter, and that another began as a inule 

 driver on a canal towpath. There Is no 

 privileged class to o|ipress him or restrict 

 him. There is hope for him and hope for 

 his children. He sees it in his wife's face 

 when she sends him to work in the morn- 

 ing and welcomes him home at night. He 

 sees it in the spirit and eagerness with 

 whicli his children pore over their books. 

 Iloiie whispers in his heart all day and 

 bids him work, work, work. .\nd he sets 

 his jaws and digs in. 



And the foreigner comes to this countr.v 

 and wonders at the fierce energy with 

 wliii'li business is driven along. He can't 

 understand it. He is accustomed to the 

 listlessness of those who work without 

 hope, and he doesn't understand what 

 makes the difTerence. He sees the Ameri- 

 can man spring at his work like an un- 

 leashetl hound, and he, familiar with the 

 listless, reluctant attitude of the European 

 workman, is tilled wiui wonder. 

 * * m 



'I'lic Kussjan governincnt sent a number 

 of workmen to this country to master 

 American methods in a certain line of in- 

 dustry. They remained here a year and 

 caught the American spirit of emulation 

 and hopefulness, and when they returned 

 home tliey astonished the natives with 

 their energy and elficiency. But inside of 

 si.x months they had dropped Ijack to their 

 old listless gait. 



The superiority of the .\merican work- 

 man is not so much a matter of method 

 and training as it is a matter of spirit. 

 The .\merican workman has every incen- 

 tive to put forth his very best efforts all 

 the time, for the minute he shows supe- 

 riority his worth is recognized, and there 

 is no law of class, caste or creed that will 

 prevent liim from rising. .\nd the work- 

 man of Europe will never equal him until 



