22 Industrial Training . [January, 
times without end, “ Oh, yes, he is a very useful sort of man 
in his way, but he has never served his time.” This magical 
formula decides the question. It is scarcely in human nature 
for a man to aim at excellence when once he knows that his 
exertions will never command recognition. The consequence 
is that the labourer takes not a particle of interest in his 
work, goes mechanically through his round of duties, and 
obeys the foreman’s orders literally. He has no interest in 
preventing waste or negleCt ; he cares not a straw for any 
mischief that takes place, so long as he cannot be held per- 
sonally responsible, and, as a matter of course, shuts his 
eyes to all those occasional incidents from which an earnest 
and thoughtful man might take hints for improvements and 
inventions. To me it seems exceedingly sad that a large 
number of the men employed in any of the arts or manu- 
factures should be in such a position, — sad for themselves, 
sad for their employers, saddest in the end for the nation. 
Should not the motto of the first Napoleon, “ A free career 
for talent,” hold good in the workshop as decidedly as in 
the camp ? 
But we may turn to other trades. Among mechanical 
engineers there are also the two distinct classes ; the skilled 
workmen, who have duly served their time, and the labourers. 
I could point out a certain establishment of this kind, not 
loo miles from Manchester, where there was a labourer by 
common consent the cleverest man in the yard. If there 
was any piece of work of exceptional delicacy and difficulty 
it was placed in his hands. To all this the aristocracy of 
the trade graciously consented ; but he might receive only 
a labourer’s wages. The firm would have been only too glad 
to encourage him, and secure his services by paying him as 
a skilled mechanic. Had they made the attempt, however, 
it would have been voted treason against the sacred rights 
of apprenticeship, and a “ strike ” would have been at once 
declared. It may be asked whether, by thus crushing native 
talent, we do not fearfully handicap ourselves in our rivalry 
with foreign nations. Unless I am completely misinformed 
American manufacturers do not care one straw when, where, 
or how a clever workman has acquired his skill. The 
American workman, too, seeks to rise in the world rather by 
bringing out some useful invention than by enforcing such 
old-traditional distinctions in the workshop. Such, then, is 
the influence of apprenticeship upon the artizan. 
There is yet a further count in the indictment. The spirit 
of apprenticeship, in modern times, is one of inveterate 
opposition to improvement. The inventor, if he can gain a 
