Chapter XXXV: Section 1754: applies to all branches of the service, in Washington, D (26)

There is some danger to health in handling wood alcohol, turpentine, or lead paints, but the use of any one of these materials is not constant enough to make the whole occupation dangerous. Those suffering from chest complaints should, however, avoid this trade.

The trade is quite stable and the demand for men fairly constant. Employment in this trade is fairly certain and apparently will continue to be so in the future. The demand for experienced men for air brush work will increase with the more general utilization of machines, which is almost inevitable. The use of the air brush and the drying room or kiln has greatly increased the output of the finishing room per man employed, but increase in the quantity of the articles finished has offset this increased efficiency so that unemployment has not resulted. Hand varnishing, however, will continue to be done and skill in this work will be a valuable asset to the workman, whether he uses a hand brush or a machine.

A short apprenticeship or try-out period in the factory will start many disabled men in this trade, but no school training is required.

PLAN No. 938. TECHNICAL AGRICULTURE AS A VOCATION

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

This monograph was prepared by Dr. Walter J. Quick, Special Agent for the Federal Board for Vocational Education, under the direction of Charles H. Winslow, Chief of the Division of Research. Acknowledgment is due A. C. True, Director, States Relation Service; E. W. Allen, Chief, Office of Experiment Stations; W. H. Beal, Chief, Editorial Division, and Edwy B. Reid, Chief, Division of Publications of the United States Department of Agriculture, for suggestions and data; to the Curtis Publishing Co., for use of illustrations; also, to Dr. John Cummings, of the Research Division, for editorial assistance.

POSITIONS IN AGRICULTURAL COLLEGES, AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATIONS, AND IN AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION SERVICE

Many responded to the call to arms from the student bodies and the faculties and staffs of the State agricultural colleges, experiment stations, and extension service. These institutions have lost also to war service, at least temporarily, numerous scientific associates, lecturers, and teachers, research experts and assistants, extension workers, county agents, and others in co-operative agriculture. During the war the withdrawals from all departments and lines of work were of necessity replaced by insufficiently prepared men who in turn, now that the war emergency is passed, will be replaced by trained, efficient men as such become procurable.

It is to be noted further that agriculture in city high schools and other public-school grades is at the present time being taught largely by regular teachers not specially trained in the subject, the number teaching and demonstrating in the agricultural high schools of the country being about 2,500.

Under the Smith-Hughes Act providing for introduction into public schools of agricultural studies and projects, the demand for agricultural teachers, directors, and organizers has greatly increased, and will continue to increase in the future. In the establishment throughout the States of vocational courses, under this vocational education act, great difficulty has been experienced during the war in securing a sufficient number of men qualified to teach agriculture. From year to year, as more Federal and State funds become available, the vocational schools will broaden the scope of their work and more instructors and trained scientific men will be required.

In the higher institutions and services--the agricultural colleges, agricultural experiment stations, and agricultural extension service staffs--new appointments are constantly being made because of promotions, creation of new positions, changes for various reasons, resignations, and deaths. The agricultural colleges and experiment stations employ approximately 3,500 on their faculties and staffs, including associates, assistants, instructors, and helpers. The extension service workers number approximately 6,500, and the number would be greatly increased were trained men and funds available. Hundreds of counties have no agricultural agents. Compensation in these various lines is liberal and proportioned to service rendered, increasing with promotion from lower to higher positions.

Under these conditions numerous teaching positions are now open to men qualified to fill such positions in our agricultural colleges, in our vocational schools, and in our agricultural high schools located in every section of the country. Each year, also, even under normal conditions, as has been noted, many appointments of research experts and assistants are made to the staffs of our agricultural experiment stations, as well as of demonstrators and lecturers in extension work, and of county agricultural agents.

Those returning from overseas in fit condition will, in most cases, wisely resume their abandoned studies or scientific employment. Those disabled should, even during the period of their convalescence, begin to prepare themselves to resume former positions or others more desirable and in line of promotion. Some position is certainly awaiting you if you will but “run the course,” take the training, and prepare for it.

These positions present exceptional opportunities in every State for disabled men who can qualify for them. They cover every phase of agriculture, and will appeal to men of practical experience in farming whose disability may make it inadvisable for them to undertake hard manual labor on the farm, and to men of scientific or technical training that especially fits them for teaching, lecturing, demonstrating, or conducting scientific research.

In general, the positions most suitable for men who have been disabled, where such men have had practical agricultural experience and some agricultural education, and where they are disposed to take the necessary vocational training, will be positions as county agricultural agents, or as demonstrators in the co-operative extension service, or as organizers and directors of the club work in animal husbandry and cropping. These positions may serve most admirably to give training for promotion to some more specific line of work.

AGRICULTURAL SPECIALISTS

While the agricultural specialist has usually a thorough knowledge of some particular line of work, and is exceptionally efficient in that line, he does in many instances specialize in several different lines. For example, many have specialized successfully in “poultry, fruit, and bees,” and a specialist may easily be well informed in all three of these lines. Nearly all farmers devote themselves to some specialty in which naturally their sons also become efficient. By vocational training such young men who have been disabled in the war, especially those who have had in addition to their practical farm rearing some systematic school training in an agricultural course, may have their development rounded out until they become capable, practical specialists. Their efforts may be expected to be attended by that success which always accompanies the combination of practice and theory. A special vocational training will be necessary to fit such men for positions in agricultural colleges, experiment stations, or extension service.

PROMOTION OPPORTUNITIES AHEAD

Much of the specialist’s work can be undertaken by men with serious physical disabilities, and the opportunities for promotion along lines of expert and special service are excellent.

The following lists of positions in schools, colleges, and experiment stations, as teachers, lecturers, demonstrators, and research men, indicate the wide range of opportunity open to men of varied training, experience, and capacity. The lists have been made up from official publications showing the positions in agricultural institutions, and an attempt has been made to indicate the number and character of appointments usually made to the staffs of such institutions.

For example, the department of animal husbandry in an established agricultural college located in a State in which grain production and live-stock industries are prominent will frequently include, in addition to the head of the department of animal husbandry, four or five and sometimes as many as eight or ten associate heads of subdivisions, each subdivision employing instructors and assistants, together with a number of herdsmen and helpers for practical work.

The number of departments and subdivisions and the number employed in each department, of course, varies from institution to institution. In the following lists, when the singular form is used, as for example “associate,” it indicates that commonly one associate is employed in the subject indicated in an institution covering the subject adequately. Where the plural form is used it indicates two associates as the usual number employed, and where the name of the position is followed by a numeral or numerals, as “associate (2 to 5),” it indicates that more than two will usually be found on the staff.

PLAN No. 939. AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE POSITIONS

The Federal Board for Vocational Education has completed arrangements with the State Agricultural Colleges for special technical and for regular courses, giving such training for the positions indicated below as seems most suitable, taking account of age and experience in each case. You should consult the nearest vocational officer, remembering that Uncle Sam is ready to train you free in a technical course and pay you while you are taking it, also to help you secure a permanent position after your training is completed.

If you were pursuing a course in one of the State Agricultural Colleges or in an agricultural high school when called to arms, resumption and completion of that course is generally to be recommended. You can not as a general rule afford to abandon a course once begun in which you have made any considerable progress.

Many minor positions are available to ambitious students requiring financial assistance promptly after or even during preparation. Many of the less important college positions immediately available for men who have taken training provide opportunities for further study and training leading to higher positions in the agricultural colleges, as indicated in the positions here listed. The same is true of positions listed herein under Experiment Stations and Extension Service.

PLAN No. 940. LIST OF POSITIONS IN AGRICULTURAL COLLEGES

_Faculty:_
Dean.
Assistant to dean.
Office employees.
Heads of departments.
Associates.
Instructors.
Assistants.

_Agriculture_, head of department.
Rural schools, supervisor.
Junior school, superintendent.
High schools, agricultural, supervisor.
College:
Librarian.
Assistant librarian.
Curator.
Assistant curator.
Photographer.
Assistant.
Farm management:
Associate.
Instructors.
Assistants (2 to 4).
Farm manager.
Farm foremen.
Farm laborers (3 to 15).
Journalism:
Editor.
Assistant editor.
Assistants.
Education, scientific:
Associates.
Assistant.
Economics:
Associate.
Instructor.
Assistant.
Pedagogy:
Associates.
Instructors.
Assistants (2 to 5).

_Agricultural engineering_, head of dept.
Rural engineering:
Associates (2 to 4).
Instructors (2 to 6).
Assistants (2 to 4).
Highway engineering, associate.
Irrigation engineering:
Associate.
Assistants.
Drainage engineering:
Associate.
Assistants.

_Agronomy:_
Head of department.
Associates (2 to 5).
Instructors (2 to 4).
Assistants (2 to 4).
Seed, analysts.
Farm crops--
Products--
Associate.
Instructors.
Plant breeding--
Associates.
Instructors.
Assistants.
Soil investigations--
Biology--
Associates.
Assistants.
Physics--
Associate.
Instructors.
Assistants.
Soil, analyst.
Bacteriology, associate.
Fertilizers--
Instructor.
Assistant.

_Animal husbandry:_
Head of department.
Associates (2 to 5).
Instructors (2 to 4).
Assistants (2 to 4).
Cattle--
Associates (4 to 10).
Instructors (4 to 6).
Assistants (2 to 4).
Horse--
Associates (4 to 10).
Instructors (4 to 6).
Assistants (2 to 4).
Swine--
Associates (4 to 10).
Instructors (4 to 6).
Assistants (2 to 4).
Sheep--
Associates (4 to 10).
Instructors (4 to 6).
Assistants (2 to 4).
Pathology--
Associate.
Assistant.
Nutrition--
Associate.
Instructor.
Assistant.
Meats, assistant.
Genetics--
Associate.
Instructor.
Assistant.

_Bacteriology:_
Head of department.
Instructors (1 to 4),
Hygiene, associate.

_Beekeeping:_
Associate.
Apiarist.
Instructor.

_Botany:_
Head of department.
Associates.
Instructors (1 to 3).
Assistants.
Plant pathology--
Associate.
Instructors (2 to 4).

_Canning:_
Associate.
Instructors.
Assistants.
Helpers.

_Chemistry, agricultural_, head of dept.
Soil, crops:
Associates (2 to 5).
Instructors (2 to 5).
Assistants (2 to 8).
Soil physics:
Associates.
Assistants.
Fertilizer control:
Manager.
Analysts (2 to 10).
Recorders (2 to 4).
Markers (2 to 5).

_Chemistry, general_, head of dept.
Inorganic:
Associates.
Instructors (2 to 4).
Assistants.
Organic:
Associates.
Instructors (2 to 4).
Assistants (2 to 4).
Physiology:
Associate.
Assistant.

_Daily husbandry:_
Head of department.
Associate.
Instructor.
Assistants.

_Dairy industry:_
Associate.
Instructors (1 to 3).
Assistant.

_Dairy bacteriology_, associate.

_Entomology:_
Head of department.
Associates.
Instructors (2 to 4).
Agriculture, instructor.
Insecticides--
Instructor.
Assistant.
Limonology--
Associate.
Instructor.
Assistant.

_Floriculture:_
Head of department.
Associate.
Instructor.
Assistant.

_Forestry:_
Head of department.
Instructor.
Management--
Foresters.
Rangers.
Guards.
Pursuits--
Associates.
Assistants.
Silviculture, associate.
Arboriculture--
Associates.
Assistants.

_Gardening, market:_
Head of department.
Assistant.
Vegetable, associate.
Small fruits, associate.
Truck--
Associate.
Instructor.

_Geology:_
Associate.
Assistant.
Meteorology, associate.

_Horticulture:_
Head of department.
Associates (2 to 4).
Instructors.
Assistant.
Pomology--
Associate.
Instructor.
Assistant.
Citriculture--
Associate.
Instructor.
Assistant.
Zymology--
Associate.
Assistant.

_Landscape architecture:_
Head of department.
Associates.
Assistants.

_Microbiology:_
Head of department.
Instructor.
Assistant.

_Parasitology:_
Associate.
Assistant.

_Poultry husbandry:_
Head of department.
Associate.
Instructors.
Assistant.

_Rural sociology:_
Head of department.
Assistant.
Instructor.

_Veterinary:_
Head of department.
Associate.
Assistants.
Diagnosis, associate.
Medicine--
Instructor.
Assistants.
Histology, instructor.
Laboratory--
Supervisor.
Assistant.
Physical therapeutics, instructor.
Anatomy--
Associate.
Instructor.
Pathology, associate.
Surgery, associate.
Bacteriology, associate.

_Viticulture:_
Head of department.
Instructor.
Assistant.

_Zoology:_
Associate.
Instructors (1 to 3).
Assistants.
Limonology--
Associate.
Instructors.
Ornithology--
Associate.
Instructor.
Assistant.
Morphology, associate.

PLAN No. 941. AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION POSITIONS

Technical books have been in such exceptional demand by the wounded in the hospitals that the American Library Association could hardly fill the orders, it is noted, and that vocational education has received a big stimulus from the soldiers having acquired the vocational study idea which argues well for efficiency in their future undertakings. It is difficult to adequately comprehend the value of the soldier’s experience educationally. He has learned discipline and devotion to a cause and that simple reading is not study. Study has been required and he knows how, with concentration of his supple mind, to acquire definite knowledge and employ it.

It should be emphasized that eligibility for positions in experiment stations, except as assistants and helpers, presupposes definite college preparation. The college course pursued should include training in experiment work in some technical line in agricultural experimentation or demonstration as a vocation. Experiment station work differs radically from educational work in agricultural colleges and high schools, and it may be well suited to those properly qualified for it who are disinclined to undertake teaching.

Experiment work is exceedingly interesting and preparation for it can to greater advantage be undertaken by those who have had some agricultural college training, or even agricultural high school training, combined with practical experience in agriculture. Half the battle is won when one has determined to achieve efficiency in some line of work, and to take such training as is required to prepare one to enter into agricultural service as an expert.

PLAN No. 942. LIST OF POSITIONS IN AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATIONS

_Station Staff:_
Director.
Vice director.
Assistant to director.
Editor.
Photographer.
Chiefs of divisions.
Associates.
Assistants.

_Agricultural engineering_, chief:
Irrigation--
Associate chief.
Assistants (2 to 7).
Mechanical--
Associate chief.
Assistants (2 to 5).
Electrical--
Associate chief.
Assistants (2 to 4).
Landscape--
Associate chief.
Assistant.

_Agricultural extension_, chief:
Co-operation, assistant chief.
Farm projects--
Associate chief.
Assistant.

_Agronomy:_
Chief of division.
Assistants.
Soil physics--
Associate chief.
Assistant chief.
Associates (2 to 3).
First assistants (2 to 6).
Assistant.
Plant breeding--
Associate chief.
First assistant.
Soil fertility--
Associate chief.
Associates (2 to 4).
First assistants (2 to 3).
Assistants (2 to 3).
Crop specialties--
Associate chief.
Assistants.
Crop production--
Associate chief.
First assistant.
Assistants (2 to 3).
Co-operative experiments, superintendent.
Soils laboratory, assistant chief.
Soil biology--
Assistant chief.
First assistants.
Soil analysis--
Associates.
First assistants.
Assistants.
Rust work, assistant.
Dry farming, assistant.
Seeds control, associate.
Laboratory, analyst.
Testing, assistants.

_Animal husbandry:_
Chief.
Associates (2 to 3).
First assistants (2 to 3).
Assistants (2 to 3).
Animal nutrition--
Associate chief.
Associates.
Assistants (2 to 3).
Swine husbandry--
Assistant chief.
Assistants.
Sheep husbandry--
Assistant chief.
Assistants.
Horse husbandry--
Assistant chief.
Assistants.
Cattle husbandry--
Assistant chief.
Assistants.
Genetics--
Assistant chief.
First assistant.
Animal pathology--
Chief.
Assistants.

_Botany:_
Chief of division.
Assistant chief.
Associates.
Assistants (2 to 3).
Plant pathology--
Associate chief.
Assistant.

_Chemistry:_
Chief of division.
Assistant chief.
Assistants (2 to 3).
Dairy chemistry--
Associate.
Assistant.
Floricultural chemistry--
Associate.
Assistant.
Horticultural chemistry--
Associate.
Assistant.
Soils chemistry--
Associate chief.
Associates.
Assistants (2 to 4).
Crops chemistry--
Associate.
First assistant.
Assistants.

_Dairy husbandry:_
Chief.
Associate chief.
Assistants (2 to 3).
Bacteriology--
Associate chief.
Associates.
Assistants.
Breeds, experimental--
Associate chief.
Assistants.
Manufactures--
Associate.
First assistant.
Assistants.
Milk production--
Associate.
Assistants.
Dairy production, first assistant.
Economics, assistant.

_Entomology:_
Chief of division.
Associate chief.
Assistants (2 to 4).
Beekeeping--
Apiarist.
Assistant.

_Farm organization_, chief of division:
Farm surveys--
Assistant chief.
First assistant.
Management--
Associate chief.
First assistant.
Assistants (2 to 7).

_Forestry_, chief of division:
Surveys--
Associates.
Assistants.

_Horticulture:_
Chief of division.
Assistant chief.
Olericulture--
Chief.
Assistant chief.
First assistant.
Assistant.
Truck crops--
Associate.
Assistant.
Plant breeding--
Associate chief.
Assistant.
Fruit breeding--
Assistant chief.
First assistant.
Assistants.
Floriculture--
Assistant chief.
Assistants (2 to 3).
Pomology--
Assistant chief.
Associates (2 to 3).
First assistant.
Assistant.
Plant physiology, associate.

PLAN No. 943. AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION SERVICE POSITIONS

The recent war necessity for organization of agricultural forces exhibited the co-operative extension system through county agents, farm bureaus, and local organizations, as a very effective means of greatly increasing agricultural production.

To the Agricultural Extension Service established by our Government in connection with the Department of Agriculture and the State agricultural colleges was due this agricultural co-operation enabling the American farmer in a great emergency to meet practically every demand for production promptly and effectively.

Much remains to be done to perfect co-operation of organizations in developing county communities, but a broad foundation has been laid for the service and well-trained, practical men are employed to carry the results of scientific research, demonstration work, and practical experience to the farmer.

COUNTY AGRICULTURAL AGENTS

The men holding these positions are known as county agents who direct and demonstrate farm problems, club leaders who direct extension work with young people, and specialists in different lines of agriculture.

There are 2,936 counties in the United States, of which 2,300 have county agricultural agents. The duties developing upon the county agent are numerous. In brief to introduce to the farmers in a practical manner the scientific investigations and the experience of successful farmers. Also to demonstrate so well their practicability that farmers may be induced to adopt them.

If practical and reliable, the county agent is able to reorganize and direct the agriculture of the community and be a force socially and economically in improving country life. In short, he should be able to instruct in all subjects having to do with improved agricultural practice, and from a business standpoint with buying and selling and general farm management. Many of these projects are brought home to the farmer, and he is influenced in their adoption by actual demonstrations which he is induced to undertake, with his own labor and at his own expense. These projects are conducted under supervision, and may have to do with crops, live stock, drainage, or any phase of farm work.

COUNTY AGENT IN TOUCH WITH FARMERS

The position of county agent affords an exceptional opportunity as a step to further advancement. The county agent is an organizer of farm bureaus, farm clubs, and stands back of all in demonstration work. He is practically the farmer’s business adviser as well as his educator, and need for his services is found in directing farm activities as well as in demonstrations. As has been well said: “The purpose of the agent is not to make farmers’ bulletins, but to interpret them; not to take theory to the farmer, but practice to the puzzled tillers of the soil.” In no other line of research work are young men of agricultural rearing and experience and with scientific training more successful or acceptable than in directing the farmer, though he may be old in experience, in the many up-to-date measures productive of success and profit on his farm.

Last year 500,000 farmers conducted demonstrations of various kinds in co-operation with county agents which covered an aggregate of 1,000,000 acres. County agents held 135,000 meetings attended by 7,000,000 farmers, made 1,200,000 visits to farmers, and received 1,250,000 office calls from farmers for advice.

The county agent works with all county societies, such as granges, farmers’ unions, alliances, farmers’ institutes, community clubs, and such boy and girl clubs as he may organize to support his work.

CLUB LEADERS

This club work is supervised by State and county leaders. Over 2,000,000 boys and girls were enrolled as club members the past year. For example, the members enter into competition in corn growing, for prizes on a basis of largest production at lowest cost, best collection of 10 ears, and best story of the year’s work. They receive from the extension instructors definite information regarding soil, planting, and cultivation, and are taught valuable lessons in handling soil, picking seed, improving varieties, use of fertilizers, cost accounting, etc. Similar clubs for like purposes grow home gardens, potatoes, cotton, grain, and fruits and much enthusiasm has been manifest in clubs for the raising of pigs, sheep, calves, and poultry. These clubs are all elementary to the more important work directed by the extension workers in general farm lines, farm gardening in particular, and profitable farm poultry raising.

EXTENSION SERVICE

The extension service workers have the support of many local organizations in addition to those assisting the county agents, such as local boards of agriculture, county councils, farm bureaus, clubs, and agricultural committees. There are over 1,000,000 farmers members of such organizations assisting county agents and extension workers. The agricultural projects contemplated under the vocational education act are lending great assistance to extension-service workers through co-operation by encouragement to the country boys undertaking the projects along with their club competitions.

You may well ask if there is any field of employment open to you which promises greater satisfaction in health, happiness, and service than is found in agricultural extension work. The scientific undertakings are attractive, the positions numerous, paying good salaries, and, if one desires, they can be sought where one’s life may be largely in the outdoors. It is in fact difficult to conceive of a more attractive vocation for which to select education and training. The curriculum of some agricultural colleges will give you complete preparation and will assure you success in some specific line of technical agriculture.

Positions available in extension service are shown in the following list:

PLAN No. 944. LIST OF POSITIONS IN AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION SERVICE

_Extension staff:_
Director.
Vice director.
State leader.
State leader, junior, extension.
Assistant State leaders.

_Agricultural extension:_
Leaders.
Assistants.
Agronomy, specialist.
Farm crops:
Associates.
Assistants (3 to 8).
Soils:
Associates.
Assistants (3 to 6).

_Animal husbandry:_
Specialist.
Associates (2 to 5).
Assistants (3 to 7).

_Botany, agricultural:_
Associate.
Assistants.

_Club work_, assistants (2 to 4):
Boys’ and girls’ clubs--
Leader.
Assistants.
Canning clubs--
Leader.
Assistants.
Pig clubs--
Leader.
Assistants.
Calf clubs--
Leader.
Assistants.
Garden clubs--
Leader.
Assistants.

_Crop pests:_
Specialist.
Associate.
Assistants.

_Dairy husbandry:_
Specialist.
Associates (3 to 10).
Assistants (2 to 7).

_Farm demonstration work_, State leader:
Divisional, each branch--
Specialists (5 to 12).
Assistants (5 to 10).
Farm, advisory--
County agents (1 each county).
Assistants.
Junior extension--
State leader.
Assistants.

_Farmers’ institutes_, specialist.

_Farm management:_
Demonstrator.
Assistants (several).

_Farm organization:_
Specialist.
Associates (2 to 7).
Assistants (2 to 8).

_Hog production_, assistant.

_Horticulture_, specialist:
Demonstration--
Assistants (3 to 8).
Spraying--
Specialist.
Assistants.

_Market surveys:_
Associate.
Assistant.

_Poultry husbandry:_
Specialist.
Associates.
Assistants.
Management, associate.
Farm poultry, associate.

_Publications:_
Editor.
Assistants.

_Rural engineering_, assistant.

_Short courses and exhibits:_
Superintendent.
Associates.
Assistants.

_Veterinary extension:_
State veterinarian.
Associate.
Assistants.

PHOTOGRAPHY, PHOTO-ENGRAVING, AND THREE-COLOR WORK

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

This monograph was prepared by Prof. David J. Cook, Demonstrator and Instructor, in the Bissell Colleges, at Effingham, Ill., under direction of Charles H. Winslow, Chief of the Research Division of the Federal Board for Vocational Education. Acknowledgment is due to Dr. John Cummings, of the Research Division, for editorial assistance.

In the field of photography, photo-engraving, and three-color work you can succeed and re-establish yourself in civil life as an independent worker, in spite of your handicap, provided you have natural aptitude for the work. You can do this even if you have lost your hearing, or lost a hand, an arm, a foot, or a leg, or both legs, or an arm and a leg.

In the best studies and shops of the country, from $25 to $75 a week may be made by competent men; or one may establish himself in business with pleasant surroundings and ideal working conditions. The photographer and photo-engraver meet people at their best, and the taking of a picture, or the making of an engraving becomes merely an incident in a pleasant business transaction. Much of the work may be done while seated, and the work as a whole requires but little strength.

Photography, photo-engraving, or three-color work may be practiced as an art, as a business, as a profession, or as a science, and one has a wide range of choice in electing just the kind of work suitable to one’s condition, preferences, and past experience.

PLAN No. 945. AIR BRUSH WORK

Air brush work pertains to the working-up of enlargements and contact prints in black and white, sepia, or color. Expert operation of the air brush is little less than magical in its delicate shading and color effects. Operators of the air brush command high salaries and are in great demand.

PLAN No. 946. BROMIDE PRINTING

This is a trade in itself, and numerous houses make a specialty of bromide enlargements for the trade.

PLAN No. 947. COMMERCIAL PHOTOGRAPHY

Photographing machinery, furniture, fixtures, fabrics, glassware, and manufactured products is a distinct branch of trade, and the commercial photographer often builds up an enviable business, conducted with but little overhead expense. He is moreover, much in the open, and he can choose practically his own time to do his work. Some commercial photography is commonly done also by the regular portrait photographer, and much of this work can be done in the studio under cover. But little equipment is required, and the compensation is fair.

PLAN No. 948. COPYING, COLORING PHOTOGRAPHS AND LANTERN SLIDES, SLIDE MAKING, WORKING IN BACKGROUNDS, MOUNTING, SPOTTING AND FINISHING, RETOUCHING AND ETCHING

All of these special services are embraced in regular studio practice. Good workmen in any one of the lines indicated command good pay and steady employment. The demand for experts generally exceeds the supply, especially for retouchers and etchers, who can improve negatives artistically, and correct the seeming exaggerations of the camera. Good retouchers may establish retouch studios in the larger cities and secure work from local photographers at from 30 cents to $1 per negative, depending upon the amount of work required per negative. A good retoucher can do up to 20 negatives a day, piece-work.

PLAN No. 949. LANDSCAPE AND ARCHITECTURAL PHOTOGRAPHY

This work takes one out into the open; is very healthful; and quite a body builder. One with a knowledge or liking for building and construction work may fairly expect to succeed well. Practically all railroads employ view photographers, and their work is exceedingly interesting on account of the travel from place to place.

PLAN No. 950. PRESS PHOTOGRAPHY

The press photographer leads an exciting life and the man with a “nose” for news items finds himself ideally located at a good salary. Many of the best men recently engaged in war photography were formerly press photographers.

PLAN No. 951. AMATEUR FINISHING

Amateur finishing offers a good field for profit, and many establishments in large cities, and even in smaller communities, provide amateur finishing in sufficient amount to keep a photographer busy long into the night in the busy season. The busy season may, in fact, be practically all the year around, as almost everyone now has a hand camera or kodak, and depends nearly altogether on the amateur finisher to develop and print films.

PLAN No. 952. MAKING HOME PORTRAITS

The home portrait worker photographs his patrons in their own home surroundings. He need have no studio. Hence his expenses are light and his profits relatively large. Home portraiture is one of the most delightful branches of photography, and the highest prices are obtained for work in this line. Equipment will cost about $200; there is no overhead; and the worker may work either during the day, or at night by the aid of artificial lighting installations, such as flashlight or electric light.

PLAN No. 953. MOTION PICTURE PHOTOGRAPHY

Motion picture photography is becoming more and more popular, and appeals strongly to the man who has a liking for the stage and for things emotional. Good operators make perhaps the highest salaries paid photographers. Here again one can specialize as a camera man, a laboratory man, or a printer. The laboratory work is chiefly that of developing the negative and positive films.

PLAN No. 954. PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY

The portrait photographer must maintain more of an establishment than is required for some other lines of work, and may perhaps have to invest more money, since his place of business should be in some degree an art gallery. His is a busy and interesting life, and the maker of portraiture by photography should be a real artist, comparable with the artist who works with brushes and pigments. The artist-photographer’s work is just enough varied, in artistic lighting of the subject, development of the negative, retouching, mounting and finishing of the photograph, to stimulate interest. Every portrait is just a little bit different, and presents new problems for the photographer. Many studios employ 5 to 50 workers, and the incomes of some of our best studio owners amount up into five figures. Some workers specialize in portrait operating, printing and finishing, and developing and laboratory work--all highly paid branches.

PLAN No. 955. PHOTO ENGRAVING AND THREE-COLOR WORK

Photo-engraving in halftone, line, and three-color work seems bound to take its place along with its great ally, the art of printing. All sorts of texts are being more profusely illustrated, and the demand for good photo-engravers keeps pace with the demand for good printers. The following subjects may be listed as indicating specialty branches in this field, each of which provides subject matter for a systematic course of training.

SUBJECTS TAUGHT

_Line operating._--Making the negative without the use of the screen for a literally exact reproduction of pen and ink work, etc.

_Line printing._--Printing the line negative onto the coated metal.

_Line etching._--Corroding the metal with etching solutions after it has been printed upon, thereby producing a printing surface.

_Halftone operating._--The process of making screen negatives ready in every respect for the printer.

_Halftone printing._--Printing of the stipple negative on the coated zinc or copper plate.

_Halftone etching._--Etching the metal plate with the different solutions to produce a relief printing surface that will take the ink in the proper relations.

_Finishing._--Working with tools upon the etched metal plates to improve them in various ways, remove defects, etc.

_Routing._--Removing with the routing machines undesirable surface from the etched metal plates.

_Blocking._--Mounting the metal and making it ready for the hands of the printer.

_Proofing._--Inking the finished cut and printing on paper duly prepared.

_Three-color work._--Making of color separation negatives color plates, selection of inks, order of printing, etc.

In photo-engraving, and three-color work, one may be an all around workman or a specialist. In shop practice one is usually employed at a single operation, and being highly skilled in that, one obtains correspondingly high remuneration.

Employment in these several occupations may be had in commercial workshops, studios, engraving plants, newspaper plants, printing establishments, manufacturing establishments, homes, colleges, or in the open, and employment is not restricted to any one locality, but may be secured in the small town as well as in the great city. The practice of these arts is in fact very widespread. All tools are provided by the employer, and but little capital is needed to become established in a paying profession. A camera and lens and a halftone screen are the principal essentials.

WHY TRAINING IS NECESSARY

The photographer or photo-engraver who has “picked up” his profession in the ordinary manner will generally do his work but indifferently, and in consequence his success also will be only indifferent. He may have learned to do things simply by rule of thumb. To become an expert workman he must study and practice under competent instructors, and must follow some systematic course of training under such instruction. In a short time he may expect to become fitted to enter into his life work 100 per cent proficient, and he may expect to secure a good position immediately upon completion of his course. One can hardly expect to receive explicit and accurate instruction while working as an apprentice in busy shop or studio, and moreover, one rarely finds a worker that can even, if he has leisure, impart his knowledge to others as effectively as can the professional teacher. The practice in large institutions and organizations generally now is to require some systematic training as a qualification for employment.

After training one is enabled to take a paying position or to enter into business for oneself. The opportunities are good and the field is large for really good workmen. The hours are not long, and the work is not confining. The pay is better than in many other trades or professions and employment is fairly constant, as there is really no well-defined slack period.

PLAN No. 956. GENERAL INFORMATION--QUESTIONS ANSWERED

Q. What education is required to learn photography, photo-engraving, or three-color work?--A. Anyone with natural aptitude for the work who will make an earnest effort can succeed, whatever his previous education may have been.

Q. At what age is it best to learn photography or photo-engraving?--A. Any age over 18. It is never to late to learn.

Q. Can one learn to be a first-class up-to-date photographer by working in an ordinary studio?--A. Generally a student will learn more rapidly and acquire greater proficiency by taking a systematic course of training in some school of photography--even a short course.

Q. Is retouching a strain on the eyes?--A. Not if it is properly taught.

Q. Is a previous knowledge of photography necessary for those who would learn photo-engraving?--A. Not at all. All the photographic knowledge pertaining to the work is taught in the regular engraving courses.

Q. Is photo-engraving unhealthful?--A. Not in the least.

Q. Can one by taking employment in an ordinary plant acquire facility in all the up-to-date processes of photo-engraving?--A. A student will learn more in a shorter time by taking a systematic course in the subject.

Q. Do students generally take training in all three of the branches which have been described?--A. Very seldom; usually enrollments are for one of the three--i. e., either photography, photo-engraving, or three-color work.

PLAN No. 957. OPPORTUNITIES FOR EMPLOYMENT IN THE JEWELRY TRADE

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.

This monograph was prepared by Miss Eleanor Adler, under direction of Charles H. Winslow, Chief of the Research Division of the Federal Board for Vocational Education. Acknowledgment is due to Dr. John Cummings, of the Research Division, for editorial assistance.

The disabled soldier, sailor, or marine during the days of waiting in the hospital will naturally ask himself, “What is the best way for me to earn a living with my handicap?”

He may find one of the many answers to that question in some of the opportunities of the jewelry trade. If he has two good hands and good eyesight, and if he has any mechanical bent, he may become in this trade the equal of any worker in it. One artificial leg or even two constitutes no serious handicap in this line of work. If, in addition to mechanical aptitude, he has any artistic creative capacity, he can become very expert and earn an assured income permanently.

Jewelry making is an old trade with a pedigree reaching back into medieval and ancient times. In those days it was more an art than an industry. Its master craftsmen were known by name and were famous for their particular skills. In recent times the installation of machinery has made it possible to produce some standardized articles by the gross instead of by the piece, thus greatly cheapening output. Fine-grade factories working chiefly in platinum still use hand processes and make their necklaces, brooches, and other pieces from individual designs and patterns. Cheaper-grade factories work more in gold and make many of their articles, such as cuff links, bracelets, and rings, of a standard pattern, which is stamped out by machines, the articles being turned out by the gross or dozen.

PLAN No. 958. WORKING IN PLATINUM

Processes in the platinum jewelry trade--the hammering, drawing, and soldering of the precious metal--require skilled craftsmanship.

The designer first makes the original picture or pattern of the brooch, necklace, or other piece, and if the details of the design and general character are approved he then makes an accurate pen-and-ink line drawing. He is paid from $35 to $75, possibly $100 a week.

The modeler makes a model in wax in the same way that the designer makes the picture. His wages are the same as the designer’s. Designers who are also modelers are much in demand.

The sketch or wax model then goes to the engraver, who transfers the design from the picture or wax to a flat piece of metal, engraving it lightly, in order to make a permanent record of the design. Engravers have to be very skilled and are paid from $40 to $60 per week.

The metal next goes to the jeweler, who “makes the piece”--that is, takes the flat piece of metal and hammers and models it--“using a soft lead block, upon which he rests his platinum plate, face downward, and modeling from the reverse side with various-sized blunt-nosed punches and a mallet whose head is made of rawhide.”[17] He then cuts out the design by following the engraved outline with a saw about the thickness of a coarse thread. All the leaf and so-called demelle decoration and other piercings are made in this way. The work is skilled and requires a steady hand and long practice, but can be developed from any good mechanic. It is paid by the hour, 75 cents to $1.25.[18]

[17] “Jewelry,” by De Witt A. Davidson, in “An Exhibition of American
Industrial Art.”

[18] Unions claim that the wage ranges from 85 cents to $2.50 per
hour.

Next the piece goes to the polisher, who polishes the back and attaches it to a frame or catch. Polishers in platinum factories are usually girls and are paid from $20 to $25 per week.

The stone setter then puts the piece into a bed of shellac to hold it firmly and mounts the diamonds, working up platinum beads out of the flat metal to hold the stones in place. Setting a row of diamonds so that they seem an uninterrupted line of brilliancy is called “pave work” and requires great skill. Stone setters are paid by the piece and make $40 to $125 per week.[19]

[19] Unions claim that the wage for this work ranges from $60 to $125
per week.

The metal is then taken off the shellac, goes once more to the polisher, and then to the finisher, who is merely a jeweler doing the particularly skilled work of final inspection and adjustment.

The number of processes in a platinum factory varies. In some cases they are so combined that one man performs several different processes. One expert may even make a whole piece from beginning to end. The tendency in this line is in fact back to the old Guild conditions at a time when the value of a jewel setting lay in its uniqueness. Very beautiful work is sometimes done in the homes of workmen. The material is called for, and the article is designed, wrought, and returned completely finished.

In cheaper-grade factories, on the other hand, processes are more subdivided, machine work being substituted for handwork. For instance, the engraver may be eliminated by stamping work out by dies instead of engraving it by hand. In this way platinum jewelry can be turned out faster, and in larger quantities than when engraved in single pieces, and of course the same skill is not required. The average wage is $25 per week. Cheaper grade factories all subdivide their processes more in this way, use more machines, and turn out work by the dozen in platinum and by the gross in gold, instead of by the piece.

PLAN No. 959. WORKING IN GOLD

A factory that works with gold employs designers in the same way as does the platinum factory.

The metal itself first goes to a melter and roller, who puts it into crucibles, then into the furnace, and then rolls it into ingots. The work is heavy, and necessitates standing and the use of both arms and feet. Wages are $25 per week.

In the cheaper-grade factories the gold, instead of going to the engraver for piecework, goes directly to the press and stamping room, where it is pierced by machines, stamped and pressed into patterns by the gross. Conditions of work are the same as in the first department, except the presswork, which is fairly light, but necessitates the use of one leg. Wages range from $18 to $25 per week.

The article then goes to the jeweler, who assembles the parts, solders them in the center, and shapes them by the aid of small machines and blowpipes, according to samples shown him. Wages are from $18 to $40 per week.

The work next goes to the polisher, either a man or a girl, who does the polishing seated at a buffing wheel. The polisher earns from $18 to $35 per week.

If the article is to be dipped in a solution to change its color, it then goes to the colorer, who is often also a polisher, and earns the same wages.

When fine work is done by an engraver, his work is much the same as in a platinum factory. Very expert work is paid from $40 to $60 per week. The same statement applies to the stone setter, who is paid by the piece, and often makes from $70 to $100 per week.

The article lastly goes to the finisher, who is here again merely an ordinary jeweler who inspects the completed work.

The toolmaker has charge of making the stamping dies, at 75 cents an hour.

ADVANTAGES OF THE JEWELRY TRADE

The advantages of the jewelry trade for men with disabled legs are many. First of all the work is seated and requires little physical strength. Most of the processes are carried on at long tables near windows, with articles laid on a sort of easel in front of the men and manipulated with small instruments. The trade itself is such as to insure good working conditions--good light, sanitary workrooms, fair precautions against fire (the sprinkler system is in many factories) and space sufficient to avoid overcrowding. There are no unpleasant odors or unsanitary by-products such as are found in many industries, and there is little noise. Hours have been shortened in the past 10 years from 55 to 44 per week in New York City and Newark and to 48 throughout the rest of the country. Employment is stable, and the fairly skilled mechanic finds work all the year round. The busy season is in summer and fall; but the spring, which is light, is utilized for developing new ideas for quality production later and stock taking for the holiday season.

As an old stone setter put it, “Training in jewelry work is a good investment, and never leaves a man with a trade on his hands and no value in the market for it.”

Another important advantage of the jewelry trade is its demand for man labor. The industry is a steady, probably a developing one, with possibilities of extended export trade. It can probably absorb a large number of men. Jewelers find it hard to get apprentice boys, chiefly because the apprenticeship is long and poorly paid, but that difficulty is done away with for soldiers, who are paid by the Government while in training. Platinum factories employ on an average 70 to 80 men, gold factories from 400 to 500. There are nearly 150 factories in Newark and about 300 in New York, who assert that they need labor and will pay good prices to get it. Employees start at some such process as soldering, at $10 to $15 per week, and can work up to $20 to $30, and in the better class work later to $60 and $75, or even $125.

PLAN No. 960. AREA OF EMPLOYMENT

The area of employment in the trade is largely in the East, about 75 per cent in New York, Newark, and the cheaper-grade factories in New England. There are some jewelry factories in Chicago and other large cities in the West.

TOOLS AND MACHINES USED

The tools and machines used in the trade are chiefly the following:

Drop hammer up to 200 pounds to a large degree power lifted.

Punch and cutter presses.

Lathes, machine and speed.

Power, plate, and wire rolls.

Power drawbenches.

Welding and soldering outfits.

Polishing lathes, lapping lathes (to polish metal.)

Blowers (to supply air in connection with soldering.)

Melting furnaces of various sizes.

Annealing furnaces.

Hand tools, such as workbenches, files, saws, hammers, drills,
alcohol, ammonia, emery paper, various shellacs and acids.

UNIONS

Local unions are fairly strong in New York City, but are not officially recognized by manufacturers. They have, however, enforced competitive bidding, which has driven prices up very high, and has made conditions practically those of the closed shop. They claim a membership in New York City of 3,500. In Newark they are not so strongly organized.

BONUSES

There is no recognized system of benefit funds. A few factories have individual associations for sick benefits, which are rather discouraged by the unions. Some distribute bonuses on the 1st of January.

TRAINING

There are at present no adequate courses of training for the jewelry trade. A jeweler is put at the bench and starts in with the simpler processes. He is usually broken in at so-called jewelry work, chiefly at soldering processes. If he is quick, he can be promoted in time to the more expert departments. There is a fixed system of apprenticeship in each factory, covering one, two, or even three years, with a bonus at the end of the period, and limiting the number of apprentices allowed by the unions to 1 apprentice to every 10 employees. The jewelers have for some time been considering starting training classes in New York or Newark, similar to a small professional class recently successfully started by a manufacturing jeweler in Chicago. They are also taking up the question of training classes in their own factories. According to their suggestion, courses ought to last anywhere from six months to two or three years, according to the ability of the worker “to catch on.”

EDUCATIONAL REQUIREMENTS

There are no essential educational requirements, though a good school education helps and a knowledge of mechanical drawing is “a leg up,” and puts a worker immediately at the more expert and highly paid processes. Any man who has had experience at delicate work of any kind, who has perhaps liked the finer handwork in occupational therapy at the hospitals, who has two good hands and good eyesight, and is not too disabled to reach the shop, will find no handicap in this trade. If he has a mechanical bent and flexible fingers he can become an efficient jeweler. If, in addition, he has any artistic, creative capacity, he can develop into a stone setter, engraver, or designer. His work then becomes of a personal nature, commands a comfortable salary, and can bring him, despite disablement, to the top in the industry.

PLAN No. 961. TRANSPORTATION--INTRODUCTORY

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

This monograph was prepared by Clarence E. Bonnett, under the direction of Charles H. Winslow, Chief of the Research Division of the Federal Board for Vocational Education. Acknowledgment is due to Percy R. Todd, General Manager, Bangor & Aroostook Railroad, Bangor, Me., and to Dr. John Cummings of the Research Division for editorial assistance.

WHAT TRANSPORTATION INVOLVES

In transportation men are concerned with the moving of persons and goods from one place to another. Transportation requires, however, many other operations than simply loading, hauling, and unloading passengers and freight. Charges must be determined and collected, records must be kept, movements of trains, cars, boats, and other vehicles must be directed, repairs to equipment must be made, and numerous other matters must be handled. These numerous operations call for hundreds of thousands of employees in many different trades and occupations.

OCCUPATIONS VARIED BUT OF GREAT RESPONSIBILITY

Thus in transportation there are so many different sorts of occupations that nearly any individual who likes responsibility can become interested in some part of the great field. There are occupations in which responsibility rests upon the employee for insuring the safety of property, and this responsibility is not by any means inconsiderable. In other occupations employees are responsible for lives as well as property, and risk their own lives in the service. There is office work for those who like it and plenty of traveling for those who enjoy that. If a life out of doors appeals to you, transportation can give you a job of that sort. In short, if you have a liking for responsibility you can find a job in transportation service that will suit you.

DISABILITIES AND RETRAINING

If you were engaged in transportation before you were disabled, you are probably still interested in this work, and would return to it if you did not feel that your disabilities unfitted you for your old job. If you wish to go back into transportation and can not take up your old job or a new one in that field without retraining, you want to know how to get retraining and how retraining will help you. Retraining and devices may help you to get your old job again. Retraining ought to do more than simply this. It ought to get you a better job than you had before. It is to help you to analyze and see your own possibilities as they are related to the various transportation occupations that this booklet is written.

DIVISIONS OF TRANSPORTATION

In general, transportation is performed by steam railroads, by street railways, by wagons and automobiles, and by boats. Of these agencies, steam railroads employ the largest number of men in so far as regular occupations are concerned. We shall, therefore, consider first the occupations and trades connected with the operation of steam railroads.

PLAN No. 962. PART I. STEAM RAILROADS

Railroading in the United States is a gigantic enterprise. In 1916, a prewar year, our railroads possessed about 65,000 locomotives, 2,342,000 freight cars, 55,000 passenger cars, and 98,000 company service cars. There were 259,000 miles of single track and enough of double track to raise this figure to 293,000 miles of main track. In addition there were 102,000 miles of sidings. Employees of railroads numbered 1,654,000 and were paid $1,403,968,000 as their compensation for the year 1916. Obviously, among so large a number of employees operating so varied an equipment are found many different trades and occupations.

SAFETY ON RAILROADS

Railroading is attended with personal risk for many of the employees, but only in a small number of cases is a man who is disabled in the service of a railroad rendered unfit for further service. Many of the older railroad men have suffered injuries of some sort, since the use of safety devices is relatively recent. Quite a number of injured men have in the past been given office, clerical, or watchmen’s work, since there is a vast amount of such work to be done, and it involves comparatively little personal risk.

FACTORS CONTROLLING PROMOTION

For the man who lacks a technical or college education there is almost a dead line to promotion into the higher offices. For instance, the wide-awake section hand can become a section foreman, then a construction gang foreman, a supervisor, and perhaps a roadmaster. But he can hardly ever hope to become an engineer of maintenance of way unless he acquires in the meanwhile an extended knowledge of civil engineering especially as applied to railroading. The disabled soldier or sailor, if unfitted to pursue his old occupation, can secure this very desirable training through the Federal Board for Vocational Education. He can thus secure an advancement that he might not otherwise have obtained.

There have been three conflicting forces governing promotions in railroading--favoritism, seniority, and efficiency. At one time favoritism was so strong that graft and toadyism gave inexperienced men promotion over men with long experience. The seniority rule was introduced by the labor organizations to offset the old evil, and for two men of equal intelligence and native ability selection by seniority is a fair method of giving promotion. In such a case seniority coincides with efficiency. But seniority of itself does not necessarily in all cases give the higher position to the man best fitted for it, since long years in the service will not train the thoughtless, careless man as well as a few years will the alert man. Railroad employees in all branches of the service strongly contend as a group for their seniority rights. This means that an outsider usually has a long waiting period for advancement into the best positions. Efficiency is becoming more the rule, but the old influences still prevail in some departments, partly because standards of efficiency are rather indeterminate, largely because changes in a widespread system can not be wrought in a day. If favoritism could be abolished employees would not insist so strenuously upon their seniority rights.

Since the railroads have been subjected to public regulation they have appreciated the value of courteous treatment of the public. Accordingly they reward the courteous employees by promotion, and no longer tolerate a grossly uncivil one as they did in the early days.