One Thousand Ways to Make a Living; or, An Encyclopædia of Plans to Make Money

Chapter LIII: Appendix: On Forestry Schools and Courses (6)

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WHAT MEN IN THE TRADE SHOULD KNOW

A good general education is essential for a show-card writer who expects to be more than merely a mechanical maker of words and letters. Those who become expert in the art need a knowledge of designing and an originality in composing effective phrases, such as can not be resisted even by those who read the cards casually.

A practical knowledge of the geometric construction of letters is fundamental, for though simple lettering may be largely mechanical work, skill must not be confined to the utilization of mechanical means alone.

A knowledge of color is an advantage to those who make sign cards. Color combinations and contrasts play an important part in producing attractive cards. As card writers are confronted by all sorts of combinations of words in inscriptions, it is necessary for them to know letter forms; to understand novelty in designing, arrangement, and artistic embellishment; and to exercise taste in harmonizing colors, so as to produce cards that will be not only neat and attractive but at the same time legible.

WHAT MEN IN THE TRADE DO

Show-card writers make price tickets and all types of trade cards used in windows, on special sale sections, on the announcement boards of theatres, on automobiles, in cafeterias, in street cars, and wherever else the card may serve as a proper medium of advertising. The trade is carried on in different ways. Cards are sometimes made by salesmen who give only part of their time to this work. Other writers give all of their time to one firm requiring a large number of cards for its own use. Some card writers work for show-card firms and others have their own offices and fill special orders.

OPPORTUNITIES

The demand for show-card writers is far greater than the supply. Every small town offers an opening for one or more, who would make a good living at the trade in that locality.

HOW MEN ARE TRAINED

Many card writers are trained in the shop. Correspondence courses afford fair advantages to the man who must save time and money, but personal supervision is of great advantage, and personal criticism is essential if a correspondence course is taken. Courses in card writing are now offered in technical schools and Y. M. C. A. classes and vocational schools all over the country. Among the schools now offering courses in show-card writing are the following:

Federal School of Commercial Art, Minneapolis, Minn.

Idaho Technical Institute.

Los Angeles Y. M. C. A. schools.

St. Louis Y. M. C. A. schools.

Lowry Sign and Advertising Service, Chicago.

Link’s Business College, Boise, Idaho.

State Trade School. Danbury, Conn.

Appleton, Wis., Industrial School.

Kenosha, Wis., Vocational School.

Neenah, Wis., Industrial School.

New York High School.

New York Vocational Schools.

Detroit, Mich., School of Letters.

Augustana College, Rock Island, Ill.

College of Commerce, De Paul University, Chicago.

School of Industrial Arts, Trenton, N. J.

Koester School, Chicago.

Semby School, Minneapolis, Minn.

The length of time required for the completion of courses depends upon the student; one very good course covers eight weeks. Some students after the fifth or sixth lesson have done work sufficiently creditable to bring a money return. Proper and methodical training is very necessary. Care and exactness must first be acquired and speed will naturally follow.

Courses given in show-card writing cover such subjects as how to mix and when to use water colors, inks, and oils; the care of brushes and pens; the proper kind and color of cardboards to use; and how to apply bronze and diamond dust. The formation of pen and brush letters is, of course, fundamental, and the principles of lettering must be taught in a simple, thorough, and correct way. Proper instruction, with application, is bound to bring success.

_Lesson plates Nos. 1 to 6._--Improved method for teaching, correct
formation and relative proportions of letters and numerals.--Brush
method.

_General instructions._--Proper material, student’s worktable, light,
how to care for brushes, show-card paint, how to practice, kind of
practice that counts, lesson plates explained, how to fill the brush,
how to bring the brush to working point, how to hold the brush,
position at table, position of paper.

_Lesson plates Nos. 7 to 10--Single stroke rapid Roman
lettering._--How to begin the practice, time-saving methods, how to
hold the brush, various positions of the brush explained, how to
manipulate the brush to produce clean-cut strokes, purpose of
single-stroke vertical and italic roman lettering.

_Lesson plates Nos. 11 and 12--How to shade letters._--Various styles
of shading, proper colors for shading, shading as an embellishment,
shading to give emphasis.

_Lesson plates Nos. 13 to 16--Single stroke Egyptian
lettering._--Brushes to use, how to hold the brush, how to manipulate
the brush to produce the proper stroke, how to practice the elementary
lines and curves.

_Lesson plates Nos. 17 and 18_--Single and double stroke alphabet and
numerals.--Purpose of this style of letter, brushes to use, method
explained, different methods of finishing the letters.

_Lesson plate No. 19--Single-stroke old English alphabet._--Purpose of
old English lettering, how to hold the brush, retouching the principal
strokes.

_Lesson plate No. 20--Single-stroke modified Roman pen
lettering._--Advantages of pen lettering for text or descriptive
matter, inks to use, how to practice pen lettering, how to hold the
pen, how to manipulate the pen to procure clean-cut strokes, how to
use an ink reservoir to facilitate rapid work.

_Fifteen practical show-card layouts._--In the foregoing lessons the
student acquires sufficient ability to enable him to make practical
use of his knowledge. The alphabets covered are sufficient for general
show-card use. Therefore, at this point, the course presents 15
practical layouts showing how the text should be separated into
display lines and descriptive groups, also various styles of letters
that may be used in harmony for display and descriptive matter. An
appropriate show-card phrase is used for each layout. Display lines
and descriptive groups are indicated in the exact size and styles of
letters to be used in lettering each layout. Specific directions as to
color, combinations, and embellishments are given for each layout.

_A study in design and layout._--The principles of spacing, importance
of show-card designing, best rules for spacing, lessons in spacing,
how to center a word or line.

_Condensing and extending letters._--How to plan lettering to fit a
given space, rules for condensing, rules for extending, appropriate
uses of condensed and extended letters, practice exercises.

_Principles of the balanced layout._--Balanced layout defined, how to
plan the balanced layout, important points to observe, examples of
balanced layout, practice exercises in balanced layouts.

_Border lines, underscore, space fillers, and panels._--Brush ruling,
how to draw an ellipse, initial panel, initial letters, a few card
kinks.

_The group layout._--How to plan the group layout, examples of group
layout, practice exercises in group layout.

_Combination layout._--Purpose of the combination layout, how to
divide the phrase into display lines and groups for the combination
layout, examples of combination layouts, exercises in combination
layouts.

_Price tickets._--Normal style price tickets, bold style price
tickets, small price tickets, fancy price tickets, illustrative price
tickets, practice exercises.

_Illustrated show cards._--Sources of ideas, tracing from clipped
illustrations, how to use the pantograph for enlarging illustrations,
the mirrorscope, examples of appropriate designs for various purposes,
exercises in illustrated show cards.

_Principles of colors--Color contrasts._--How to mix water-color
paint, color effects; color combination; mixing standard colors to
produce shades, tints, and unusual colors; lessons in color
combinations.

_Show card embellishment._--Dry-color blending; spatter work; relief
lettering; applying metallics, diamond dust, flock, etc.; phrase and
picture tiling; seasonable embellishments; floral decorations; poster
cut-outs; silhouettes; how to paint muslin signs.

_Instruction in the use of the air brush._--Principles of the air
brush; sectional view of an air brush; illustrating and describing all
important parts; air pressure; how to put a gas outfit together;
colors for air-brush use; how to use the air brush; care of the air
brush; how to cut stencils; practice exercises to gain control of
brush; color blending; exercises in the use of stencil designs.

_Lesson plate No. 21._--Single-stroke alphabet and numerals for modern
speed ball pen lettering.

_Lesson plate No. 22._--Uniform single-stroke alphabet and numerals
for Payzant pen lettering.

_Lesson plate No. 23._--Single-stroke Payzant or speed ball pen
alphabet with retouched spurs.

_Lesson plate No. 24._--Speed ball pen initial capitals, retouched and
embellished.

_Lesson plate No. 25._--Outline Roman initial, embellished capitals,
plain lower-case letters.

_Lesson plate No. 26._--Modern Roman and fancy alphabets for music pen
lettering.

_Lesson plate No. 27._--Old English text pen, and small speed ball pen
alphabets.

_Lesson plate No. 28._--Speed ball pen alphabets.

_Lesson plate No. 29._--Rapid single-stroke antique Roman brush
alphabet.

_Lesson plate No. 30._--Rapid single-stroke modified Roman brush
alphabet.

_Lesson plate No. 31._-Single-stroke antique alphabet and numerals.

QUALIFICATIONS

Anyone who can learn to write can learn to draw or paint letters for show cards. It is not essential to have artistic ability, although this would be an asset in the trade; a steady hand and a correct eye are the only requirements, and it is well to remember that “the sight that insures correct drawing is not that of the eye only, but of the mind.”

HANDICAPS

Good eyesight is essential, but almost no handicap other than blindness, or the loss of both arms, is prohibitive. It is an advantage to have both hands, but the fact that one-armed men have so clearly demonstrated their ability to write as legibly as others with both hands indicates that the difficulty for a man with one hand becoming a show-card writer be overcome.

DESIRABILITY FOR THE DISABLED MAN

The work is not heavy, the hours may be adjusted to the strength of the worker, the prospects for work in the trade are favorable, and the pay is good--all of which characterizes the trade as one suitable for disabled men. A chief attraction which show-card writing holds out for the handicapped man is the freedom allowed in the choice of a working place. He may be independent, not only in the place of his work, but in selecting his own hours for work. This liberty means much for a man who is physically below normal. The conditions under which a writer of show cards works are favorable, both as to time and place.

REMUNERATION

Show-card writing is a fascinating art and brings good profits. For this reason its appeal will be strong to the wounded soldier.

An exact standard of prices has never been possible for card writing, as so much depends upon the quality of the work and the time required to make the cards. The cost of the material is negligible; but show cards have an intrinsic value to the merchant, who is usually willing to pay for them.

Card writers make from $25 to $75 a week. Advertising cards, being of a temporary nature, must be inexpensive. Rapidity is necessary, in order to make it profitable, as the writers are usually paid by piece-work. The example may be cited of a hunchback who began show-card writing at $3 a week and by his energy and application rose to a salary of $40 in a short while.

A lack of application or giving way to discouragement over first attempts may cause failure, but for no other reason should a disabled man who desires to become a writer of trade cards feel the slightest fear of the undertaking. Begin the course with a determination to succeed, and remember that lack of confidence is not conducive to success in any trade. Learn the principle strokes with great care, practice diligently until dexterity is acquired, work without hesitation, boldly and with enthusiasm, and in a short time there will be acquired expertness in a trade which is interesting, agreeable, and lucrative.

PLAN No. 1237. THE PRINTING TRADES

This monograph was prepared by T. G. McGrew, Superintendent of the United Typothetæ of America, School of Printing, Indianapolis, Ind., under the direction of Charles H. Winslow, Chief of the Research Division of the Federal Board for Vocational Education. Acknowledgment is due to Marden Scott, President of the International Typographical Union, Dr. Frederick W. Hamilton, and Henry P. Porter, for valuable suggestions and advice in the preparation of this monograph and to Dr. John Cummings of the Research Division for editorial assistance.

PRINTING AS AN OCCUPATION

The printing industry is both a profession and a trade. It is essentially an occupation of intelligence, the mechanical processes of which require a high degree of specialized skill and training. Printing in the United States employs nearly half a million people. The trade is not confined to any particular locality, but is practiced in all parts of the country. The number of printing establishments in any city is a comparatively accurate index to its size and commercial importance; therefore, the competent man in the printing business is not restricted to certain localities or conditions.

The printing trade develops intellectually, as a printer must be well read in the very nature of his occupation. His work is skillful, but not extremely arduous, and the eight-hour day is practically standard. Wages in the various branches average from $15 to $40 per week, with special and executive positions commanding higher salaries.

FUTURE OF THE BUSINESS

This is an age of rapid industrial changes, and new inventions may render certain occupations almost obsolete in a night. It is unwise to enter some lines of industry because the demand is lessening, the business decreasing, and the future uncertain. This is not the case, however, in regard to printing, which is a growing business. The use of printing is increasing in every field of industry. In so far as human judgment can determine, it will continue as an essential industry, and twenty years from now there will be unmeasurably more product than there is today.

PRODUCTS OF PRINTING

Printing has been aptly designated “the art preservative of all arts.” The product of the printer’s trade is so well known as to require little comment. Books, periodicals, newspapers, commercial forms, advertising literature, and other products of the press form a competent part of the business and social structure of all civilized nations, and are integral parts of the daily life of practically every individual. Hardly any other field of human activity has a product so universally used.

ORGANIZATION OF THE INDUSTRY

Of all the trades, printing is one of the best organized, both on the part of employers and of employees. There are few strikes, as arbitration agreements are in effect, and work is seldom interrupted. The various organizations use their dues to much better advantage than in financing internecine struggles.

The employers’ associations maintain many activities for improving conditions in the business, including installation of cost systems, maintenance of trade schools, advertising service, and provision of educational courses.

The unions pay old-age pensions, death benefits, and sick benefits. They provide homes for the aged and indigent, sanatoriums for the sick, and instruction for apprentices.

All these organizations aid morally and financially in promoting education for the craft.

ENVIRONMENT OF WORKERS

The printing business is entirely shop and office work. There is no exposure, nor is the trade affected materially by weather conditions. The work is more uniform in volume than in many other trades. Only a few of the processes have special hazards, and the health of printers compares favorably with that of other indoor trades.

ENTERING THE TRADE

The printing trade embraces several distinct branches, chief among which are composition, including hand and machine, presswork, and bindery. Each of these is subdivided into a number of processes. The regular apprenticeship is 5 years for each branch of the trade. Very few men are proficient in more than one branch, the nature of the business being such that specialization is necessary for both the trade and the individual.

Within the last few years, technical schools have been established which aid in training for the industry. It must be clearly understood that the schools are interconnected with the trade, and are for the purpose of adding to shop training and not superseding it. An indispensable requisite of the printing industry is thorough intensive training and experience. In common with other worth while things, it can not be hurriedly or superficially mastered. Time and work both are necessary.

PRINTING COURSES FOR THE DISABLED

Men disabled in the war who may be interested in printing will naturally fall into two classes: those formerly employed in the trade, and those without trade experience.

If you belong to the first class and have worked at the trade, we would unhesitatingly urge you to continue in it in some capacity. Special efforts will be made by all trade organizations to enable you to do so. Your previous training and experience should not be thrown away, but should on the contrary be used as the foundation for specialization, either in your own particular branch of work or in some allied branch.

The Government is offering you the opportunity to greatly improve your ability by technical training. You can return to the trade more expert by adding to your previous experience the training of one or more of the courses offered. This will give you a better position than you held before entering upon military service. It will enable you to earn more money, and to be more valuable to the trade and to the Nation.

If you are interested in the trade but have never worked at it, there is only one right way to begin--through thorough preparation. We should consider ourselves delinquent in our duty if we did not impress on you that competency is the result of sufficient time, proper prerequisites, and practical trade experience. Printing requires a high degree of skill, speed, and accuracy. These essentials can not be acquired superficially. The Government, the schools, and the trade are prepared to furnish you this preparation, asking from you only the time and effort necessary to do it right.

The accompanying chart affords detailed information regarding the various positions for which training is provided.

_Chart showing character of occupation, qualifications, requirements, and training for various positions in the printing industry._

[43] Based on intensive technical training of 35 to 40 hours per week.

Practically all specialized positions in printing are properly based on a journeyman’s experience. In the case of men who have served only partial apprenticeships, or who have no training whatever an individual determination is necessary in each case as to the amount of special education, technical school training, and shop work required to equal the regular apprenticeship foundation.

The very elaborate artificial limbs now available may in many cases enable the individual to meet the physical requirements where the above statement would indicate a difficulty. Each such case must be decided on its merits.

COURSES OF STUDY

For requirements as to previous education and physical condition for each of these courses, see chart. The technical courses are organized to afford the following training. Provision is made for individual instruction where needed, and for classes in English, history of printing, trade arithmetic, and printing design directly connected with the trade work.

1. HAND COMPOSITOR (STRAIGHT MATTER, AD. AND JOB)

Explanation and use of materials and equipment used in the composing room, lay of cases, correct position at frame, straight composition, correcting, proof reader’s marks, distribution, casting-off copy, styles of composition, setting bookwork, tabular matter, ad. and job work, design and layouts, and imposition.

2. LINOTYPE OPERATOR

The construction and operation of the several models of machines, cleaning and care of mats and machine, correct method of fingering and acquiring speed, practice on styles of composition. Proper condition of metal, machine changes, and adjustments.

3. LINOTYPE MACHINIST

Construction and operation of machine, care of mats and machine, cleaning, oiling, overhauling, tearing down machine and assembling, condition of metal, detecting trouble, adjustments. Repair work, care and system of handling sorts and supplies.

4. LINOTYPE MACHINIST OPERATOR

Construction and operation of machine, cleaning mats and machine. Correct method of fingering and acquiring speed. Correct condition of metal, oiling, overhauling and assembling, changing parts.

5. MONOTYPE KEYBOARD OPERATOR

(Monotype is in two units, keyboard and caster.)

_Keyboard._--Theory and operation of keyboard, cleaning and care of keyboard, work of keyboard and its relation to the caster, reading perforations, changing keyboard to various layouts, adjustments, practice on styles of composition. Practice for speed.

6. MONOTYPE MACHINIST

_Keyboard._--Theory and construction of keyboard, care, adjustment, repairs.

_Caster._--Parts of machine, use of micrometer, sizes and handling of type, machine changes, casting of display type, borders, slugs and rules, keeping metal in proper condition, care of machine, adjustments, and repairs.

7. MONOTYPE COMBINATION

_Keyboard._--Theory and construction of keyboard cleaning and care, work of keyboard and its relation to caster, reading perforations, changing to various layouts, adjustments.

_Caster._--Parts of machine, use of micrometer, type sizes, machine changes, casting display type borders, slug and rule attachments, conditions of metal, care of machine, oiling and adjustments.

8. STONEMAN

Handling of type and forms, locking up forms, imposition for hand and machine folding, study of various folds, kinds of folding machines, margins, sizes of paper, patent blocks and bases, lockups for register and color.

9. COMPOSING ROOM FOREMAN

Composition of straight matter and display, classes of composition, methods of handling, book, tabular, and commercial work by hand and machine, make-up, illustrations and plates, layouts, design and color, paper sizes, kinds and uses, department forms of record, department systems, selection and arrangement of equipment.

10. COPY HOLDER

Technical terms used in printing, sizes and kinds of type, office style, reading reprint and manuscript copy, proof reader’s marks, punctuation, abbreviations, spelling, division of words, reference marks, technical copy, tabular copy. (Special instruction in English of an informational character.)

11. PROOF READER

Details of the course include book, magazine, and newspaper styles, proof reader’s marks, technical terms, orthography, book and magazine make-up, editing copy, proof room rules and procedure, reading, correcting, and revising proofs.

12. COPY WRITER

Proof reader’s marks, punctuation, capitalization, division of words, abbreviations, construction of sentences, paragraphing, writing advertising copy and sales literature, planning and layout of composition, making up dummies, styles of typography, editing copy, analyzing problems of publicity and devising advertising service.

13. ASSISTANT PRESSMAN

Feeding stock, uniformity of color, proper handling of sheets after printing, keeping press in good condition, setting rollers and fountain, principles of make-ready on type and plates.

14. PRESSMAN

Cleanliness and careful use of materials, theory and construction of various types of machines, setting impression screws, bearers, rollers, and other adjustments, registering forms, care of rollers, paper, ink, make-ready and running different grades of work, including half-tones in black and color, process plates, etc. Department details.

15. PRESSROOM FOREMAN

Makes of presses, presses best suited for work on hand, adjustments necessary to keep in good running order, economical ways of running, various folds (hand and machine), inks, paper, color, planning work, production forms, and department management. Arrangement of equipment. Pressroom accessories.

16. BINDERY WORKER

Receiving and handling printed sheets, knowledge of paper, counting, straightening, cutting, folding (hand and machine), gathering, collating, stitching, trimming, punching, numbering, padding, wrapping. (This course deals only with the simpler phases of bindery work.)

17. STOCKMAN AND PAPER CUTTER

Study of various kinds of paper, tests, sizes and weights, economical methods of cutting stock, equivalent weights, methods of figuring stock; care, oiling, cleanliness, and operation of cutters. Stock handling system, perpetual inventory and stock record forms.

18. PRINTING INSTRUCTOR

Work in typesetting, locking forms, make-ready, and feeding on job presses (both theory and practical work), instruction methods and outlines of instruction for classes, trade English, design and arithmetic, visits to printing and allied plants, training as a teacher.

19. COST CLERK

(Based on United Typothetæ of America Standard Cost Finding System.)

Analysis and explanation of cost principles and their application, stockroom systems, time tickets, job records, and operating forms for all departments, recapitulation of plant details of expense and output, compiling statement of cost of production.

20. LAYOUT MAN

Principles of design, type faces, color, paper, making layouts of work for composition, and producing harmonious combinations of stock, illustrations color, and typography; specifications and methods of increasing production, acquiring speed on layouts.

21. PRINTING SALESMAN

(Based upon United Typothetæ of America Standard Salesmanship Course.)

Qualifications of salesman, the printer’s product and market, specialized manufacturing processes, the sales department, customer and business development. Creating business, technical knowledge required, successful salesmanship, practical sales demonstrations in specialized, manufacturing, general, and merchandise printing.

22. ESTIMATOR

(Based upon United Typothetæ of America Standard Estimating Course.)

Details of estimating, including specifications, estimate blanks, figuring stock, artwork, plates, kinds of composition, imposition, presswork (platen and cylinder), and bindery details, copy, ink, engraving, plates, trade customs. Practice in making out specifications, estimating work, and submitting proposals.

23. SUPERINTENDENT AND MANAGER

Estimating, cost finding, forms for composing room, pressroom, stockroom, bindery, trade conditions, processes of composition, presswork, bindery, paper, ink, color, production methods, planning work, organization, and management

24. PROPRIETOR

Estimating, cost finding, study of composition, paper, ink, plates and engravings, composing room, pressroom, bindery, condition of printing trades, business development, visits to allied plants, plant organization and management, sales values.

PLAN No. 1238. THE GARMENT TRADES

This monograph was prepared by May H. Pope, 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.

A place to sleep, something to eat, and something to wear constitute the primary needs for us all. To satisfy the need for clothing a group of great American industries has developed--great in the value of their product as well as in the number of their workers.

FROM HAND WORK TO MACHINE OPERATION

It would be interesting to trace the development of the clothing industries out of the common household trade, using crude methods in introducing homemade garments, the materials for which were grown and spun and woven by the family, through the hand-sewing days and the various stages of foot-power machines to the present-day methods of electrically driven machines, adjusted to do most accurate work with special devices for all sorts of processes.

PROVIDING A PRIME NECESSITY

On the whole it may be conceded that these industries compare only fairly with others as regards prevailing conditions of labor, but as regards benefits conferred upon people generally, in placing within easy reach of all a prime necessity of life, the clothing industries rank very high.

SEASONAL CHARACTER OF THE INDUSTRIES

Employment in the garment trades is highly seasonal and is influenced by certain causes beyond control of the manufacturer. This irregularity of work is often a real hardship for employees. The busy seasons run from January through the spring months, and from August through the fall months. Some manufacturers, however, manage to keep workers busy 11 months during the year. Efforts have been made to equalize the work, seasonally, but nothing has been definitely accomplished so far. There is much greater irregularity of employment in the women’s garment trades than in the men’s. It often occurs that only one-half of those employed in the busy season in making women’s clothes are kept at work during the dull seasons.

Factors which influence this irregularity in employment are seasonal changes, changes in style, degree of specialization required, quality of product, and method of production. In the men’s garment industries, manufacturers often utilize the dull season for making up standard goods, such as blue serge suits, but makers of women’s clothes find style such a variable factor that they dare not make up stock much in advance of the season. Employment is more regularly distributed in the industries producing waists, skirts, and under muslins than it is in the cloak and suit industry.

AN IMMIGRANT’S TRADE

Garment making has long been known as an immigrant’s trade. Before the war it absorbed annually approximately 10,000 immigrants. Irish, Germans, and Italians have all worked in considerable numbers in the clothing industries, but at present the Jews predominate, not only among the workers, but as well among those exercising controlling power.

WHERE THE WORK IS DONE

The work may be carried on, it has been said, in any place “where there are a half dozen machines and an ironing board.” But in some places large clothing factories have been built, though much of the work is done in medium-sized shops.

The clothing industries differ from other manufacturing industries in several particulars. They are highly localized. More than half of all the clothing manufactured in the United States is made in New York City. Choice of a home is, therefore, limited for the young man who enters any one of these industries. Other cities in which the industries flourish are Philadelphia, Cleveland, Baltimore, Boston, Rochester, Chicago, and Cincinnati. Because of the congestion in New York some concerns have made attempts to move away from such crowded quarters, but the character of the industries requires just those things which are not found in rural districts. It is for one thing important to be near the labor supply and near the markets, both for buying materials and for selling goods. The prestige accredited to New York manufacturers as to style is another factor holding concerns in that city.

TWO TYPES OF EMPLOYERS

There are two types of employers in the clothing industries, namely, the manufacturer and the contractor or submanufacturer. Many factories, especially those where the high-grade garments are made, have their own “inside shops” where all work is done under supervision of the manufacturer or his foremen.

But there is a tendency to increase the contracting system, particularly in the making of cheaper garments. When the contracting method is employed the manufacturer or jobber purchases the material and turns it over to the submanufacturer, who has the garments made in his small shop. The manufacturer who gives his work out to contractors avoids the necessity for maintaining a large factory, and for keeping a great number of men on his pay roll. He is also relieved of the responsibility of dealing with labor, the contractor being in direct contact with the workers. On the other hand, the contractor obtains materials from the jobber, which otherwise he would not be financially able to purchase. In the contract system there is complete separation of the commercial processes from the technical. The manufacturer is responsible for the purchase of materials and for securing and filling orders for the trade, but all technical processes in the making of garments are left to the contractor, who is entirely responsible for the work. The contractor not only supervises the workers, but often works with them. He is no shirker.

WHAT THE WORKERS PRODUCE

All sorts of wearing apparel, from children’s rompers to opera cloaks, make up the product of these industries, which are naturally divided into two classes--those making men’s garments and those making women’s. The two groups of industries are sharply differentiated, and in each group processes are highly specialized.

Men’s clothes are made in three separate types of shops--the coat shop, the pants shop, and the vest shop.

Women’s garment trades fall generally into the following groups:

(1) Custom tailoring.

(2) Manufacture of cloaks, suits, and skirts.

(3) Manufacture of dresses and waists.

(4) Manufacture of misses’ and children’s dresses.

(5) Manufacture of muslin underwear.

(6) Manufacture of house dresses, kimonos, etc.

About 77 per cent of the workers in the cloak, suit, and skirt industry are men; a smaller percentage being found in the other groups.

Garments made by custom tailors are usually of the highest grade in women’s clothing, and include cloaks, suits, opera cloaks, evening gowns, waists, and dresses. These tailors make up garments on individual orders, allowing customers to select materials and designs.

Manufacturers in the cloak, suit, and skirt industry make a number of models, but their product is usually limited to cloaks, suits, skirts, one-piece woolen or worsted dresses, and linen suits and skirts. Dresses and waists cover a wide range of many styles for evening wear, street wear, and sporting uses. Under muslins, misses’ and children’s dresses, house dresses and kimonos, dressing sacques and aprons are made in separate establishments largely by women workers.

WHAT MEN DO IN THE CLOTHING INDUSTRIES

Though many more women are employed in the garment trades than formerly, still the large body of workers are men. Men are employed for processes in which greater endurance or speed is required. In high-class dressmaking men work on dresses made of heavy materials, while women make those of lighter weight. Cloaks and suits are made by men, while waists, under muslins, and children’s clothes are made by women. An equal number of men and women are skirt operators, while in buttonhole making the number of men operators exceeds the number of women.

Strange as it may seem, men form the larger percentage of those who work on women’s clothes, and women make up a majority of those who work on men’s clothes. There is less routine in making women’s garments, and it has been suggested that this may account for the preference given such work by men.

It has been said that “mechanical power and division of labor have impersonalized industry,” and this is clearly true of the garment industries as regards their products, for except in the case of the custom tailors a worker can not think of any finished product as distinctly his. Any given garment is the joint product of many persons.

Formerly a whole garment was made by one man, who necessarily must be a skilled tailor. Now many persons may have a part in the making of a suit of clothes. This division of labor grew out of the need for different degrees of skill in the different processes. By specialization a large product may be produced by relatively unskilled labor.

The work may be divided into three general systems: Teamwork, in which the tailor, like the contractor, hires his workers and superintends the work; piece operating, in which all of one kind of work is done by one worker on the same garment; and section work, in which each operator does only that one process allotted to him.

In the cheap grade of women’s clothing this division of labor is very marked. One man works only on belts, another makes cuffs, another collars, and so on. In the better grade of clothes the garment after it has been cut is given to the tailor, who with his helper completes all the work and turns it over to the presser. In the expensive shops the tailor makes the entire garment, doing even his own cutting and pressing.

While no single operation can be said to be given over entirely to one sex, the cutting and pressing is done almost exclusively by men. Men who work in the garment trades may be generally divided into designers, sample makers, cutters, machine operators, hand sewers, pressers, and examiners. In the following paragraphs the brief descriptions given of these principal occupations have been summarized from Bulletin No. 183 of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and from the bureau’s publication “Descriptions of Occupations.”

PLAN No. 1239. DESIGNING

In large plants there is often a man separately charged with the designing of garments. He must create the designs, make the models, and choose the materials for the designs. His chief responsibility is choosing the materials for the style of garment he wishes to produce and co-operating with the sales department in producing designs which will sell and also be economical to cut. This is a high-grade position for a man with artistic ability. Only men are employed.

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One Thousand Ways to Make a Living; or, An Encyclopædia of Plans to Make MoneyChapter LIII: Appendix: On Forestry Schools and Courses (6)

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