Page:Once a Week Jul - Dec 1859.pdf/358

 October 22,  1859.]  HANDS  AND  MACHINES. 347

being a builder  in  the  full  sense  of  the  term. In common parlance  carriage-builders  were  at  that time analogous  to  watchmakers; they  compiled carriages just  as  watchmakers  compile  watches. They bought  wheels  and  axles,  and  springs,  and iron-work, and  made  wooden  frames  to  which  to apply  them. Thus joinery,  painting,  and  upholstery comprised  the  whole  of  their  art. They were guiltless  of  steam-engines  or  labour-saving processes. The sawpit,  the  axe,  the  hand-saw,  the plane, and  the  auger,  were  united  to  manipulate masses of  timber  requiring  three  to  four  men  to lift  them. Under the  system  of  road-carriages, one man  and  at  most  one  mate  executed  a piece of work,  but  a railway-carriage  required  several men, one  of  them,  the  leader,  being  the  artist  to settle  the  measurements,  the  others  mere  handicraftsmen.

So John  Smith,  instead  of  being  a mere  contributor of  a part  of  a carriage,  became  in  addition a carriage compiler  also. But he  very  soon  found that to  do  this  profitably  it  must  be  done  on  a large  scale. He therefore  boldly  built  a factory  in which  steam  and  all  like  known  appliances  were got together. A commercial foreman  to  deal  with prime costs  and  estimates,  and  a mechanical  foreman to  overlook  construction,  were  engaged  by John  Smith  upon  the  intelligible  principle  that while paying  them  a living  salary,  that  salary should increase  in  a certain  proportion  with  the amount of  profits. And so  once  more  to  work.

Things did  not  go  smoothly. On one  occasion  a complaint  was  made  that  some  twenty  carriages  that should all  have  been  of  exact  length  varied  from two to  three  inches. The workmen  were  appealed to, and  denied  the  fact. They were  directed  to measure  them  themselves,  and  it  then  came  out that each  working  by  his  own  two-foot  rule,  and the rules  differing  from  each  other  in  length,  some too short  and  some  too  long,  the  increase  or  diminution multiplied  several  times  over  became  something considerable. Moreover, the  cost  of  labour was so  great,  as  to  leave  no  profit.

So John  Smith  called  unto  him  his  henchmen  or foremen,  Goodwin  Gamelye  and  Bowie  Chanter, to hold  council  together,  and  John  Smith  opened the debate.

“Now, my  good  fellows,  first  of  all,  we  can’t carry on  business  without  profit,  and  the  sum  of wages  is  so  large,  that  no  profit  is  left.”

“I can’t make  the  wages  less,”  said  Gamelye, “the men  are  paid  no  more  than  in  other  factories; and as  it  is,  they  don’t  earn  more  than  enough  to keep  themselves  and  families.”

“Quite right,  so  far,”  said  the  master. “If we can’t  afford  to  keep  well-paid  men  we  must  give up business. But how  do  other  people  manage?”

“Why, sir,  by  means  you  won’t  use. They get larger  prices  really  by  getting  leave  to  depart from the  specifications; the  competition  is  not  a fair  one,  for  the  execution  of  the  work  goes  by favour.”

“Do they  put  less  work  in?”

“Less work  and  worse  work,  and  worse  mate- rial.”

“Well, Gamelye,  but  we  don’t  mean  to  compete in  that  mode. Can’t we  manage  to pay better wages  than  other  people,  and  get  the  pick

of the  workmen? Have more  piecemen  and  less daymen. ”

. “I don’t like  the  system!” put  in  Chanter.

“Your reasons,”  said  the  master.

“Why, we  make  a bargain  with  a pieceman  to do  a piece  of  work  for  a price,  because  the  piece- man can  draw  chalk  lines  on  a black  board,  and knows how  to  put  the  work  together,  and  then  he employs  five  or  six  other  hands  at  day  wages, which hands  can’t  draw,  and  so,  nolus  bolus, they must play  second  fiddle.”

“What wages  do  the  daymen  get?”

“Whatever the  pieceman  likes  to  give  them,” replied Gamelye.

“And so  we  get  the  men  who  will  work  for least money  under  the  pieceman,”  said  the  master.

“Exactly.”

“Well, then,  as  sure  as  my  name  is  John  Smith, we’ll have  no  more  of  that. Every man  and  boy shall have  his  own  money  paid  into  his  own hands every  Saturday  afternoon,  and  by  that means we  will  settle  good  living  wages,  and  have all cheerful  faces  about  us.”

“But,” said  Chanter,  “are  we  to  find  day-men for the  piecemen?”

“No; let them  find  their  own  men,  but  we will  pay  them,  and  the  piecemen  will  take  their work with  the  understanding  that  we  pay  their  day- men and deduct  the  wages  from  their  account.”

“Won’t do,  sir!”  said  Chanter; “they’ll  bar- gain with those  they  take  on,  to  give  them  back a part of  their  pay.”

“That we  can’t  help;  but  we  can  encourage the daymen  to  tell,  and  discharge  any  pieceman whom we  find  out,  and  keep  a sharp  look-out. More than  that,  we  will  let  any  dayman  become a pieceman who  shows  the  capacity. Whoever comes in  at  the  gates  shall  rise  from  errand-boy to be  a pieceman  or  draughtsman  according  to  his natural aptitude. And now  what  next,  Chanter?”

“Why the  chaps  pretend  to  find  their  own tools, but,  having  been  long  out  of  work,  they  are pawned, so  when  a fellow  wants  to  bore  a hole  he runs  off  a hundred  yards  to  borrow  an  auger  from another man,  and  before  he  has  finished  boring the hole  the  man  comes  for  it. So half  the  time is lost  in  running  about. And so  with  chisels  and hammers and  other  things. They seldom  have more than  two  or  three  planes  and  a saw.”

“Well, Chanter,  suppose  we  were  to  find  our own augers  and  chisels  and  hammers,  and  lend them to  the  men  instead  of  their  lending  them to the  pawnbroker; how  would  that  do?”

“Well, sir,  that  would  do  very  well,  if  we  keep back some  wages  to  pay  for  breakages  and  loss. And there  would  be  another  advantage. The hole would  be  bored  to  the  right  size,  instead  of using  a three-quarter  inch  auger  for  a seven-eight inch hole.”

This system  was  consequently  put  in  practice with decided  advantage. At the  end  of  a few weeks John  Smith  again  entered  into  council  with Chanter.

“I think we  had  better  put  the  chisels,  augers, and saws  in  charge  of  the  steam-engine.”

“How so,  sir?”

“Use machinery  for  wood  as  we  do  for  iron.”

“The men  will  all  turn  out,  if  we  do,  on  strike.”