1172





The Record and  Guide.





September 25, 1886





however, which makes the gentleman seem like a less harmless theorist.
Imagine all the titles in the city of New York, a city where men are strug¬
gling almoSb desperately for the mosfc elligible sites for busines purposes or
dwellings, placed under the control of our Board of Aldermen. No, that
would be a too horrible idea even for imagination. Tlie members of the
late board are generally under indictment for the manner in which they
disposed of the last franchise that was subject to their control. Imagine
these titles placed imder the control of a ring of land agents appointed by
the State. Then imagine ex-Mayor George, after he had retired from
office, endeavoi'ing to lease a site on Central Park on which several other
large capitalists had cast covetous eyes for a new dwelling. Before he had
escaped from the throng of political heelers that he would be compelled to
placate, there is good reason to fear that he would be ready to change front
and advocate the abolition of all government except the whipping-post.

The second estate of Mr. George, it will be seen, is even woi'se than his
fir.st. Economically his theory is vapor, aud politically and constitu¬
tionally it is vicious. The truth is, land is too much nationalized already.
The great disability that land labors under in comparison wifch other
property is due to the control already exercised by the State, a control
which has been exercised with various modifications since tho soil was all
the property of the Crown, and which interferes with the freedom of
transfer.

Mr. George, like all of his class of thinkers, is a man who deals in
generalizations, but who never looks into details. Of what use are abstract
theories on the right of private property in land, the creation of the
Almighty, as he puts it, when a man cannot help holding the property that
he occupies until he either leaves voluntarily, is disposessed by legal
process, or driven off by a bludgeon. How is it possible to distinguish,
morally, between a title in fee and a leasehold title since both would give
precisely the same rights ? Land is rarely sold and carted away, lifcle
is the object transferred, and, morally, one kind of title is just as wicked
and subject to transfer for a consideration as another.

A curious bit of cant has grown out of the discussion of this and kindred
subjects. It has become common to speak of whatever is placed in the
hands of the government is the property of the people. Since when and by
what strange revolution in philology did the words, government and people,
become synonyms ? The distinguishing feature of property belonging to
the people is found in the freedom wifch which it may be bought and sold
on the market. When it has lost this feature, whether the control be
vested in King, Kaiser, Republican Bureau or political heeler, it is no longer
in the possession of the people, and only to a very limited degree within
their control.

It is a curious combination of events that had made Henry George a
candidate for Mayor.                                                                W. B. N.





Prospects of the Coalers.

Mr. Austin Gallagher is an expert in the coal busines, and he thinks the
reorganization of Reading will put the iDrice of all the coal stocks much
higher than they have ruled during the past week.

" Do you not think," says the writer, " that Lackawanna is selling rather
high at 140 ? Is it not relatively too high as compared with Delaware and
Hudson ?" " My judgment," was the answer, " is that Lackawanna may
sell for 175 before a year passes around. It is an immense corporation with
many diverse and profitable interests. Dm-ing the worst times we have
passed through it has met all its fixed charges and paid 7 per cent, on its
stock. Now there is only 128,000,000 of the latter, and ten cents additional
on every ton of coal it carries will be equal to a dividend of IX per cent."

"Then the following facts are to be kept in mind," continued Mr.
Gallagher. " During 18S5 Lackawanna carried gross tons of coal as follows:

To Hoboken.........................................2,235,000

" Local points.......................................1,773,000

" West.............................................   740,000

*' North of Oswego..................................   240,000

Total.............................................4,988,000

'•Much of the larger part of the shipments to Hoboken were made by
individual operators who paid on the average $1.63i^ per ton for carry¬
ing an average distance of 160 miles and for shipping at Hoboken, the
latter costing the company five to ten cents per ton. During the first
six months of this year this charge averaged $1.43 per ton, which is a
remarkably good rate of freight and would be highly acceptable to any
road In the East. The company controls most of the 1,773,000 tons of
local business for its own coal, and upon this trade the profits are large
and steady. The coal which goes to the West is usually shipped at a
time when the other markets will not take coal or there is no profit in
shipping to them. The coal is stocked, and during the winter, when the
lakes are closed, the cost of transportation high and the demaud good
[ t is sold at a good profit. No other company possesses the advantages
for doing this business profitably that the Lackawanna has. The com¬
pany's general freight and passenger business is constantly increasing. Its
trunk line business is much more profitable this year than last. The
movement of iron ore from the New Jersey mines over the Morris &
Essex road has greatly increased this year, and the same may be said for
the main linegf The United States Express contract is worth from 1 to
IX per cent, -per annum on the stock. This important matter appears to
have been forgotten by most people, although it was but recently made."
" But is there not likely to be a break after this heavy rise ?"
"It is not in sight as yet," says Mr. Gallagher. •'! am also a great
b3Uever in Reading. I have made a study of that property, and I know
that with flrst-class management the revenues of that company could be
improved nearly $5,000,000 per annum. What I mean is proper economies
and management would so lessen its expense, and incriease its revenues as
to make that company $5,000,000 annually better off than it is to-day. . I
wish that the president would be somebody hke Mr. Cossat."

Mr. G-. says there was not tbe utmost confidence felt ia Mr> Austin
eoFbte^is goal eiTQlts,





The Master and Journeymen Plumbers,

both present a statement,of their claims on the question at issue.

The complications between the Association of Master Plumbers and the
Union of Journeymen Plumbers, coming at this time, is especially unfor¬
tunate, as is instanced by the sudden withdrawal of a large quantity of
work for which plans had been partly made or completed. There are but
few architects who do not feel the loss caused by this state of affairs. In order
to present to our readers a thorough and intelligent reporfc on the subject, a
representative of the Recced and Guide interviewed, on Wednesday last,
Alexander Low, the secretary of the Master Plumbers' Association,
and also William Flood, the secretary of the Journeymen Plumbers'
Organisation.

the masters' version.

" The nutshell of thia difficulty," said Mr. Low, " is that this association,
which includes some 300 masters, declines to accept the i-ules laid down by
the journoyinen's organization, more especially rules XI. aud XII. To
facilitate an accurate knowledge of our position, and that occupied by
the journeymen, I will give you a copy of uur rules and also those of the
journeymen.   Ours are as follows:

Rules adojited by the Association of Master Plumbers.

1. That all apprentices learning the plumbing trade shall serve five (5)
years. 2. That no boy shall be taken to learn the trade until he shall have
attained the age of sixteen (16) yeai-s. 8. That all apprentices shall be able
to read and write the English language, and uuderstand aiithmetic—addi¬
tion, subtraction, multiplication aud division. 4. That master jilumbers
shall have the selection and entire control of apprentices. 5. That each
member of the association send the names of all boys taken to learn the
trade, to be .registered in a book kept by the association for that purpose.
6. If auy employer has not work enough at intervals to keep all his appren¬
tices employed, he must use his besfc endeavors to procure work for them in
other shops. 7. All members of the association shall furnish a certificate
to each apprentice taken to learn the trade, with the dateot commencement,
age, and the residence of said apprentice thereon. 8. At tho expiration of
five yeprs the apprentice shall receive a. fall discharge aud his kit of tools,
his name as a journeyman shall be enrolled in a book kept for that pur¬
pose by this association. 9. No member shall employ any helper or appren¬
tice who has previously worked for another plumber without the written
recommendation of the latter. 10. It shall be the duty of every journeyman
plumber, when an apprentice is placed under his charge, to instruct him in
the practical branches of the trade. 11. It shall be the duty of every jour¬
neymen absent from his worlc one or more days to report at the shop on the
day following, before resuming work

Mr. Low then produced a copy of the rules adopted by tbe journeymen's
organisation. It is not necessary to publish them in full as they are very
lengthy, but as the main objection made by the master plumbers is to rules
XI. and XII., we reprint those, as they strike at the main root of the
difficulty.
Extract from  the  Rules of the Journeymen Plumber\<i Organization.

Xf.—That the followiug rules be observed as governing the apprentice
system of the plumbing trade:

1.  That all apprentices to the plumbing trade shall serve an appren¬

ticeship of five years.

2.  That no apprentice shall be taken in the trade until he has attained

the age of sixteen years.

3.  That but one apiDrentice be allowed to every four journeymen, or

fraction thereof.

4.  That all apprentices shall be able to read aud write the English

language, and to understand the fundamental principles of arith¬
metic—addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

5.  That this association shall have a voice in the  selection  of   all

apprentices.

6.  That   each  apprentice  shall   be obliged to pass an examination

under a Board of Directors appointed b3'^ this organization for that
imrpose, and be compelled to register and report to the same
quarterly.

7.  That each apprentice shall serve the fir.st three and one-half years

as assistant to journeymen, the remaining one-and-a half years as
his employer may direct.

8.  That all apprentices be legally indentured.

XII.—No member of this organization will permit any helper or assistant
to use his tools, or any tools that said helper or assistant may pro¬
vide, or be provided with by his employer or other person, except
that said helper or assistant be legally indentured as an apprentice
according to the apprentice laws of the State of New York. Any
member violating this law shall for the first offence be fined ten
dollars, for the second offence twenty-five dollars, the third oft'ence
fifty dollars, and for the fourth offence expulsion.

' We object to rules XI. and XII.," continued Mr. Low,' 'because they leave
the masters no option but to blindly submit to the wishes of the men. The
masters must necessarily be the besfc judges of whom they shall or shall not
employ, and they cannot recede from this position. It has been held, too,
that the indenturing of apprentices is illegal.

" It has been urged that under the present system smaU jobs have been
undertaken by incompetent lads, whose time has been charged at the full
rates paid to competent workmen.

" In regard to that charge I can only say that it is not reasonable, for as
a matter of self-preservation no master would prejudice his business by
following out such a suicidal policy. The men talk of opening ehops for
themselves, but if I may take the result of similar shops in Milwaukee as
an illustration, I do not think they wiU succeed."

" Why?"

"Because, under their co-operative rules in that city, single men are paid
$10 a week and married men $15. They look to the profits of the business
to make up the difference between that sum and their regular pay. This
prospect is not inviting, because they are, or at least were, at the time of
the last National Convention, $8,000 in debt. They are now quarreling
among themselves at their poor chances of making a full day's pay at the
ordinary wages. We have sent a circular to every builder and real estate
owner in the city explaining our position."

WHAT  THE  JOURNETMEN  CLAIM.

William Flood, Secretary of the Journeymen Plumbei-s' organization,
said:

" We have 1,400 men in the Union of Journeymen Plumbers and 600 in
the junior organization. The former get $3.50 and the latter $3.50 per day
of nine hours.   There are about 800 bosses, of whom 400 are practicaj

plurobem The sumtjey pf boys empJoyea Jn tbt Bfeopsaurtog tbe pw6