Complexity of Industry The complexity of the problem of industrial education may be evidenced in several ways. Of the 344 industries in the United States mentioned above, 244 employed an average of 2,000 or more wage-earners in 1914. Each of the remaining 100 industries gave employment to persons varying in number from 100 to 2,000. Even granting that many of the wageearners in these industries are unskilled and that many others can acquire the necessary skill in a few hours, a concession which the experience of most employers shows to be unwarranted, there still remains an exceedingly large number of occupations, each quite markedly different from the others, for which some training is desirable. Steel shipbuilding, for example, requires workmen in about forty important trades. The work done in some fifteen of these trades closely resembles that performed by men in similar lines outside of the shipyard. Twelve or fifteen other shipyard trades have corresponding outside occupations, but to do good work in the yard, the outside mechanic requires some additional instruction in shipbuilding methods. In the case of shipbuilding, that is to say, there are ten or more skilled trades, in addition to a considerable number of semiskilled occupations, for which specific training must be planned. The descriptions of occupations prepared by the Harvard Bureau of Vocational Guidance reveal a similar situation in other industries. In the manufacture of rubber goods, 185 important occupations are peculiar to this industry and each requires some training. In the manufacture of optical goods, 30 distinct operations besides scores of single-purpose machines are involved. In coppersmithing about 25, in printing and lithographing 70, and in the boot and shoe industry 160 different operations are necessary. The Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company of East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, issues a standardized list of occupations used by its employment department of which more than 170 are peculiar to the work of this company. The Dennison Manufacturing Company of Framingham, Massachusetts, manufacturers of tags, paper boxes, and printed specialties, claims 150 different occupations, many of them peculiar to that concern. An interesting treatment of this phase of modern industry is contained in a series of studies on opportunities for handicapped men, published by the Red Cross Institute for Crippled and Disabled Men, New York. Size and Geographical Distribution of Industrial Establish ments Among the factors which serve to complicate the problems of industrial training, none are of greater significance than the size and geographical distribution of manufacturing establishments. There has been during the last half century a strong tendency toward elimination of smaller shops and com Figure 1. Table Indicating Size of Industrial Establishments Adapted from the Statistical Abstract of the United States, Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, 1917, page 209. bination to form larger enterprises. This movement began in the eighties, reached its maximum about 1900, and has again been evidenced in several industries since 1908. In spite of business monopolies and the rapid growth of large factories, the number of shops employing from 5 to 100 persons is still very large. Figure 1 indicates something of this situation, although the number of small enterprises is even larger than these figures suggest since the average given for persons per establishment represents a balancing of many small concerns against a few extremely large corporations. Our manufacturing concerns are widely distributed, as is Figure 2. Table Showing Distribution of Manufacturing Enterprises (1914) Statistical Abstract of the United States, Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, 1917, page 205. Agricultural implements.. Artificial stone products.. Awnings, tents, and sails. Boot and shoe findings, exclusive of those produced in Boots and shoes....... Bread and other bakery products. Brick and tile, terra-cotta, and fire-clay products. Canning and preserving, fruits and vegetables. Carriage and wagon materials. Cars and general shop construction and repairs by electric railroad companies. Cars, steam railroad, not including operations of railroad Cash registers and calculating machines. Clothing, women's... Cordials and flavoring syrups. Cotton goods. Electrical machinery, apparatus, and supplies. Foundry and machine-shop products. Furniture. Glass. Hosiery and knit goods. Ice, manufactured. Iron and steel, steelworks, and rolling-mills. 427 248,716 271,531 210,279 77.4 Iron and steel, cast-iron pipe.. 12,557 13,427 11,190 83.3 Jewelry. ..... 1,914 28,289 30,377 26,542 87.4 Leather, tanned, curried, and finished. 741 55,936 58,743 53,491 91.1 Lumber and timber products. 34,484 479,786 507,876 421,735 83.0 Millinery and lace goods. 2,079 45,274 53,209 38,273 71.9 Paper and wood pulp. 718 88,457 89,916 86,725 96.6 Petroleum, refining. 176 25,366 25,849 24,868 96.2 Pickles, preserves, and sauces. 12,590 19,136 10,026 52.4 Printing and publishing, newspapers and periodicals. 114,375 115,834 112,504 97.1 Rubber goods, not elsewhere specified. 301 50,220 58,246 44,574 76.5 Saddlery and harness. 12,969 13,854 11,876 85.7 Shipbuilding, iron and steel. 33,508 36,788 28,107 76.4 Shipbuilding, wooden, including boat building. 10,981 12,794 9,224 72.1 Shirts.. 51,972 56,659 47,754 84.3 Silk goods, including throwster. 902 108,170 112,761 100,045 88.7 Stamped and enameled ware, not elsewhere specified. 28,731 30,785 26,302 85.4 Structural ironwork, not made in steelworks or rolling mills. 47,167 50,214 42,523 84.7 Tobacco, chewing and smoking and snuff. 25,980 27,995 24,288 86.8 Tobacco, cigars, and cigarettes. 152,892 156,404 149,915 95.9 Typewriters and supplies. 107 11,091 13,273 7,686 57.9 Wire. 54 17,600 18,816 16,255 86.4 Wood, turned and carved. 828 11,615 12,655 10,851 86.6 Woolen and worsted goods. 158,692 165,175 149,053 90.2 Figure 3. Table Showing Seasonal Nature of Certain Industries in the United States (1914) Statistical Abstract of the United States, Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, 1917, pages 186 and 260. |