Table D shows the number of learners under 18 years of age that are being trained for high-grade work, the total number of high-grade workers reported in each trade, the proportion of firms in each trade employing beginners of the apprentice class, the percentage that apprentice beginners under 18 bear to the total number of high-grade workers, data as to age, wages and length of training period and replies from employers to a number of questions concerning apprenticeship.

An examination of the first four columns brings out quite clearly the actual extent of apprentice training in the trades of the State. It will be noted that the highest percentage of apprentices is reported in lithography and engraving. Next to these are jewelry and silverware manufacture, and following these come the manufacture of pianos, the machine trades, book and job printing, bookbinding, the manufacture of gloves, and certain of the building trades, notably electrical wiring, plumbing and structural iron work.

In none of the industrial groups, as shown by table, is the question, "Does the apprenticeship system meet the needs for skilled employees in your business?" answered in the affirmative by a majority of the firms reporting.

In the manufacture of glass the conditions are radically dif ferent in the two branches of the industry. In the manufacture of blown and pressed glass a systematic apprenticeship is maintained into which boys that have served at tending and gathering are admitted after a number of years, at an age approximating 19 years. A very small percentage of such boys, however, remain in this work to the apprenticeship stage. Trade union restrictions are given as the chief cause of the failure of the system to meet the need for skilled employees by the majority of firms reporting. In the manufacture of cut glass, no apprenticeship system, in a true sense, is maintained, beginners progressing gradually from simple operations requiring but little skill to more and more difficult work.

In the metal manufacturing industries, 42 firms report that in

the trades in which some form of apprenticeship is maintained, this system meets the needs for skilled employees and 113 report in the negative. The largest proportion of returns in favor of the apprenticeship system in this group is from the machine and engine building trades, where 22 establishments report that the apprenticeship system meets the needs for skilled employees and 30 report in the negative. The total of apprentice beginners reported from this industry is 685. These bear a proportion of 6.6 per cent to the total number of high-grade workers reported.

It is in this industry that the problem of apprenticeship training has received most attention and where the most numerous and energetic attempts have been made to revive the system by placing it on a basis suited to modern requirements. The significant element in all the attempts that have been successful, two of which are described in Part V of this report, consists in the introduction of systematic instruction into the training of the apprentice. In some cases this provision consists in instruction apart from the work in the shop in such subjects as drawing, shop mathematics and technical matters relating closely to the shop practice. In other cases the provision goes a step further and places the actual shop training of the apprentices in the hands of a man whose sole business it is to surpervise the apprentices in their daily work and to instruct them in the details of practical methods. It is this feature of instruction that distinguishes what may be called the modern method of apprenticeship from the old and that apparently supplies the element needed to rehabilitate the system and bring it back to the function it originally served.

The most important development of this system of apprenticeship training in New York State has been accomplished by the New York Central Railroad in its construction and repair shops and should strictly be referred to under locomotive construction and repairs. In this latter group the difficulty of obtaining skilled employees is reported as even greater than in the manufacture of machinery and 5 establishments state that

the apprenticeship system meets the need for skilled employees and 13 that it does not.

In the manufacture of castings, where the helper system is rapidly taking the place of the apprenticeship system, 3.3 per cent of the total number of high-skilled workers are reported as beginners under 18 years of age. In this industry the chief reason reported for the failure of the system is the inability to secure good material as apprentices.

In jewelry and the manufacture of silverware, as has already been noted, the percentage of apprentices is large and in each industry all but one firm report the employment of apprentices under 18. In the case of jewelry manufacture, 10 firms report that the apprenticeship system does not meet the need for skilled employees and only 2 report that it is adequate. The chief reason assigned is the inability to secure good material for apprentices. It is to be noted, however, that in this industry the period of apprenticeship is quite long, namely five to six years, and that for high-grade work men are needed that can not only do fine, accurate work, but who possess artistic appreciation. In the manufacture of silver and silver-plated goods the situation is not quite so unsatisfactory. A shorter period of training is commonly required and a much smaller percentage of establishments report the system as inadequate.

The manufacture of carriages is an industry where the apprenticeship system has very much decayed and where the number of beginners reported under 18 years of age preparing for highgrade work is quite small. The industry is now much subdivided into special branches and the helper system, which is chiefly relied upon to recruit the supply of workers, has not as yet proven competent to develop broadly-skilled, superior workmen in sufficient numbers. The reason noted in this industry for the failure of this system is the inability to secure good material as apprentices.

Under wood manufactures the only industries maintaining any

thing approaching an apprenticeship system are furniture making and the manufacture of pianos. In the first, a true apprenticeship system is practically non-existent, although a number of firms report the employment of apprentices. The business is much subdivided and the training obtained is confined generally to a single branch of work. The main reason cited for the inadequacy of the system is the inability to hold apprentices through their terms. In piano manufacturing 8 firms report that the apprenticeship system meets the needs for skilled employees as against 7 that report in the negative. In this industry the percentage of apprentices reported is high, as is the number of firms reporting such apprentices. This industry, however, is also much subdivided and the apprenticeship training that is maintained at the present time results commonly in the development of workers fitted for one special branch and often for the work of but one establishment.

In the next group, the printing and paper trades, there are two industries where a majority of the establishments report that the apprenticeship system meets the needs for skilled workers, namely, lithography and engraving. These two industries show the largest proportion of apprentices in the entire returns, and they also show a general employment of apprentices under 18 years of age. Considerable difficulty in the past is reported from trade union restrictions in the lithographic trades but not to a large extent at the present time. In both of these industries the term of apprenticeship is a long one, from five to six years, and a high type of artistic craftsmanship is demanded, for which high wages are paid.

In book and job printing a considerable number of apprentices under 18 years of age is reported, namely, 6.6 per cent. Trade union restrictions are reported as the chief cause for the failure of the system to supply sufficient skilled workers by a majority of the firms reporting. In newspaper printing a very small percentage of aprentices is reported, the number being particularly

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