e of the trade.
On the other hand, such general knowledge is only one of the
requisites for advancement. Others are initiative, resourcefulness,
tact, self-control, ability to get along with men, and a disposition
to subordinate personal interests to the interests of the business. To
these should be added the quality of patience, for there must be
vacancies before there can be promotions, and vacancies among the
better positions are not frequent. Ten of the establishments visited,
employing a total working force of over 5,000 men, reported but eight
vacancies among foremen's positions over a period of one year. These
same establishments had in their employ a total of 618 all-round
machinists and tool makers. Assuming that only the machinists and tool
makers were eligible for promotion, the mathematical chance per man of
becoming a foreman during the year was about one in 77.

Other occupations studied in detail were pattern making, molding, core
making, blacksmithing, and boiler making. Pattern making offers the
most interesting work and the highest wages among the metal trades,
but the total number of American born pattern makers in the city does
not exceed seven or eight hundred, so the field of employment is
relatively limited. Molding and core making, in which between 4,000
and 5,000 men are engaged, have practically become foreign trades.
Less than 20 per cent of the molders in the city were born in this
country. These trades offer few opportunities for employment to boys
of native birth. Somewhat similar conditions exist in the
blacksmithing trade. Changed methods of production have largely done
away with the old-time blacksmith, who survives only in horse-shoeing
and repair shops. The proportion of native blacksmiths is steadily
declining, and it is unlikely that any considerable number of boys
from the public schools will enter the trade. The boiler making trade
employs relatively few men, the total number of native born boiler
makers at the time of the last census being less than 600. The trade
seems to be at a standstill. The increase during the previous decade
was less than five per cent against a total population increase of 46
per cent. The average earnings per hour for these trades in the
establishments visited by members of the Survey Staff are shown in
Table 21.

TABLE 21.--AVERAGE EARNINGS PER HOUR IN PATTERN MAKING, MOLDING, CORE
MAKING, BLACKSMITHING, AND BOILER MAKING