to offer to boys
under 16. Very few of the skilled trades will accept an apprentice
below this age. The general opinion among manufacturers was
unfavorable to the employment of boys under 16. "They are more of a
nuisance than a help," said one; "they are not old enough to
understand the responsibilities of work." "They break more machinery
and spoil more material than they are worth," said another. In several
of the building trades apprentices must be 17 years old, as the law
forbids boys under this age to work on scaffoldings. The new workmen's
compensation law exerts a strong influence in favor of a higher
working age limit, owing to the greater risk of accident among young
workers.

The fact is that the law is still about one year behind the
requirements of industrial life. If a vote were taken among employers
who can offer boys the opportunity to learn a trade it would be found
that a large majority favor raising the working age to 16. Employment
before this time usually leads nowhere, and the pittance the boy earns
cannot be compared with the economic advantage he could derive from an
additional year in a good vocational school. The average boy who
leaves school at 15 spends a year or two loafing or working at odd
jobs before he can obtain employment that offers any promise of future
advancement. These years are often more than wasted, as he not only
learns nothing of value from such casual jobs, but misses the healthy
discipline of steady, orderly work, which is of so great importance
during these formative years of his life.

THE TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOLS

The two technical high schools, the East Technical and West Technical,
occupy an important place among the secondary schools of the city. At
the present time the two schools enroll nearly two-fifths of the boys
attending high school. The course comprises four years' work. In the
East Technical the shopwork includes joinery and wood-turning during
the first year, and pattern making and foundry work during the second
year. In the West Technical the first year course includes pattern
making and either forging or sheet metal work; and that of the second
year, forging, pipe-fitting, brazing, riveting, and cabinet making.
During the remaining two years of the course the student may elect a
particular trade, devoting about 10 hours a week to practice in the
shop during the last half of the third year, and from 11 to 15 hours
during the fourth year.

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