24. PROPRIETOR

Estimating, cost finding, study of composition, paper, ink, plates and engravings, composing room, pressroom, bindery, condition of printing trades, business development, visits to allied plants, plant organization and management, sales values. PLAN No. 1238. THE GARMENT TRADES This monograph was prepared by May H. Pope, under direction of Charles H. Winslow, Chief of the Research Division of the Federal Board for Vocational Education. Acknowledgment is due to Dr. John Cummings of the Research Division for editorial assistance. A place to sleep, something to eat, and something to wear constitute the primary needs for us all. To satisfy the need for clothing a group of great American industries has developed--great in the value of their product as well as in the number of their workers. FROM HAND WORK TO MACHINE OPERATION It would be interesting to trace the development of the clothing industries out of the common household trade, using crude methods in introducing homemade garments, the materials for which were grown and spun and woven by the family, through the hand-sewing days and the various stages of foot-power machines to the present-day methods of electrically driven machines, adjusted to do most accurate work with special devices for all sorts of processes. PROVIDING A PRIME NECESSITY On the whole it may be conceded that these industries compare only fairly with others as regards prevailing conditions of labor, but as regards benefits conferred upon people generally, in placing within easy reach of all a prime necessity of life, the clothing industries rank very high. SEASONAL CHARACTER OF THE INDUSTRIES Employment in the garment trades is highly seasonal and is influenced by certain causes beyond control of the manufacturer. This irregularity of work is often a real hardship for employees. The busy seasons run from January through the spring months, and from August through the fall months. Some manufacturers, however, manage to keep workers busy 11 months during the year. Efforts have been made to equalize the work, seasonally, but nothing has been definitely accomplished so far. There is much greater irregularity of employment in the women’s garment trades than in the men’s. It often occurs that only one-half of those employed in the busy season in making women’s clothes are kept at work during the dull seasons. Factors which influence this irregularity in employment are seasonal changes, changes in style, degree of specialization required, quality of product, and method of production. In the men’s garment industries, manufacturers often utilize the dull season for making up standard goods, such as blue serge suits, but makers of women’s clothes find style such a variable factor that they dare not make up stock much in advance of the season. Employment is more regularly distributed in the industries producing waists, skirts, and under muslins than it is in the cloak and suit industry. AN IMMIGRANT’S TRADE Garment making has long been known as an immigrant’s trade. Before the war it absorbed annually approximately 10,000 immigrants. Irish, Germans, and Italians have all worked in considerable numbers in the clothing industries, but at present the Jews predominate, not only among the workers, but as well among those exercising controlling power. WHERE THE WORK IS DONE The work may be carried on, it has been said, in any place “where there are a half dozen machines and an ironing board.” But in some places large clothing factories have been built, though much of the work is done in medium-sized shops. The clothing industries differ from other manufacturing industries in several particulars. They are highly localized. More than half of all the clothing manufactured in the United States is made in New York City. Choice of a home is, therefore, limited for the young man who enters any one of these industries. Other cities in which the industries flourish are Philadelphia, Cleveland, Baltimore, Boston, Rochester, Chicago, and Cincinnati. Because of the congestion in New York some concerns have made attempts to move away from such crowded quarters, but the character of the industries requires just those things which are not found in rural districts. It is for one thing important to be near the labor supply and near the markets, both for buying materials and for selling goods. The prestige accredited to New York manufacturers as to style is another factor holding concerns in that city. TWO TYPES OF EMPLOYERS There are two types of employers in the clothing industries, namely, the manufacturer and the contractor or submanufacturer. Many factories, especially those where the high-grade garments are made, have their own “inside shops” where all work is done under supervision of the manufacturer or his foremen. But there is a tendency to increase the contracting system, particularly in the making of cheaper garments. When the contracting method is employed the manufacturer or jobber purchases the material and turns it over to the submanufacturer, who has the garments made in his small shop. The manufacturer who gives his work out to contractors avoids the necessity for maintaining a large factory, and for keeping a great number of men on his pay roll. He is also relieved of the responsibility of dealing with labor, the contractor being in direct contact with the workers. On the other hand, the contractor obtains materials from the jobber, which otherwise he would not be financially able to purchase. In the contract system there is complete separation of the commercial processes from the technical. The manufacturer is responsible for the purchase of materials and for securing and filling orders for the trade, but all technical processes in the making of garments are left to the contractor, who is entirely responsible for the work. The contractor not only supervises the workers, but often works with them. He is no shirker. WHAT THE WORKERS PRODUCE All sorts of wearing apparel, from children’s rompers to opera cloaks, make up the product of these industries, which are naturally divided into two classes--those making men’s garments and those making women’s. The two groups of industries are sharply differentiated, and in each group processes are highly specialized. Men’s clothes are made in three separate types of shops--the coat shop, the pants shop, and the vest shop. Women’s garment trades fall generally into the following groups: (1) Custom tailoring. (2) Manufacture of cloaks, suits, and skirts. (3) Manufacture of dresses and waists. (4) Manufacture of misses’ and children’s dresses. (5) Manufacture of muslin underwear. (6) Manufacture of house dresses, kimonos, etc. About 77 per cent of the workers in the cloak, suit, and skirt industry are men; a smaller percentage being found in the other groups. Garments made by custom tailors are usually of the highest grade in women’s clothing, and include cloaks, suits, opera cloaks, evening gowns, waists, and dresses. These tailors make up garments on individual orders, allowing customers to select materials and designs. Manufacturers in the cloak, suit, and skirt industry make a number of models, but their product is usually limited to cloaks, suits, skirts, one-piece woolen or worsted dresses, and linen suits and skirts. Dresses and waists cover a wide range of many styles for evening wear, street wear, and sporting uses. Under muslins, misses’ and children’s dresses, house dresses and kimonos, dressing sacques and aprons are made in separate establishments largely by women workers. WHAT MEN DO IN THE CLOTHING INDUSTRIES Though many more women are employed in the garment trades than formerly, still the large body of workers are men. Men are employed for processes in which greater endurance or speed is required. In high-class dressmaking men work on dresses made of heavy materials, while women make those of lighter weight. Cloaks and suits are made by men, while waists, under muslins, and children’s clothes are made by women. An equal number of men and women are skirt operators, while in buttonhole making the number of men operators exceeds the number of women. Strange as it may seem, men form the larger percentage of those who work on women’s clothes, and women make up a majority of those who work on men’s clothes. There is less routine in making women’s garments, and it has been suggested that this may account for the preference given such work by men. It has been said that “mechanical power and division of labor have impersonalized industry,” and this is clearly true of the garment industries as regards their products, for except in the case of the custom tailors a worker can not think of any finished product as distinctly his. Any given garment is the joint product of many persons. Formerly a whole garment was made by one man, who necessarily must be a skilled tailor. Now many persons may have a part in the making of a suit of clothes. This division of labor grew out of the need for different degrees of skill in the different processes. By specialization a large product may be produced by relatively unskilled labor. The work may be divided into three general systems: Teamwork, in which the tailor, like the contractor, hires his workers and superintends the work; piece operating, in which all of one kind of work is done by one worker on the same garment; and section work, in which each operator does only that one process allotted to him. In the cheap grade of women’s clothing this division of labor is very marked. One man works only on belts, another makes cuffs, another collars, and so on. In the better grade of clothes the garment after it has been cut is given to the tailor, who with his helper completes all the work and turns it over to the presser. In the expensive shops the tailor makes the entire garment, doing even his own cutting and pressing. While no single operation can be said to be given over entirely to one sex, the cutting and pressing is done almost exclusively by men. Men who work in the garment trades may be generally divided into designers, sample makers, cutters, machine operators, hand sewers, pressers, and examiners. In the following paragraphs the brief descriptions given of these principal occupations have been summarized from Bulletin No. 183 of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and from the bureau’s publication “Descriptions of Occupations.” PLAN No. 1239. DESIGNING In large plants there is often a man separately charged with the designing of garments. He must create the designs, make the models, and choose the materials for the designs. His chief responsibility is choosing the materials for the style of garment he wishes to produce and co-operating with the sales department in producing designs which will sell and also be economical to cut. This is a high-grade position for a man with artistic ability. Only men are employed. Qualifications include high-grade intelligence and a knowledge of drafting. Although designing is a question largely of artistic sense, the designer should have had some experience in connection with the making of garments, and especially with the laying out of patterns and the cutting of cloth. PLAN No. 1240. CUTTING In all of these industries cutting is done almost exclusively by men, and consists of marking, laying up, and cutting textiles in accordance with specific patterns. It is the most skillful and responsible of all the occupations for the reason that upon the quality of the cutting depends not only the appearance of the garment, but also, to a considerable extent, its cost, inasmuch as the ability of the cutter to lay out economically his pattern determines the amount of cloth that is consumed. Cutting is the only occupation of the garment trades in which an apprenticeship is required. Considerable intelligence, accuracy, and a steady hand, with ordinary strength is required for the work. PLAN No. 1241. SAMPLE MAKING Sample making is done by _men_ and _women_, and consists of making samples of new garments from models furnished by the designer. This work calls for tailors (males, usually, in the cloak and suit industry) and operators (usually females, in the other industries) of rather exceptional ability and skill. Sample making occupies a small number of workers for a short time at the beginning of each season, the makers of samples being recruited temporarily from among the more expert tailors and operators. The sample maker must have ordinary strength and ability, and must be an all-round tailor. PLAN No. 1242. OPERATING Operating is done by _men_ and _women_, and consists of sewing the parts of a garment together, by machine, as they come from the cutting department. In most instances it is one of the least-skilled occupations, manned to a considerable extent by inexperienced, recently-arrived immigrants. Except in the cloak and suit industry, where the greater part of the operating is done by men, the operators in these industries are predominantly female. Speed and manual dexterity are essential. The operator must be able to stand the nervous strain of the noisy machine and of intense application to rapid work. PLAN No. 1243. BASTING In the cloak, suit, and skirt industry, and in the dress and waist industry, basting is done mostly by _females_, and consists of roughly sewing together by hand (“basting”) the partly finished garment, for the purpose of placing it, at times, on a dummy figure or living model, so that careful examination may be made by the tailor or sample maker of the character of the work at various stages of manufacture. In the cloak and suit industry approximately two-thirds and in the other industries almost all of these workers are women. PLAN No. 1244. PRESSING Pressing is done by _males_ and _females_ and consists of pressing out with a hot press or iron the seams and various parts of a garment after they have been put together by the operators--except in the case of the part presser, who is required to press out pieces, such as sleeves, pockets, collars, cuffs, and belts. The under presser presses the garment before it is lined, and the upper presser, the most skilled of the three, presses the finished garment, shaping and molding it, to some extent, into the finished product. In the cloak and suit industry, where the irons used, as well as the textiles, are rather heavy, pressing is done almost exclusively by men. More than average strength is required for pressing and ability to stand while at work; also ability to handle a pressing machine. EXAMINING The examiner looks over the garment in the process of manufacturing or when it is completed, to discover defects and ascertain whether the shape is correct. This is an important position, as it entails considerable responsibility for the quality of the garments manufactured. _Men_ and _women_ both are employed. The examiner must be an experienced operator on the garments, and should have had enough experience at examining to know the various styles and designs. HOW MEN ARE PAID In the clothing industries men are paid either by time or by piece. The difference in these two systems of payment amounts to very little. Under the time system wages remain unchanged from day to day even though the product varies, and under the piece system as the product increases wages increase proportionally. But the minimum and maximum amount of work insisted upon in one instance by the employees and in the other by the employers make the actual difference in wages received under the two systems almost negligible. The tendency is to base all wages upon time, as this does away in some degree with the dangers of speeding up and with the difficulties of adjustment. The quantity and quality of the work is so important in the garment trades that it is characterized by a range of wages rather than by a fixed rate. The highest paid men are the designers, who make from $50 a week in the smaller shops to $12,000 a year in the shops of custom tailors. Foremen are paid $25 to $75 a week. Cutters receive wages ranging from $20 to $50 a week. The average cutter receives $35 a week. Pressers make about $33 a week, and machine operators $25, though some shops report wages up to $60 a week for some of their operators, which means much speeding up and overtime work. Workers on women’s clothes are better paid than those who work on men’s. HOW MEN ARE TRAINED Not much attention has been given to the training of garment workers, though many employers are realizing the necessity for the workers to have a knowledge of English, an understanding of the fundamental principles of arithmetic, and some industrial information. Factory schools have been organized in some instances and workers are allowed to take some of their working time to attend the classes. Adaptability, general intelligence, skill, precision, and speed are important in the making of a good workman. The designers, who have been called the “autocrats of the trade,” need, in addition to a native gift of creative art, some knowledge of the technical processes of cutting and sewing, and a course in drafting. Schools of design give courses, but the majority of designers are foreigners, and but few Americans enter this trade. Cutters are sometimes trained in schools organized for the purpose, though often they learn as apprentices, paying from $50 to $150 for the instruction. From 6 to 20 weeks is the time usually required to learn the trade. Pressers work a few weeks on seams, and after about a year become responsible pressers on high-grade garments. The only training necessary for a machine operator in factory work is instruction in power sewing-machine operating. Training for the majority of the processes is given in the shop, and the length of time required depends in a great measure upon the ability of the worker to learn. The requirements for acceptable workers in the clothing industries may be summed up as follows: Ability to run a power sewing machine, general intelligence sufficient to understand simple directions, and health and strength to work full time for six days a week. CONDITIONS OF WORK Overcrowding, overwork, and underfeeding are often evidenced by the pallor of the operatives; and the undue prevalence of tuberculosis, neurasthenia, and anemia among them clearly show that the constrained position, exposure to dust and fumes from leaky gas tubing, insufficient lighting facilities and ventilation found in many of the smaller shops are conditions yet to be remedied before the garment industries can receive an unqualified recommendation as suitable for a disabled man. However, men in the clothing industry work under more favorable conditions than formerly. The “sweat shop” is a thing of the past. The efforts of joint boards of sanitary control in New York City have, by educating both employers and employees, done much toward mitigating the intolerable conditions which existed in the early days. Tenement-house regulations and State laws of inspection have proved beneficial and have abolished many evils of the old shop. Laws prohibiting isolated home work have forced the contractors to secure better outside shops. Home shops now must not be connected with living quarters, and consequently they are often found in the upper floors of warehouses or factories, roomy and well ventilated. Factories where the better grade of work is done have their own “inside shops” built for the purpose and therefore more satisfactory. The workers themselves are often to blame for the bad air in their workroom, because of their careless waste of gas from the pressing iron or their fear of open windows. The shortening of the working day also signifies progress in the clothing industries, and the welfare of the worker is now given fair consideration in many instances. Some factories plan the routing of work with a view to relaxation of the worker, and some require operators to get materials from a near-by table, or to go to the supply room for such things as thread, buttons, and trimmings. Even these small practices give relief from the fatigue of sitting constantly at a machine. OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE DISABLED Occupations in garment making are largely nonhazardous. Handling heavy rolls of material, climbing ladders to hang shrunken goods to dry, testing heating apparatus for pressing irons, managing the knives of cutting machines, are all accompanied by some danger, but accidents as serious may occur in the daily occupations of any home. Yet it may fairly be said that the clothing industries offer only small inducements to the handicapped. The man who has lost a leg would hardly choose to be a cutter, a presser, or an examiner, since much standing is required of these workers. Nevertheless, a well-fitting artificial leg might enable him to do any of this work successfully. Machine operating, a sitting-down job, might appeal to him. A man with both legs amputated could run a power machine. A man with an arm gone or with eyesight impaired would not find employment in the clothing industries suitable, for the use of both hands and good eyesight are essentials in the trades generally. The lint which constantly flies in the air of the shop is bad for the lungs, and catarrhal conditions of the nose and throat, as well as tuberculosis, are prevalent among the workers. Nevertheless, one who understands the difficulties and the drawbacks of the garment trades, as well as its advantages, makes the following statement: “I do not think that the clothing trade per se is injurious except for the possible slight dust and the stooping posture. I have also no doubt that the trade could be made so hygienic as to enable a post-tuberculous person to work a limited number of hours. There are, of course, some processes, like pressing, which it may not be advisable for post-tuberculous persons to engage in. Most of the work in clothing shops consists in the operator guiding various clothing material under the needle of the machine. This by itself should not be injurious. There are also other processes, like sewing on buttons, either by machine or by hand, which have very few harmful features in them. “I should say that soldiers whose legs are not functioning could well be taught to work on electrically-driven machines with benefit to themselves and to the industry.” Neurasthenics should avoid employment in these trades, as nervous disorders are intensified by the noise, close confinement, and intense application which the work involves. Pressers suffer from flat foot because of their constant standing, but otherwise they are quite robust, which is an indication that this work is not too severe for men who are physically below par. GOOD FARMERS SHOULD NOT TRY TO BECOME TAILORS In most cases the returned soldier whose disability necessitates a change of employment will, in choosing a new occupation, turn from the clothing industries as unsuitable for him. The needle is not an attractive tool to men unless they have been raised in the atmosphere of the tailor shop. It is with no desire to make tailors of farmers, sewing-machine operators of truck drivers, that opportunities in the clothing industries are here described. If a man has other talents, by all means let him cultivate them and leave the garment trades to those qualified for those trades by experience and aptitude. There has been improvement in working conditions in recent years. This has resulted in part from superior organization within the industries themselves, better adjustment, increase in product, and improved machinery and skill, all of which have led to increased wages and better living conditions for the workers. The small amount of capital required to organize the business attracts many, but success can come only if good judgment is exercised. As has been noted, these industries attract the immigrant worker largely, and the Jew looks upon entrance into some one of the garment trades as a first step on the way to managing a small shop of his own. ===================+=============================+=========+=========+ Class of work. | Character of work. | Hours | Wages | | |(weekly).|(weekly).| -------------------+-----------------------------+---------+---------+ Custom tailors. |Making garments to order. | ... | ... | | | | | Designers. |Create designs; select | ... |$50 up to| |materials; make models; | |$12,000 a| |figures yardage and | |year. | |trimmings; estimates amount | | | |of material needed. | | | | | | | Cutters. |Cutting of materials for | 44 |$20 to | |garments; directing the | |$50, | |spreading, marking, and | |averaging| |cutting; using material | |$35. | |economically; knowledge of | | | |fabrics. | | | | | | | Sample makers. |Making samples of new models.| 44 |$30 to | | | |$60. | | | | | Foremen. |Superintendent, supplying | 44 |$25 to | |work, quality of work; | |$75. | |quantity of work, training | | | |workers, keeping machines in | | | |repair. | | | | | | | Machine operators. |Sewing parts together by | 44 |$25. | |machines; hemstitching; lace | | | |running; tucking; making | | | |buttonholes; button sewing. | | | | | | | Handworkers (very |Rough sewing; basting, fine | 44 |$25 to | few men are |sewing; finishing. | |$27. | employed). | | | | | | | | Pressers. |Using hot irons (or machines)| 44 |$33. | |for pressing seams and parts | | | |of garments, as well as the | | | |whole garment. | | | | | | | Examiners. |Inspecting the finished | 44 |$25. | |garment as to workmanship and| | | |shape. | | | -------------------+-----------------------------+---------+---------+ ===================+========================+========================+ Class of work. | Requirements and |Disqualifying handicaps.| | qualifications. | | -------------------+------------------------+------------------------+ Custom tailors. |High-grade intelligence;|Bad eyesight; loss of | |knowledge of cutting, |both hands. | |designing, operating; | | |knowledge of materials, | | |common-school education.| | | | | Designers. |Good judgment; artistic |Blindness; loss of both | |taste; high-grade |hands. | |intelligence; knowledge | | |of drafting; experience | | |in cutting and garment | | |making; common-school | | |education. | | | | | Cutters. |Above average |Loss of hand; amputation| |intelligence; accuracy; |of the leg would | |steady hand; ordinary |seriously handicap | |strength; ability to |unless a well-adjusted | |stand; experience as |artificial limb enabled | |spreader, marker, etc.; |the man to stand easily;| |three years as |bad eyesight. | |apprentice, common- | | |school education. | | | | | Sample makers. |All-round tailor; |Bad eyesight; loss of | |knowledge of cutting, |arm. | |operating, fitting, | | |ordinary strength and | | |ability. | | | | | Foremen. |Initiative; executive |Blindness. | |ability; mechanical | | |ability; knowledge of | | |processes; experience as| | |cutter or fitter; | | |ordinary strength and | | |ability; common-school | | |education. | | | | | Machine operators. |Ordinary intelligence; |Bad eyesight; loss of | |adaptability; speed and |hands; tuberculosis; | |manual dexterity; |nervousness. | |ability to stand nervous| | |strain of noisy | | |machines; ability to run| | |power machines; | | |knowledge of English. | | | | | Handworkers (very |Ability to do plain hand|Bad eyesight; loss of | few men are |sewing, to thread |hands. | employed). |needles, and to tie | | |knots rapidly, take even| | |stitches, and fasten | | |work; deftness of | | |fingers; good eyesight; | | |steady nerves. | | | | | Pressers. |Average intelligence; |Loss of one or both | |ability to handle a |arms; loss of legs; bad | |pressing machine; more |eyesight. | |than average strength. | | | | | Examiners. |Skillful with scissors; |Bad eyesight; loss of | |experience as operator; |both arms; loss of | |intelligence; |fingers or hands. | |reliability; knowledge | | |of styles; ability to | | |detect poor work; | | |common-school education.| | -------------------+------------------------+------------------------+ ===================+========================== Class of work. | Training required. | -------------------+-------------------------- Custom tailors. |Tailors are trained in the |trade. | Designers. |Designers are trained by |working as apprentices to |custom tailors and to |factory cutters. A course |in drafting, either with |a private teacher or at a |school for designing is |desirable. | Cutters. |Cutters learn, through |apprenticeship, the |technique of laying |patterns, stretching |cloth, sloping, and the |right use of materials; |cutting small parts with |knife; “repair” cutting |with shears. | Sample makers. |The training is the same |as for a tailor which is |usually gotten in the |trade. | Foremen. |Foremen are often selected |from workers. Special |training is sometimes |given men with secondary |education through a course |in the workshop. | Machine operators. |Instruction in power |sewing machine operating |and handling of materials. |In a few weeks’ time |an operator learns enough |for an easy operation, a |year or two years is |required to become | Handworkers (very |Hand sewers are taught how few men are |to adjust their knowledge employed). |of plain sewing to factory |methods. | Pressers. |Pressers ere trained by |doing. Beginners press |seams, then skirts and |dresses; after this |experience the pressing of |coats and cloaks may be |undertaken. | Examiners. |Through a knowledge of |garment making as machine |operators or as helpers to |examiners. -------------------+-------------------------- For the unskilled worker the garment trades offer fair wages, though wages are not quite as high as in other similar trades. Chance of promotion is small, and the working week is 44 hours. Serious disabilities are great handicaps in the garment trades. Previous experience, a working knowledge of the trade, and skill in some of the better processes would be the only legitimate reasons for offering the opportunities of the garment-making industries to a returned disabled soldier. PLAN No. 1245. PODIATRY AS A VOCATION The wise man will not come to a hurried conclusion in deciding his life work. A false start in life is frequently the undoing of an individual because misapplied ambition often eventuates in indifference. Therefore, it is well to weigh the pros and cons of so momentous a consideration, and the following is presented in the hope that it may prove of service in studying one phase of activities in that connection: WHAT IS PODIATRY? Podiatry means the care of the human foot in health and in disease. The intelligent practice of podiatry constitutes the practitioner a specialist in this branch of medicine. SPECIALISTS IN MEDICINE In recent years those educated and equipped as doctors of medicine, in many instances, particularly in the larger cities, have devoted themselves to some special branch, and so it is that we have laryngologists (throat), otologists (ear), urologists (male organs of generation), gynaecologists (female organs of generation), oculists (eye), orthopaedists (deformities), odontologists (teeth), and many others who specialize in some one particular field of medicine. Strange as it may seem, physicians, other than orthopædists, have never specialized in foot lesions, and the work of the latter in that field has been merely incidental. THE GENESIS OF CHIROPODY In consequence, a group of non-medical practitioners, styling themselves chiropodists, assumed to care for the foot woes of the public. They claimed no scientific knowledge of the feet, but announced their ability, acquired in the school of experience, to care for the minor foot-ills of the public which were largely induced by the wearing of badly constructed foot-gear. These practitioners were primarily usually itinerants. They went about from town to town carrying their kits, which contained knives and medications which they and their predecessors had found useful in plying their craft. They flourished in England in the eighteenth and in the nineteenth centuries, and soon after our government was founded they began to appear in the larger centers of the United States. The knowledge which they acquired was imparted to their apprentices, who were usually their offspring, and so this practice was largely handed down from father to son. CHIROPODY DEVELOPMENT In 1895 they had grown so numerous in New York City that they organized a State Society and the State legislature chartered their organization and gave them power to license others who wished to practice similarly. Many other states gradually enacted like laws. In 1912 the Pedic Society of the State of New York again went to the legislature and secured the passage of a law which required academic qualifications of students of chiropody and established a standard for chiropody teaching institutions. The law also provided that no person should practice chiropody after that date, unless previously licensed, who failed to pass a state chiropody licensing examination conducted by the State Board of Medical Examiners. Since then twenty-three other commonwealths in the United States have passed similar laws. Recently the term podiatry was made synonymous with chiropody in several states. Thus, from a trade, chiropody has been transformed into a scientific branch of medicine. SCHOOLS AND THEIR CURRICULA The teaching schools have faculties made up of doctors of medicine, chemists and podiatrists. The outlined courses of study include instruction in the following topics: Anatomy, Histology, Chemistry, Physiology, Hygiene, Materia Medica, Therapeutics, Pharmacy, Surgery, Bacteriology, Pathology, Dermatology, The Principles of Medicine, Ethics, The History of Podiatry, Foot-Gear, Orthopedics, Massage, Electro-Therapeutics, Posture Studies and X-Ray work. No man should take up a career in podiatry unless he is prepared to devote all of his energy to his studies because the work accomplished in the course, as it is at present carried on, crowds the equivalent of two years at a medical school into the one year of podiatry. This means unusual application because the work must be accomplished or the student fails to graduate. STUDENTS There are three classes of students: Regular, Special and Post-graduate. _Regular Students_ must have academic qualifications in keeping with the standards adopted by the various state education authorities. In most of the states two years of high school work, or its equivalent in academic counts, are pre-requisites. This standard is being advanced each year until all regular students in all schools will have to have a minimum education of graduation from a high school or its equivalent in academic counts. _Special Students_ are admitted to these teaching schools without academic qualifications. They may take the full course, but cannot graduate from the schools which they attend, nor can they practice in any state where laws regulating the practise of chiropody are on the Statute books. Provision has been made to educate these special students so that those contemplating practice in the states and countries where there are at present no laws governing chiropody may secure the knowledge imparted in the schools. It is fair to assume that within the next five years every state in the United States will have a law governing chiropody practice whereupon those from foreign countries only will be admitted to the course as special students. _Post-graduate Students._ Practitioners of medicine or of chiropody, who have been reputably engaged as such for at least six months, and who wish to acquire the knowledge imparted to the regular students so that they may become better fitted for their vocations, are eligible as post-graduate students. DURATION OF COURSE In most of the established schools of chiropody the day course is of from eight to nine months’ duration. The hours are as follows: from 9 A. M. to 12, from 1 to 5 P. M., and during the last three months of the course, additionally, from 7:30 to 10 P. M. The night course is of two years’ duration, three hours each night for eight months in each year. DEGREES Graduates of the various schools receive titles and degrees. Some of the schools give the degree of D.S.C. (Doctor of Surgical Chiropody); others the title of M.Cp. (Master of Chiropody). LICENSE TO PRACTICE Before admission to practice, graduates must pass an examination conducted by the State Board of Medical Examiners in the state in which they desire to engage in practice. The conditions as to admission for licensing examination vary in the different states, as there is at present no reciprocity in chiropody licensure. REQUISITES FOR SUCCESS The requisites for success in podiatry study and practice are not trifling. Primarily the student should have the feeling that he is engaging in a calling in which he can be of service to his fellowman. The draft and the war itself have proved that the foot has been a very much neglected factor in the physical care of humankind. Draft statistics show a large percentage of rejections because of foot defects, and the casual lists in actual warfare are filled with the names of those who have fallen out of the ranks because of impaired locomotion. A large part of podiatry instruction is devoted to the prevention of foot lesions, so that the child from its first step will be safeguarded against the conditions which have led to the creation of such a large percentage of foot cripples. This in itself is a humanitarian task and those contemplating entering upon a career in podiatry should be sympathetic with that particular and all-important phase of the work. Again, the podiatrist in his daily practice is called upon to relieve suffering and that aspect of his activities should be a heartening influence to the developing practitioner as it will prove a consolation to him when once he is licensed to pursue his calling. DESIRABILITY OF MECHANICAL KNOWLEDGE As much of the actual practice, both preventive and curative, has to do with surgical endeavors, the prospective student should have an aptitude for mechanics. PHYSICAL QUALIFICATIONS The practice of medicine presumes a vigorous body as well as a virile mind, and it is best for every man in every life engagement to be so equipped; but those whose physical condition is impaired so that locomotion and other normal functions are impeded can readily engage in podiatry because most of the work is carried on in the office and can be done while seated and during limited hours. POSSIBLE ASSETS Those who have studied chemistry or pharmacy or have been associated with hospital work will find themselves possessing valuable assets in the study and in the practice of podiatry. CHOICE OF LOCATION There are failures and successes in every field, professional and otherwise. It is, however, axiomatic that a podiatrist who knows his work and applies himself in the proper field will succeed as a breadwinner. The selection of a location is of the greatest importance. Graduates of the various schools, in the main, have located in the larger cities. This is frequently an error because competition with those already engaged in practice who have a standing and a following is thus inevitable and the advance of the younger practitioner is consequently curtailed. Those graduates who have located in cities of from 25,000 to 100,000 inhabitants have invariably succeeded from the start. The most successful of these have been those who have sought out the practicing physicians and have convinced them that they are not mere “corn cutters,” but scientific practitioners of a legitimate branch of medicine. THE INCOME FROM PODIATRY PRACTICE It is current belief that the average podiatrist enjoys a greater income than the average physician. There are no statistics available to confirm or to disprove this conclusion. In order that some idea on this point may be gained, the incomes of some of the members of the first graduating class of one of the podiatry schools of prominence are here given: 1st year 2nd year 3rd year 4th year 5th year No. 1 $2,000 $3,000 $4,000 $4,000 $5,000 2 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 3,000 3 1,300 1,800 2,500 4,000 4,800 4 800 2,000 3,000 4,000 4,700 5 1,200 1,800 2,000 3,000 3,400 [44]6 800 1,200 1,700 2,300 2,800 [44]7 800 1,000 1,400 1,800 2,800 [44] A woman graduate. PHYSICIANS’ CO-OPERATION Once the co-operation of the physician is secured, success is assured. Some practitioners in towns of from 15,000 to 35,000 have in three years gained sufficient practise through the aid of medical practitioners to make their incomes from $2,000 to $5,000. THE PERSONAL EQUATION The personal equation is a great factor in this as in all other life spheres. The likeable man or woman with a modicum of other attributes will invariably succeed. When such a person possesses qualities which, when applied, prove helpful to his fellows, the limit of his earning capacity can only be measured by the hours he can serve and the population of the center in which he carries on his practice. PODIATRY IS ETHICAL Podiatry, as taught to-day, frowns down upon all unethical methods and disavows the charlatan. Its exponents and its loyal followers are keen as to the need for scrupulous care in the education of its students and the conduct of its practitioners. It strives to be classified as a dignified branch of medicine and fosters a literature that is strictly scientific. PODIATRY ORGANIZATIONS Podiatry has a national organization whose purposes are for the benefit of the profession, based upon the good which they can accomplish in serving the public. It has a state society in almost every commonwealth in the United States, and local societies flourish in every populous city. PROFESSIONAL ADVANCEMENT The scope of the podiatrists’ professional labors is continuously being enlarged by legal enactments and, where deserved, medical practitioners recommend them to their patients as foot specialists. In a number of well-known hospitals, podiatrists are attached to the medical staff, thus proving that physicians in groups are beginning to recognize the need for the services which these practitioners supply. In another year the course of study in most of the schools will be prolonged to two years and ultimately the specialist in foot lesions will be a licensed practitioner of medicine, equipped as is every other specialist in medicine. IS THERE A DEMAND FOR PODIATRISTS? In all of the large cities of the United States and of Europe chiropodists have been in demand for the past century. The need for foot-care is daily becoming more pronounced. Now that physicians can and do recommend their patients to chiropodists who have been scientifically trained in their calling, the need for such practitioners is rapidly growing. The public is growing to recognize the need of both preventive care and curative treatment of the minor ills of this part of the anatomy and the properly educated, well equipped, efficient podiatrist is in great demand. There is no scientific school for educating such practitioners in the world outside the United States.[45] In consequence, hundreds of such practitioners would also find need for their services along the lane of European travel, once it is restored. South American capitals, with large populations of foreigners, would likewise prove splendid fields for podiatrists. [45] English practitioners laid the foundation for a School of Podiatry in 1914, but owing to the war with the Central powers, their efforts have been temporarily checked. HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO ESTABLISH A PRACTICE? The answer to this natural inquiry depends largely upon the place of location, the experience and the personality of the practitioner. If one locates in a city where he is the only scientifically equipped podiatrist, assuming that he is properly equipped, recognition by both medical men and by the laity should promptly be accorded and that in turn would mean success. If a graduate locates in a metropolitan city unheralded and unsung, his advance may be exceedingly slow and like the general practitioner of medicine, similarly situated, it may take considerable time for him to make a name and a career for himself. If the experience of the new podiatrist has been augmented by application in a clinic or in the service of an older practitioner as an assistant (and such assistants earn from $25 to $50 per week in wages), such experience is largely helpful, not only in inspiring confidence, but in securing results. If the personality of a practitioner is such as to prove repellent to his patients, his path will be a difficult one. If, on the other hand, he is of pleasing personality, he will make friends and will increase his list of patients. WHERE PODIATRY (CHIROPODY) IS REGULATED BY LAW? The following commonwealths have passed laws regulating the practice of chiropody (podiatry) and those desiring specific information as to the details of the same in any given state should address the person whose name follows the state, as here recorded: California--Chas. B. Pinkham, M.D., 125 Stockton St., San Francisco. Colorado--David A. Strickley, M.D., 612 Empire Bldg., Denver. Connecticut--Chas. A. Tuttle, M.D., New Haven. District of Columbia--Commissioner of Education. Illinois--C. St. Clair Drake, M.D., Springfield. Louisiana--E. L. Leckert, M.D., 716 Macheca Bldg., New Orleans. Maryland--J. P. McScott, M.D., Hagerstown. Massachusetts--Walter P. Bowers, State House, Boston. Michigan--B. D. Harrison, M.D., Detroit. Minnesota--Thomas McDavitt, M.D., St. Paul. Nebraska--H. B. Cummings, M.D., State Board of Health, Seward. New Hampshire--Henry C. Morrison, M.D., Concord. New Jersey--Alex. McAllister, Trenton. New York--State Education Dept., Albany. North Carolina--B. K. Hayes, M.D., Oxford. Ohio--George H. Matson, M.D., Columbus. Pennsylvania--N. C. Shaeffer, M.D., Harrisburg. Rhode Island--Gardner T. Swarts, M.D., State House, Providence. Vermont--W. Scott Nay, M.D., Underhill. Virginia--J. N. Barney, M.D., Fredericksburg. Washington--C. N. Suttner, M.D., Walla Walla. West Virginia--S. L. Jeptson, M.D., Wheeling. Wisconsin--J. M. Beffel, M.D., Milwaukee. PODIATRY TEACHING INSTITUTIONS The following are the Schools of Chiropody (Podiatry), in the order of their creation: The First Institute of Podiatry--213-17 W. 125th St., New York City. Chiropody Dept., Temple University--18 Buttonwood St., Philadelphia, Pa. California College of Chiropody--908 McAllister St., San Francisco. Illinois College of Chiropody--1321 N. Clark St., Chicago, Ill. Ohio College of Chiropody--Cleveland, O. Chiropody Dept., University of Massachusetts--Fourth and Otis Sts., Cambridge, Mass. Catalogs of each of the above can be had on writing to the addresses given. The Minnesota College of Chiropody is making ready to open up its doors October next. Information as to its plans and purposes can be secured by addressing Ralph St. John Perry, M.D., Pilsbury Bldg., Minneapolis, Minn. PLAN No. 1246. FLOUR MILLING ACKNOWLEDGMENT This monograph was prepared by J. A. LeClerc, chemist in charge of the laboratory of plant chemistry, Bureau of Chemistry, Department of Agriculture. Acknowledgment is due M. A. Gray, chemist of the Pillsbury Flour Co., Minneapolis, and Prof. C. H. Bailey, of the University of Minnesota, for assistance in the preparation of this article. Modern flour milling dates back to the early eighties of the last century. Before that time, a good white flour was indeed made, but the machinery used consisted generally of two grooved stones, between which the wheat was crushed and the flour extracted. To-day in all mills of this country, except in some of the backwoods, and in some of the small mills, flour is made by the so-called gradual reduction process which consists in the use of an elaborate system or steel rolls and of an equally complicated system of purifiers and bolting machines. The flour made to-day is whiter and much freer from the bran and fibrous material than was the flour made with burr stones. While milling relates to the production of flour from all kinds of grains, flour milling, unless so stated, means wheat milling and it is wheat flour milling that is meant throughout this monograph, when milling is mentioned. If you are interested in milling you may want to know the answers to the following questions: