The Story of Porcelain Part 19

"Bully for us!" cried Theo.

"So I say!" rejoined Mrs. Croyden with spirit.

"It was the only thing to do," admitted Mr. Croyden. "We kept at it, too. In 1829 a factory was opened in Jersey City which although not a success was the forerunner of New Jersey china-making. The industry was also taken up in Bennington, Vermont, where the first Parian marble statues ever made in America were produced. Baltimore was the next city to adopt the china trade, and afterward Trenton. Most of this output was thick white graniteware, Rockingham, and stoneware; some of it was decorated, but most of it was plain white. It was useful and durable, but very clumsy and heavy. Subsequently the china industry localized itself until now, while there are many factories scattered through the country, New Jersey supplies about twenty-four per cent. of our china, and Ohio forty-two."

"How did those States happen to elect themselves to make so much china?" inquired Theo.

"Deposits of clay originally governed the matter," replied Mr. Croyden. "Then there was convenient transportation for goods, a sufficient fuel supply, and an abundance of labor in the vicinity--all elements in deciding where factories are to be established. Many of our potteries, however, are not located with these ends in view.

Instead, chance has dropped them down in the most remote spots. Some are the outgrowth of tiny plants founded long ago before manufacture developed into the science it has since become."

"I see."

"It would be interesting to trace, too, the varieties of ware that come from specific districts, for usually there is a reason behind each type of product. For example in Ohio and West Virginia they have an abundance of red clay which is used not only to make red earthenware, but also to coat the outside of ca.s.serole serving dishes, bowls, and tea and coffee pots. You must be familiar with the kind of thing I mean."

"Like our hot-water jug at home," cried Theo instantly. "Red and shiny outside, and white inside."

"Exactly," nodded Mr. Croyden. "On the other hand many factories make only the heavy, indestructible china used in hotels and restaurants.

This variety is a business in itself. The ware is non-absorbent and is considered very hygienic. Toilet sets as well as dishes are made from this especial sort of clay. So you see each plant has its own particular specialty which has been decided largely by the native clays at hand. Here at Trenton we turn out some of the finest porcelain manufactured in America. In quality it equals the English if not the French wares, and it needs only the foreign trade-mark to give it its deserved prestige. But our people, alas, have not arrived at the pitch of patriotism where _Made in America_ has become the popular slogan. I hope this war may elevate the motto to its rightful place."

"Perhaps by the time Theo gets to making china things will be different," ventured Mrs. Croyden.

"If I thought so I should be very glad," came earnestly from her husband. "We have all the necessary clays here in our own soil; the only one we need to import is black clay. What is now most necessary in all our industries is intelligent, trained, ambitious, and appreciative workers. It is a great reproach to us that here in the United States we have so few schools to educate workmen for their craft. Before the war Austria had eight schools to teach pottery-making and Germany twenty-two. Even England had several. And in the meantime what are we doing here in America? Aside from a few arts-and-crafts potters who of necessity must work on a very limited scale we are training no pottery-makers. We should establish schools for such things if we wish to keep abreast of the time, and compete with other nations."

"Theo can attend to that, too," laughed Mrs. Croyden.

"We have cut out quite a program for you to work out in the future, haven't we, lad?" said Mr. Croyden, relapsing into jest. "On the strength of it I suggest that you trot along to bed to get rested up so to be ready to undertake it."

Theo rose and with a merry good-night they parted.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

CHAPTER XIV

THE BEGINNING OF THE PORCELAIN PILGRIMAGE

[Ill.u.s.tration: I]

In accordance with Mr. Croyden's plan Theo and his host stepped, the next morning, into the waiting motor-car and were whirled to the porcelain factory.

As they rode along the boy remained silent until he saw Mr. Croyden lay down his paper; then he asked:

"How many persons in the United States do you suppose are employed at pottery-making, Mr. Croyden?"

"A great many," was the reply. "Before the war there were about thirty-three thousand."

Theo gasped.

"Why, I had no idea of it!" he exclaimed.

"It takes a vast number of workmen to manufacture all the clay products turned out in America. Remember dishes and ornaments are not the only things made. The industry is cla.s.sified, and covers white earthenware, or the better qualities of imitation porcelain used by those who cannot afford the real; this branch of the work alone takes up about forty per cent. of the entire output. Then there is the genuine porcelain for table and decorative use; the porcelain necessary for electrical purposes; stoneware, or the commoner household articles found in the kitchen comprising yellow ware, Rockingham ware, and red earthenware; and in addition the great quant.i.ties of sanitary ware for plumbing, drain-pipes, and tiling. Of all these varieties of porcelain the hardest in quality, and the only one absolutely non-absorbent, is true porcelain. Therefore it is the cleanest to use. Kaolin being simply decomposed feldspar, and the glaze applied to it being practically pure feldspar, the product is merely a ma.s.s of feldspar melted in the fire until all the metals it contains except platinum are eliminated. Such a composition is of course far too brittle and delicate for ordinary use even did not its expense prohibit our introducing it into the kitchen; but could we subst.i.tute it for the cheaper wares it would be much more hygienic--a factor persons are liable to forget when purchasing china."

"I never thought of that," said Theo.

"The general public does not," replied Mr. Croyden. "Still, now that I have explained it, you can readily understand it. Another thing that is not ordinarily considered is that porcelain-making is not as healthful an occupation as we wish it were. Those who work in the glazing department, where powdered flint and lead are used, inhale the dust and in consequence are sometimes subject to tuberculosis or lead poisoning just as painters are."

"Can't something be done about it? That seems a dreadful thing."

"It is a dreadful thing, and we are constantly trying to better working conditions and lessen the danger. Yet if you were to examine the details of other industries you would find that few of them are entirely free from undesirable results. Almost every line of manufacture has its peculiar risks," returned Mr. Croyden. "I do not mean for a moment that for that reason we are justified in closing our eyes to the dangers. I merely mean it is a fact. What we are trying earnestly to do is to find a subst.i.tute for lead glaze. Could we succeed we should eliminate a great proportion of the trouble."

"I suppose that would mean finding a different kind of enamel," mused Theo.

"Precisely. And you recollect how long it took to discover those enamels we are now using," answered Mr. Croyden. "It is a good problem for some clever man, so bear it in mind. It is just such puzzles as these that have raised up our inventors, and those who in one way or another have perfected modern industry. Few who have contributed to this cause stumbled upon their devices for the labor-saving or convenience of mankind. Almost all such discoveries were called forth by a great need, and were the result of hours and hours of patient experiments in laboratories or workshops. Therefore when we pa.s.s through a factory and see a process advancing easily from stage to stage we should never forget those who toiled with brain and hand to perfect each of its tiny details. Often some very insignificant but vital part of a machine may represent the lifetime of an unknown fellow-being who did his part in giving us a more perfect whole."

Theo glanced up quickly.

"I thought usually a machine was invented by one person," he said.

"Occasionally it is," admitted Mr. Croyden. "But more frequently our modern machinery is a growth--the product of many minds. Year after year defects have been eliminated, and improvements introduced.

Machines every part of which represent the thought of a single individual are rare. Most machines are composite photographs of the ingenuity and thought of many inventors."

The elder man paused, then added whimsically:

"Sometimes I feel like taking off my hat to a delicately adjusted and intricate piece of machinery; it is so human and such a monument to the men who conceived it."

The boy looked grave.

"If more people felt about machinery and about work as you do, Mr. Croyden, they would have more respect for our industries as well as for the men who run the machines."

"It should be so," was Mr. Croyden's instant reply. "A factory that turns out a completed product is like a watch. You know that unless every wheel of the watch turns; unless every minute rivet and screw is in its place and doing its part we get no perfect result. It is just as important a service to be a wee screw in that organism as to be something larger and more conspicuous. So it is with each workman in a factory. He performs his part--often, alas, a small and dull one too, I am afraid; but viewed from the standpoint of the completed product that man with his humdrum task is as worthy our respect as is any other member of the working staff. Without somebody to do precisely what he is doing we should get no satisfactory result."

"It is just team-work!" put in Theo.

"That's it--team-work; team-work and nothing else. And just as in athletics some men better adapted for batting, catching, running, and kicking are singled out for the posts of fielder, shortstop, or tackle but contribute equally to the game, so it is with the men in a factory. Some day the world is going to accept that creed and pay to every human being a living wage; not, perhaps, because what he is doing is skilled or difficult; but because it is indispensable and we cannot do without that particular rung in the labor ladder. Some one must fill that post, and he who does it should be respected and compensated because he is necessary to civilization and to our national prosperity."

Mr. Croyden caught his breath and then laughed in confusion.

"The idea of my giving you a lecture on the labor question, Theo," he said flushing. "I always get hot on the matter, for it is one of my hobbies. Next time when you hear me getting started just slow me down and let me cool off. You see it is pretty close to my heart, because I have been attempting to work out some of its difficult phases here in my own mills. I am trying to pay to each of my men enough so he can live decently and contentedly. It does not seem fair to pay them all alike, since some are skilful enough to do more work, and work that is more difficult than others. But each should be able to live comfortably on what he earns. That is my idea of fairness toward the working man; and that is the scheme that I am trying to carry out here."

The car stopped abruptly before a great doorway and Mr. Croyden got out.

"Having heard my views you are now to have a chance to see how imperfectly my dreams have been realized," he said smiling. "I am far from satisfied with present conditions in my factory. But every day we are conscientiously trying to make things better, and some day I hope we shall reach our goal."