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THE BEVERLY PLAN

There will be found, doubtless, many ways of solving this problem and no one way will in all cases be best, even in the several industries of the same community; but it seems to this commission that an ideal way for Beverly, at least, would be for the manufacturers, on the one hand, to furnish practice shops in connection with existing factories and for the City, on the other hand, to furnish classes fox: theoretical instruction in connection with the schools of the City.

The practice shops in the factories should not be exclusively "in the control of the manufacturers, nor should the theoretical instruction in the schools be exclusively in the control of the school committees. Both shop and school should be controlled by a Committee on Industrial Education under the supervision of the State Commission on Industrial Education. The Committee on Industrial Education should consist of representatives of the various interests involved. It has been suggested that for Beverly, five members of the school committee, the mayor, and one representative of the manufacturer furnishing the practice shop should constitute the Committee on Industrial Education, and that the superintendent of schools should be, ex-officio, secretary and executive officer. The Committee on Industrial Education would then have full charge of the school and shop and all matters pertaining to the same, except that their acts must be approved by the Massachusetts Commission on Indus- trial Education in order that the school may received aid from the state. The manufacturer furnishing the practice shop would reserve the right to withdraw his co-operation upon suitable notice in case he was dissatisfied with the management of the school shop.

The terms on which a manufacturer would co-operate in furnishing a practice shop would be a matter of agreement in each individual install; but in general it 'is assumed that the manufacturer would furnish the necessary floor-space, power, heat and light, and the machinery and tools pertaining to the equipment. This shop would be operated so far as accounting is concerned as a separate factory. The manufacturer would furnish the raw materials and drawings for the work to be performed, and would purchase at established prices all finished products that passed inspection and were accepted. One-half the piece-price for the product would be paid to the pupil performing the labor and the other half would be devoted to maintenance. ' In the accounts, the practice shop would be debited .for the cost of maintenance, including raw materials and instruction, and would be credited by the full value of all productions, and if, in any case, the accounts showed any profit, such profit would be devoted to the support of the school. It is hardly to be supposed, however, that the earnings of the shop would ever even approximate the cost of maintenance. The manufacturer could in no case receive any profits from the labor of the pupils in the school and the pupils would in no way compete with regular employees in the factory. It seems to this commission much better to remunerate pupil-workman by the piece-price of accepted product than by any stated compensation per hour because of the greater stimulus of the piece-price to productive efficiency both in time and workmanship.

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