England, because the American workmen had gone through a special
training, and a similar training would be necessary to enable English
workmen to adapt themselves to American machines. One very noticeable
feature in American engineering shops which he visited was that all
the machine men and turners were seated on blocks or stools at their
machines, and the question naturally arose in his mind what would
English engineers say if such a practice were adopted in their shops.
In other ways he was also struck by the special attention devoted to
the comfort of the workmen, and he was much impressed by the healthy
condition of the emery polishing shops as compared with similar shops
in this country. In England these shops in most cases were simply
deathtraps to the workmen, and he urged that the superior method of
ventilation carried out in the States should be adopted in this
country by introducing a fan to each wheel to take away the particles,
etc., which were so injurious. One very special feature in the United
States was that works were devoted to the manufacture of one
particular article to an almost inconceivable extent, and that heavy
machine tools complete and ready to be dispatched were kept in stock
in large numbers. American enterprise was not hampered as it too
frequently was in England by want of capital; while in England we were
ready to put our savings in South American railways or fictitious gold
mines, but very chary about investing capital which would assist an
engineer in bringing out an honest improvement, in America, on the
other hand, it was a common practice among the best firms to invest
their savings over and over again in their works, which were thus kept
in a high state of perfection.

The above paper came in for some pretty severe criticism. Mr. John
Craven remarked that although Mr. Renold had gone over a wide field of
subjects, he had practically confined his remarks to Messrs. Brown &