Document text
-magnum S. OR FIELD NOTES (Cheek one)
PUB. vi •r
TITLE Italian Shoo Maca no o
WRITER Mort°
DATE 3/2/39 IDS. P.P.
CHECKER DATE
Roland
SOURCES OIVEN Minter with Dammiania—
COMIHMTS
Paper No. 2
Interview with
Roland Dammiani
by
Marton R. Lovett
"As well as remembered
INTERVIEW WITH ROLAND DAMMIANI
by Merton R. Lovett
(from memory)
"I don't know bow many men of Italian blood work
at the United Shoe Machinery Company. It is difficult.
Let me think.
"Well, there are surely three hundred. Maybe
there are four hundred. Shall we say three hundred and
fifty?
"No, the Italian workers are pretty well scatter-
ed. They work inside and out of the plant, on nearly every
job.
"Perhaps there are a greater number in the main-
tenance department. These men are janitors, cleaners, yard
men, gardeners, and repair men. A good many are carpenters,
painters, electricians, etc.
"In the foundry there are several Italians. In the
crop forge plant, there are, let me see five.
"The others they work mostly on machines drills,
lathes, millers, planers.
"How many men are now employed at the United Shoe?
There are on the rolls of the Relief Association, 3000. Prac-
tically everyone is a member. So you see, 3000 would be
about right.
Page 2
"Yes, that means that approximately one man in
eight is an Italian American. In Beverly there are 29,000
people. Thirty five hundred may be called Italians. The
percentage of Italians in Beverly would be, let me see, a-
bout eight and one half percent.
"I should say that the Italians were good mechan-
ics. Whe bosses will tell you that. But of course they
did not want men who could not understand English good.
"In the old country there were not many machine
shops. But many men were fine mechanics. They made things
by hand. They were experts with hand tools. With very
little training they can run machines.
"Yes, the'requirements here for machinists are
changed. There is little need now for the all round mach-
inists, except in the experimental department, perhaps. You
yourself could learn to run a machine very quickly.
"That makes no matter. The foreman would show you
how to place the casting on the machine. He would show you
which lever to pull. You could do it at once. Of course,
you might spoil some pieces, but not long. We engineers plan
everything to be fool proof.
Page 3
"Sure, I work in the Engineering Department.
have had many promotions.
"The day I was hired, I was put to work on an au-
tomatic machine, a drill. Later I went to evening school.
I studied to read blue prints. In time, I was moved to the
Experimental Department.
"Well, I studied drafting in Boston, design and
shop mathematics. I was ambitious. Now I am one of the
engineers. Most of those are college men, from Technology
usually.
"It is like this. The Super says to is, 'We want
to make ten thousand parts like this. We want to make them
better and cheaper.' Perhaps I will be given the task. I
will sketch and draw to scale the machine jigs which hold the
parts during production. I will make them foolproof and as
near automatic as possible. I will consider the workman's
safety also.
"Some other engineer will decide what metal to use
and of what composition and hardness. That depends on many
things; the strains, the heat generated, etc.
Page 4
"Let MB show you, Mr. Lovett, samples of my drawings.
This one here is for a new outsole stitcher.
"Perhaps you do not read blueprints. Well, the inven-
tor said he wanted to manufacture some parts which would give
to the needle a certain motion. He made for me a rough sketch.
Then I must figure some method to secure the results he desired.
"ea, you are right, you could cause the needle to move
so by a cam. But you could perhaps get better results by several
levers. The levers would work this way. I must make the decision
and draft my plans accordingly.
"Always the United Shoe is making improvements. They
hire forty or fifty inventors. Each inventor has many assis-
tants. The new machines or parts are made. They are turned
over for experiment. They may be redesigned. In the end they
are sometimes put into production. More often they are placed
in the company's museum. There they remain until they are needed,
if ever.
"Surel I enjoy my work. It is very interesting. The
pay is good. The work is steady. Never do I lose any pay.
"The less skilled men are usually contented also. At
the United Shoe the work is steady. Sometimes the men work but
four days per week.
bar turnover.
But there is very little what is called la-
Page 5
"No, the pay, it is not large sometimes. For four
days it may be eighteen to twenty-eight dollars. Mitch of it
is piece work. When the work week drops to three days, it
is bard. But that has been very seldom.
"If a man does his work well, he need not worry about
being fired. The foreman are not unreasonable. Of course,
sometimes a man is foolish. He is drunk perhaps every Monday.
That is just too bad for him in the end.
"One Italian was a great joker. He was always teas-
ing the other men. One day a man at a nearby automatic Machine
stood up from his chair. The Italian pulled his chair away
from its place. Then the workman sat down. He sat on nothing
so he fell. His head hit the machine behind. He was badly
hurt. He was in the hospital for six weeks. The joker got
fired. I think he bad only himself to blame, don't you?
"That's right, Mr. Lovett, there are many Italian
boys in the Cooperative Industrial School. You signed the
diplomas. All of those graduates are guaAenteed jobs at
the United Shoe. Sometimes the best get as must as one dollar
per hour.
"In Italy we had the apprentice system. A boy must
work for five years at his trade. He must learn it thoroughly
before be gets a mechanic's license.
Page 6
"In this country most boys are trained for nothing.
It is too bad. Many college graduates must work in gas sta-
tions. Some dig ditches. If they trained for some particu-
lar job, it would not happen.
"Yes, there should be more trade and industrial schools.
Most boys should be fitted for a job when they leave high school.
Don't you think so?"