Drilling advances

	Vol. 229 No. 5
LES SKINNER, PE, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, LSKINNER@SBCGLOBAL.NET

A tale of two craftsmen

Once upon a time in a land far away, a master woodcarver decided to move to a new village deep in a forest. He was convinced that in the forest he could find a good supply of the high-quality wood he needed. So he loaded his young family, all of his belongings and his tools into a cart pulled by his faithful donkey and set out for the village.

Along the way, the wood carver met another man and his family who were moving to the new village in pursuit of a living. He was a tinsmith. Like the woodcarver, he wanted to go into the forest to find the ore he could smelt to produce high-quality pots and pans. So, together the two families made their way to the village in the forest full of anticipation at a bright future.

When they arrived at the village, they were welcomed by the people living there, since there was no woodcarver or tinsmith in the village. Both families were allowed to build a house near the center of the village so their shops would be accessible to all the people. It was a lovely place and the two families easily fit in.

Soon after arriving, the woodcarver and the tinsmith went into the forest to search for the materials they needed. The woodcarver found a supply of dark hardwood perfect for carving. The tinsmith found an abundant supply of high-quality ore for smelting. To avoid accidental disclosure of these sources, the two men decided not to tell the other where their supplies were located.

Soon, both craftsmen were taking materials from the forest and producing marvelous things for the people of the village. The woodcarver made furniture, mantels for fireplaces, cases for clocks and doors, all exquisitely carved from the rich, dark wood. The tinsmith made pots and pans of all sizes and types out of the metal he smelted from the ore in the forest. The people of the village eagerly purchased these from the craftsmen and both men prospered. All the people were happy and the village grew.

Soon the two craftsmen were joined by other craftsmen as news of the village spread. A blacksmith arrived and bought metals from the tinsmith that he could use to build farming implements, tools and other heavy articles. The metal was too coarse for the tinsmith, but it was perfect for the blacksmith. Another woodcarver arrived and located a supply of light, soft wood in the forest perfect for his type of carvings. A weaver soon joined the group buying raw products from the villagers to make beautiful cloth that others made into clothing, bedding and other articles, and the village continued to prosper.

The woodcarver and the tinsmith were happy to see other craftsmen working at their trades using the products from the forest and the land. As the village grew, there was ample revenue to keep everyone working. Profits continued to increase as the demand for goods grew. Families grew larger, and rooms were added to the meager homes in which the woodcarver and the tinsmith lived. Life was truly good in the village, which by now had become a town in the forest.

One day, a wicked man arrived in the village and he immediately saw the opportunity to grab some of the town’s prosperity for himself without working. He began his quest by telling the townspeople of his travels to other cities and they were fascinated by his tales. Then, he told them that the craftsmen were charging too much for the goods they were producing. Their profits were excessive and the craftsmen were not their friends. In fact, the craftsmen were evil and their profits were obscene.

Soon, the townspeople began to believe that the craftsmen were taking advantage of them. They grumbled about their prosperity, and they considered ways to take some of their profits away. At first, they stopped buying their products. The craftsmen could not understand why the people were angry, and they lowered their prices to gain favor. The people of the town were still angry and wanted the craftsmen to lower their prices even more. Soon, the craftsmen were barely making a profit at all.

The wicked man then told the townspeople that if they elected him mayor, he would find a way to get even with the craftsmen. He would make them pay a tax on their profits which he, the new mayor, would use to build parks and wide streets and to provide free food and firewood to the people. He promised many things to the people, but all he really wanted was to keep the money for himself. The townspeople eagerly sought all the free things the evil man promised, so they elected him mayor and allowed him to tax the obscene profits of the craftsmen.

The woodcarver and the tinsmith met with the mayor and tried to explain that they were only making the profits that the market in the town would support. Their profits were in line with those of craftsmen in other villages and towns nearby. The evil mayor would not hear of it, and he ordered that the two men be put in jail for daring to contradict him. Soon, however, he released them, since he could not charge taxes on their profits if they weren’t making any money.

Before long, the craftsmen of the town were losing money so rapidly that they could no longer make a living. One by one, they began to leave for other villages where the evil mayor had no influence. At last, the woodcarver and the tinsmith loaded their few remaining belongings, their families and their tools into carts, hitched up their donkeys and slowly made their way out of town, leaving behind their homes, their faithful friends and their businesses.

At first, the townspeople rejoiced at having driven out the evil craftsmen. Soon, however, the mayor (having lost his primary source of taxes) began to tax the people of the village. They did not get any of the free things the mayor had promised, since he kept all the money. They began to grumble about this evil mayor, and he soon took all the money and left town. They realized that they had been duped, but it was too late. All the craftsmen were gone, never to return. Soon, the people of the village began leaving, since they too had trouble making a living, and before long the town became a small village again. After a time, all the people left and the village sat abandoned in the forest, lonely and forgotten.

They say that this could not happen again, but fairy tales often repeat themselves and sometimes come true. Greed is a powerful force. Wisdom tells us to be wary of evil politicians making false promises and over-taxing the profits of honest master craftsmen.