Part 75 (2/2)

When the architect and the owner were gone the two chandeliers were taken down again from under the roof, and put upon a handcart, covered over with sacks and dust-sheets and taken back to the shop and again placed for sale with the other stock.

These are only a few of the petty thefts committed by these people. To give anything approaching a full account of all the rest would require a separate volume.

As a result of all the hurrying and scamping, every now and again the men found that they had worked themselves out of a job.

Several times during the summer the firm had scarcely anything to do, and nearly everybody had to stand off for a few days or weeks.

When Newman got his first start in the early part of the year he had only been working for about a fortnight when--with several others--he was 'stood off'. Fortunately, however, the day after he left Rushtons, he was lucky enough to get a start for another firm, Driver and Botchit, where he worked for nearly a month, and then he was again given a job at Rushton's, who happened to be busy again.

He did not have to lose much time, for he 'finished up' for Driver and Botchit on a Thursday night and on the Friday he interviewed Misery, who told him they were about to commence a fresh 'job' on the following Monday morning at six o'clock, and that he could start with them. So this time Newman was only out of work the Friday and Sat.u.r.day, which was another stroke of luck, because it often happens that a man has to lose a week or more after 'finis.h.i.+ng up' for one firm before he gets another 'job'.

All through the summer Cra.s.s continued to be the general 'colour-man', most of his time being spent at the shop mixing up colours for all the different 'jobs'. He also acted as a sort of lieutenant to Hunter, who, as the reader has already been informed, was not a practical painter. When there was a price to be given for some painting work, Misery sometimes took Cra.s.s with him to look over it and help him to estimate the amount of time and material it would take. Cra.s.s was thus in a position of more than ordinary importance, not only being superior to the 'hands', but also ranking above the other sub-foremen who had charge of the 'jobs'.

It was Cra.s.s and these sub-foremen who were to blame for most of the scamping and driving, because if it had not been for them neither Rushton nor Hunter would have known how to scheme the work.

Of course, Hunter and Rushton wanted to drive and scamp, but not being practical men they would not have known how if it had not been for Cra.s.s and the others, who put them up to all the tricks of the trade.

Cra.s.s knew that when the men stayed till half past seven they were in the habit of ceasing work for a few minutes to eat a mouthful of grub about six o'clock, so he suggested to Misery that as it was not possible to stop this, it would be a good plan to make the men stop work altogether from half past five till six, and lose half an hour's pay; and to make up the time, instead of leaving off at seven-thirty, they could work till eight.

Misery had known of and winked at the former practice, for he knew that the men could not work all that time without something to eat, but Cra.s.s's suggestion seemed a much better way, and it was adopted.

When the other masters in Mugsborough heard of this great reform they all followed suit, and it became the rule in that town, whenever it was necessary to work overtime, for the men to stay till eight instead of half past seven as formerly, and they got no more pay than before.

Previous to this summer it had been the almost invariable rule to have two men in each room that was being painted, but Cra.s.s pointed out to Misery that under such circ.u.mstances they wasted time talking to each other, and they also acted as a check on one another: each of them regulated the amount of work he did by the amount the other did, and if the 'job' took too long it was always difficult to decide which of the two was to blame: but if they were made to work alone, each of them would be on his mettle; he would not know how much the others were doing, and the fear of being considered slow in comparison with others would make them all tear into it all they could.

Misery thought this a very good idea, so the solitary system was introduced, and as far as practicable, one room, one man became the rule.

They even tried to make the men distemper large ceilings single-handed, and succeeded in one or two cases, but after several ceilings had been spoilt and had to be washed off and done over again, they gave that up: but nearly all the other work was now arranged on the 'solitary system', and it worked splendidly: each man was constantly in a state of panic as to whether the others were doing more work than himself.

Another suggestion that Cra.s.s made to Misery was that the sub-foremen should be instructed never to send a man into a room to prepare it for painting.

'If you sends a man into a room to get it ready,' said Cra.s.s, ''e makes a meal of it! 'E spends as much time messin' about rubbin' down and stoppin' up as it would take to paint it. But,' he added, with a cunning leer, 'give 'em a bit of putty and a little bit of gla.s.s-paper, and the paint at the stand, and then 'e gits it in 'is mind as 'e's going in there to paint it! And 'e doesn't mess about much over the preparing of it'.

These and many other suggestions--all sorts of devices for scamping and getting over the work--were schemed out by Cra.s.s and the other sub-foremen, who put them into practice and showed them to Misery and Rushton in the hope of currying favour with them and being 'kept on'.

And between the lot of them they made life a veritable h.e.l.l for themselves, and the hands, and everybody else around them. And the mainspring of it all was--the greed and selfishness of one man, who desired to acc.u.mulate money! For this was the only object of all the driving and bullying and hatred and cursing and unhappiness--to make money for Rushton, who evidently considered himself a deserving case.

It is sad and discreditable, but nevertheless true, that some of the more selfish of the philanthropists often became weary of well-doing, and lost all enthusiasm in the good cause. At such times they used to say that they were 'b.l.o.o.d.y well fed up' with the whole business and 'Tired of tearing their b.l.o.o.d.y guts out for the benefit of other people' and every now and then some of these fellows would 'chuck up'

work, and go on the booze, sometimes stopping away for two or three days or a week at a time. And then, when it was all over, they came back, very penitent, to ask for another 'start', but they generally found that their places had been filled.

If they happened to be good 'sloggers'--men who made a practice of 'tearing their guts out' when they did work--they were usually forgiven, and after being admonished by Misery, permitted to resume work, with the understanding that if ever it occurred again they would get the 'infernal'--which means the final and irrevocable--sack.

There was once a job at a shop that had been a high-cla.s.s restaurant kept by a renowned Italian chef. It had been known as

'MACARONI'S ROYAL ITALIAN CAFE'

Situated on the Grand Parade, it was a favourite resort of the 'Elite', who frequented it for afternoon tea and coffee and for little suppers after the theatre.

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