Ragged Trousered Philanthropists by Robert Tressell (read novel full TXT) 📖

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`Of course,’ agreed Easton, `everyone knows it.’

 

`You ought to give us a look in at the “Cricketers” some night.

There’s a lot of decent chaps comes there.’

 

`Yes, I think I will.’

 

`What ‘ouse do you usually use?’ asked Crass after a pause.

 

Easton laughed. `Well, to tell you the truth I’ve not used anywhere’s

lately. Been ‘avin too many ‘ollerdays.’

 

`That do make a bit of difference, don’t it?’ said Crass. `But you’ll

be all right ‘ere, till this job’s done. Just watch yerself a bit,

and don’t get comin’ late in the mornin’s. Old Nimrod’s dead nuts on

that.’

 

`I’ll see to that all right,’ replied Easton. `I don’t believe in

losing time when there IS work to do. It’s bad enough when you can’t

get it.’

 

`You know,’ Crass went on, confidentially. `Between me an’ you an’

the gatepost, as the sayin’ is, I don’t think Mr bloody Owen will be

‘ere much longer. Nimrod ‘ates the sight of ‘im.’

 

Easton had it in his mind to say that Nimrod seemed to hate the sight

of all of them: but he made no remark, and Crass continued:

 

`‘E’s ‘eard all about the way Owen goes on about politics and

religion, an’ one thing an’ another, an’ about the firm scampin’ the

work. You know that sort of talk don’t do, does it?’

 

`Of course not.’

 

`‘Unter would ‘ave got rid of ‘im long ago, but it wasn’t ‘im as took

‘im on in the first place. It was Rushton ‘imself as give ‘im a

start. It seems Owen took a lot of samples of ‘is work an’ showed ‘em

to the Bloke.’

 

`Is them the things wot’s ‘angin’ up in the shop-winder?’

 

`Yes!’ said Crass, contemptuously. `But ‘e’s no good on plain work.

Of course ‘e does a bit of grainin’ an’ writin’ - after a fashion -

when there’s any to do, and that ain’t often, but on plain work, why,

Sawkins is as good as ‘im for most of it, any day!’

 

`Yes, I suppose ‘e is,’ replied Easton, feeling rather ashamed of

himself for the part he was taking in this conversation.

 

Although he had for the moment forgotten the existence of Bert, Crass

had instinctively lowered his voice, but the boy - who had left off

working to warm his hands by putting them into his trousers pockets -

managed, by listening attentively, to hear every word.

 

`You know there’s plenty of people wouldn’t give the firm no more work

if they knowed about it,’ Crass continued. `Just fancy sendin’ a b—r

like that to work in a lady’s or gentleman’s ‘ouse - a bloody

Atheist!’

 

`Yes, it is a bit orf, when you look at it like that.’

 

`I know my missis - for one - wouldn’t ‘ave a feller like that in our

place. We ‘ad a lodger once and she found out that ‘e was a

freethinker or something, and she cleared ‘im out, bloody quick, I can

tell yer!’

 

`Oh, by the way,’ said Easton, glad of an opportunity to change the

subject, `you don’t happen to know of anyone as wants a room, do you?

We’ve got one more than we want, so the wife thought that we might as

well let it.’

 

Crass thought for a moment. `Can’t say as I do,’ he answered,

doubtfully. `Slyme was talking last week about leaving the place ‘e’s

lodging at, but I don’t know whether ‘e’s got another place to go to.

You might ask him. I don’t know of anyone else.’

 

`I’ll speak to ‘im,’ replied Easton. `What’s the time? it must be

nearly on it.’

 

`So it is: just on eight,’ exclaimed Crass, and drawing his whistle he

blew a shrill blast upon it to apprise the others of the fact.

 

`Has anyone seen old Jack Linden since ‘e got the push?’ inquired

Harlow during breakfast.

 

`I seen ‘im Saterdy,’ said Slyme.

 

`Is ‘e doin’ anything?’

 

`I don’t know: I didn’t ‘ave time to speak to ‘im.’

 

`No, ‘e ain’t got nothing,’ remarked Philpot. `I seen ‘im Saterdy

night, an’ ‘e told me ‘e’s been walkin’ about ever since.’

 

Philpot did not add that he had `lent’ Linden a shilling, which he

never expected to see again.

 

`‘E won’t be able to get a job again in a ‘urry,’ remarked Easton.

`‘E’s too old.’

 

`You know, after all, you can’t blame Misery for sackin’ ‘im,’ said

Crass after a pause. `‘E was too slow for a funeral.’

 

`I wonder how much YOU’LL be able to do when you’re as old as he is?’

said Owen.

 

`P’raps I won’t want to do nothing,’ replied Crass with a feeble

laugh. `I’m goin’ to live on me means.’

 

`I should say the best thing old Jack could do would be to go in the

union,’ said Harlow.

 

`Yes: I reckon that’s what’ll be the end of it,’ said Easton in a

matter-of-fact tone.

 

`It’s a grand finish, isn’t it?’ observed Owen. `After working hard

all one’s life to be treated like a criminal at the end.’

 

`I don’t know what you call bein’ treated like criminals,’ exclaimed

Crass. `I reckon they ‘as a bloody fine time of it, an’ we’ve got to

find the money.’

 

`Oh, for God’s sake don’t start no more arguments,’ cried Harlow,

addressing Owen. `We ‘ad enough of that last week. You can’t expect

a boss to employ a man when ‘e’s too old to work.’

 

`Of course not,’ said Crass.

 

Philpot said - nothing.

 

`I don’t see no sense in always grumblin’,’ Crass proceeded. `These

things can’t be altered. You can’t expect there can be plenty of work

for everyone with all this ‘ere labour-savin’ machinery what’s been

invented.’

 

`Of course,’ said Harlow, `the people what used to be employed on the

work what’s now done by machinery, has to find something else to do.

Some of ‘em goes to our trade, for instance: the result is there’s too

many at it, and there ain’t enough work to keep ‘em all goin’.’

 

`Yes,’ cried Crass, eagerly. `That’s just what I say. Machinery is

the real cause of the poverty. That’s what I said the other day.’

 

`Machinery is undoubtedly the cause of unemployment,’ replied Owen,

`but it’s not the cause of poverty: that’s another matter altogether.’

 

The others laughed derisively.

 

`Well, it seems to me to amount to the same thing,’ said Harlow, and

nearly everyone agreed.

 

`It doesn’t seem to me to amount to the same thing,’ Owen replied.

`In my opinion, we are all in a state of poverty even when we have

employment - the condition we are reduced to when we’re out of work is

more properly described as destitution.’

 

`Poverty,’ continued Owen after a short silence, `consists in a

shortage of the necessaries of life. When those things are so scarce

or so dear that people are unable to obtain sufficient of them to

satisfy all their needs, those people are in a condition of poverty.

If you think that the machinery, which makes it possible to produce

all the necessaries of life in abundance, is the cause of the

shortage, it seems to me that there must be something the matter with

your minds.’

 

`Oh, of course we’re all bloody fools except you,’ snarled Crass.

`When they were servin’ out the sense, they give you such a ‘ell of a

lot, there wasn’t none left for nobody else.’

 

`If there wasn’t something wrong with your minds,’ continued Owen,

`you would be able to see that we might have “Plenty of Work” and yet

be in a state of destitution. The miserable wretches who toil sixteen

or eighteen hours a day - father, mother and even the little children

- making match-boxes, or shirts or blouses, have “plenty of work”, but

I for one don’t envy them. Perhaps you think that if there was no

machinery and we all had to work thirteen or fourteen hours a day in

order to obtain a bare living, we should not be in a condition of

poverty? Talk about there being something the matter with your minds!

If there were not, you wouldn’t talk one day about Tariff Reform as a

remedy for unemployment and then the next day admit that Machinery is

the cause of it! Tariff Reform won’t do away with the machinery, will

it?’

 

`Tariff Reform is the remedy for bad trade,’ returned Crass.

 

`In that case Tariff Reform is the remedy for a disease that does not

exist. If you would only take the trouble to investigate for yourself

you would find out that trade was never so good as it is at present:

the output - the quantity of commodities of every kind - produced in

and exported from this country is greater than it has ever been

before. The fortunes amassed in business are larger than ever before:

but at the same time - owing, as you have just admitted - to the

continued introduction and extended use of wages-saving machinery, the

number of human beings being employed is steadily decreasing. I have

here,’ continued Owen, taking out his pocketbook, `some figures which

I copied from the Daily Mail Year Book for 1907, page 33:

 

`“It is a very noticeable fact that although the number of factories

and their value have vastly increased in the United Kingdom, there is

an absolute decrease in the number of men and women employed in those

factories between 1895 and 1901. This is doubtless due to the

displacement of hand labour by machinery!”

 

`Will Tariff Reform deal with that? Are the good, kind capitalists

going to abandon the use of wages-saving machinery if we tax all

foreign-made goods? Does what you call “Free Trade” help us here? Or

do you think that abolishing the House of Lords, or disestablishing

the Church, will enable the workers who are displaced to obtain

employment? Since it IS true - as you admit - that machinery is the

principal cause of unemployment, what are you going to do about it?

What’s your remedy?’

 

No one answered, because none of them knew of any remedy: and Crass

began to feel sorry that he had re-introduced the subject at all.

 

`In the near future,’ continued Owen, `it is probable that horses will

be almost entirely superseded by motor cars and electric trams. As

the services of horses will be no longer required, all but a few of

those animals will be caused to die out: they will no longer be bred

to the same extent as formerly. We can’t blame the horses for

allowing themselves to be exterminated. They have not sufficient

intelligence to understand what’s being done. Therefore they will

submit tamely to the extinction of the greater number of their kind.

 

`As we have seen, a great deal of the work which was formerly done by

human beings is now being done by machinery. This machinery belongs

to a few people: it is worked for the benefit of those few, just the

same as were the human beings it displaced. These Few have no longer

any need of the services of so many human workers, so they propose to

exterminate them! The unnecessary human beings are to be allowed to

starve to death! And they are also to be taught that it is wrong to

marry and breed children, because the Sacred Few do not require so

many people to work for them as before!’

 

`Yes, and you’ll never be able to prevent it, mate!’ shouted Crass.

 

`Why can’t we?’

 

`Because it can’t be done!’ cried Crass fiercely. `It’s impossible!’

 

`You’re always sayin’ that