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

>large number of men hanging about the vicinity of the Fountain on the

Parade - The Wage Slave Market. When men finished up for the firm

they were working for they usually made for that place. Any master in

want of a wage slave for a few hours, days or weeks could always buy

one there. The men knew this and they also knew that if they got the

sack from one firm it was no easy matter to get another job, and that

was why they were terrified.

 

When Misery was gone - to repeat the same performance at some other

job - the sub-foreman would have a crawl round to see how the chaps

were getting on: to find out if they had used up all their paint yet,

or to bring them some putty so that they should not have to leave

their work to go to get anything themselves: and then very often

Rushton himself would come and stalk quietly about the house or stand

silently behind the men, watching them as they worked. He seldom

spoke to anyone, but just stood there like a graven image, or walked

about like a dumb animal - a pig, as the men used to say. This

individual had a very exalted idea of his own importance and dignity.

One man got the sack for presuming to stop him in the street to ask

some questions about some work that was being done.

 

Misery went round to all the jobs the next day and told all the

`coddies’ to tell all the hands that they were never to speak to Mr

Rushton if they met him in the street, and the following Saturday the

man who had so offended was given his back day, ostensibly because

there was nothing for him to do, but really for the reason stated above.

 

There was one job, the outside of a large house that stood on elevated

ground overlooking the town. The men who were working there were even

more than usually uncomfortable, for it was said that Rushton used to

sit in his office and watch them through a telescope.

 

Sometimes, when it was really necessary to get a job done by a certain

time, they had to work late, perhaps till eight or nine o’clock. No

time was allowed for tea, but some of them brought sufficient food

with them in the morning to enable them to have a little about six

o’clock in the evening. Others arranged for their children to bring

them some tea from home. As a rule, they partook of this without

stopping work: they had it on the floor beside them and ate and drank

and worked at the same time - a paint-brushful of white lead in one

hand, and a piece of bread and margarine in the other. On some jobs,

if the `coddy’ happened to be a decent sort, they posted a sentry to

look out for Hunter or Rushton while the others knocked off for a few

minutes to snatch a mouthful of grub; but it was not safe always to do

this, for there was often some crawling sneak with an ambition to

become a `coddy’ who would not scruple to curry favour with Misery by

reporting the crime.

 

As an additional precaution against the possibility of any of the men

idling or wasting their time, each one was given a time-sheet on which

he was required to account for every minute of the day. The form of

these sheets vary slightly with different firms: that of Rushton &

Co., was as shown.

 

TIME SHEET

OF WORK DONE BY IN THE EMPLOY OF

RUSHTON & CO

BUILDERS & DECORATORS : MUGSBOROUGH

 

NO SMOKING OR INTOXICANTS ALLOWED DURING WORKING HOURS

 

EACH PIECE OF WORK MUST BE FULLY DESCRIBED, WHAT IT WAS, AND HOW LONG

IT TOOK TO DO.

–—+–––––+–––—+–––—+––-+––––

| | Time When | Time When | |

| Where Working | Started | Finished | Hours | What Doing

–—+–––––+–––—+–––—+––-+––––

Sat | | | | |

–—+–––––+–––—+–––—+––-+––––

Mon | | | | |

–—+–––––+–––—+–––—+––-+––––

Tues | | | | |

–—+–––––+–––—+–––—+––-+––––

Wed | | | | |

–—+–––––+–––—+–––—+––-+––––

Thur | | | | |

–—+–––––+–––—+–––—+––-+––––

Fri | | | | |

–—+–––––+–––—+–––—+––-+––––

| | Total Hours | |

–—+–––––+–––—+–––—+––-+––––

One Monday morning Misery gave each of the sub-foremen an envelope

containing one of the firm s memorandum forms. Crass opened his and

found the following:

 

Crass

 

When you are on a job with men under you, check and initial their

time-sheets every night.

 

If they are called away and sent to some other job, or stood off,

check and initial their time-sheets as they leave your job.

 

Any man coming on your job during the day, you must take note of the

exact time of his arrival, and see that his sheet is charged right.

 

Any man who is slow or lazy, or any man that you notice talking more

than is necessary during working hours, you must report him to Mr

Hunter. We expect you and the other foremen to help us to carry out

these rules, AND ANY INFORMATION GIVEN US ABOUT ANY MAN IS TREATED IN

CONFIDENCE.

 

Rushton & Co.

 

Note: This applies to all men of all trades who come on the jobs of

which you are the foreman.

 

Every week the time-sheets were scrutinized, and every now and then a

man would be `had up on the carpet’ in the office before Rushton and

Misery, and interrogated as to why he had taken fifteen hours to do

ten hours work? In the event of the accused being unable to give a

satisfactory explanation of his conduct he was usually sacked on the

spot.

 

Misery was frequently called `up on the carpet’ himself.

 

If he made a mistake in figuring out a `job’, and gave in too high a

tender for it, so that the firm did not get the work, Rushton

grumbled. If the price was so low that there was not enough profit,

Rushton was very unpleasant about it, and whenever it happened that

there was not only no profit but an actual loss, Rushton created such

a terrible disturbance that Misery was nearly frightened to death and

used to get on his bicycle and rush off to the nearest `job’ and howl

and bellow at the `chaps’ to get it done.

 

All the time the capabilities of the men - especially with regard to

speed - were carefully watched and noted: and whenever there was a

slackness of work and it was necessary to discharge some hands those

that were slow or took too much pains were weeded out: this of course

was known to the men and it had the desired effect upon them.

 

In justice to Rushton and Hunter, it must be remembered that there was

a certain amount of excuse for all this driving and cheating, because

they had to compete with all the other firms, who conducted their

business in precisely the same way. It was not their fault, but the

fault of the system.

 

A dozen firms tendered for every `job’, and of course the lowest

tender usually obtained the work. Knowing this, they all cut the

price down to the lowest possible figure and the workmen had to

suffer.

 

The trouble was that there were too many `masters’. It would have

been far better for the workmen if nine out of every ten of the

employers had never started business. Then the others would have been

able to get a better price for their work, and the men might have had

better wages and conditions. The hands, however, made no such

allowances or excuses as these for Misery and Rushton. They never

thought or spoke of them except with hatred and curses. But whenever

either of them came to the `job’ the `coddies’ cringed and grovelled

before them, greeting them with disgustingly servile salutations,

plentifully interspersed with the word `Sir’, greetings which were

frequently either ignored altogether or answered with an inarticulate

grunt. They said `Sir’ at nearly every second word: it made one feel

sick to hear them because it was not courtesy: they were never

courteous to each other, it was simply abject servility and

self-contempt.

 

One of the results of all the frenzied hurrying was that every now and

then there was an accident: somebody got hurt: and it was strange that

accidents were not more frequent, considering the risk, that were

taken. When they happened to be working on ladders in busy streets

they were not often allowed to have anyone to stand at the foot, and

the consequence was that all sorts and conditions of people came into

violent collision with the bottoms of the ladders. Small boys playing

in the reckless manner characteristic of their years rushed up against

them. Errand boys, absorbed in the perusal of penny instalments of

the adventures of Claude Duval, and carrying large baskets of

greengroceries, wandered into them. Blind men fell foul of them.

Adventurous schoolboys climbed up them. People with large feet became

entangled in them. Fat persons of both sexes who thought it unlucky

to walk underneath, tried to negotiate the narrow strip of pavement

between the foot of the ladder and the kerb, and in their passage

knocked up against the ladder and sometimes fell into the road.

Nursemaids wheeling perambulators - lolling over the handle, which

they usually held with their left hands, the right holding a copy of

Orange Blossoms or some halfpenny paper, and so interested in the

story of the Marquis of Lymejuice - a young man of noble presence and

fabulous wealth, with a drooping golden moustache and very long legs,

who, notwithstanding the diabolical machinations of Lady Sibyl

Malvoise, who loves him as well as a woman with a name like that is

capable of loving anyone, is determined to wed none other than the

scullery-maid at the Village Inn - inevitably bashed the perambulators

into the ladders. Even when the girls were not reading they nearly

always ran into the ladders, which seemed to possess a magnetic

attraction for perambulators and go-carts of all kinds, whether

propelled by nurses or mothers. Sometimes they would advance very

cautiously towards the ladder: then, when they got very near, hesitate

a little whether to go under or run the risk of falling into the

street by essaying the narrow passage: then they would get very close

up to the foot of the ladder, and dodge and dance about, and give the

cart little pushes from side to side, until at last the magnetic

influence exerted itself and the perambulator crashed into the ladder,

perhaps at the very moment that the man at the top was stretching out

to do some part of the work almost beyond his reach.

 

Once Harlow had just started painting some rainpipes from the top of a

40-ft ladder when one of several small boys who were playing in the

street ran violently against the foot. Harlow was so startled that he

dropped his brushes and clutched wildly at the ladder, which turned

completely round and slid about six feet along the parapet into the

angle of the wall, with Harlow hanging beneath by his hands. The

paint pot was hanging by a hook from one of the rungs, and the jerk

scattered the brown paint it contained all over Harlow and all over

the brickwork of the front of the house. He managed to descend safely

by clasping his legs round the sides of the ladder and sliding down.

When Misery came there was a row about what he called carelessness.

And the next day Harlow had to wear his Sunday trousers to work.

 

On another occasion they were painting the outside of a house called

`Gothic Lodge’.