rminatin

after seven o'clock one Monday morning as

t of two candles which Crass had lighted and stuck on the shelf over the fireplace in or

low as he hung his overcoat on a nail and proceeded to put on h

kfast-time,' growled the mo

work for work's sake', which is so popular with the people who do nothing. On the contrary, when the workers arrived in the morning they wished it

r, wishing their time was over and, without re

mselves do nothing but devour or use and enjoy or waste the things that are produced by the labour of th

al lots of colour

ple of candles up there. It's only goin' to 'ave one coat, so see that you make it cover all right, and just look after Sawki

g the company generally. 'We've got to teach a b--r like 'im so

is: 'Unter sends 'im 'ere to do paintin', and I've got

was prevented by Sawkins' arrival

neered Crass. 'Thought p'rap

eping himself, and having hastily put on

's a couple of candles. You'd better not both go in one room or 'Unter will growl about it. You take one of the front and let Newman take one of t

m rooms will never look nothing with

ily. ''Unter said so, so you'll 'ave to do the best you ca

the copy of the specification of the work which he had in his

w turned

ve decided about it. Whatever's to be done to it will be an extra, because all that's said about it in the con

me putty by rubbing and squ

nish the room I started

d Crass. 'Have you

said

Bert, the boy, who was engaged in lighting, with some pieces of wood,

ter I want's co

t it over there on the dresser

r one than either of the other two. This was an important matter. After they were cooked it would not be easy to say which was which: he m

Bert. 'I've cut the tail of min

d up a seat by taking two of the drawers out of the dresser and placing them on the floor about six feet apart and laying a plank across, he sat down in front of the fire, which

, and his clothes were of many colours, being thickly encrusted with paint, the result of the unskillful manner in which he did his work, for he

a year ago, his mother readily assented when the boy said that he wished to become a decorator. It was a nice light trade, and she thought that a really good painter, such as she was sure he would become, was at least always able to earn a good living. Resolving to give the boy the best possible chance, she decided if possible to place him at Rushton's, that being one of

arted with it willingly in order that the boy should become a skilled w

rrounded by the poisonous pigments and materials of the trade, the youthful artisan worked, generally alone, cleaning the dirty paint-pots brought

working--heavy loads of paint or white lead--sometimes pails of whitewash that

staggering manfully along, bending beneath t

ring and slung over his shoulders. Occasionally, however, there were more than he could carry

in the damp, evil-smelling, stone-flagged paint-shop

ly. As time went on, the goal of his childish ambition was reached--he was sent out to work with the men!

nd to be a good boy, and

was any special work of any kind to be done it was Owen who did it. On such occasions, Bert, in his artful, boyish way, would

the habit of jeering at the boy's aspirations. 'There'll be plenty of time for you to

washing up the cups and mugs, Ber

thoughtfully, 'You've put t

es

want a job,

replied

and a swab, and go and wash off the old whitewas

as far as the door leading into th

three bloaters cooke

that,' said Cras

eps and a short plank, one end of which he rested on the bottom shelf of the pa

his jacket on, but that was out of the question at a job like this. He lifted the bucket of water on to one of the shelves and, climbing

brush, and then, to finish with, he thrust his hand into the pail of water and, taking out the swab, wrung the water out of it and wiped the part of the ceiling that he had washed. Then he dropped it back into the pail, and shook his numbed fingers to restore th

o himself, regarding Crass malignantly through the crack of the doo

a little further along the sh

ltily and, thrusting the hand holding his pipe into his apron pocket, retreated hastily into the scullery. He thou

t the young 'un to toast for m

' replied Crass affably, looking at

been wise enough to stand Crass a drink on several occasions: he

g to the work Easton and Owen were doing in the drawing

ough's pretty bad. I can generally manage to get

bloody fool. Accordin' to 'im, everything's wrong. One day it's

agreed Easton, 'but I don't take no notice

,' Crass went on, 'but if the likes of 'im could 'ave

what I say,'

',' Crass continued as he drew a small piece of printed paper fro

ng and read it: 'Very good,' he

about poverty and men bein' out of work, 'ow 'e dodged out of answerin' wot I said about m

it,' said Easton, who had really no

wn at the "Cricketers" the other night talkin' about the same thing--a chap as takes a interest in politics and the like, and 'e said t

eed Easton, 'eve

the "Cricketers" some night. There'

think

usually use?' asked

he truth I've not used anywhere's la

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

I don't believe in losing time when there IS wo

u an' the gatepost, as the sayin' is, I don't think Mr bloody

d seemed to hate the sight of all of them:

religion, an' one thing an' another, an' about the firm scam

ourse

m on in the first place. It was Rushton 'imself as give 'im a start. It

wot's 'angin' up i

a bit of grainin' an' writin'--after a fashion--when there's any to do, and that ain

feeling rather ashamed of himself for th

y lowered his voice, but the boy--who had left off working to warm his hands by puttin

if they knowed about it,' Crass continued. 'Just fancy sendin' a b--r

orf, when you look

lace. We 'ad a lodger once and she found out that 'e was a freethinke

ct, 'you don't happen to know of anyone as wants a room, do you? We've go

s talking last week about leaving the place 'e's lodging at, but I don't know wheth

ed Easton. 'What's the tim

and drawing his whistle he blew a shrill bla

en since 'e got the push?' inq

Saterdy,'

doin' a

didn't 'ave time

pot. 'I seen 'im Saterdy night, an' 'e to

'lent' Linden a shilling, whic

job again in a 'urry,' rema

sery for sackin' 'im,' said Crass after

be able to do when you're

,' replied Crass with a feeble lau

old Jack could do would be to

l be the end of it,' said Ea

Owen. 'After working hard all one's life

inals,' exclaimed Crass. 'I reckon they 'as a blood

low, addressing Owen. 'We 'ad enough of that last week. You c

e not,' s

said--

gs can't be altered. You can't expect there can be plenty of work for ev

by machinery, has to find something else to do. Some of 'em goes to our trade, for instance

at I say. Machinery is the real cause of the

yment,' replied Owen, 'but it's not the cause

laughed d

t to the same thing,' said Har

, we are all in a state of poverty even when we have employment--the condition we

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 poss

rass. 'When they were servin' out the sense, they give you s

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

e remedy for bad tra

s 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 introductio

ed in the United Kingdom, there is an absolute decrease in the number of men and women employed in those

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 t

f any remedy: and Crass began to feel sorry

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

, 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

be able to prevent it

can't

one!' cried Crass fier

ng,' complained Harlow, 'but why the 'ell don't

believe that even if it were proved that it could be done, most

ain't no bloody good--Free Trade ain't no bloody good, and everybody el

ng from the Obscurer which he had in his pocket would take a bit of answering! When you have a thing in print--in black and white--why there it is, and you can't get away from it! If it wasn't right, a