the ragged trousered philanthropists-第167章

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nd　after　lighting　the　fire；　set　about　preparing　the　samples　he　had　mentioned　to　Nora；　but　found　that　it　would　not　be　possible　to　do　much　in　this　direction　without　buying　more　cardboard；　for　most　of　what　he　had　was　not　in　good　condition。

They　had　bread　and　butter　and　tea　for　breakfast。　　Frankie　had　his　in　bed　and　it　was　decided　to　keep　him　away　from　school　until　after　dinner　because　the　weather　was　so　very　cold　and　his　only　pair　of　boots　were　so　saturated　with　moisture　from　having　been　out　in　the　snow　the　previous　day。

‘I　shall　make　a　few　inquiries　to　see　if　there's　any　other　work　to　be　had　before　I　buy　the　cardboard；'　said　Owen；　‘although　I'm　afraid　it's　not　much　use。'

Just　as　he　was　preparing　to　go　out；　the　front　door　bell　rang；　and　as　he　was　going　down　to　answer　it　he　saw　Bert　White　coming　upstairs。　　The　boy　was　carrying　a　flat；　brown…paper　parcel　under　his　arm。

‘A　corfin　plate；'　he　explained　as　he　arrived　at　the　door。　　‘Wanted　at　once　…　Misery　ses　you　can　do　it　at　'ome；　an'　I've　got　to　wait　for　it。'

Owen　and　his　wife　looked　at　each　other　with　intense　relief。　　So　he　was　not　to　be　dismissed　after　all。　　It　was　almost　too　good　to　be　true。

‘There's　a　piece　of　paper　inside　the　parcel　with　the　name　of　the　party　what's　dead；'　continued　Bert；　‘and　here's　a　little　bottle　of　Brunswick　black　for　you　to　do　the　inscription　with。'

‘Did　he　send　any　other　message？'

‘Yes：　he　told　me　to　tell　you　there's　a　job　to　be　started　Monday　morning　…　a　couple　of　rooms　to　be　done　out　somewhere。　　Got　to　be　finished　by　Thursday；　and　there's　another　job　'e　wants　you　to　do　this　afternoon　…　after　dinner　…　so　you've　got　to　come　to　the　yard　at　one　o'clock。　　'E　told　me　to　tell　you　'e　meant　to　leave　a　message　for　you　yesterday　morning；　but　'e　forgot。'

‘What　did　he　say　to　you　about　the　fire　…　anything？'

‘Yes：　they　both　of　'em　came　about　an　hour　after　you　went　away　…　Misery　and　the　Bloke　too　…　but　they　didn't　kick　up　a　row。　　I　wasn't　arf　frightened；　I　can　tell　you；　when　I　saw　'em　both　coming；　but　they　was　quite　nice。　　The　Bloke　ses　to　me；　〃Ah；　that's　right；　my　boy；〃　'e　ses。　〃Keep　up　a　good　fire。　　I'm　going　to　send　you　some　coke；〃　'e　ses。　　And　then　they　'ad　a　look　round　and　'e　told　Sawkins　to　put　some　new　panes　of　glass　where　the　winder　was　broken；　and　…　you　know　that　great　big　packing…case　what　was　under　the　truck　shed？'

‘Yes。'

‘Well；　'e　told　Sawkins　to　saw　it　up　and　cover　over　the　stone　floor　of　the　paint…shop　with　it。　　It　ain't　'arf　all　right　there　now。　　I've　cleared　out　all　the　muck　from　under　the　benches　and　we've　got　two　sacks　of　coke　sent　from　the　gas…works；　and　the　Bloke　told　me　when　that's　all　used　up　I've　got　to　get　a　order　orf　Miss　Wade　for　another　lot。'

At　one　o'clock　Owen　was　at　the　yard；　where　he　saw　Misery；　who　instructed　him　to　go　to　the　front　shop　and　paint　some　numbers　on　the　racks　where　the　wallpapers　were　stored。　　Whilst　he　was　doing　this　work　Rushton　came　in　and　greeted　him　in　a　very　friendly　way。

‘I'm　very　glad　you　let　me　know　about　the　boy　working　in　that　paint…shop；'　he　observed　after　a　few　preliminary　remarks。　　‘I　can　assure　you　as　I　don't　want　the　lad　to　be　uncomfortable；　but　you　know　I　can't　attend　to　everything　myself。　　I'm　much　obliged　to　you　for　telling　me　about　it；　I　think　you　did　quite　right；　I　should　have　done　the　same　myself。'

Owen　did　not　know　what　to　reply；　but　Rushton　walked　off　without　waiting。。。



Chapter　52

'It's　a　Far；　Far　Better　Thing　that　I　do；　than　I　have　Ever　Done'


Although　Owen；　Easton　and　Crass　and　a　few　others　were　so　lucky　as　to　have　had　a　little　work　to　do　during　the　last　few　months；　the　majority　of　their　fellow　workmen　had　been　altogether　out　of　employment　most　of　the　time；　and　meanwhile　the　practical　business…men；　and　the　pretended　disciples　of　Christ　…　the　liars　and　hypocrites　who　professed　to　believe　that　all　men　are　brothers　and　God　their　Father　…　had　continued　to　enact　the　usual　farce　that　they　called　‘Dealing'　with　the　misery　that　surrounded　them　on　every　side。　　They　continued　to　organize　‘Rummage'　and　‘Jumble'　sales　and　bazaars；　and　to　distribute　their　rotten　cast…off　clothes　and　boots　and　their　broken　victuals　and　soup　to　such　of　the　Brethren　as　were　sufficiently　degraded　to　beg　for　them。　The　beautiful　Distress　Committee　was　also　in　full　operation；　over　a　thousand　Brethren　had　registered　themselves　on　its　books。　　Of　this　number　…　after　careful　investigation　…　the　committee　had　found　that　no　fewer　than　six　hundred　and　seventy…two　were　deserving　of　being　allowed　to　work　for　their　living。　　The　Committee　would　probably　have　given　these　six　hundred　and　seventy…two　the　necessary　permission；　but　it　was　somewhat　handicapped　by　the　fact　that　the　funds　at　its　disposal　were　only　sufficient　to　enable　that　number　of　Brethren　to　be　employed　for　about　three　days。　　However；　by　adopting　a　policy　of　temporizing；　delay；　and　general　artful　dodging；　the　Committee　managed　to　create　the　impression　that　they　were　Dealing　with　the　Problem。

If　it　had　not　been　for　a　cunning　device　invented　by　Brother　Rushton；　a　much　larger　number　of　the　Brethren　would　have　succeeded　in　registering　themselves　as　unemployed　on　the　books　of　the　Committee。　　In　previous　years　it　had　been　the　practice　to　issue　an　application　form　called　a　‘Record　Paper'　to　any　Brother　who　asked　for　one；　and　the　Brother　returned　it　after　filling　it　in　himself。　　At　a　secret　meeting　of　the　Committee　Rushton　proposed　…　amid　laughter　and　applause；　it　was　such　a　good　joke　…　a　new　and　better　way；　calculated　to　keep　down　the　number　of　applicants。　　The　result　of　this　innovation　was　that　no　more　forms　were　issued；　but　the　applicants　for　work　were　admitted　into　the　office　one　at　a　time；　and　were　there　examined　by　a　junior　clerk；　somewhat　after　the　manner　of　a　French　Juge　d'Instruction　interrogating　a　criminal；　the　clerk　filling　in　the　form　according　to　the　replies　of　the　culprit。

‘What's　your　name？'

‘Where　do　you　live？'

‘How　long　have　you　been　living　there？'

‘Where　did　you　live　before　you　went　there？'

‘How　long　were　you　living　at　that　place？'

‘Why　did　you　move？'

‘Did　you　owe　any　rent　when　you　left？'

‘What　was　your　previous　address？'

‘How　old　are　you？　　When　was　your　last　birthday？'

‘What　is　your　Trade；　Calling；　Employment；　or　Occupation？'

‘Are　you　Married　or　single　or　a　Widower　or　what？'

‘How　many　children　have　you？　　How　many　boys？　　How　many　girls？　　Do　they　go　to　work？　　What　do　they　earn？'


‘What　kind　of　a　house　do　you　live　in？　　How　many　rooms　are　there？'

‘How　much　rent　do　you　owe？'

‘Who　was　your　last　employer？　　What　was　the　foreman's　name？　　How　long　did　you　work　there？　　What　kind　of　work　did　you　do？　　Why　did　you　leave？'

‘What　have　you　been　doing　for　the　last　five　years？　　What　kind　of　work；　how　many　hours　a　day？　　What　wages　did　you　get？'

‘Give　the　full　names　and　addresses　of　all　the　different　employers　you　have　worked　for　during　the　last　five　years；　and　the　reasons　why　you　left　them？'

‘Give　the　names　of　all　the　foremen　you　have　worked　under　during　the　last　five　years？'

‘Does　your　wife　earn　anything？　　How　much？'

‘Do　you　get　any　money　from　any　Club　or　Society；　or　from　any　Charity；　or　from　any　other　source？'

‘Have　you　ever　received　Poor　Relief？'

‘Have　you　ever　worked　for　a　Distress　Committee　before？'

‘Have　you　ever　done　any　other　kinds　of　work　than　those　you　have　mentioned？　　Do　you　think　you　would　be　fit　for　any　other　kind'

‘Have　you　any　references？'　and　so　on　and　so　forth。

When　the　criminal　had　answered　all　the　questions；　and　when　his　answers　had　all　been　duly　written　down；　he　was　informed　that　a　member　of　the　Committee；　or　an　Authorized　Officer；　or　some　Other　Person；　would　in　due　course　visit　his　home　and　make　inquiries　about　him；　after　which　the　Authorized　Officer　or　Other　Person　would　make　a　report　to　the　Committee；　who　would　consider　it　at　their　next　meeting。

As　the　interrogation　of　each　criminal　occupied　about　half　an　hour；　to　say　nothing　of　the　time　he　was　kept　waiting；　it　will　be　seen　that　as　a　means　of　keeping　down　the　number　of　registered　unemployed　the　idea　worked　splendidly。

When　Rushton　introduced　this　new　rule　it　was　carried　unanimously；　Dr　Weakling　being　the　only　dissentient；　but　of　course　he　…　as　Brother　Grinder　remarked　…　was　always　oppose