1879 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



45 



WORK AND WAGES FOR 1879; THE 

 BRIGHTER SIDE. 



[Continued from last month.] 

 BOUT one year ago, our bee hive machinery 

 was all driven by a small engine; as we were 

 ^y much crowded for room, the engine was placed 

 in the middle of a rather dark cellar. Toward spring, 

 we were compelled to run night and day, and, as a 

 consequence, this cellar seemed to be almost con- 

 stantly a fearful scene of disorder. I talked and 

 plead with the hands who were employed to take 

 care of the engine, to have them keep the tools put 

 up, the floor swept up, and to have it neat and tidy, 

 though it was dark and rather a dismal place to 

 work in. 



One after another, they got tired of the berth, even 

 though it was an easy one, and plead to go up stairs 

 and work at the machinery. 1 think about a half 

 dozen different boys were tried, but none kept the 

 room clean a great while. Some of those who had 

 plead very hard for something- to do, did very well 

 for a little while, but I began to think shiftlessness 

 was an incurable disease of the human family, and 

 almost despaired of getling anybody who would per- 

 form this easy task, as I wanted it done. To me, it 

 seemed strange that any boy could sit down content- 

 edly amid such disorder. Why, 1 was happy in just 

 going to work and brushing up, because it was such 

 a sense of relief to see the dismal, dusty shelves, 

 boxes, etc. "shine." after being at work a while. 



I hired a man, and paid better wages; but he did 

 very little better than the boys. It was not only the 

 looks of things, when a visitor chanced down there, 

 that troubled me, but the loss of tools and property. 

 Two expensive wrenches were shoveled into the fur- 

 nace with the shavings, and divers other kinds of 

 property were getting lost and burned up, almost 

 continually. 



At about Ihis lime, a .voting man whom I had 

 known pretty well, but of whom. I confess, I had 

 formed a rather unfavorable opinion, applied for 

 work. 1 knew he had changed about a great deal, 

 from one thing to another; that he was in the habit 

 of swearing, and 1 had pretty good reason to think 

 him quarrelsome; he had a kind of reckless, don't 

 care sort of a way that rather troubled me, when I 

 thought of his coming among us. 1 told him 1 had 

 no room for any more hands in the day time, and he 

 at once volunteered to work nights only. 



Now, it *was not only the engine below that was a 

 care and trouble, but the machinery above was often 

 run without oil, and no ear but mine seemed to de- 

 tect the mischief that was being done; belts often 

 slipped, and had to be lactd light in the middle of 

 the day, and various other such troubles occurred. 

 This man commenced, almost the very first day, to 

 put the belts and bearings in order, if a belt slipped 

 off, he would throw it on with a sort of sleight of 

 hand, without stopping the machines at all, and thus 

 save much valuable time. Hi- knew how to stop 

 belts from slipping, and I \ery soon decided that 1 

 l ceded him about during the day. It is true, he be- 

 gan to swear very soon, but when I talktd with him 

 kindly about the matter, he assented to my wishes, 

 and, in a short time, 1 was almost surprised to find 

 him pretty regular in his attendance at the Bible 

 class. 



At one time, he had been fireman on a locomotive, 

 and as the engineers happened to be all away one 

 day, I asked him to run the engine. He said he 

 guessed he could, and after an hour or two. he asked 

 why we did not burn the sawdust. I told him we 

 bad tried a great many times to do so, but it could 

 not be done with such an engine. 



We had, in fact, been selling sawdust, and had a 

 great pile half as high as a small barn, much in the 

 way in the back yard. He asked if he might try a I 

 little. The result was that the sawdust was all 

 burned from that time forward, and that he had 

 charge of the engine. 



Without' my saying a word, only to give him per- 

 mission occasionally, the whole cellar was kept 

 swept from top to bottom, and was cleared of use- 

 less rubbish; the engine was scraped and cleaned all 

 over; the brass and bright iron work made to shine 

 like gold and silver; the other parts, boiler and all, 

 painted over with the black varnish used on our hon- 

 ey extractor gearings; in short, Ihe whole engine 

 that had, a few weeks before, pained me bv its uu- 

 sightliness, looked like a beautiful piece of gold and 

 jet jewelry. At the same time that he was doing I 

 this, the engine was running at its highest capacity I 

 all the time. I 



lit this same cellar, was the sink where all the 

 hands did their washing, and in vain had I plead to 

 have it kept clean and tidy. Many of the hands 

 would spill the water carelessly on the ground, and 

 then boards would be laid down to keep out of the 

 mud. Papers would be thrown into the sink, the 

 waste pipe obstructed, and sometimes when I came 

 down to wash my hands, the soap would be found 

 floating around, and the water running over. The 

 inside of the sink was covered with accumulated 

 filth, and cobwebs hung around the outside. Dirty 

 finger marks were on the walls, and I would have 

 cried often, if it would have done any good. No one 

 seemed troubled so long as they could keep out of 

 the mud, and get themselves clean, even if they did 

 leave a basin full of dirty water for the next one to 

 I empty out. 



Well, one day, I came down hurriedly, and this 

 nvw engineer had a piece of sandstone, and was act- 

 ually busy scouring the rusty iron sink inside; it 

 was afterward painted on the' outside with black var- 

 nish; the basins were scoured up and hung- on nails 

 on the newly whitewashed wall, and a neat card re- 

 minded every one who came to wash, to pour out 

 the water and hang up the basin. Of course, a great 

 I many forgot, or would Lot hang up the basins, but 

 our hero, for such I think he and all others like him 

 deserve to lie called, came to me asking for authori- 

 ty to have his rule enforced. I gave him the author- 

 ity, and soon raised his wages 25c. per day. 



I had been trying in vain, to And who threw sticks 

 and waste papers down cellar on the floor. He very 

 soon had every scrap of paper in bags, all the stick's 

 in a woodbox, and the rest began to catch his enthu- 

 siasm, and we soon had glimpses of better times. 

 Well has it been said. "Order is Heaven's first law." 

 My friend was all this time warming toward the 

 Bible and Christian people, and although he swore 

 occasionally, when some one purposely threw down 

 his tools, or littered up his floor, he has been all the 

 time getting nearer to the straight and narrow path, 

 or, at least, I trust he has. 



I remember often wishing that I could have a lamp 

 to write by, that was as clean and neat as the one 

 my wife always has on her table. Boys who wanted 

 work, were desired, one after another, to clean and 

 fill the lamps, and to da it well. Like new brooms, 

 they did well for a little while, but very soon I was 

 supplied with a lamp with smoky chimney, dusty 

 shade, and oil all over the outside'; and sooii, it was 

 not tilled at all. In vain I called up the offenders; 

 they forgot just that once; the chimnev was broken; 

 the oil was gone; that lamp would not "come" clean, 

 &e. : or something of the kind, and I groaned in spir- 

 it at the carelessness of humanity. 



Well, the engineer, after he had made everything 

 shine down cellar, proposed to take care of the 

 lamps, as he had nothing more to do. Imagine my 



joy yes. it was really a thrill of joy that I felt, 



when 1 saw a lamp on my table every bit as clean as 

 even my wife could have made it with soap and wa- 

 ter. The white porcelain shade was clear ami spot- 

 less; not a particle of greasy oil could I see when I 

 passed my fingers over the glass, and then handled 

 my clean papers; the light shone through the crys- 

 tal chimney like sunrise on a June morning; and *to 

 set off the polished brass work (our friend has a taste 

 for bright colors), some pieces of red flannel were 

 put inside the lamp. 



When our 50 horse power engine was purchased, 

 some discussion arose among the hands as to who 

 was to have the care of it. 1 made up my mind, very 

 quickly, who was to run it. If I mistake not, some 

 of the boys have said that I was partial to him; that 

 he was one of my favorites. Yes, he has been a fa- 

 vorite; but who among you is there, who will go and 

 do likewise, and pick up tools after the rest, and 

 take up all kinds of drudgery as hi' has done? 



There is one more point ; the heavy compliments 

 I have just paid him may have the effect of making 

 him proud and overbearing. Intact, I have for a 

 long time hesitated about giving him this justly 

 earned praise, for fear it would do him harm. I pray 

 God that it may not, and I pray that he may stop 

 swearing entirely, no matter how much he {s pro- 

 voked. 



Not only he, but all of you, must stop it. If it can- 

 not be done otherwise, I will part with the best 

 hard I have. Nay, farther; 1 will part from one and 

 ail of them, and give up this business, that I love 

 more than anything else almost, for you must obey 

 the command, "Thou shalt not take the name of the 

 Lord thy God, in vain." 

 Does it pay to fuss so much, and to be so over 



