NO DAY OF REST.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1815, 30 July 1913, Page 10

NO DAY OF REST.

DRILLERS GO NIGHT AND DAY. I visited one of the local oil company's derricks yesterday (Sunday), to witness a change of shift (writes Tun Dominion's special reporter). It was a few minutes before nooti, and those at work had been 011 the job since midnight oil Saturday. 1 was informed that two shifts of twelve hours each was the regular thing in New Plymouth. In his,shift, the driller—a typical Texan wearing a broad slouch', felt, hat, a silk neckerchief, and loosefitting tweeds, andchcwing all the time— a quid of tho "finest Virginian plug"— had gono down about 13ft., 'and was feeling pretty good about it, as it was a record for the drill since she had gotten into the hard stuff. The driller usually stands with one gloved hand on the brako and the other on the steam-wheel control. He senses tho work the drill is uoing with his brake-hand, and knows by instinct when to let out another inch or two of the wire rope (which extends from the near-by drum to the top of tho derrick, and so down to tho drill-head). There are times when a drill jams, or when it bounces oIF a boulder as hard as iron, but lie is always alert and wntchl'ul, and if something has to go—usually ono of tile chain belts—it is fixed up ill a minimum of time. Tho oil tools of America arc wonderfully ingenious, and tho Americans aro particularly slick in tho use of them. 1 was watching anew length of drill-pipe being attached yesterday, ami just as the engine hoisted pump and pipo into mid-air, an old whitewhiskered man, who was an interested spectator, said: "I believo these Americans could lift tho earth up to Heaven if they tried!" The drillers, or most of them, are on a very good, wicket in New Plymouth. Ono company operating within three miles of New Plymouth, has two American drillers in its employ. Each gets .£SO a mohlli, free lious'es (newly built on the grounds), electric light and firing free. On such wages they can afford to work twelvehour sliifts without any strike-talk and without any day of rest. For the first time in my lifo I heard the mellow cliimo of Hie church bells adruingled with tlie clanking dissonanco of rotary drills at work.