HOW SOME PEOPLE LIVE

Manawatu Herald, Volume VII, Issue 239, 1 February 1889, Page 2

HOW SOME PEOPLE LIVE

♦ . Wbappeb Weitehs (Pall Mall Budget).. Attired so as to run no risk, of being taken for a " toff," I one dk'-y. betook myself to " The Black Jt^oarV and had no trouble to eater into conversation with the individual as <frpin the bar of the public-house I wat&hed him slink outot the place of his tailing to the scene of his only rejbioin&v It required more than . cue •■ visit . ta . 11 The Black Boar" and c st me I do nut like to say how many " dogs' noses " and half pints of " old six " ere I exhausted all that the wrapperwriter had to impart about himself, his fellow labourers, and their calling. However, " Born Drunk"— bo. his " pals " addressed him— well repaid me, without reckoning the entertain*rT| ment of his company, by furnishing * the materials for this account of tbti modern scribe. ■' . : n ;• ' Born Drunk's employers are one of the principal of such firms. The work consists ohiefly in addressing , and folding; and bearing' in mind the extent to which advertising/ is •• carried on, it is not to be wondered?'* 1 at that a vast amount of penwor4t ft ifr ,■'! done by the "scribes." Unfort&v' nately for thepoof fellow's themselvetr th< ir name is Legion. Fbr* ordinary addressing threedhillinga a thofesaikd is paid. A practical hand can ad* dress one hundred per hoary go that it needs ten hours' toil to earn three - shillings. But it by no means'follows that the skilled scribe ican ihakefcf eighteen shillings a week, for this " reason that the wort is pMcari6tt^. In tbe establishment o%er against "The Black Boar" there are aye rooms wherein fifty Oi* sixty writers v sit at long tables and benches set against the walls. These writers are said to " have a seat in,"'aiid fotfm ; • the permanent staff or inside hands. - A few " outsidars " write at home, but when there is a pressure of work these outsiders can be increased to any number wanted. It is almost incredible how fast the news flUs that there is plenty of writing for all. - comets at Messrs. and Co. The word is passed through the common lodging houses of the metropolis, anifc as if by magic the flotsam and jetsam of London pen*wielders present them* selves in scores humbly eager for thy ( ' l slavish employ. . * '•',', „" The insiders are expected to arrive at 9 a.m and work till 4 p.m. After. ' 4 o'clock the '• night-Wjjrk " isgrWfi t '.” out. When business is brisk eabn scribe is expected to bring in 500 wrappers or envelopes fas may be) at nine o'clock next vnoimng. " You are no use to us, Mister, if yon ean'fc

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do 500 of a night," is his greeting, should he appear then and confess liis inability to complete the allotted task. According to Born Drunk the best excuse is that the offender " got tight," but many other pleas are used. Asthma and rheumatism are the wrapper-writers* favourite ailments, while of domestic irregularities fatal to industry the accidental destruction of the only lamp at too late an hour for the purchase of candles, the unexpected birth or death of a child, or the sudden and serious illness of a wife, often replace the facts of the Boribe's account of his delinquency, Though such " fairytales " are frequently recited it must be acknowledged that inebriety is nine times out of ten the cause of the neglect. If the culprit can be spared he is ordered to " take a holiday " till next day, or for a week, cv even turned oif altogether, according to the estimated depth of his guilt and .frequency of transgressing. (To be continued).