ONE MAN, ONE BAG

Otago Witness, Issue 3509, 14 June 1921, Page 23

ONE MAN, ONE BAG

A WHARF INCIDENT. WELLINGTON, June 6. The Dominion has a good story about a working man whose methods are not in accord with union rules or etiquette. "It was a treat,” it says, "to see the man at work. With a line, regular motion lie picked up a- bag of cement, first with right hand and then with tiie left. It was fine to see the ripple of his great muscles as they took the strain, for bags of cement are not trifles in weight. He had probably heaved a dozen bags into his motor lorry in this fashion, and teas bothering lhs head about: nothing except his work, \v hen one of the wutersidei s sid.ed up to him, and said: *1 wo men to a bag, mate.’ lie took no notice of the remark, but simply grabbed another bag and threw it on to the floor of tlie lorry. I.he other went away, had a word with some other men, and then came back. By this time the worker had mounted on his lorry, and was busy stacking the bags he had so industriously thrown up. The advocate of less work and more pay scrambled up into the lorry, and said, with a little more truculence in liis tone: ‘ Two men to a bag, mate. Do you get me?’ The speaker got in the way of tlie worker, and without a word the man of muscle took the apostle of two men to a bag under the armpits and dropped him over the side of the lorry. The incident might lave ended there iiad not the side of the lorry over which the man was dropped been dose to the edge of the wharf, and when lie dropped it was plump into the harbour. His mates dragged him out of the water, as the man on the lorry continued with his work unmoved by the episode, beyond a casual statement to anyone who might be interested that if he wished to dictate how he should do his work lie could step on to the vehicle. There were no acceptors. That driver is now 101 l to do his cargo-lifting in the way that pleases him best.”