ORIGINAL VERSES?

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXIX, Issue 8287, 15 November 1906, Page 3

ORIGINAL VERSES?

the station hand. BY ONE OP THEM. Way back inland in .Wonderland Where all the sheep stations lie You will And this workman—the station hand, Of whom to toll yon 1 am going to try. You cannot call him unskilled labor, Nor'hus ha tradesman been I rather "PaddyV'destination favor Which places him as twixfc and 'tween. Would yon then in your mind just picture Yoarselt in a spacious dining ball Where all the. tables and benches are a iixture And no paper adorns the wall. Time of visiS imagine 6 p.m. For then the toys are home you see Work over, washed, changed and then Enjoying theiif well earned tea. A hungry man is an angry man they say So i want you their make When alter with wbelted appetites ' they Finish, meat, spuds, pudding or cake. Now then having finished their scran • They lifcht their pipes and bark Gather in twos and threes and plan On some comrado to play a Inrk. Jast notice wbnt a motiey crowd You can pick almust any nationality Germans, Yanks, Britons proud And colonials who care not a J.O.T. Listen, Go' B'imey,. "Strike me Pink," lhat's he blowing a cloud of smoke He's a Cookney, I'll bet yon drinks. It was foil the first time he mounted a moke. He in the oornar is a lankey Yank, lha boys know he's a skitlng , , American. I Chicago Beef l'rust, Milwaukee Bank, ! v Are some of the gags for Uncle Sam. Arrnb, just listen 'arf a mo' to Mick; How to the boys ho is explaining. When be tried to milk Jter the cow did kick, Broke the leg rope and sent him sprawling. While wq listen to their con versation As they talk and they laugh aHd they smoke, We leara the routine of work on a station, ' As if we ourselves were in the yoke. See him there with spurs and leggings, Speaking nothing elae but sheen and does He is a shepherd who boasts of his doings. How after cattle he rode over the ■ hogs.;.. Anotbor talks of wire, and "Spinning Jennie." How many chain of fdnce a week he put up. Eight wired on a fenae are one too many. Never a post he puts in ever lifts up. The rabbiter talks of the nannies he •; caught. Becks the spaniel as the besi in his pack. Of how a hugo toar with bis dogs, bad fought, Before he was stuck and- laid on his back. You can't mistake the big, fat cook, Clasping" bis bands on bis huge corporation; Telling the boys of the prizes he took, • .»' .Whdft he belonged to the' Bakers' Association. Townles may laugh at the station hacks; But they are the boys with grit. On the fol'ies of town they turn their baoks; . Work in the country—save ,a bit. When King Dick sent from Wonderland The "Khaki BnyB" to go and fight In South Africa for When she was/in a corner tight. Who we,re the best horsemen in the force; The best shots and the best at location. Why, the station-hands, of course; From experience gained at their vocation. Now reader before we leave this Dining Hall, Where in imagination we stand, I would like to address both one .and all, Wherever you are, O station hand. fie you shepherd, fencer, or rouseabout, It doea not matter, not a bit. f Your designation is nothing to row about, As long as you're men of Rrit. The price of wool still rises in stages; Off each ewe the squatter make a quid. Do you see any perceptible riße in the wages, Altho' your boss makes twice what be did. You bare no say in the Arbitration Court; No Uaion for your wageß, to demand. . But surely you know what you're about. Be men—and make a stand. Why should the farm or station hand be denied , tiis weekly,half-noliday. King Dick told you before he died. Press, and y.ou will get your way.