Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1961-03-30, Page 18When Employees Had. "o Tete The Mark Favei+yone is familiar with the eeles covering those employed in pffiees and factories today, Gen - •rally, the regulations are mod- erate—entirely too lenient, many employers complain. The work week for most work- ers is now 35 to 40 hours, and leisurely lunch hours and morn- ing and afternoon refreshment breaks and rest periods are com- i monplace. Conditions u n d e r Which work is done are as com- fortable as possible, and the work itself has been eased con- siderably. Onerous and some- times humiliating tasks and reg- ulations which once character- ized manyareas of employment have been eliminated. There are still complaints, of course, Many are the inevitable routine 'complaints of ordinary workday life, a supervisor's cri- ticism, a lack of balance of work in an 'office or shop, favoritism, that sort of grievance. Some complaints are more justifiable. But have you stopped recently to think about the conditions of employment in the last century? Today's easy-going rules would have been unbelievable for em- ployees who worked under these company rules in effect in 1854: "Any employee who is in the habit of smoking Spanish cigars, getting shavedat a barber shop, going to dances or other places of amusement, will surely give his employer reason to suspect his integrity and all-around honesty... "Each employee must attend Sunday School every Sunday. Men employees are given one evening a week for courting and two if they go to prayer meeting regularly... . "After 14 hours of work, leis- ure time mustbe spent in read- ing good literature." A few years later, on April 5, 1872, Zachary U. Geiger, Sole Proprietor, posted regulations for employees in his Mt. Cory Carriage & Wagon Works which included the following; "Office employees will daily sweep the floors, dust the furni- ture, shelves, and showcases. "Each day fill lamps, clean chimneys, and trim wicks. Wash the windows once a week. "Each clerkvyjl_j bring e bucket of water and a scuttle of coal for the day's business. "Make your pens carefully. You may whittle nibs to your individual taste. "This office will open at 7 a.m. and close_at 8 p.m., daily except en the Sabbath, on which day it will remain closed... . "Every employee should lay aside from each pay a goodly sum of his earnings for his bene- fits during his declining years, so that he will not become a burden upon the charity of his betters. . "The employee who has per- formed his labors faithfully and without faults for a period of five years in my service, and who has been thrifty and atten- tive to his religious duties and Is looked upon by his fellow men as a subtantial and law-abiding citizen, will be given an increase of five cents per day in his pay, providing a just return in profits from the business permits it" Earlier in the 18th century, Amassa Whitney posted rules in his Winchendon, Mass,, plant on July 5, 1830. Excerpted, they pro- vided: "The mill will be put into op- eration 10 minutes before sun- rise at all seasons of the year, The gate will be shut 10 minutes past sunset from the 20th of March to the 20th of September, at 30 minutes past 8 from the $Oth of September to the 20th of )//arch. Saturdays at sunset.. ISSUE 13 — 1961 "It will be required of every person employed that they he is4. the room in which they are em- ployed at the time mentioned., .. "Hands are not allowed to leave the factory in working hours. "Anyone who by negligence or misconduct causes damage to the machinery, or impedes the pro- gress of work, will be liable to make good the damage for the same, .. "Any person employed for no certain length of time will be required to give at least four weeks' notice of their intention to leave (sickness excepted) or forfeit four weeks' pay.. . , "Anything tending to impede the progress of manufacturing in working hours, such as unneces- sary conversation, reading, eat- ing fruit, etc., must be avoided. "No smoking will be allowed in the factory, as it is considered very unsafe... . "The hands will take break- fast, from the first of November to the last of March, before go- ing to work. [At other times) 25 minutes will be allowed for breakfast, 30 minutes for dinner,, and 23 minutes for supper, and no more from the time the gate is shut till started again." These were typical company. rules, The similarities in some of the regulations were not coincidental; the provisions were so common that even the word- ing was much the same, place to place. And the penalty for vio- lating the rules? . Discharge, of course, and frequently blacklist- ing with other employers.—By Ed Townsend in the Christian , Science Monitor. Saying A Lot • In Small Space A new sort of doodling is go- ing on at The New York Times copy desk. Late at night, be- tween editions, headline writers have been preoccupied with -a. pastime called "Through History With Times Headlines." The idea: To tell history's biggest stories with typical' Times re- straint, if not understatement. To make the task tougher, rules of the game restrict the heads to 141/2 units, the maxi- mum under the rigid typeface (Z4: PQ1L t Luba A-Trtiqqe2 Th.s rimes has used since 1001 ovet one -column s t o r ie s continued from page one. These samples of the head writers' humor were reproduced recently in Times Talk, the paper's house organ: • * JEHOVAH RESTING AFTER 6 -DAY TASK 0 • • METHUSELAH DIES: JUDEAN WAS 944 • • • MOSES, ON SINAI, GETS 16 -PT. FLAN • • FRENCH ARE URGED TO CONSUME CAKE • • • HOLLAND SETTLERS IN $24 LAND DEAL • * • BLAZE IN CHICAGO IS LINKED TO COW • * * But no matter how long Times copy editors doodled, they'd have to work hard to beat the actual Times headline announc- ing the assassination of Presi- dent Lincoln: AWFUL EVENT. The young and ambitious clerk's desk was close town area frequently traveled by the exe- cutives in his organization. Stra- tegically placed on his desk, and readable at five to ten paces, was the quotation, "Everything good in a man thrives best when properly recognized." Obey the traffic signs — they are placed there for YOUR SAFETY. SWEET ON J. F. K. - Mrs. Marion Tucker has created a unique portrait of President Kennedy. The painting is done in cake icing, framed in marshmallow. Cake topper and Bible com- pieta gift, presented by Mrs. Tucker at the Democratic National Committee. RULES BRITTANY -Jeanine Levesque is a vision in lace in Paris, France. The 19 -year-old hairdresser from Painpont was elected "Duchess of Britanny - 1961" at the annual banquet for natives in the province. ' ``TABLE TALKS . €Y doze Andrews Nine hundred persons enjoyed a Swedish smorgasbord at the headquarters of the Salvation Army in Kansas City recently, and hundreds more who wanted to attend were turned away be- cause o1 lank of space. This is an annual dinner — it was started five years ago — that has be- come Increasingly popular until a big overflow was reached this year. Menu for the dinner included Swedish meat balls, potato sau- sage, hickory smoked hare, steamed halibut, pickled herring, bruna beans, boiled 'potatoes, molded salads (they needed 65 01 these), tossed salad, assorted ghggse, cottage cheeses cote slaw (lbb poends of cabbage!), dev- iled eggs, relishes, pickled beets, lirnpa, rye. crisp, . white bread, rice pudding, lingonberries, cookies, and several hot and, cold drinks. When guests presented their tickets at the door, they were given a leaflet with recipes for foods they were about to be served. Here, according to Elea- nor Richey Johnston in the Christian Science Monitor, are soave od them, which I stn happy to pass along to you. • * * SWEDISH MEAT BALLS I pound ground beef 14 pound ground lean pork 1 egg, slightly beaten 1 cup milk 1 teaspoon salt 34 teaspoon pepper S teaspodns savor -salt teaspoon nutmeg (optional) 1 small chopped onion Bread crumbs, coarses -enough to be absorbed by the milk Combine all ingredients. Mix- ture should be moist; add more milk if necessary. Form into small balls; fry in butter, turn- ing constantly. Do not overcook. One hundred seventy pounds of chicken halibut were used at the smorgasbord. It was cooked this way: BAKED FISH Wipe fish dry. Rub with salt inside and out. Brush with but- ter and place in greased baking dish. Add a scant cup of water. Cover and bake 10 minutes at 500• F. to sear. Reduce heat to 450° F. and bake 10 minutes more. Remove from oven. Skin off top of fish. Dot white flesh generously with butter; sprinkle with paprika; return to oven. Cook 10 minutes uncovered Time may vary somewhat ac- cording to size of fish. (This re- cipe is for a family -sized fish.) • On a small scale, a "Dip" par- ty may be considered to be simi- lar to a smorgasbord in the sense that each person goes around the table and selects the food that he wants. I went to such a dip party on a recent Sunday eve- ning, Small, elaborately' decor- ated paper plates were used by those serving themselves from bowls and a chafing diet. We dipped with corn chips, potato chips, small crackers, carrot and celery sticks, taking some of every kind of dip offered and then settled around an open fire for talk and eating. We went back often — and we needed nothing else for our supper — though the hostess did pass homemade cookies with the hot beverage that we poured for our- selves when we had finished the dips. Four or five varieties are a good number. For a hot clip, try this one, It is made of dev- iled ham, cheese, mayonnaise, Tabasco. and tomato juice. CHAFING DISH DIP pound processed cheese 2 tablespoons mayonnaise 1 can (41/2 -oz.) deviled ham 1 tablespoon finely chopped • onion ?a teaspoon Tabasco 8 tablespoons tomato juice Melt cheese over low heat. Stir in mayonnaise, deviled ham, onion, and Tabasco until well blended. Gradually stir in toma- to juice, mixing very well. If dip seems too thick, add more tomato juice; transfer to candle warmer or eluding dish and serve with chips and raw vegetables. Serves 8. * * * Dips made with sour creaan are popular and any dip party should include at least one 8t these. Here is one to serve cold. CLAM SOUR CREAM DIP s/o cup sour cream' 14 cup minced clams, well drained 34. teaspoon' each,'onlon-and garlic powder' Dash ground black pepper Dash ground cayenne pepper 3s teaspoon ground basil leaver ✓ teaspoon salt Paprika for garnish Combine all ingredients except paprika. Mix well. Pour into a small bowl, sprinkle with pap- rika. Serve on a tray surrounded.. by carrot and celery sticks, raw cauliflower, raw broccoli flower - lets, radish roses, chips, and small' crackers. • a • For an unusual dip, try one made of avocado and ripe olives. BLACK OLIVE-AVACADO DIP 1 soft ripe avocadd 1 tablespoon minced onion 2 tablespoons mayonnaise 2 tablespoons lemon juice Vs teaspoon salt 3s teapsoon Tabasco sauce 1,4 cup chopped black olives Peel avocado and mash. Stir in • onion, mayonnaise, lemon juice, . salt, and Tabasco. Blend well, Stir in black olives. * * * PARTY EGG DIP 4 hard -cooked eggs 14 cup mayonnaise Aa cup tomato catchup 2 tablespoons milk 3/s teaspoon lemon juice f/y teaspodn each, salt and sweet basil. Chop eggs fine and place in a bawl; add remaining ingredients and blend well. Chill before serving. Making A Comeback After A Stroke Over BBC radio one night re- cently came ecently'came a voice from the Past. The rich baritone accents were these of Douglas Ritchie, a newsing Pepular World War II whosea "Col- onel Britton" broadcasts were al- most as well known as the in- spired exhortations of Wiesten Churchill. Now after a long silence, Douglas Ritchie spoke again, Not as a news corhtiientator but as the author of a personal-eeperi- ence book, "Strobe," which had just been dramatized on the BBC program 'erue Stony," "I didn't know I would ever again be talking to you from this microphone—or from any other," Ritchie said, 'Tour years ago, I. was dumb and paralyzed. I can't speak quickly now, but 1 can speak, and I go on improving. I go for a half -mile walk with a stick every day. My right arm and hand are still useless, but I've learned to write with my left hand." After the broadcast, the BBC switchboard flared with calls fromlisteners who wanted to know more about what had hap- pened to the long -remembered news commentator. To his cozy, gray -flint and red -tiled house on. a steep hilltop overlooking the River Male at Micklehaan, Sur- rey, where he lives with his de- voted, charming wife, Evelyn, came a sheaf of letters. "Your voice has the same timbre and clarity that I remember during the Battle of Britain," wrote one woman. Ritchie's book "Stroke," tells the full story. On May 7, 1955, the robust, fidgety perfectionist, then 50, suffered a severe brain hemorrhage. At first 1t was thought he would die. Eventual- ly, relieving his paralysis (the complete: right side) and aphasia (loss of voice front injured brain cells) became a job for the re- habilitation experts, "Stroke" reveals with poignant perceptiveness the variousstages of Ritchie's ordeal, from.the first efforts to exercise his paralyzed muscles, to the painfully slow, frustrating task of relearning the language he had used so well. To stroke victims everywhere (750,000 annually bi the U.S,), Ritchie offers this practical ad- vice: "You mutat be patient, ten matter how slowly things go. You must set your sights lower learn to accept your liimite- tions." Sausage Skins Hid Big Money As the grey truck .pulled to stop nearby, •the Milan police- man' stared suspiciously, He had noticed the van delivering sa- lami and : other sausages many times before and had noted that it always seemed to stop at the same spots—and always the same wary -looking customers were served. The matter needed look- ing into. A report went in. Milan's po- lice chief decided to investigate. The next time the van pulled up at a customary stopping place to serve a waiting man, a squad closed in. The driver pushed his engine into gear and tried to drive off, but the squad was too quick for him. When the sausages were ex- amined, the police found a few genuine ones but the others had tight skim stuffed, not with meat, but counterfeit American dollar .bills. When the police traced the source of the notes they got a surprise—they came from the local Palace of Justice. The bills had been sent there following a raid on a hinting shop and seiz- ure of its output -40,000 coun- terfeit dollar bilis. A Ministry official had been delegated to burn the take' notes. Instead, faced with the tempting pile, he had hidden them be, tween the wall and a safe in his office M regulations demanded, he certified that he'd' destroyed the notes, Top officials made ap- propriate entries in their records and the matter was forgotten. The notes remained in Ibair hid- ing Placa ]rater, however, the official was arrested and found guilty of another charge. Ile was Jailed for six months. While in prison he often thought of his hoard and the time passed in pleasurable anticipation Immediately after his release he returned to the palace, sneak- ed past' the guards, and made his way to his old office, Feverishly, he removed wads of the counterfeit notes, stuffed them under hisshirt and crept' away. i -Ie repeated the visits at intervals, Accomplices Mined him to pack the dollars into sausage skins, organize a "sales round" and distribute them. The truck's customers were illegal money vendors. Passing off the dollars as genuine, they exchanged them for Italian lire, By the time the police swoop- ed, their system had worked so effectively that only $4,000 of the hoard remained. The ex-offl"ial had done well for himself before he stood in the dock again, charged with burglary, swindl- ing, false pretences end conceal- ing stolen goods. In the last five years, Interpol has uncovered and smashed sev- enteen workshops fol printing counterfeit currencies, documents and passports in France, sixteen in Italy, eleven in Germany and eight in Belgium.. In a basement workshop in Paris a gang was busy printing millions. Not content with pro- ducing false franc notes, it ran off thousands of German D - marks, Dutch guilders, Spanish pesetas and. American dollar bilis. But, unknown to these clever operators, the police got wind of their activities. Inspector Le- eroux waited until the next big press day. Before daylight, on a drizzling' winter morning, hie squad crept into tactical positions near the counterfeiters' den. He listened intently and heard the click and whirl el 'printing machines in .full cry. He tossed a stone into the base- ment window and as the glass splintered, his men closed' in. The, three counterfeiters tried to bolt, but they were soon hand- cuffed. The cellar was littered with wet notes, and stocks of waterproof paper, some of it stolen from the Bank of France. ROCKETEER —• Professor Alla Masevic is vice president of t h e Astro Physics National Council of the U.S.S.R. The lady scientist, shown in Rome on a lecture tour, has worked on several Russian satellites. at YES, SHE CAN, BILLY BOY — These girls have been judged the U.S, nation's best cherry pi• bakers in a Chicago contest. Sherry Shirley, 18, (seated) is number one.