New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-11-20
THE ORANGE-PACK Frs.
AN IDYL OF TIE WORKERS.

door of the paok king house as a girls straight
figure paused moment on the thr'shol before
entering.
The scene within seemed attractive ]; was
80 busy. and. in effect quiet, in spite oi me
continual noise of hammers mailing w the full
hoAes and The various sounds lh'lueh' l" nov
Ing fruit about the work progressed. Every
one Was steadily at work, and 10 one seemed III
doubt what to do next.
The shade inviting. too, after walk
nnd"I the strong California sun and the great
building was we'll provided with generous open
jnSS under its Gar projecting ROOF, ana was
spacious enough not only to avoid Tie crowd
ing of work and material, but also to allow
free movement OF air.
The newcomer was pleased and her desire 10
take a hand WIS quickened. She was a stranger
there. yet she seemed to feel no discomfort al
the attention which her arrival had awakened
Her goOd-tempered poise was so apparent that
hci credentials were al once accepted. she was
used to moving through lifc without much as
putc over the night Of way and was blessed
with the tact that comes from unaffected coni-
doncc.
She readily discovered the manager moving
about among the bins and boxes. saving a quiet
word here and there, or pointing out some need
ed reinforcement Of the soI!d-lo"klhs nut
transient stacks Of fruit or OF emp'ies she
went TO him withou; hesitation ana asked loi
work.
Tn, man looked VI ari recognized good mat
rial Al a glance.
can YOU pack?
Il reckon can, bat never did.
you won't earn very much at first
"AU RIGHT let me try: | should like 20 l'drn.
As she spoke she looked kccHlA al me 1--WE
Of girls sitting bcsiGe the bins into which the
various epouts from the grader were delivering
the several sizes. AT once she picked out the
better workers. and got noiion OF me me
chanical VtrVe ana swing mat told ~ eXaCt ana
rapid work
hacker The paper came ny from The pile OF
sheets with The regularity Of balance -WheS'
and fen upon the orange in the other hand WIN
un air of knowing where II belonged me wrap
ping seemed To- do itself. and the next yellow
el1f.l.
the former had settled itself into It's precise 20,
sition in the box. The process had been adopted
w the automatic nerves of the packer, ana re-
ouircd no other attention from her ,han an oc-
casionai rcpienishmcnt Of Will in the effort at
continual increase 81 speed hci 'hout"'S
we've free. and evidently ranging VIDE.
Il like hat" said the gin; can begin
now
"Ycs" sand the manager smiling al her spirit;
take tina; third bin You can hang your hat
and pail over yonder. III be iouhd 20 Sho" YOU
pretty soon ., a..
bin with an empty box In posltlon BEFORE her
had fitted a rubber cot on her left thumb ana
was experimenting, aided by frequent s'ances a'
hor neichbOrs. on the proper movements l"
mako, the sheets rise singy and spread vide 10
cover the fruit and she had placed some rows
" oranges in her box before The manager came
TO show her how.
Sh, laughed as he made her take them out
again and explained how each size IS packcd
after "a regular pattern, by which a certain
number nils the hOX. without need OF counting
\
an occasional visit ana comment put her III the
positinn m d halliday s time. Of knowing pretty
well how the work is done. ana seeking only 10
gain in speed Of performance
This ondcaVOr. the pursuit OF an ld"al tIlat
AN never be run 10 earth. gives delight 10 all
labor 50 long as the nerves ar" not worn out
with fatigue. Whatever JOY the golfer hnds IN
Whackipg his little bah must be Of the same IS
ecnc. ~ is steadily furnished to the packers Oh
fruit and all the toll of mer could be counted as
pastime If only our hours W"r" kept snort OF inc
limits OF exhaustion.
The ,oung man who operated the grader was
In Il position Of vantage. if he cared to OBJ
3CrN, ;h. girls VINO were packing AT the BINS
that his radiating spOuts supplied lie stood high
bcsid. the wide. shallow hoppers That received
Tho Gumped boxes Of ungraded fruft, ana from
which In. oranges distributed themselves
through the discriminating iunC tons or the
io,cbinc into various rolling process Ons in which
each member was just hIS as ms nclShbor.
Som. manipulation was needed To Keep t'
fruit moving evenly to the dlSirlhutlun. but the
upcrafor's eyes were not 50 confined az TO pre-
vent FREQUENT excursions among the WORKERS
hollow ana about him. ! believe h" had mentally
photographed all the hands that, each IN ITS own
vav exhibiting that wonderful individuality that
A,n,,l,s hands possess. were moving grace
Iull, on heavily through their countless repet-
tione Ard other things ne took note ~ ana
spsculatcd on. after the manner of men Nor
wa. IN. toni 81 the others $" absorbing that NJ
"as uuobsorVod bv them G"reraHy o. c'uIs''
The chances mat fell direct 81 his face merely
cqIi.d IL passing having a. their ostensitle on
Jeci some hign window bo} ond or some interest
ing constructive featur, III corner 81 Inc io"i'
Bot. however incidentally, he had maze. win
all th -. ucrhbors at least. 50 mu' a'qualn'.
an,c rs lies H. the interchange % fisi"n. Ana
ttat Ie not 10 bc sne"zcd at
III, W.. rom Kansas manly looking. rather
handsome fellow. whose black eyes showed sen
reliance born Of thoughtful and energetic deal
ing with the problems Of Western farmer.
huc that Judgment. accustomed To exercise on