The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-07-11

THE MUNICIPAL LABORER.
Tranquil Methods of Work and FIRE
quent Relaxation.

quent Relaxation
When a busy man downtown goes
out to seek what he may devour by way
of luncheon at or about noon, it IS good
for him to look upon something repose-
full. His thoughts should be distracted
from the affairs which have kept them
busy all the morning, but mere change
of thought is not everything; sugges-
ton of leisure, or, at least, OF occupation
in which there is no hurry, is needed for
adequate rest to the jaded brain ana
right preparation of the stomach to re-
ceive material refreshment. 1t must be
confessed that in the vicinity of the CITY
Hall, for instance, there is hardly any
thing to supply this much-needed sug-
geston of quiet at that particular hour.
Everything seems to be moving at hlgh
pressure-eyen the steam that brings
BLASTS from He'll through the open
vents here and there in the sidewalks.
There is no sign of repose anywhere, eX-
cept when there happens to be gang OF
contract laborers at work on the street.
The et-repairing gangs do not eX-
list merely for the purpose of Keeping the
pavements of New York in constant
state Of revolution, as some nave sup
posed; nor are they merely a private
business" arrangement of Tammany;
not vet to provide employment for irish
patriots In their first probation after
landing in New York. These fine bodies
of men serve the purpose of soothing
and cooling off the over-wrought, fe-
vered minds of the too eager money
chaser. At least, that is what they
affantnnllI and thew do
If bv the strictly scientific method of
suggestion, which as all advanced physl-
ologists know, is the master key OF the
human nerve system.
IT is as If the men inside the Temporal
nv rope barriers in the middle OF the
| roadway should preach thus; observe
| us and note our ways OF SeltlnS
through We court no sunstroke, Whlch
over-fatigue invites. We do not hustle
under the eye of our foreman, like EgFp-
| tan slaves building pyramids. we take
| it easy. But we get there just the same
Yesterday this bit of pavement was
| tolerably smooth stretch OF cobble-
stones; to-day it is upheaved, closed TO
| traffic and Quilted; tomorrow you snail
| see il all freshly laid-or, perhaps day
after tomorrow or next week. You
know not why all these things are done,
nor how; and yet, you see, we manage
| to do them, and without undue eXertion.
Therefore, be we not solicitous, nor run
| the risk of nervous prostration for rich-
es. but have faith in the government or
| Greater New York, and take it easy
| Only, the suggestion is more eloquent
! than any such words
They are seldom to be seen actually
| loafinsr these restful laborers, except
| during the intervals officially assigned
| for "diuner hour and the like. Inc
| strength of the reposeful suggestion is
precisely in their uniform, harmonious
| ease and deiberation of manner Inc
ANALYSIS of this distinctive trait of theirs
is worth a little time devoted to watch
ing them. In its simplest terms 1T APP
nears to be based on the principle thar
when many men are working together
mon limited area of reconstructible
pavenent the activity of one man neces-
Estates the pausng of several. Ihls, at
least was the conclusion reached by one
| studious observer last week. fIhe PICKS,
iron bars and other implements used in
| these works are so heaVy tnat great
| care is required to avoid accidents. As
| a matter of fact, one very seldom nearS
of one member of street-repalrlng
gang dropping pick or croWbar on
| the neck of a brother laborer by acel-
| dent One of them will always wait
while another does his turn at his cob
| blestone or disturbs his stunt OF art,
| and while one waits a second waits on
him. and so on. All Is good humor ana
| mutual forbearance, none showing I'M
| patience or a disposition to hurry up an
| other Nor does the man who is actual
w la boring with his implement seem dis
| con,posed by the thought that he is
| seening others waiting he himself will
he equally contented to wait when his
4 turn comes, And so the work flows on
land on. gently and peacefully reminding
one of the adagio Brook" theme in Bee
| tloven's Pastoral"
| IF YOU will pause in your mad rush for
the luncheon counter and watch the
gang for a few minutes, you will rscog-
nize the foreman by the circumstance
that, where the rest are waiting for dit
ferent Individual picks to swing or
crowbars to fall he seems to be waiting
| for everybody, moving gently from
eroup with something like the air of
we'll trained Kindergarten. He has TO
direct by example, seldom by oral COM
-nand. most seldom by profanity, Let
the outside public swear If they want to-
| or the man who bosses sections of
railroad works for non municipal cor
| nora tions: this man knows better. In
his alton of life swearing at subordi-
mates with intent to hurry them would
he vain. even dangerous The contrac-
tor himself knows that not without the
protection of the gods above did those
laborers obtain their positions in those
gangs. This protection is profanely
called pupil" and Olympus is Tam
many. So the foreman saves his breath
and avoids the wear and tear on his
nerves while he avoids also that dis
cord among voters which Olympus
hates. And all goes smoothly except
perhaps. the street paving.
Once, about midnight passer-by
heard one municipality employed labor
ing man say to another, Did you hear