Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1900-07-28

!. TIE jail Bird Boss.


There was Jail BIRD once uocn a time
In a small town in the state Of Iowa
This j. L. had had all that he wanted
aai it was his firm intention If he ever
got another chance be would show what
he was made Of. Many other J. BIS
have made similar resolves. After he got
out most everybody gave him the ley
Alitt, but finally he Accepted a Position
Tor, as some might say, Found Job
in a Factory. He started in at 81 a week
working with the boys, for jail birds can.
not afford to he either fastidious or fin
ickv. They have to take whatever offers
So the ]. r. started to work
Now IN every shop or store there Is al
ways some one-man, boy or girl--wh0
knows where Things are.
If you set set ten girls at work in n
room. you viii find by the third day thar
nine Of those girls are asking the tenth
girl these questions:
Is this all right?
Where is the thread?
What shall do next?
And the tenth girl tells the others
whether the work is right and where to
find things & what they had better do
next. In one week this tenth girl win be
on hand a little earlier in the morning in
order to lay out the work for the day.
and at night she viii stay little later in
order to put things away.
And she will show in various ways that
she thinks of the work outside Of work
ing hours-between the time she goes
home at night and the time she returns
in the morning.
OF course, the quibbler will here inter
pose an objection to the effect that the
probabilities are that the ten girls will
be equally stupid, and one and all be abb
solutely listless unless inspired by fear
of the Blue Envelope or the coming foot
steps of the Boss. ! think, however, that
the objection need not be seriously con
sidered, for the fact is that at least one
person out of ten is not only loyal, but
has goodly grain of executive ability
that can be cultivated through exercise.
Responsibilities graytate to the person
who can shoulder them, and power flows
to the man who knows how.
And it so happened that before the J.
h. was in that factory a month the boys
were going to him asking him where
things were. When they ran out of one
kind of work, they would ask him what
they should do next. And he. knowing
the sequence of the work. would advise
them.
Now. there be employers who are
Proud and Overbearing, but others there
be who have Common Sense And it so
happened that the man who owned the
factory where the J. b. worked had a
modicum of Common Sense Seeing that
the j. B. knew where things were and
what should be done next and that the
J. +. put the work away at night and
got it out in the morning and planned
things at home and picked things up in
stead of walking over them >or kicking
them aside, why the Boss encouraged the
J. +. and Raised his Wages.
So the j. B. evolved into Right Hand
Man, and in time came to know n deal
more about the details of the business
than the Boss, and | believe eventually
married the daughter of the Boss, inher-
tied his money x became sole owner of
the Factory; but of these things am
not certain so | do not record them
But the little incident ] am about to re-
cord really happened. One day the Boss
saw two girls who worked in the factory
coming in with basket of wild clematis.
These girls proceeded to festoon the pill
lars of the big room with the beautiful
plant. "NVho told you to do thatY de-
manded the Boss.
''Why. Mr. So-and-so." said the girls.
referring to the J. b.
did you send those girls away during
working hours after weedsT' asked the
Boss shortly after of the j. b.
"Certainly," was the answer. You
see, | noticed those particular girls seem
ed very white and not very strong and
sort of nervous and worn-they say
they have things tough at home-and L
just thought l would try to improve their
complexio7s and spirits by giving them
a run out in the sunshine"
"Oho You thought they were get
ting Prison Pallor. did youY'
Eyes. you guessed it. was thinking
of Prison Pallor.'
"And so contrived an excuse to send
the girls on a two mile walk out across
the fiolds?"
Yes"
"Had Prison Pallor yourself, eh?"
yes"
Used to look into a pocket mirror and
thought it was GhostE
Possibly"
"Never saw the blue sky except
through a grating or when walking lock
step across stone paved courtway."
you have it."
"Wel. look here, ]. r. Don't stand
around here keeping me from work
wish t Lord | could find a few more j.
BIS to help run this shebang. And, say.
make a little list OF the pale, nervous,
yellow and scared girls and send them
out 10y turn for clematis whenever the
sun shines. Don't stand around keeping
me from work. Don't YOU think | have
anything TO do myself? Go on with
your-Philistine.
ra..,, ,f q, California fudua