The Savannah morning news., 1904-06-09
STREET PAYERS IN
RACE FOR BEER
OIL ON BARROW HANDLES
BLOCKED THE WORK OF ONE GANG
OF PAYERS AWHILE.

Rivalry Between Two Gangs Paving
West Broad Street Resulted in
Wager to BE Collected When
Thirty-First Street Is Reached.
But Eastern Gang Found Handles
of WheeIbarrows Thoroughly
Creased When 1t Went TO Work
Yesterday Morning.
With the handles of their wheeIbar-
rows oiled, one-half of the street
paving force on West Broad street was
up against it for short while yester-
day morning.
Then it developed that the paving of
West Broad street is probably being
done faster than any street in Savan-
nah has been paved. A key of
ordinary lager beer is RESPONSE
bic for the rapidity with which the
PAYERS are doing their work.
OF course, the beer is not entirely
responsible, for there is considerable
pride involved. But pride can
not be seen. and the key of beer is
the visible goal for which the men are
working. All of which probably ex-
plains why the gang on the western
side of the street found itself in trouble
with its rolling stock
Working for KeE of Beer.
There are two paving gangs on
| of the car tracks and the other on
the western side. There is naturally
| considerable rivalry between the two
! forces and in this way the match was
arranged. The western gang contend
| ed that it could put brick down faster
! than the eastern gang, and the keg OF
| beer was to go to the winning side.
The men have not quite reached
| Henry street and the race for beer is
| to Thirty-first street. 1t appears that
there is an expert in the eastern gang
who is said to be without an equal
! in this section of the country, so far
as laying brick is concerned. In this
way uninterested people connected
| with the city say that the eastern
| gang had a shade the better of the ar
| gument.
The Trick That Was Played.
Be that as it may, the eastern gang
was in the neighborhood of seventy
| five square yards ahead of the western
| gang when the men knocked off Tues
day evening. They were not trying to
i lIlCTedSe the ledQ, Dul COlIluueu W hSSp
| that much ahead of the men on the
western side of the track.
Then came the greasing of the ham
| dies of the wheelbarrows. They are
used in moving the bricks to the lay
ers, and with slippery handles not
| much speed can be made.
When the men laying brick on the
| eastern side of the car track went to
work they discovered that something
| had happened to their wheelbarrows
| during the night. Those used by the
gang on the western side of the track
were as they had been left when both
gangs knocked off Tuesday evening.
No Arrests Were Made.
Then it was evident that the key of
beer was responsible for the condition
of things and the bricklayers on the
eastern side of the tracks fretted and
| fumed. They said things and they
worked at the slippery handles, while
the gang on the western side of the
street kept quiet and put bricks down.
There was absolutely no way of prov
ing who had creased the handles of the
tw1heefborrows, although the circum
stantfal evidence pointed strongly to
some man at work on the western
side of the street. But no member of
the police force could be found who was
willing to arrest a man employed by
the city simply on suspicion
The greasing of the handles presented
| something of a problem to the street
paving force during the day and the
| men were discussing the ACCESSIBILITY of
| taking their wheelborrows home with
them at night.