Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-08-16

Inst because a man may be peggini
away as a bookkeeper or bank presi
| dent is no reason that some fine morn
ing won't hand him a surprise in tn
shane of having to become an automo
bile mechanic or an auctioneer on tn
SPOT. Can it be done? Well, look wha'
the army did, making cooks out of COW
bows and flyers out of floorwalkers
Ali of which proves nothing, except
perhaps. that this is the cue to dus'
off the bromide about necessity being
the mother of invention. True. at that
But superintendent Fred Wear OF
the Butte division of the Great North
ern railroad must. have been slightly
nonplussed when he was faced with
the necessity Of playing h~ousekeepel
to scores of new shop M repair mer
brought into Great Falls to replace the
strikers.
Page 0uartermasters
How well he has taken care of that
problem can be seen by those who are
fortunate enough to gain admittance t.
the ground covered by the Great
Northern shops on the west side. Fol
here are found over 200 men housed
and fed in a way which would prove
excellent instruction for the quarter
master corps at Washington and ave
the doughboys in that next war a lot OF
inconvenience.
The men are living in eight new
bunk houses, three of them large and
holding in the neighborhood of so oc-
cupants each. and a row of five small
houses. These are all of new construc-
ton with the exception of n large
house formerly used for the same pur-
--.~ L.. A. Cro~$ Gr~oSth ovprApr rk IAN
the new shop buildings were put up.
This has been refloored and thoroughly
cleaned throughout. At one end of
it is a large room fitted with tables
and chairs which may be used for q
recreation center during off hours.
Each one Of the houses is made
weather proof with a stout roofing, tar
paper on the outside walls, and clean
building paper on the inner sides.
Tables and benches are furnished
which may be used for writing letters.
and electric lights are the order all
through.
New Steel Beds
Entering one of the other large bunk
houses. the visitor sees long rows of
double deck steel hunks. each absolute
~ new, with a rip top spring and made
UP to a queens taste. New army issue
blankets are on new mattresses. and
new sheets and pillow cases were
bought. The bed linen is changed
daily.
In so far as possible. the day and
night force men are bunked in sepa-
rate dwellings so that each man can
retire at the end of a shift without
the annoyance of tramping in and out
by those men who are not sleeping.
In each of the larger bunk houses
is q porter attendant who takes care
of changing the beds and policing up
the house. Water coolers are just in
side each door.
The striking thing about the whole
bunking arrangement is the absolute
cleanliness maintained. Many a Great
Falls bousekeeper would envy the spot
less appearance of the houses. all the
more to be admired because no woman
has had a hand in the building or main
tenance.
Kitchen Is Roomy
The dining hall and kitchen are an
other revelation. The kitchen is roomy
and everything has the secured look,
and the food looks appetizing in prep
~aration ever. to the unculinary eye.
Long tables of glistening oilcloth
stretch the length of the adjacent mess
hall. This hall seats 100 men now.
but carpenters are busy with hammer
and nail building on a 36-foot extension
which will increase the seating capacity
to 200. At the present time thorough
~ cleansed box cars on the track near
by take care of the overflow with the
exception of the officers and foremen.
for whom a club car is kept on the
tracks. Two refrigerator cars are also
on the siding. one containing 4 store Of