ormerly, and
another was the speeding up and slave-driving, and the manner in which
the work was now done, or rather scamped. As old Philpot said, he
could remember the time, when he was a nipper, when such a 'job' as
that at 'The Cave' would have lasted at least six months, and they
would have had more hands on it too! But it would have been done
properly, not messed up like that was: all the woodwork would have been
rubbed down with pumice stone and water: all the knots cut out and the
holes properly filled up, and the work properly rubbed down with
glass-paper between every coat. But nowadays the only place you'd see
a bit of pumice stone was in a glass case in a museum, with a label on
it.

'Pumice Stone: formerly used by house-painters.'

Most of them spoke of those bygone times with poignant regret, but
there were a few--generally fellows who had been contaminated by
contact with Socialists or whose characters had been warped and
degraded by the perusal of Socialist literature--who said that they did
not desire to work overtime at all--ten hours a day were quite enough
for them--in fact they would rather do only eight. What they wanted,
they said, was not more work, but more grub, more clothes, more
leisure, more pleasure and better homes. They wanted to be able to go
for country walks or bicycle rides, to go out fishing or to go to the
seaside and bathe and lie on the beach and so forth. But these were
only a very few; there were not many so selfish as this. The majority
desired nothing but to be allowed to work, and as for their children,
why, 'what was good enough for themselves oughter be good enough for
the kids'.

They often said that such things as leisure, culture, pleasure and the
benefits of civilization were never intended for 'the likes of us'.

They did not--all--actually say this, but that was what their conduct
amounted to; for they not only refused to help to bring about a better
state of things for their children, but they ridiculed and opposed and
cursed and abused those who were trying to do it for them. The foulest
words that came out of their mouths were directed against the men of
their own class in the House of Commons--the Labour Members--and
especially the Socialists, whom they spoke of as fellows who were too
bloody lazy to work for a living, and who wanted the working classes to
keep them.

Some of them said that they did not believe in helping their children
to