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Short story about Mexican stokers who want their wages earlier, and the comic to and fro showing how the western styled company reacts, and how the Mexicans try to outsmart 'the system'.
- GenresFictionShort Stories
Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 1943
2 people are currently reading
36 people want to read
About the author
William Edmund Barrett
31 books29 followersWillam Edmund Barrett was born in New York City in 1900. He was Roman Catholic which is reflected strongly in his works. On February 15, 1925 he was married to Christine M. Rollman.
He attended Manhattan College. In 1941 he became an aeronautics consultant for the Denver Public Library.
He was a member of PEN and the Authors League of America, and also the National Press Club of Washington, D.C. He was president of the Colorado Authors League from 1943–1944.
Three of his novels were the basis for film productions: The Left Hand of God, Lilies of the Field, and Pieces of Dream which was based on The Wine and the Music.
He attended Manhattan College. In 1941 he became an aeronautics consultant for the Denver Public Library.
He was a member of PEN and the Authors League of America, and also the National Press Club of Washington, D.C. He was president of the Colorado Authors League from 1943–1944.
Three of his novels were the basis for film productions: The Left Hand of God, Lilies of the Field, and Pieces of Dream which was based on The Wine and the Music.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 20, 2024
Funny.
Two junior engineers work at the payroll office of a coal processing plant, paying the wage's staff every two weeks. But the local stokers are always, relentlessly, looking for a way to get an advance, and regulations are not always easy to comply.
This was fun, quite amusing, with a couple of genuine giggles included. Nice, for meager six pages.
RTC
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PERSONAL NOTE :
[1940] [6p] [Humor] [Not Recommendable]
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???????? 75 Short Masterpieces <--
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Gracioso.
Dos jóvenes ingenieros trabajan en la oficina de nóminas de una planta procesadora de carbón, pagando los salarios del personal cada dos semanas. Pero los trabajadores locales siempre buscan, incansablemente, alguna manera de obtener un anticipo, y las regulaciones no siempre son fáciles de cumplir.
Esto fue divertido, entretenido, con un par de genuinas risas incluidas. Interesante, para apenas seis páginas.
RTC
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NOTA PERSONAL :
[1940] [6p] [Humor] [No Recomendable]
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Two junior engineers work at the payroll office of a coal processing plant, paying the wage's staff every two weeks. But the local stokers are always, relentlessly, looking for a way to get an advance, and regulations are not always easy to comply.
This was fun, quite amusing, with a couple of genuine giggles included. Nice, for meager six pages.
RTC
-----------------------------------------------
PERSONAL NOTE :
[1940] [6p] [Humor] [Not Recommendable]
-----------------------------------------------
???????? 75 Short Masterpieces <--
-----------------------------------------------
Gracioso.
Dos jóvenes ingenieros trabajan en la oficina de nóminas de una planta procesadora de carbón, pagando los salarios del personal cada dos semanas. Pero los trabajadores locales siempre buscan, incansablemente, alguna manera de obtener un anticipo, y las regulaciones no siempre son fáciles de cumplir.
Esto fue divertido, entretenido, con un par de genuinas risas incluidas. Interesante, para apenas seis páginas.
RTC
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NOTA PERSONAL :
[1940] [6p] [Humor] [No Recomendable]
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September 16, 2020
The story was an amusing take on how rules are just constructs of a person or a group. They can be easily bent into any shape. In the story, you can see the company upping the ante each time the workers find a loophole. But the workers seemed to prevail repeatedly.
The back and forth game between the workers and the business was all because of the bi-monthly pay period. The workers knew the rules of the game better than the disconnected “main-office.” The main office only dealt with the money (as far as we know) and didn’t know the intricate workings of the shovelers. It was back breaking work which took a special type of person.
The shovelers knew their worth, but only implicitly implied this knowledge by bending the rules. They never openly rebelled. Better to play within the system, than wage open war against it.
There is more to be said about the importance of the shovelers, in spite of them being the lowest rung in this particular corporate ladder. All in all, a humorous short read of the intricacies within all bureaucracies.
The back and forth game between the workers and the business was all because of the bi-monthly pay period. The workers knew the rules of the game better than the disconnected “main-office.” The main office only dealt with the money (as far as we know) and didn’t know the intricate workings of the shovelers. It was back breaking work which took a special type of person.
The shovelers knew their worth, but only implicitly implied this knowledge by bending the rules. They never openly rebelled. Better to play within the system, than wage open war against it.
There is more to be said about the importance of the shovelers, in spite of them being the lowest rung in this particular corporate ladder. All in all, a humorous short read of the intricacies within all bureaucracies.
August 9, 2016
This is quite possibly one of the most stereotypically racist stories I have ever read. :-/ I am HORRIFIED to say that it was actually a bit amusing, but I really think the author should have written it about white people instead of Mexicans. (His word, not mine. I prefer the term "Hispanics", but who knows, maybe all of these people in the story WERE Mexicans straight from Mexico.)
The story would actually be quite good and funny if it wasn't so horribly stereotypical and, again, I say racist. I can't give it more than one star because I just don't hold with stereotyping a whole culture, even for the sake of literature. Super disappointed, Mr. Barrett. I know you are old and were living (and writing) during a time when it was "okay" (I use that word VERY sardonically) to treat people like this, but just because it was socially acceptable at the time does not mean you should have done it.
:-/
No me gusta, Senor Barrett.
The story would actually be quite good and funny if it wasn't so horribly stereotypical and, again, I say racist. I can't give it more than one star because I just don't hold with stereotyping a whole culture, even for the sake of literature. Super disappointed, Mr. Barrett. I know you are old and were living (and writing) during a time when it was "okay" (I use that word VERY sardonically) to treat people like this, but just because it was socially acceptable at the time does not mean you should have done it.
:-/
No me gusta, Senor Barrett.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews