The anti-monopolist. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1874-1878, 1874-09-03

"But you wouldn't be angry with
me. Noike.'' said the wife in softer
tone; syou' IL leave it all to me, won't
you?''
800 as you please, Molly W said her
spouse, Il m not the boy to quarrel
with you if your ways Of thinking are
different from mine.
The woman tu"esl suddenly toward
her husband with a changed look in her
face, she moved her lips as though she
was about to speak, but the intention
| was hardly born till it died again, and
she turned back slowly toward the
table and began to gather up the dishes
that had contained the evening meal.
The autumn followed the summer,
slowly, but inevitably, as death follows
| life, and the O'Raferty rent was paid.
The juvenile O'Raffertys, careless and
sometimes happy, rollicked in the dirt
and grew slowly and unconsclously
toward the woes of maturer life; the
paternal on aferty toiled doggedly and
almost helplesslyat his daify tasks,
and fought his old enemy with little
new prospect of success.
Going down to his work one morn
ing little before time, Michael over
heard, just as he was starting out, the
fragments of conversation between
conductor and the station master, which
puzzled him sorely at odd intervals
during the days work. But in the
evening, when his wife had borrowed a
paper from neighbor, he was able to sit
down and pick out some Of the news
about the great excitement at New
York. From what he could gather
(aided by his wife) he concluded that
there had Teen either great fire or a
great burglary, since some body had
lost SO much money that had been put
into stocks.'' Why this should be such
an insecure place to put money. Michael
could not imagine; the only point on
which his mind was clear, developing
itself into a fiYgd determination never
to deposit any Of his money in such
place. "Thsre was no prospect Of any
monetary disturbance whatever in con-
sequence, the paper said, there
mis- ht and probably would be some I'M
s, easiness through the country for the
! next two OF three days, but the bust
ness community at large could hardly
be affected by it,
But the next morning, when Michael
came to the station, there was more
talking among the men assembled there
and more news. Several large and prom
; inent eastern firms had failed as well as
those reported. The ''uneasiness" that
had been so glibly spoken of by the
newspaper, had developed itself into a
terror which spread it's in rapidly ad
vancing waves over the whole country
Men who had money, boarded it like
r misers; men who had none sacrificed
their goods by thousands to obtain it
business clogged, banks suspended, anc
the land was swallowed up in panic.
!, To Michael and his co-laborers al
all this was vague and delusive, ant
they were as men who hear the mutter
ing of far off storm and yet feel nom
. of it's effects. Day by day for the en-
suing week the trains rolled IN and GU
from Fitchburg, and day by da,
the section hands went out with thu
; morning and came back with the even
: i.:g, dusty, and tired and worn. Th
workmen toiled on with blind feelin:
of security. which came from the belle
> that however the panic might affec
mankind in general, the Pan Handle
Prircetown & Gridiron railroad was in
vincible.
: But all things are prone to come t
- an end ,and so in this case Their
: movement Of the great railway. Tn
- local superintendent received one du
~ October day circular from the genel
, al superintendent, which was duly for
. warded by the former official to tn
% track master, by whom its content
e were communicated to section Dos
4 O'Raferty and the men in his employ
4 ''In view Of the present financial an
v business stringency,' so the story raj
4 s'the company Announce that they al
:. reluctantly compelled to order redue
]. ton of ten per cent on the wages OF a
. employees, TO take effect Nov. lst, 1873
- The men on the road remained quie
al for few days, but the reduction {
~ wages was leaven that worked ever
n day little nearer the surface.
i made little difference to the official VII
1, had an income Of five thousand dollar
:. per year, for the reduction did NJ
&C reach him, and if it should the renal,
n ing ninety per cent. would supply a
II his wants. But when the reductio
. came into the wages of five hundre
of dollars per year, it meant, not redu
y ton of the usual expenditures Tor vii
AZ and cigars, but Withholding Of the a
=. tual necessities of life, saving, whel
i. economy was already the highest Wit,
y in the calendar. When man neet
;, and income are SO nicely balanced,
"a. takes but little to disturb the equipois
~ 1t was the removal of the tenth tn;
~ lightened the latter side Of the seal
. and the needs pressed down heavil
: And this is the way that the men
or the railroad first began to talk amor
q themselves about strike.
There must have been nearly thir
Id of the men that assembled at t
''Statf of Life saloon on an eveni
as not long after the reduction. The
Use were all railroad men and the cast
nv their faces showed that they meant