Martinsburg independent. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1875-1900, 1888-03-17
CHAPTER XVI.
WHAT WILL THEY BRrNa1

Days passed till they made weeks, and
weeks till they made months, and no change
came for the mills or for the lives of the
creatures who worked within their grim
walls, except the change from poor to more
poor.
His acquaintance saw new expressions on
his face-the open, boyish look had gone, and
his voice had new tones of decision; his step
had grown fir1nor and his eyes met 8 glance
with a new steadiness.
One morning the three men who had been
once on the fire escape committee met in the
doorway of No. 2 mill, restored after the fire,
They had left their work for a breath of
fresh air.
'He is closer than his father; he scrimps
and saves hkea poor cuss trying to support
family ON IS the week. What show is there
for us9n
"Ye'll mind it's all fist as / told we, Bill
Rogers" suggested Graves, the comfort of i
told you So being left to him out Of the
general wreck. "Jist as I told ye that night
more'n q six, month ago in front of old
Breton's As soon as the lad feels his oats
that's the last of his kind heart"
s'The boys had hard luck since them" said
Rogers, handling his pipe out Of old force of
habit. "P'raps he's punishin' us for it, 1t
seems so strange somehow his changin all so
sudden
"'Taint that" said Graves, as he turned to
go back to work, and then lingering mo-
ment longer; at is the natur' of a man and
crops out as sure as he gets his swing. There
amt one of us but would make meaner
rich man than him. 1t comes easy to be
labor reformer and radical as long as fellow
is poor, and it's just as easy for man to talk
beautiful if he amt looked to to do nothing.
But it makes man drunk when he feels the
reins in his hands, and him nothin' but a.man
of the same stuff as the rest on us. Look at
Curran now; how much better'n the rest Is
he? He deserted us at the most critical mo-
ment. Somethin' made him throw us up as
if we had all Of sudden sickened on his
stomach. We're poor stuff, all ON us, boys.
never seen finer Teller than that Curran,
but he's forgot all about the wrongs and
rights he used to holler SO purity about.
There's no chance for US in any mans mercy;
we must depend on ourselves"
At this very moment Philip Breton was
pressing the little brass bell on his counting
room table. For an answer his paymaster
came in with his pen, wet from the ink, III
his hand.
"Do we pay our help enoughW
N
ca a no to him that would have shaken the
foundations of stone, but Mr.. Jennings the
paymaster, put his pen behind his ear, took
it down, looked keenly at it, then in surprise
at the young mill owner.
1--WE can get 600 as good for the same, If
that is what you mean" All, what chance
have the poor mills people, when the young
master chooses such advisers as thiss
"No," said Philip, s >wly. ut isn't ex-
actly what mean; can 5e raise the wagesT
"Can you; why yes, suppose you can step
right into the mills and give 500 bill TO
every hand But you couldn't afford to do
that thing long, and don't think 1t would do
ANYBODY any good / wouldn't assume to
advise you, sir but why not just as well go
up street and insist on payinga fancy price
for your fiourW
"But;don't they find it hard to live on what
we give them9 And what life it is at that, +"
suggested Philip, sadly. Apparently ne had
not quite forgotten them
"No doubt, no doubtn repeated the pay
master with the querulousness Of his class
'1but is there any sense in putting in your or
my fatg You can't make ninety cent
laborer worth a dollar and quarter by Civ
ing it to him You insult him and damage
business by making it all uncertain with the
gratuitous element
81 see you don't believe in benevolence, my
dear Jennings" and Philip smiled curiously
"Yes, / do, for sick people and paupers, but
if you don't want to make paupers OF every
body you mustn't
"But am not paupsr, and never earned
a penny in my life till few months ago
Philips eyes flashed at a sudden revelation.
"But, ah--but that is different. Drop that
then. To make our cloth there are a number
Of expenses; there is the min and the ma
chinery, the money locked up in fabrics and
material. These are fixed; you don't think it
your duty to pay extra prices for raw ma
terial, nor make gratuity with every dollar
you spend on machinery, no matter how poor
| the man that sells 10 you. Now comes an
other element, labor That should be as fixed
as the rest and all calculations based on its
market price When you go TO market with
your cloth you don't ask any gratuityt nor