Evening star., 1896-12-19
side the gates. free from the influence of the

Ine men must coHle ont sooner or later,
and when they do wsw have a talk with
theni.'' said the secretary MY own opinion
is that they will come out tonight at the
usual hour, and l propose to act on that
supposition. II find am wrong, we will
meet again tonight. Rnd will have some
proposals to make. n short time we
shall be able to Leah whether the scabs
are coming out or shot. Meanwhile, get
back among our o"nsnen and advise them
when the 'blacklegs Ippear; and when the
scabs come out, let each man of YOU per-
suaoe as many as you can to come to the
p.s nan, Where we can have talk with
them Tell the men, that if there is any
violence they will be merely playing into
Sartwelrs hands. We, don't want the DO
nee down on US. and, until there is a row,
they will at least remain neutral"
This advice commended Itself to all who
heard it. and, the details of the program
having been arranged, they all departed for
the scene of conflict.
Promptly at o'clock the gates were
thrown open. and shortly after the black
legs began to pour forth into the street.
lhere were no hootfngS nor jeerings bur
the strikers regarded the newcomers with
scoWiing looks, while the latter seemed
rather uncomfortable, many of them eyl-
dentiy apprehensive regarding their recep-
ton.
Men" cried Gibbons, "wbo is vour lead
er? l want a word with him.
The stream of humanity paused for mo-
ment, IN spite of the commands of the no.
lice to move along. The men looked at one
another and Gibbons quickly recognized the
state of th:ngs-they were strangers to each
olher, coming as they did from all parts OF
England. This surmise was confirmed by
one man. who spoke up:
We've got no leader" he said
'Then you be the spokesman" cried Glib
pons Did you men know, when you came
here. that there was a strike on?''
Something of that Sort" replied the
spokesman, sulerly.
DO You belong to n IIpiop
The union never did nowt for u.s.
DO you know that you are taking bread
from the mouths of other workers."
,,.s we must put bread into our own
mouths At this point the police captain
touched Gibbons on the shoulder
can't allow this obstruction" he said
live me two minutes" pleaded Gibbons.
No-nOr one."
Look here" he said Have sonna +oo+
ana sense Don't you know that I have
merely to raise my hand and this crowd
w WI sweep you and your men off the face
Ihat nat won't prevent, me from sweeping
you into prison." ee,Ae
certainly not But you can arrest me
auletly. ts ny: when you like. or I'll meet You at
II you attempt to interfere now. you'll hs We
riot on your hands. I'm holding th,s
crowd in check-it is not their fear Of vnm
nnr mere no traffic coming through this stree,
structing nothing, and I'm as anx;ons &C
Sou are TO Keep the men within the law
Soou ctM heavens! You may have your hands
nannaa raa a. any any moment. so don't push patien,
peopie over the line. Remember you orc
not not In Sartwelrs employ. onlv wsnt q
.e" rev words with these men, then we'll leava
tne street to you." ie"'.
on ne ne,; captain hesitated a moment. 1t WAS
an Om1nous mob "a"
Look sharp then ba s,.a
back e "aio' ana stepped
Gome with u.s. cried Gibbons. Eve ca,.,
sA saik mere Come to the big hall. and if Won
barn, dn,eo hMe "mat rs we say there will be no
harm done. This Is a free country "
me secretary turned, as If he bod M
n. t tha. the crowd would follow and
ne. iie .eaoeriess men walled after him C;ih-
,a,no,, nJhs assistants mixed among them and
talked persuasively with the strangsrs G,'A Do
iore nalf an hour all the "blackiaSs., o.o
III tne salvation Army Hall. signing tha
list " ''i 'he strike pay
II was notable triumph for c,ihbo,s
nrst blood. as sporting man wou,d CO..
% Ne1. morning when the gates were
openeu not a man entered and SartweJI
once. once more found himself without an EN-
vitinc,,. <1n,er n,e,, tne gates had remained in
isy open Tor half an hour they were
cioseo again. and a great cheer went rr
gether. 11"'eS cathe To-
vs, aa.Mens h resources, however were not
se. exhausted, for two days later the fac
tory was thronged with workmen once
more. ana these also Gibbons bought from
under the manager. = - oii'
~ nus sis game went on and it convinced
me men tnat their secretary knew a thing
or Two, being more than a match for the
manager. Gibbons carried himself GOVT
aenuy. and talked with grand assurance
tmat IN ne was perhaps far from feeling, for
ne became more and more hageard and
anxious as the fight continued He alone
Knew Inc seriousness of the Increased drain
on the resources of the union, through the
,,'ros ,Uroso SUPPORT OF the new hands he had
IuIea away from Saftwells employ and
Wnich had upset all his previous caicuIa
ions. An attempt was made to Tighten the
purdeh py trying to induce the new men to
return ..i 10 tneir homes and this had been
partlaiiy successful with the first lot hut
the others obstinately insisted on getting
tnelr snare or the strike pay and refused
even to consider the advisability of return-
ing. Ihey demanded what was promised
'hem. OF threatened to enter the WORKS in
a body. which action would have snee.lijv
put an end to the contest Gibbons was
well supported by that section of the i.ress
whlch gave more than a few lines each day
10 the progress of the strike One morn
ing the chief of these papers came out with
an appeal to the public for aid The case
OF the strikers, battling, it might be at
nrst Tor their own rights. but fighting in
feailty Tor all working humanity was most
convincingly and tersely put in q double-
loaded editorial, and the journal itself
headed the list with handsome contribu-
ton. Would the people of England hold
aioof, reduce these workers into slaves
using the weapon of grim starvation
against them? The journal did not believe
such apathy existed. and its belief was
amply justified. for subscriptions pourei in
rapidly. together with indignant letters
from all parts Of the country, which were
duly printed in it's columns.
I The first pinch of the strike came on the
men when 1t was suddenly announced that
strike pay would the next Saturday be cut
down to one-quarter the amount they were
then receiving. There was a good deal of
grumblng and some inquiries as to what
thy were fighting for. but on the whole the
disastrous proclamation was received
quietly, II somewhat grimy.
I'VE are bound to win," said Gibbons
when he was reluctantly compelled to tell
the men of the reduction. THE firm is los
ing nearly thousand pounds a week by
the factory remaining idle. and it is not
likely they will stand that long, even to
oblige Sartwell."
Gibbons had not the courage to add that,
even with the reduction the union could
not hold out more than a week longer: tina:
1t was practically at the end of Its re-
sources, and that future strike pay would
have to depend on the subscriptions re-
ceived from the outside, q most precarious
source of revenue. for every one knows
how short lived enthusiasm is and how the
collection of hard cash destroys it,
T6at>n iS NH .lnl~;