The Bellefontaine Republican. [volume] (Bellefontaine, Logan County, Ohio) 1855-1905, 1900-05-29
CHAPTER vi.

CHATTER vi.
Robert Hardy reached his office just
in time to see Burns, the foreman, go
out of a side door and cross the yard.
The manager followed him and entered
the machine shop III time to see him
stop at a machine at the farthest end
of the shop and speak to the man at
work there. The man was a Norwe-
gian, Herman by name. He was run
ming what is called a planer. a ma
chine for trimming pieces of cold metal
just from the foundry or the casting
room. He was at work this morning
on one of the eccentric bars of a loco
motive. and it was Of such charac-
ter that he could leave the machine for
several minutes to do the planning.
Burns talked with this man for
awhile and then moved across the floor
to the other workman, small boned,
nervous little fellow, who was in
charge of a boring machine which
drove a steel drill through heavy plates
Of iron fastened into the frame.
Mr.. Hardy came up just as Burns
turned away from this man and touch
cd him on the shoulder. The foreman
started and turned about, surprised to
see the manager.
"Wen, Burns. how goes everything
this morning?" asked Robert.
1.-THE men here are grumbling be.
cause they don't have a holiday same
as the men in Scoville's department"
"But we can't shut down the whole
business, can we?" asked Mr.. Hardy
with momentary touch Of his OLD
time feeling. "The men are unrea
sOnabie."
"I'm afraid there'H be trouble, sir
I can feel it in the air." replied Burns.
Mr.. Hardy made no reply In words
but looked at him. Within the black
ened area of the great shop about 2O(
men We're at work. The whirl Of ma
chinery was constant. The grind O.
steel on iron was blended with the rat
tie of chains and the rolling Of th'
metal carriages in their tracks. Th'
Genius of Railroading seemed presen
\ in the grim strength and rapidity o
several machines which moved almos
as if instinct with intelligence ant
played with the most unyielding sub
stances as if they were soft and pliabl
clay. In the midst of all the smashing
of matter against itself, through tn
| smoke and din and dust and revolution
of the place, Mr.. Hardy was more thai
usually alive this morning to the human
aspect of the case. His mind easil
| went back to the time when he himsel
stood at one of these planers and di
| just such work as that big Norwegian
was doing, only the machines wer
| vastly better and improved now. MI
| Hardy was not ashamed of havfn
| come along through the ranks Of man
| ual labor. In fact, he always spok
| with pride of the work he used to do i
that very shop, and he considered hin
self able to run all by himself an
piece Of machinery in the shops, bu
he could not help envying these me
this morning "Why," he said, "probs
bly, not one of them but has at leas
seven weeks to live and most of thel
seven months or years, while l. VIII
should these men complain becaus
| tlcN dEc HUI IcIctiSSu llOhi tOll Aoli
toll sweet when there are strong bod
and loving wife and happy home
10 God" he continued to think,
would give all my wealth If I migf
change places with any one of thes
men and know that 1 would probabl
have more than week to live"
Mr.. Hardy walked back to the offic
leaving the foreman in a condition {
wondering astonishment.
Something wrong in his works,
guess" muttered Burns.
Mr.. Hardy sat down to his desk ar
wrote an order releasing all the me
who desired to attend Scoville's f
neral in the afternoon. He did n
have it in his power to do more, al
yet he felt that this was the least
could do under the circumstances. II
more he thought of Scoville's dea
the more he felt the cruel injustice
it. The injuries were clearly acc
dental, but they might have be-
avoided with proper care for hum:
life, and Robert Hardy was just /
ginning to understand the value of b
, manity.
He worked hard at the routine of /
Office work until noon. He did wh
seemed to him the most necessary pa
of it all with conscientious fidelit
But his mind good part of the til
E was with the men in the shops.
could not escape the conviction that
= a railroad company had the willir
ness to do so it could make the 81
roundings of these men safer and ha
pier without getting poorer work
even losing any money by it.
3, When noon sounded, he went ho1
resolved to do something as far as |
In his power to make the men feel tt
they were regarded as something me
than machines.
!. George was down stairs when his
ther came in and looked at him wi
Is curiosity rather than with any reell
lo of shame for the scene of the night
fore. After lunch was over Mr.. Har
called his son into The study for lit