Waterbury Democrat., 1901-02-14
voice fang out clear and strong oyer

'sLord, we need thy help today. We ask for wisdom. Grant us to know thy will O Lord, keep us from committing any lawless act. Keep every man here from drunkenness and violence to prop erty or life. We want simply our rights as men. We want wages sufficient to live in comfort. Show us what to do. l Keep us today from evil. Bless all men | who work with their hands. Bless our families. We ask it for Jesus sake. Amen" [This incident is based on fact. The writer of this story was wit ness to gathering of iron miners in the great strike of July, 1895, where one of the miners offered just such q prayer as the above, at Negaunee Mich., July 24, 1S95.l
 The speaker lifted his head, and the miners put on their hats. Stuart look ed out over the heads of the crowd and up at the man who had just pray ed and then out beyond him to the pine covered hills dotted over with the engine houses and stock piles of ore He noticed the smoke curling from the furnace stacks and said to himself "The pumps are going yet.' The whole scene was very vivid to him. The l stand, that familiar face and figure up there, the hills, the mines, the whole with it's strong setting of human in- ] terest, smote him almost with a shock 1 And at the very nerve center of the shock was that brief prayer. It was so strange, so unusual, so like a story, so unlike real life.
 | Eric was speaking again. He was making an appeal to the miners to con- mend their cause to the world by their conduct. He spoke, as before he had prayed, very slowly and carefully. To- ward the end of his speech he caught sight of Stuart.
 His face flushed for an instant. The eyes of the two men met. The look on each mans face seemed to say, 'I won- der if he is still the same?' | A clock in the steeple of the larger of the two churches struck s. Eric | jumped down from the bench, and aI- other miner took his place and spoke in more impassioned manner to the 1 men. There were cheers and swinging of hats. Stuart gradually worked his way out of the crowd, stopped ire quently by acGuaintances. At last he had come out in front of the church with the clock in the tower, looking about him eagerly for some one from his own home, when a strong voice from a man standing on the church steps above him eXclaimed:
 Say, Stuart, when did you join the strikeY' ,.f
 Z Doctor" cried Stuart eagerly, with smile Sf welcome that lighted up his thoughtful face wonderfully, "next to father and Louise you are the very person I wanted to see most Where are they? They were to meet me at the train this morning. Isn't this a most astonishing affair? Tell me all about it.''
 The doctor shrugged his shoulders. "You know as much about it as I do. The men went out this morning with out notice. The Freeport, Vasplaine and De Mott miners are all here with the Champion men. They walked over from the lower range early this morn ing" &:.'''
 What do the men want?" Stuart asked vaguely. He had so many ques- tions to put he asked the first that oc- cured.
 The doctor shrugged his shoulders again.
 'The contract miners want $2 day, the trammers $1.75 and the men at the top $1.5O"
 "Who is the leader of the men?"
 "You see for yourself; Eric Vassall And it seems only yesterday that you two men were young kids in knicker- lockers tumbling down the mines and worrying the life out of the companies because of your pranks. And now Erie is the leader of the biggest strike on record among the miners, playing the role of prophet and priest and l don't know what all, and you"-
 And I,' interrupted Stuart, with an- other smile, as he pulled the doctor down off the step above him, "I am so far-nobody, until I have had my breakfast. l can't understand where father and Louise can be. Haven't you seen them this morning?"
 ''No. Get into my buggy. I will take you up to the house."
 The doctors office fronted on the square, and his horse stood near by. Stuart took one glance back at the crowd as he and the doctor started up the street.
 Ut is a remarkable scene. l have not witnessed anything like it abroad. have seen several strikes in England and Germany and France since I have been away. But never knew q strike to be opened with prayer, did you, doc tor:" E"No," replied the doctor dryly.
 Stuart looked at him. He was driv- ing, as always, with one foot outside the buggy, the lines gathered up in careless way in one hand and the horse tearing along like mad up the sandy, red, iron ore street, for they were off the paving now and going up sharp grade cut through one of the numer- ous hills that surrounded the town. The doctor always drove that way, and ride with him was as exciting, Stuart used to say, as working in powder mill during a thunderstorm.
 "Why? Don't you think the prayer was sincere?" Stuart asked.
 Sincere enough. But pshaw! Whats the use? We all know how the strike