Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1902-11-19

] pulse which ssAt him to wander aim
lessly5 through the deserted streets
of the town after leaving DR.. Farm
hams and parting from the other
dinner guests. RPS 9*. ~
But this night the thought of Mrs.
Holcomb's and the quiet room was
curiously repugnant, and so ho
roamed, like any vagrant, far and
wide, drifting at length to tho rail.
way crossing and beyond, and COM
ing to some sense of the actualities
only when he found himself in tho
neighborhood of the iron works.
| At this he would have turned back.
Since the closing of the works the
plant had been guarded nightly;
first by the inner circle of deputies,
and later by an outer Gordon Of the
striking workmen. This outer guard
had latterly been maintained in re-
liefs and made continuous, ostensibly
to show the good will of the strik-
ers and their readiness to protect
the property; but really, as Girls
void knew, to forestan any move on
the part of himself and Raymer to
supply the places of the men with
imported labor.
1t was chance collision with this
outer guard that brought Griswold
alive to the actualities. Two men
stepped out of the shadow of a tree
and halted him. But at the word
one of them recognized him.
ooh, it's you, Mr.. Griswold. Beg
pardon, sir, but you see we have to
be sort o careful"
Griswold's smile was openly cyni-
cal. Your carefulness is a good
bit overdue, Martin. It should have
begun before you made this sense
less strike"
Now the man Martin was in some
sort leader among the discontent-
ed workmen. and he asked nothing
better than chance to argue the
point with one of the bosses.
"There's two sides to that, Mr..
Griswold, and you hain't seen but
one. You don't know what it means
to earn your bread from day to day
like we do"
Don't II" said Griswold, smiling
again. this time without tho Gym
icism. "Perhaps I don't. and again,
perhaps I do. You're an older man
than I am, Martin, but I'll venture to
say that I've gone lacking more
meals in a year than you have in
| YOUR whole lifetime."
The man was silenced for a mo-
ment, but presently found tongue
again.
''Then what makes you so tarna.
ton hard on us fellows?'' he de-
manded. IF you've known what q
bare cupboard means for yourself,
I sh'd think you could put yourself
in workin'man's place.
II can and do; and so does Ray
mer. But you won't believe anything
we say, and that settles it."
ut hain't come to anything like a
settlement yet" remarked the man,
sullenly.
ut has, so far as we are concerned.
1t we can't be allowed to run our
business in our own way tho plant
may stand idle. It's ours.''
II don't know about that, Mr.,
Griewold."
"About what?"
"About the plant bein' yours and
Mr.. Raymer's. Seems like we tel.
lows that helped earn the money t.
build it ought to have some ittls
say" ..~.,.s"
Now this was one of the founda.
ton stones in Griswold's theories
and in his book; that the laborer ID
entitled, not to dividend share in
the product of his labor, but to the
entire product. But as yet he was
only broad enough to lay down tho
general principle. He could by no
means apply it to the particular per
sonal instance.
THAT is nonsense, Martin, and you
know it. Whose money built the
plant?"
The man took time to think about
it, and, as slow men often do, he
thought it over to some purpose.
II s'pose you could say that amt
for me to say, but I'm goin' to say
it. Mr.. Raymer got his money from
the old man, and we, and others like
us, helped him earn it. I dunno who
helped you earn your money, Mr..
Griswold. Maybe you earned it all
yourself, but I don't believe it,"
At this Griswold flew into a pas.
sion, there being no other retort for
such a thrust.
"You don't know what you're talk
ing about" he snapped. LET me