Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-06-16
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES,
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.
| A PAY NIGHT
LOVE FEAST
BY c. {. DlNGWiLL.
CopyR1cnr, 1901, BY C. L. D1sGwALL.
BY C. {. DlNGWiLL.
CopyRIcnr, 1901, by C. Z. D1sGwALL.
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.

fTwN the midst of n tumble OF
sSl III harsh and Earring evidences
EesssssssssSel of industrialism there nestled
Ss1aHesJ little boxlike shanty. Long
lines of shabby dump cars, n couple OF
diminutive narrow gauge locomotives,
piles of T rails, rock cutting and NOV
ing machines and rough boarded and
tar paper roof repair shops and store
houses hedged it in on all sides Ii
differed from the neighboring struc-
lures only in that Us sides were OF
planed stuff and painted. In other re-
spects it was as dilapidated and strict
ly utiltarian in appearance as any
shack on the job. AS q guide for
those having business thereabout
there was a black and white sign run
ming the length of the peak of its shed
rcsf that bore the legend, sd. McDon-
aid & Co." Over one of the two doors
was another which said simply,
"Otilce." The facade Of each OF its
two long sides was divided with
mathematical eXactness into seven
equal parts by two windows aud a
door. One of these spaces was pune
tured for smoke pipe, which, with an
abrupt turn, shot upward three or four
feet and ended in serrated edge that
suggested sudden separation Of a
rusted length during a high wind.
The view from one side was marred
by the intervening low, rambling
buildings of the boarding camp IN the
near foreground, with rows of bright
hued articles of wearing apparel
strung on lines along the wall to dry.
Up the right of way Of the canal i'm
mensely tall steel derricks lowered
high in the air, and the spider web
ironwork of ponderous rock conveyors
stood in sharp relief against the sky
when the day was clear. From the
excavation the smoke from hosting en-
gines and, farther away, from over
worked steam shovels hung in a cloud
over the land. Now and then the dull
boom Of blast was heard and a mass
of rock shot up into the air-another
step was made toward the completion
Men innumerable-thou Of them
along the twenty odd miles of the drain
age canal-and 100000 worth Of ma
chinery worked hand in hand day and
night. BY night the immediate vicinity
of the scene Of operations was bright
with the glare of electric lamps or pow
erful suffering kerosene torches.
By night, too, the vicinity Of the
boarding shacks was made lurld by the
boisterous carrying on of rough work
ers. On pay nights that playful tend
ency overlooked, and nights carous-
ing ended in broken heads and bruised
faces. Sometimes the Unborn vicious
ness of few guided the actions of the
many, and the plant and belongings Of
the contractors suffered.
The Mcdonald outfit at the time had
on their section nearly 800 men, as dis
reputable n lot of navvies as ever
swung shovel. or these there were
old hands to the number Of perhaps
forty or fifty, mostly skilled workers,
with a few common laborers who fol-
lowed the company about the country
from one job to another. Every land
that breeds men that can do hard
days work was represented. There
were Italians, Poles, Lithuanians and
other "ians" from the same garlic eat
ing, benighted districts, Scotch engi-
neers and stone settlers, Scandinavian
riggers, handy with rope; Irish drill
ers and foremen, Canucks from down
Quebec way, and negroes. A few had
dependent families in faroff homes and
saved their money; the majority threw
1t up in the air by the second night oft
err pay night at the farthest.
At the end of wet, sloppy Monday
in September the day shift was congre-
gated in and about the little office,
while the bookkeeper behind a wire
screen, pursued his welcome biweekly
occupation of passing out the yellow
pay envelopes to the men as they called
off their numbers Outside, contin-
ual drizzling rain fell upon the crowd,
and the moisture trickled from their
clothing to the greasy mud pool on the
floor in front of the railing.
Standing back of the bookkeeper,
watching the operation of paying off,
was the company's superintendent,
David M'Keon bulky weather tanned
Scotchman, who feared neither God nor
man. His fist was like sledge ham,
mer, and his voice could be heard half
way across the section. A younger
man, not so heavy, but as tall, leaned
against the desk. His strong, beardless
features also bore the tan Of sun and
wind. A little felt crush hat covered
his head, the brim drawn down into a
spout from which the water drjpped
unnoticed down his front. A long,
black rubber coat, literally splashed
with mud, covered his form and hung
away in front, disclosing good
breadth of chest and n muscular frame.
High laced russell boots reached al
most to the knee, the canal mud cling
ing in quantity to their soles.
His name was Imrie-John L. Imrie
and he, in the capacity of assistant
superintendent, divided with Nixon
the responsibility for the success of the
operations on section q.
Now success, plainly speaking, is
profit-profit for old Donald Mcdonald.
He employs some sharp people in the
home Office Who are good at hgures
md who know very soon when job
is running short and are not backward
in writing to the superintendent to
that effect. And profit, plainly speak