Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1903-01-03

to hear what was coming. Mr.. Hardy
mounted one Of the planners and looked
/ about him. The air was still full of
gas and smoke and that mixture of
Tine iron filings and oil which is char
| acteristic Of such places The men
were quiet and respectful enough
! Many OF them had heard the man
ayers speech of Thursday night at the
town hall. Most of them were aware
that some change had taken place in
the man. It had been whispered about
that he had arranged matters for the
men injured in the Sunday accident so
that they would not come to want in
any way.
And now that grimy, hard muscled,
hard featured crowd of 800 men all
turned their eyes upon the figure
standing very erect and pale faced on
the great planer, and he in turn looked
out through the blue, murky atmos-
phere at them with an intensity of ex-
preston which none in that audience
understood. AS Mr.. Hardy went on
with his speech they began to under
stand what that look meant.
MY brothers," began the manager,
with a slight trembling of the sylla-
h!es so new to him, ''as this may be
the last time l shall ever speak to you
want to say what is true to me and
what feel owe to you For 25 years
have carried on the work in this
place without any thought of the 800
men at work in these shops except as
their names were on the pay roll of
the company.
1T never made any difference to me
when your wives and children grew
sick and died. l never knew what
sort OF houses you lived in except to
know that In comparison with mine
they must have been very crowded
! and uncomfortable. For all these %
years have been as Indifferent to YOU
as one man possibly could be to men
who work for him. 1t has not occurred
to me during this time that l could be
anything else. l have been too selfish
to see my relation to you and act up-
on it.
"Now, do not call you in here today
to apologize for 25 years Of selfshness
mot that alone. But do want you to
know that have been touched by the
hand OF God in such way that before
it Is too late l want to say to you all,
brothers., and say to you that when
you think of me hereafter it may be as
/ am now today, not as have been in
ali the years past.
lit is not for me to say how far or in
what manner l have trampled on the
brotherhood of the race. l have called
myself Christian. have been
member Of a church. Yet l will con-
TESS here today that under the author
lty granted me by the company have
more than once dismissed good, honest,
faithful workmen in large bodies and
cut down wages unnecessarily to in
crease dividends, and in general |
have thought of the human flesh and
blood in these shops as have thought
Of the iron and steel here l confess
all that and more. Whatever has been
un-Christian hope will be forgiven.
There are many things we do to our
fellow men in this world which abide
the sting OF them, | mean. The i'm
press of my selfshness is stamped on
this place. 1t will take years to re-
move it, l might have been far more
to you. l might have raised my voice
as Christian and an influential d.
rector Of this road against the Sunday
week and traffic; never did might
have relieved unnecessary discomfort
in different departments: l refused to
do it. l might have helped the cause
of temperance in this town by trying
to Danish the saloon; instead OF that
voted to license crime and poverty
and disease establishment
81 might have used my influence and
my wealth to build healthy, comforta-
BILE homes for the men WHO work on
this road; ! never raised my finger in
the matter. l might have helped to
make life a happier, sweeter thing to
the nearly 1000 souls in this estab-
lishment, and l went my selfish way,
content with my own luxurious home
and the ambition for self culture and
the pride of self accomplishments
And yet there is not man here today
who isn't happier than l am.
81 wish YOU all. in the name of the
good God, who forgives our sins for
Jesus sake, the wish of a man who
looks into the other world and sees
things as they really are. l do not
wish you to think of my life as Chris
tan life. 1t has not been such, but as
you hope to be forgiven at last forgive
all wrongs at my hands.
"You are living in the dawn of hap
pier day for labor. There are Christian
men in business in this town and some
few connected with railroads who are
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