The Washington times., 1905-10-01

town. and they tell me at the City Hall
that everybody must look out for him
self. am going TO try to get up lit
tie company OF old soldiers for patrol
duty"
''All right, mine captain. and I will be
the first freiwilliger. But I don't dink
you wants rifles. Revolvers and clubs
like the pleecemen-dat's de dicket-'
Have you got them?"
''Oh. yes. and the belts thereto. / got
der gondract to furnish EN- 10 de city"
Then you will send them, wraiI ed up
IN bundles. to my Office in the Square.
and come yourself there at seven
-'Freilich." said Leopold. his white
teeth glisten!ng through his yellow
beard at the prospect OF service.
/. X
Farnhann spent an hour or two visit
ing the proprietors of the large estab-
lishments affected by the strikes He
found. as 4 rule. great annoyance and
evaporation. but no panic. Mr.. Temple
said: The poor - fools, l felt sorry
for them They came up here TO me this
morning-their committee they called
it-and told me they hated it. but il was
orders, Orders from where? I asked.
From the chiefs of sections. they said.
and that was all could get out of them.
Some of tie best fellows in the works
were on the committee. They put 'em
there on purpose. The sneaks and law
yers hung back"
What will they do If the strike should
last?" asked Farnham.
They viii be supported for a while by
the other mills. Our men are the only
ones that have struck so far. They
were told OF 10 make the move, just
as they march out a certain regiment
to charge a battery. If we give in.
then another gang viii strike"
DO you expect 70 give in?''
Between US, we want nothing better
than ten days rest. We want to repair
our furnaces, and we haven't -
thing TO do. What told you this morn
Ing holds good There won't be any riot
The whole thing is solemn fooling. SO
far
The next man Farnham saw was in
far less placid frame OF mind. 1t was
Jimmy Nelson, the largest grocer in the
city. H had a cargo of perishabie gro
ceries at the station. and the freight
hands would not let them be delivered.
Il talked TO the rascals,'' he said IT
asked them what they had against me;
that they were injuring Trader a deity
of which Mr.. Nelson always spoke with
profound respect They laughed in my
face, sir. They, said, That's just our
racket. We want 10 squeeze your re-
spectacle merchants till you get mad
and hang a railroad president or two:'
Ies, sir; they said that to me, and
5000 of my stuff rotting in the depot
why don't you 90 to the mayor
asked Farnham. though he could not
suppress a smile as he said it.
You are laughing at me- suppose the
whole town has heard of it. Well, It's a
fact L went and asked that Internal
scoundrel that he was going to do. He
said his function was TO keep the peace,
and there wasn't word IN the statutes
about North Carliny watermelons II
I live till he gets out OF Office. I'll lick
him.
"'Oh. 1 think you won't do that, Jim
my"
You think won't.' said Nelson. alb
solutely .ncandescent with the story Of
his wrongs. I'll swear by Matthew.
Mark, Luke. and John. that 1 will
thrash the hide off him next spring-if
I don't Iorget it,
Farnham went home. mounted his
horse, and rode about the city TO see
what progress the strike was making
There was little disorder visible on the
surface of things. The sections had
evidently not ordered general cessa-
ton of labor; and yet there were Gu
rious signs OF Decentralization, as II the
spirit of work was partially disintegrat-
ing and giving way to something not
precisely lawless, but rather HstIess-
For instance, a crowd of workmen
IN
appearance. contentedly upon a large
school building il construction A group
of men. not half their number. ap-
preached them and ordered them to
leave of work The builders looked at
each other and then at their exhorters
in a confused fashion for a moment,
and ended by obeying the summons in
a sullen and indifferent manner. They
took off their aprons, went to the hy-
dranC and washed their hands. then put
OF their coats and went home in silence
and shamefacedness, amid the angry
remonstrances of the master-builder. A
little farther on Farnham saw what
seemed like a burlesque OF the last per-
formance. Several men were at work
in a hole in the street; the tops Of
| their heads were just visible above the
surface. A half-grown. ruffianly boy.
with bootblaclx's box slung over his
shoulder, came up and shouted, You
-- rats. come out of that. or
we'll knock the scalpS off'n YOU The
men. without even looking to see the
source of the summons, threw down
their tools and got out of the hole Ths
boy had run away; they looked about
for a moment. as If bewildered, and
then one OF them, a gray headed Irish
man, said, We'll. we'd better be a
lawn off. if the rest is and they AL
went away.
In this fashion it came about that Nv
nghtfan all the squares and public
places were thronged with an idle and
eNpectant crowd, not actively mischiev-
, Gus or threatening. but affording a vast
mass OF inflammable material in case
. the fire Should start in any n,1nrrnr