The Prescott daily news., 1910-01-13
An Unofficial Strike
By UNA HUDSON
(Copyright, by Short Stories Co. Ltd)
Dennis Murphy banged his dinner

looked hard at Maggie, his wife, for she had a most unreasonable habit of saying disagreeable things when the men were ordered out, and the rent was overdue, and there was no money to satisfy the demands of butcher and grocer.
 But then Maggie was a woman and could hardly be expected to appre- ciate the manifest advantages of be- longing to the union. She scowled fiercely over the sum of money that Dennis turned into the unions treas ury every pay day, and in moments of extreme irritation she had even been known to calculate the pounds of meat and potatoes that the money would buy. And she had hinted more than once that, but for the union, she could live like lady and hold up her head with the best of them. AS 1t was she took in washing to fill up the gap in the weekly income.
 An what's the trouble now?" she asked with considerable asperity. | Dennis shuffled uneasily" We want an eight-hour day" he mumbled. Maggie ironed a towel with short vicious strokes of her flat iron, and Dennis wished that the sil- ver-tongued agitator who had ordered the strike could be there to convince her of the justness of their cause. She was so obviously in bad humor and not inclined to listen to reason.
 An is 1t eight hours ye want?" she cried. emphasizing her words with thumps of her iron. Flight hours work for strappin' big man like yer self, Dennis Murphy It's lazy ye are. An them unions has too many grievances altogether that they have. Which was not at all nice speech for the wife of loyal union man to make
 Eight hours work is enough for any man," Dennis protested
 An for any woman? How about the women, just answer me that, Den his Murphy?"
 And Dennis thoughtlessly conceded that woman should not work longer than eight hours day. Whereat Mag gle smiled calm, wise smile that should have warned him of trouble ahead
 An whatll we live on the time the strikes on?" It was a question Mag. gle mad often asked in the eight years Of her married life, ;nd she well knew Dennis answer, for 1t had never varied
 Sure, and ye won't mind takin' in a bit of extry washin'. Maggie. darlin' just to help us along till do be earnin money agin'."
 Maggie thought she minded very much indeed, but she held her peace. Ana the next morning Dennis noted With great satisfaction that the wash boiler stood on the back of the stove and Maggie seemed to be making preparations for large days work.
 Sure and I'll not begin till yere out of the house. Dennis." she said The steam do be unpleasant"
 And Dennis, as he went off to dis cuss matters with his fellow strikers renected that If all other wives accent ed the situation in as proper a spirit a. Maggie did the strike was like tc be huge success.
 Maggie marshaled Molly and young Dennis and the baby into the kitchen.
 The strike Is on," she announced "an it's bath yell be afther havin. .'
 And the children gasped. for strike, they understood. but to their unaccus toned ears bath had most terri flying sound. And their mothers preparations filled their small souls with dread, for she had filled the bie wash tub with water hot and cold and she laid violent hands upon her offspring and stripped them of thei, clothes.
 An it's drownded we'll be-" Molly walled in terror, as she began to com prehend her mothers intentions con cerning them.
 Sure" said Maggie in deep dis gust, "an' it's ignorant little brats ve are not to know bath when ye see one. There do be people as takes one livery day"
 And from sheer inability to answe, so astounding statement the chi, dren were quiet while their mother soaped and scrubbed and rubbed and for lack of a bath towel, stood them to dry before the kitchen stove And she combed their hair not in the sketchy, everyday way, but with D thoroughness that brought tears tr their eyes. Then, wonderful to relate she sewed the rent in Mollys frock