Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1914-02-04
CHAPTER XII.

The celebration over, the mill once
more settled down to that industrial
peace which Is accompanied by the
deafening roar of machinery, the
clamor of the busy hammer on the
nail, sinking home in packing boxes,
the shouts Of workingmen and women
forced to thrust their words above the
strident medley which surrounds them.
There was new life IN the old mill,
new confidence had taken place Of
fear and fierce antagonism in the
hearts of hundreds, an esprit de corps
had been born suddenly such as had
not existed in that factory for many
years. In one happy sentence of his
bashful speech Broadway had struck a
keynote. He had said:
"And-er-now, you fellows, keep
your brains-er-busy with this stu
alton. have bucked the Trust. I've
bucked the Trust for you and the old
town. Now if you don't help me beat
1t to the ropes, stagger it, blind It,,
pulp 1t, put 1t down and out as the all
powerful force In the gum-industry,
it's going to wipe me off the map, and
when I'm wiped you're wiped.
I've fought for you, and lots of
folks will say am fool for doing it.
If you start in and fight for me; IL
we both fight heart and soul and night
and day to win against the widest
competition that was every known in
nI1o i'm Anu n tpc cr
else means our sponge in the air and a
call for doctors and an ambulance, or
more likely, undertaken, for Jones'
Pepsin Gum, its owner and the men
who work for him.
These words had struck home. The
workmen had all understood their
truth; furthermore. they fully recog-
nized the justice of the burden Broad
way laid upon them. Workingmen are
fair; they are fairer In DID, little towns
like Jonesville than they are in great
industrial centers, where the element
of personality has passed out of in
dustry and the worker is a cog, while
the owner Is an unseen and mysterious
power. The men had shouted wildly
that they all would help and meant 1t.
After he had left the shops they had
reiterated among themselves the
pledges Of their fealty, and they meant
them then.
Sweethearts, that day in the Jones
plant. would have scornfully rejected
sweethearts who showed any sign of
treason to the young proprietor; ia,
theirs would have thrashed a son who
sneered at Broadway; mothers would
have chided daughters (more likely
would have spanked them fiercely)
who offered slurs upon what had oc-
CURED. The capacity Of mixers, cook
ers, drawers, molders, cutters, stack.
ers, wrappers, packers. boxers, ship
pers increased as IL by magic. For
their hearts were in their work; they
were hustling for the boss who had
declared his firm intention of hustling
for his workers.
Therefore in the works everything
buzzed and hummed and banged and
clattered with pleasurable and con.
tagious enthusiasm. In the Office there
was warm glow Of satisfaction, but
Broadway's smile, after the ladies' had
departed, Clara and her mother to
make calls and pass the joyful news
about the town triumphantly, Josie tc
attend to necessary details of her du
ties, became somewhat weaker thar
1t had been.
He had gone into the fight, but was
] he going to win the fight? 1t was fine
TO fight. undoubtedly, but it would be
painful to get licked. His knowledge
Of the business world was amply rep
resented by the figure CO." The Trusts
knowledge Of the business world was
represented by the figure 20" and then
another figure "0," the two preceded
by the figure a."
They knew 100 per cent. of that
game of which he knew absolutely
nothing. He had defied them, SHE'D
hia hat into the ring, and now was
obliged to chastise them drastically
He sighed, thrust his neck out stiffiy
and said, trying to be cocky, but, now
that the excitement had died down