Gilpin observer., 1915-03-18

Aidh Soiiieu ueI uOlue, dllSAoSo W
Alice. his sweetheart, and the fore
man. who came sympathetically to aid.
The hemorrhage did not cease. Cot
ton absor5s blood, but not when taken
internally.
81 can do nothing for her. said the
doctor, as soon as he set eyes upon the
dying child.
He turned to Alice, who had hardly
ceased coughing since she entered the
room. If you will take my advice he
added, you will leave the mills as
soon as possible.
"The foreman shot a glance at her.
He was earning a comfortable wage;
he had asked Alice to marry him, but
she had refused. He had promised to
take her out of the mills and establish
her in little home. Though no words
of love had passed between chem,
Alice had foreseen the day when the
named would ask her to be his wife.
She preferred him; at least, she loved
him and not the foreman.
"As for him, as soon as he heard the
doctors words he realized that he was
powerless to save the life of the
woman he loved. He must relinquish
her or-watch the deadly lint choke
her to death as it had choked his sis
ter. Hardly was the child's body cold
when he left the bedside, left her to
the last mercies of others and sought
the neighboring saloons, to drink and
forget. Forgetfulness is great COM
fort, gentlemen, and drink is the royal
path to it.
But the mans nature was too force
full for him to become besotted
drunkard. Gradually a single purpose
began to dominate his mind. He would
devote himself single-heartedly to the
acquisition of power He would be
as merciless as the men who had
in single day. His nature had
changed to gall; and there is little
that one cannot do who gives his
whole heart to it.
Ten years later he owned one of
the biggest mills in the state. He was
rich man. He was the most merci-
less of all the men who exploited the
labor of children. His employees were
merely machines to him. He never
entered his mills. He sat in his Office,
counting his deposits, poring over his
bank balance. The greed for wealth
had seized him and banished every
other quality.
But he would have subscribed lib
orally to your fund for the bribing, of
Senator Woodward, gentlemen. What
a pity that the man is no more-at
least, the devil that goaded him has
taken his departure long ago. Yet you
might not have to seek far for him. my
friends"
The mill owners. who had long since
abandoned their pretense of disinter-
ested boredom. exchanged glances
quickly. They were sure, now, of
whom Senator Woodward spoke. He
continued, staring into vacancy, his
eyes like the blank eyes of statue.
1t was doubtful whether he was fully
conscious of his visitors presence.
III.
He started up from his desk as a
crowd of mill hands pressed about the
open Office door, carrying something
a child-that moaned and writhed and
whimpered.
Whats this? he demanded an
grily
"Look for yourself, sir. answered
one of the men surlily
THE child's arms had been caught
in the machinery and were smashed
almost to pieces. The doctor had an
nounced that amputation was inevi-
table. The man heard the story un-
moved, conscious only of antipathy
toward this loud-voiced. surly crowd
that filled the neat Office.
Take him away he ordered If
the children won't take proper care of
themselves they must suffer for it,
"'His mothers lost two other kids
in the mills blurted out somebody.
This kid was her only support Now
he's done for
THE man got them out of the office,
grumbling. The boy was carried
away. AS the man turned to resume
his balancing he saw handkerchief,
which had fallen upon the floor be-
side his desk 1t was stained with
the boys blood.
He lifted it gingerly and pitched
1t into the waste basket But the in.
cident had stirred some forgotten
memories in his brain. and he did not
sleep so well that night as usually. In
the morning he arrived at a decision
He would cut down the paltry wages
of the hands still more His profits
were too small. and there was too
much human grist for him to fear a
strike,
AT the mill door, as the man en-.
| tered, he saw crowd assembled
about little girl-Nettie by name.
Oddly enough, the ragged. emacate5
figure revived those memories again.
or whom did the child remind, him?