Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1915-09-14
CHAPTER XIII.
Narrowing Walls.

GriSwOld joined the cOnIerence WI"
Raymer and the shop bosses in the OIL
fees Of the plant the following morn
ing. Having slept upon the quarrel
Raymer vas on the conciliatory hand
and four Of the five department fore
men were with him. The prompt clos
ing of the shops had had its effect,
and a deputation Of the older work
men came to plead for arbitration and
a peaceful settlement Of the trouble.
But Griswold fought it and finally car
ried his point. mo compromise" was
the answer sent back to the locked :
out workmen, and with it went the
ultimatum, which Griswold himse1
snapped out at the leader Of the con-
ciliators: Tell your committee that
ii is unconditional surrender, and 1t
must be made before five o'clock this
afternoon. Otherwise, not man or
you can come back on any terms.
Then Griswold proceeded to make the
breach impossible by calling upon the
sheriff for a guard Of deputies. Ray
mer shook his head gloomily.
THAT settles it beyond any hope OF
a patch-up,' he said sorrowfully. IF
we hadn't declared war before, We've
done it now. I'm prophesying that no.
body will weaken when it comes to the
payroll test this afternoon"
Because we have taken steps to
protect our property?" rasped the
fighting partner
Because we have taken the step
which serves notice upon them that
we consider them criminals, at least in
intention. You'd resist it yourself.
Griswold. If anybody should pull the
law on you before you had done any
thing to deserve it. I'm much mistaken
If you wouldn't
ooh, hell" was the biting interrupt
ton; and Raymer could not know upon
what inward fires he had unwittingly
flung handful Of inflamables.
Broffin was as sure now that Girls
wold was his man as he was Of his own
present inability to prove it. He'll
make a miss-go, sooner or later the
pertinacious one was saying to himself
as he strolled past the Raymer plant
with a keen eye for the barred gates,
the lounging guards in the yard, and
the sober-faced workmen coming and
going at the pay office. "If he can
carry a steady head through what's
comm to him here. he's a better man
than I've been stacking him up to be"
Later, a big, red-faced man with his
hat on the back Of his head and a
paste diamond in his shirt bosom. came
to join the shifting group on the Of
flee sidewalt. Broffin marked him.
The mans name was Clancy; he was
a Chicago ward worker, sham labor
leader. demagogue, a bad man with a
pull" What chance had brought
the Chicago ward bully into a village
labor fight he was not long in finding.
Clancy had come because he had been
hired to come The remainder was
easy. The town gossips had supplied
all the major facts Of the Raymer-
Grierson checkmate, and Broffin saw
a great light. 1t was not labor and
capital that were at odds; it was COM
petition and monopoly. And monopoly,
invoking the aid Of the Clancy's stood
to win in a canter.
Broffin dropped the stick he had
been whiting and got up to move
away. Though some imaginative per-
sons would have it otherwise, a de-
tective may still be a man Of like pas
o;opc-opd paparous praposcacciopS-
with other men. For the time Broffin' S
Anglo-Saxon heritage the love Of fair
play, made him forget the limitations
Of his trade. by grapples, the old
swinei"he was muttering to himself
as he made a slow circuit Of the plant
inclosure. Somebody ought to tell
them two young ducks what they're
up against. For a picayune, I'd do it,
myself Huh!-and the little black
eyed girl playin' fast an loose with
both Of 'em at once while the old mon
ey-octopus eats 'em alive!"
Thus Broffin, circling the Raymer
works by way Of the four enclosing
streets; and when his back was turned
the man called Clancy pointed him
out to the group Of discontents.
Dye see that felly doublin the
fence corner? Ye're a fine lot Of jays
up here in tn backwoods! Do know
him? Full we'll l do! An that shows
we what honest workin'men has got to
come to, these days Didn't We see
him sittin' there on that castin'? TIL
rNt,f 70 t,;o
ye If ye have the nerve Of bunch
Of hoboes, yell watch yer chances and
step on him like a cockroach. He's a
Pinkerton,"
Wahaska was duly thrilled and ex-
cited when, on the day following the
storm and shipwreck, it found itself
the scene Of an angry conflict between
capital and labor. 1t was a crude sur
prise, both to the West side and to
Pottery Flat" to find the new book
writing partner not only taking an ac-
tive part in the fight. but apparently
directing the capitalistic hostilities
with a high hand. At half-past four
II was "IlISpcISu dDOul lIldl war mao
been declared. Raymer and Griswold
were telegraphing for rike-breakers;
and the men were swearing that the
plant would be picketed and that scabs
would be dealt with as traitors and
enemies.
1t was between half-past four and
five that Miss Grierson, driving in the
basket phaeton, made a stop in front
Of the Farmers and Merchants bank
Since it was long past the closing
hours, the curtains were drawn in the
bank doors and treet-facing windows
But there was q side entrance and she
went straight to the door Of the pri-
vate room, entering without warning.
Her father was not alone. In the
chair at the desk-end sat a man ford
Of face, hard-eyed and gross-b bodied
His hat was on the back Of his head
and clamped between his teeth under
ha hold ono m