Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1916-07-23

ness of the amount he had earned dur
ing the week
I'VE work like dogs for mex; to
nothin'." he was saying 10 the other
girl. "But some Trims going to happen
soon. SEQ II ii don't We didn't form
a union for fun What do YOU think
OF it, John? If Temple and his crowd
YOU and have a share: Why shouldn't
these girls be logged up as fine as
Mary Temple?'
'Why not" laughed John. Flora,
here. is as good looking rs Mary"
Flora bridled at that.
las good looking. indeed" she cried.
DO YOU compare me with that little
thing What sort OF figure has she.
Id like to know. by the side OF me-
''She don't amount 20 4 row OF beans"
he Chuckled
Bill Thompson. however, though a
persistcn; person. was by no means
self-scckiuG. The mere fact that Bur
ton seemed 10 be popular with his fell
low-w orkers caused Thompson TO make
use Of him. Thus. when the union de-
cidcd that shorter hours and an in
creased rate o, pay should he de-
mauded from tho company. Burton.
actually without his own knowledge
or cGesent. was appointed spok esman
I
Pre- aideut Temple He was surprised
when the selection was made known
to him. but. in the hapPy-go-lucky way
which cloakcd his real strength of
character, he inferred into tho project
more as an adventure than as a serious
undertaking which might affect tho
whole course OF his future life.
Thompson. together with the other
moving spirits in the union. decided
10 strike while tho iron was hot. A
messenger was sent to the presidents
/ office 70 say that some of the men
wanted 10 see him Naturally Mr.. Tenn
pie wished to know their business
but the boy who brought the message
Was unable u state it. though he
added. on his own responsibility, that
the crowd looked ugly.
Greatly surprised. the president sent
for Mr. Reeves. and, after a brief con
sultation with his manager. decided
10 hear what the men had to say,
whereupou the depu;ation entered the
office and John was thrust forward To
formulate their demands.
The president was very angry and
told Burton and the others point blank
;hat he would not yield to any OF
their requests, whcrcupou the workers,
in turn, lost their temper and began
breathing threats Thompson. being :.
little man. was hidden by his more
*talwart mates. but nc had the wit TO
choose the psychological moment when
10 utter that ominous word 'Strike.'
Burton, glib as ever, took il up and
! put the matter into plain English
| This was the one small spark needed
10 fire Il mine charged with hich cX-
piosivc.
White with rage. Temple ordered thu.
dcpu;ati"u out of the office. storning
at them as II they We're so many dogs.
In consequence, they left him in the
l,. NJ
ton was so carried away by the sit
uation that when no faced the main
body of workers, gathered in the fac
tory yard. and recited the unsatisfac-
Tory result of the interview, he WAS
Amos, as keen as Thompson or any
Of the others TO urge Il strike in be-
half Of their rights.
Transition from spoken threats to
overt action is pcrilously easy in such
conditions, Almost before the leaders
of the union we'll knew what was hap
pcn!ng. some irresponsible youths in
n" crowd threw stones through tho
":iire windows. Mr.. Reeves chose
That unfortunate moment to gaze ON,
al the mob. and Il heavy missile coy
cred him with broken glass and mar
rowly missed his head He took shell
ter hurricdly The president. filled
with fury against these disobcdicnt
slaves" grabbed the telephone and
called for tho police station The riot
developed rapidly Nearly every rane
( Of glass in the office was broken with
IN few minutes. John, supported
by his sancr-minded comrades hod
treat difficulty in saving The factory
itself from being fired
burton was using all his clonucncc
10 persuade the crowd TO 20 hum. aud
await the outcome Of a meeting 70
70" held that night. when the iumuI,
. ia the street outside the factory ta,o
nc
others ran out to sec VIVA, new de-
E"lopmcnt had taken place.
ne plunged into an extraordinary
and painful scene. Mary Temple.
wholly unconscious OF the sudden de-
Nelopnents at the works, had come !,
! her car on visit To her father. ana
was now surrounded by a mob OF sew
erai hundreds OF wildly excited women
Unfortunately. in tho confusion tho
chauffeur had not noticed a small child
in the way OF the car. The child ,
girl. was Knocked down and rendered
unconscious. and was now lying wan
and limp in her frenzied mother.
arms
Explanations or regrets were worse
than useless. 4 number Of cnrarnd
women. mostly mothers. leaned at The
car and attacked Mary Temple vicious
~ They struck at her. tore her
clothing, smashed her hat and evil
"'"ti! meant 10 pun Ncr INTO the road
way The chauffeur cndeavorcd to save
his mistress by starting the engine
I whereupon he, too, was grabbed and
very roughly handled.
The unhappy gnl's shricks served
only to rouse her assailaits TO a mich
Of ungovernablc frenzy. ana soon
wholly overcome by fear and cxhaus-
ton. she became almost unconscious
Indeed She was in very real peril
when Burton forced his way throug h
the mob. tore open the door OF tho
car and lifted her in his arms.
CHAPTER H.
"Iiit,ing tho Trail"
Burton was barely able 10 snatch