The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1919-09-19

copyright. 1918. by the Mcclure News
paper syndicats.)~ s'r~f
A ferry boat load Of the shipyard
men piled pell-mell over the wharf,
across the railroad tracks and onto the
main thoroughfare of the town, at the
foot OF which lay the makeshift slip.
They were roughly clad and grimy and
strong. and, many Of them, handbook
Ing.
There had been a crap game on the
boat coming over and 1t had not gone
smoothly. Three of the men among the
thousand showed the marks of 1t, for
they were more or less bloody and still
white with anger.
The three, each with a friend or two,
stopped at the saloon at the foot Of the
street to wash Off the stains of the
row. The rest of the workers. paid no
heed but hurried on homeward. There
was little laughter or joking. What
conversation there was among them
was unsmiling and it was plain to be
seen that the yeast of discomfort was
at work.
At the street corner two blocks from
the wharf a girl stood by the curb,
watching the passing throng and look
ing for some one. BY and by she
caught sight of tall, toughly fash
Toned young fellow with thick hair that
looked flaxen by contrast with his sun
burned skin.
He spied the girl at the same in
slant, said brief word to the COM
panions Of the moment, and stopped
beside her, automatically reaching out
for the bundles she carried.
The girls eyes were shining. "What
do you know, Billy? I found a place |!
an honest-to-goodness apartment Mrs.
Ells heard about couple that are go
ing out of town--somebody she knows.
She's good old thing, after all, Billy,
and she went right down there and got
them to keep still about 1t till we could
get chance at the place.
i've been down today and engaged
| 1t. It's an old house, Billy, but there's
I three rooms and bath and only one
other family, the folks that own 1t;
I they live downstairs. I guess they're
boosting the rent two or three dollars.
But we should worry--with your pay.
It's our lucky day, isn't 1t, BilIy?"
But Billy Noxon didn't respond to the
| happy mood of hfs young wife nearly
as she had anticipated. While Elsie
lay In wait for him there she had ex-
| pected that he would throw up his
hat and shout. Places to live-to
really live and keep house like regular
civilized pe0ple-were simply unob-
tainable In the town. The Noxons had
been slight housekeeping" in single
? room for four months, like hundreds
of others.
!, Don't know as there's any use in
\ fussing about il, Chick" the boy finally
| replied soberly. "We're likely to have
4 to get to blazes out Of this mans town
i any time now. The gangs pretty sore,
| and they're likely to tie can, any time
y at all, to the bunch of grafters that
| are running the tea kettle factory over
1 the river"
"What do you mean, Billy Noxon-
strike"
Its heap sight more than just
one strike, when the blowoff comes.
The working man has been carrying
the tar end of the stick about as long
as he's going to In this country.
Here's you and me living like a couple
of buns In coop of a room and me
sweating my hide off over there on
those hulls--and lot of lOafers that
don't hit ship lick from the time
she's doped out till she's overheard,
and haven't even got dollar Of their
own money In the plant, pulling down
millions.
rLiving in palaces and dressing their
wives in thousand-dollar furs and
swelling around in limousines and play
ing golf while we play on rivet gun
and all off us All stolen from the
working man and his family And
!, then, when we hit them for lousy dol
lar day raise, to help pay for the
.profiteering prices on the grub we eat,
they give US the hoot!"
Elsie was looking very steadily and
studiously at her big husband. "WeilT'
she said, as he ran out of breath.
"Well," Billy resumed, cts about all
over. sis. There's going to be some
thing doing, and that right quick. l
dunno's it's worth while for us to
change from one room to three. May
be well be In the middle of q hard
boiled shindy in week or two-and
either have some kind of a decent
share In things or nothing at all.
Deaths better than slavery" The
boy stared goomily at a passing tour
ing car.
The girl was about an inch above
Ave feet--her husband about an inch
/, above six. Her eyes had been grow
ing bigger and bigger as she listened
to his dour speech. Now she seized
him by the arm end said: "Biiiy Nox-
on. you come home with me. straight.
"And don't you speaker even
thlnk--a word till tell you to- The
soniber face Of Oh" boy thawed INTO q
sheepish grin as be permitted hmself
to be marshaled aleng SIX city clocks
-