Emmons County record. [volume] (Williamsport, D.T. [i.e. N.D.]) 1884-current, 1921-07-21

about its being all off between her and
Collingwood, for he said: II think you
are mistaken as to that last"
mo, I'm not mistaken. But that's
neither here nor there. Neither you
nor can send Collingwood to the
penitentlary-that's a cinch. Where
fore. I'm advising you to quit, walk
out, jump the job"
At that the boss took fresh brace,
Fighting his swing chair with snap.
"You know very little about me,
Upton, IL you think I'm going to throw
up my hands now, when the real pinch
has come. have scheme-if 1t
could only be worked. But 1t can't be
worked on rising market. BY some
trick or other, the Dunton people are
boosting the stock again. 1t went up
three points yesterday"
Mr.. Van Britt grinned. They're
discounting the effect. of this little po-
lltical deal-which will at least rope
your reform scheme down, II 1t doesn't
do anything else. What you need is
a good. old-fashioned cataclysm Of
some sort: something that would fair
ly knock the tar out of P. s. L. secur-
tiles and send them Suffering down
the toboggan slide in spite of anything
Uncle Breckenridge could do to stop
them; down TO where they could be
safely and profitably picked up by the
dear public. Unfortunately, those
things don't happen outside Of the
story books. If they did. If the earth
quake should happen along our way
just now. don't know but I'd be dis
loyal enough to get out and help 1t
shake things up bit"
After Mr.. Van Britt had gone, the
boss put in the remainder of the day
like workingman, skipping the noon
luncheon as he sometimes did when
the work drive was extra heavy. Mean
while, as you'd suppose, rumor was
plentifully busy, on the railroad, and
also In town.
BY noon 1t was well understood that
there had been radical change in
the management Of G. s. & W., and
that there was going to be general
strike in answer to the slashing cut in
wages. slipped uptown to get a
bite, and I heard some-of the talk.
1t was pretty straight, most of it
which shows how useless 1t is to try
to keep any business secrets, nova
days.
For example: the three men ut my
table in the Billiard grill-room-they
didn't know me or who 1 was-knew
thot q ooupog1 ~ ,ror bo5 boox. no1,o.3
in the railroad headquarters, and that
Ripley had been pulled in by wire
from Lesterburg, and that we were
rushing along hurriedly to provide
storage room for the wheat shippers
In case Of tie-up, and that we were
arranging to distribute railroad COM
pany coal in case the tie-up should
bring on fuel famine-knew all these
things and talked about them.
They were facts, as far as they
went-these things. The boss hadn't
been idle during the forenoon, and he
kept up the drive straight through to
quitting time. Word was brought In
during the afternoon by Tarbell that
the Hatch people were wiring the
Kansas City and Omaha employment
agencies and placing hurry orders for
strike-breakers. The boss answer to
this was peremptory wire to our
passenger agents at both points to
make no rate concessions whatever, of
any kind, for the transportation Of
laboreSs under contract. 1t was a
shrewd little knock. Labor Of that
kind is mighty hard to move unless
It can get free transportation or low
rate Of fare. and could see that Mr..
Norcross was hoping to keep the strike
breakers away. s@.
When six o'clock came, the boss
asked May to stay and keep the Office
open while could go downstairs and
get my dinner in the station restaurant,
and lie went off up-town-to the club,
I suppose. After I'd had my bite, 1
let May go. Everything was moving
all right. so far as anybody could see.
We had five extra fuel trains loading
at the company's chutes at Coalville,
and the dispatcher was instructed to
night. distributing them to the towns
that had reported shortages. They
were not to be turned over to the reg
ular coal yards; they were to be side
tracked and held for emergencies.
Mr.. NOrcross came back about eight
O'Clock, and gave him my report of
how things were going on the line.
A little later Mr.. Cantrell dropped in,
and there was quiet talk about the
situation, aud what it was likely to
develop. The Mountaineer editor was
given all the facts, except the one
big one about Hatch's death-grip on
us. and in turn Mr.. Cantrell promised
the help Of his paper to the last ditch
though, Of course, he had no idea Of
how deep that last ditch was going to
be. l had a lot Of filing and indexing
to do. and I kept atwork while they
| were talking. wondering all the time
II the boGs would venture to tell the
n <&Aa -.