The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1921-07-15

The boss laughed at that, and I'm
telling you right now that l was glad
to know that he was still able to laugh.
you've never seen the day when
you wanted to renege, Upton. and you
know it," he hit back. ""Think of the
perfectly good technical education you
were wasting wnen l took hold of you
and jerked you out here"
\ HUH" said our millionaire; "Tve
just had two enginemen on the carpet
for running over an old ranchman's
pet COW. They said they couldn't
help it; but I told them that under
the 'public-be-pleased policy, they'd
got to help it."
The boss chuckled. II believe you'd
joke at your own funeral, Upton. You
didn't come here to tell me about the
ranchman's pet cow"
mot exactly l came to tell you
that Citizens Storage & Warehouse Is
due to have strike on its hands. The
anagement-which seems to have
got itself consolidated in some way
ShO. out lot of new bosses all along
the line on the through train last
night, and this morning the entire
works, elevators, paekeries, coal yards,
lumber mills, and everything, are
posted with notices of a blanket cut
In wages; twenty per cent, fiat, for
everybody. The news has been trickling
in over the wires all morning; and the
last word is that a general strike Of
all G. S. & w. employees will go on at
noon tomorrow"
THAT is move number one" said
the boss. And then: "You have heard
that the Hatch people have reached
out and taken in the G. S. & W."
"Hornack was telling me something
about it; yes"
SIT is true; and the fight is on. You
see what Hatch is doing. At one
stroke he gets rid of all the local en-
ployees of G. S. & W., who have been
drawing good pay and who might make
trouble for him a little later on, and
fills their places with strike-breakers
who have no local sympathizers."
But there will be another result
which he may not have counted upon."
Mr. Van Britt put in. "The blanket
cut serves notice upon everybody that
once more the old strong-arm monopoly
is in the saddle. The newspapers will
tell us about it tomorrow morning.
Also, good many Of them will be
asking us what we are going to do
about it; whether we are going to
fight the new monopoly as we did
the old, or stand in with the graft, as
our predecessors did"
"We needn't go over that ground
again-you and I, Upton" said Mr..
Norcross. you know where I stand.
But the conditions have changed. We
have been knitted in the back" And
with that he gave the stocky little
operating chief crisp outline of the
new situation precipitated by the
Dunton-C ollingwood political bribery.
Mr. Van Britt took 1t quietly, as he
did most things, sitting with his hands
in his pockets and smiling blandly
where Hornack had exploded in wrath
full profanity. At the wind-up he said:
"Old Uncle Breckenridge is one too
many for you, Graham. You can't
stand the gaff-this new gait Of
Hatch's; and neither can you go be-
fore the people as the accuser of your
president-and hope to hold your job.
The one thing for you to do Is to lock
up your office and walk out"
"Upton, If I thought you meant
that-but I never know when to take
you seriously"
"The two enginemen who ran over
the ranchman's pet cow had no such
difficulty, l assure you. And isn't it
good advice? You know, as we'll as
do that Chadwick is holding you here.
by main strength; that you can never
accomplish anything permanent while
Dunton and his crOnies are at the steer
ing-wheel. 1t might be different If you
had the local backing Of your con-
stituency-the people served by the
Short Line. But you haven't that; up
to date, the people are merely inter-
ested spectators"
$50 on" said the boss, frowning
again.
"They have stake in the game
the biggest of the stakes, as matter
of fact-but It isn't sufficiently APP
parent to make them climb in and
fight for you. They are saying, with
a good bit of reason, that. after all
is said and done, Big Money-Wall
Street-still has the call, and any
twenty-four hours may see the whole
thing slump back into graft and
crooked politics"
ut is so true that you might be
reading it out of book" was the boss
comment And then: whats the an
swer?"
Mr.. Van Britt shook his head. II
don't know. If you had money enough
to buy the voting control in 2. S. L.
you might get somewhere; but as 1t
is, you're like cat in Hades without