The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1926-12-07

a NEW
NOVEl
Fo. aasl-',
ec0pyrIght. LED. by upt0n sInoIaIrl
1Oa GnelAir

: Copyright, 1926, by Upton Sincair)
The "wobblies" also were trying
to stir the revival spirit in their
members, and use the power Of
song. But feeble indeed was the
singing in the "jungles," compared
with the mighty blasts of ELS silver
trumpets, and the hosannas of hts
hosts. The operators were not sub
siding the "wobblies," you bet. They
had sent their sheriff, and a score
OF deputies, carrying shotguns load
ed with buckshot, and raided the
camping place of the rebels, and
loaded eleven of them into motor
truck and locked them up in the
county Jail. There they were now, :
and Bunny had to hear the tragic
tale of Eddie Piatt, one Of Paurs
friends, who had gone down to San
Elido to find out what the bail was.
and had been locked up on suspicion
Of being a member Of the outlaw or
ganization. He wasn't, but how
could he prove it?
Ruth, who told Bunny about ii,
wanted to know if Dad wouldn't put
up the money to bail him out. Did
Bunny remember him, a dark-haired
young fellow, very quiet, determined
looking? Yes, Bunny remembered
k,.t,- y.
as Jewish garment worker, and
the food they gave you in that tar
rfble place was full of worms, and
the boys hadn't even a blanket TO
cover them. 1t was planned to rail-
road them all to San Quentin, and
Paul knew one Of the 'politicals' who
had just come out Of there, and oh,
the most horrible stories-the tears
came into Ruth's eyes as she told
how they put the men to work in the
jute mill, and the brown stuff filed
their lungs, and presently they were
coughing, it was the same as a
death sentence. When they could
not stand the labor, they were beat
en- and thrown into the "hole"-and
think Of fellows that you knew and
cared for having to go thru such
things!
Bunny knew the sheriff Of San
Blido County, and also the district
attorney, and knew that Dad had
named these officials, and could give
them orders. But would Dad butt
in on their efforts to protect the oil
companies? Would he go against
the wishes of all the other directors,
executives and superintendent of
Ross Consolidated? No, assuredly
he would mott All that Bunny could
do was to give Ruth a couple OF
hundred dollars, with which to get
food for the prisoners. He went
back to take up his work at the uni
versity; and inside himself there
was "hole," and his conscience
would drag him to it, protesting and
resisting in vain, and throw him In,
and shu steel door behind him
with ling clang. Yes, even
when Bunny was up in the snow
white room with the ivy vines
wreathing the windows, even while
he held in his arms the eager body
OF his beloved-eyen then the prison
door would clang, and he would be
in tank of the county jail with the
"class-war prisoners!'
III.
Under the arrangements which
had kept peace in the oil industry
during the war, "a government coil
board" would listen to grievances of
the workers, and decide what was
fair. But now the war was fading
in mems memories, and the opera
tors were FESTIVE under this 'out-
side" control. Was it not the fun
damental right of every American
to run his own business in his own
way? Was it not obvious that war
time wages had been high, and that
'defiation" was desirable? Here and
there operators would refuse to obey
the orders OF the "oil board" there
would be long arguments, and re-
sorts to the courts. and meantime
the workers would be protesting, and
threatening, and everyone could see
that q crisis was at hand.
In the old days, J. Arnold Ross
had been one of the little fellows,
and all that Bunny could do was to
await events. But now he dwelt
among the Olympians, and saw the
fates in the making. The Oil Ope-
rators' Federation, thru its execu-
time committee, of which Vernon
Roscoe was member. came to de.
cision to brush the Federal OH
Board aside, ignore the unions. and
announce new schedule OF wages
for the industry. A copy OF this
schedule was in Dads hands, and IL
averaged about ten per cent under
the present scale.
II was going to mean a bitter
struggle, and Bunny was so much
concerned that, without saying any
thtnu a. bfn fatb,.. ~ ,..oI.