THE LABOR LEADER'S LURE
"WHY, Rush, this is, indeed, a surprise," exclaimed the newcomer, who
was none other than the Russian, Cavard. "How are you, Driscold? But I
fear I am intruding."
"Not at all. Take a seat. We were discussing matters in which you are
interested, I know."
"Well, I'm listening," laughed the Russian. "What is the nature of this
interesting discussion?"
"We were talking of improving the condition of the miners by
organization. My young friend Rush rather misunderstood the purport of
my remarks. I was about to show him wherein he was wrong when you
entered."
"Yes; I am in thorough sympathy with organization," nodded the Duke. "It
is the one needful thing in the mines here, and it is bound to come at
no distant day. I am glad we three are alone here, so we can talk the
matter over. You know, most of our men lack the intelligence to
appreciate fully the kind of argument we are making."
"Do you mean that the miners in our mines are thinking of organizing?"
asked Steve, without appearing to take any great interest in the
announcement.
"Well, I might say that such a thing is within the range of
possibility."
"Form a union?"
"Oh, yes; that would be the natural result. 'In union there is
strength,' you know."
"So I have read," replied the lad, with a faint smile. "Then you are
unionizing the mines? Is that it?"
"I should hardly want to go so far as to say that, my dear, young
friend," answered the Duke. "But I will say that the men have been
considering the matter for some time. I am placing implicit confidence
in you. This information is not mine to give at the present moment, so I
shall have to ask you to consider all that I may say as being
confidential."
Steve did not reply to this directly. He sat thoughtful and silent for a
few seconds.
"Are you a union man, Mr. Driscold?" he asked suddenly.
"Mr. Driscold is the president of the Central Iron Miners' Association,"
said Cavard, speaking for the red-haired man.
"Indeed."
Steve regarded the president curiously.
"Then you represent all of the unions in the country, sir?"
"No; not quite that. I am the state president only. The national body is
represented by another man. Then, in case a union is organized here,
there will be a local president and other officers, all playing a
prominent part in the organization. Believe me, my dear young friend,
there is a great chance for bright young men. We want young men to hold
our offices, young men of brains, like yourself. It is the history of
our organization that such young men, almost from the moment that they
assume office in the union, make rapid strides in their work. They are
sure to earn rapid promotion. We see to that; we push them along. Why, I
know of a young man about your age who, like yourself, was a foreman
before joining the union. In less than a year after doing so he was
promoted to be a superintendent. That happened right in this state, not
more than a hundred miles from where we are sitting at this very moment.
Stand by the union, and work for its interests, and you will be well
taken care of at all times."
"Who are the gainers by the organization of a union?"
"The rank and file of the men, of course."
"But how are the officers paid? Surely they do not work for nothing."
"They are paid very moderate salaries," Mr. Driscold hastened to
explain, after which he returned to his original subject. "Are there any
other questions that you would like to ask?"
"Yes; I should like to know how all that you promise is brought about.
You say that the men will get better wages and shorter hours. How do you
expect to accomplish that?"
"I will explain. I see that you do not understand. That is not
surprising, since you have had no experience."
"No, sir; I have not."
"I will be very frank with you. Corporations are grasping. They get all
they can out of their men, and when those men are no longer useful to
them, they cast the men aside as they would a piece of worn-out
machinery. They care nothing for you; they would discharge you to-morrow
were it not for the fact that you are useful to them."
"I think you are wrong, sir," retorted Steve sharply. "I have never
worked for a corporation before. The corporation I am now working for is
interested in me to the same extent that I am interested in my work. I
believe all of these great industrial organizations are looking for
young men who are in earnest. I believe that they are willing to advance
such young men just as fast as they are fitted for advancement. At least
I have found that to be so in my own case. Of course we have to work
long hours and work hard. But what do you expect? Surely you do not look
for pay for doing nothing?"
"No, no; you misunderstand me entirely."
"I beg your pardon. You were starting to tell me how you brought about
the conditions you mentioned a few moments ago."
"Yes. In the first place, the corporations like to have their men
organized. It makes for better service all around. Well, to proceed, I
will explain that, having organized, we should appoint a committee to
wait upon the official who is in charge of the mines. This committee
would lay before the superintendent, if he were the man called upon,
such grievances as we might think existed. There would be a friendly
discussion, and he, seeing the wisdom of what our committee demanded,
would no doubt grant the request made."
"What if he refused?" interjected Steve.
"I presume it would go before the president of the mining company. At
least, we should see that the grievances were carried to him."
"And if he refused to grant your demands, what then?" persisted Steve
Rush, his keen eyes fixed upon the red-headed president of the
Association.
"Well, we should find a way to compel them to grant our demands,"
answered Mr. Driscold significantly.
"It seems to come back to the point of throttling a man," said Rush. "I
never could become enthusiastic over the profession of highwayman, and
it strikes me that this is about what the proposition amounts to."
The Iron Boy was pitting his wits against those of two shrewd and
experienced men, who were seeking to lure him on by offering him
sugar-coated pills. But Steve Rush knew full well, young as he was in
the world's ways, that the inside of the pill was bitter and
unpalatable. The lad was holding his own to such an extent that the man
Driscold had adopted a sharp, incisive tone at several points in the
discussion.
"You are wrong, Rush," interrupted Cavard. "You are altogether wrong."
"Perhaps I am, but I am trying to get to the bottom of the question. You
spoke, Mr. Driscold, a moment ago, of finding a way to compel the
officials of the company to agree to your demands. How would you go
about it?"
The president hesitated a moment before replying.
"Why, our only recourse then--our only remedy, in that event--would be
to call a strike."
"_Ah!_"
The exclamation escaped young Rush almost before he realized it. He bit
his lips, and his face flushed slightly.
"And while the strike was on your men and their families would go
hungry?"
"Oh, no; we look out for that. We give them money."
"How much?"
"Enough."
"How much?" persisted Steve.
"A few dollars a week, perhaps, so long as the money holds out."
"Who gets the money that the men who join pay in?"
"The dues go to the union, of course. The initiation fee naturally goes
to recompense the walking delegate who, you must understand, works
without pay."
"It strikes me that he is pretty well paid. I have not had much
experience in the world, gentlemen, but I am satisfied that your whole
scheme is wrong. It is a hold-up game from start to finish----"
"You're a fool!" exploded Driscold. "You're a----"
"Never mind the trimmings. I may be all you accuse me of, but I pride
myself on possessing common sense. That, sometimes, is worth more than
knowledge. Mr. Cavard, are you helping to unionize the mines here?"
"Whatever I am doing is done wholly in the interest of the rank and file
of the mines," snapped Cavard. "You are making a mistake in antagonizing
us in this way. We had hoped that you would see the matter in its true
light, and that you might prove a valuable aid to us."
"In what way?" demanded Steve.
"You are popular with the men; you have a great deal of influence with
them, even though you are a boy. We had hoped that you might enter into
the plan and accept an important office in the union."
"So that's it, eh?"
"That is what we had hoped. Think it over. Say nothing to anyone, but go
over the matter carefully, and I am sure you will change your mind. Meet
us here to-morrow night at eight o'clock and give us your answer. You
have everything to gain and nothing to lose."
"Gentlemen, there is no necessity of waiting until to-morrow night. I
can give you my answer now. I want nothing to do with such crooked
business as you have proposed to me to-night. I bid you good night,
gentlemen."
Steve Rush rose and left the room without another word.