“Acey Smith!”
The visitor ignored the startled salutation. “I’m not so sure,” he ruminated, “that if you did meet J.C.X. in the regions you mentioned that you would not change your mind.”
“But Smith, you are aware of the instructions forwarded to me to-day?”
“I have a pretty fair idea of the gist of those instructions.”
“Don’t you think J.C.X. could be prevailed upon to modify them?”
“With regard to precipitating a strike of the tugmen. Such a move would be folly—downright folly.”
“I am certain no such modification could be obtained,” declared Acey Smith. “You know quite as well as I that an order from J.C.X. is a command, and—well, you know what has happened to those that have failed in carrying on for the North Star.”
“But the North Star has never had a strike in its history. It has been known for its fair and generous treatment of its men,” argued Slack. “Its policy has always been to pay employés the highest wages and a bonus.”
“Correct. But for this once J.C.X. has seen fit to change the policy of the North Star, with the North Star’s own particular ends in view.”