not comprehend
what is not visible to the eye.

"Fire away, boss!" said a voice from the crowd.

Many of the men smiled, but there was no answering smile on the face
of the man on the molds.

"I have but few words to say to you men, and I trust for the sake of
your families that you will weigh carefully every word I utter."
Bennington took his father's letter from his pocket and unfolded it.
"You are about to take a step such as you all will live to regret. My
father never threatened; he acted. I shall follow his example. You are
on the verge of striking. I shall recognize the strike only at the
moment you decide to leave the shops. You will strike without cause,
without justice, simply because you are commanded to do so by your
leader."

"Hold on, Mr. Bennington!" cried one of those nearest him. "We have
the right to vote, and we voted against your policy in hiring a
non-union man."

"Put it that way if it pleases you," replied Bennington. "I say that
you strike simply to show how strong your power is. It is a fine thing
to have power, but it is finer by far to use it only when justice
makes a cause. But power is a terrible weapon in the hands of those
who can not direct it wisely. Let me come to facts. Your wages are the
highest in the city, five per cent. above the union scale; your hours
are the shortest; there is no Sunday-night shift; you have at your
pleasure a gymnasium and a swimming-pool; you are each of you given a
week's vacation in the summer on full pay, a thing no other concern of
the kind in the state does; all the machinery is flawless, minimizing
your chances of danger; in fact, you draw pay fifty-two weeks in the
year in the squarest shop in the world. If any man wishes to deny
these things, let him stand forth."

But there was neither sound nor movement from the men.

Bennington continued. "Men, you have no grievance. This man
Chittenden, the alleged cause of your striking, takes no food or pay
from your mouths or your pockets; he interferes with you in no manner
whatever. The contrivance he is trying to complete will not limit the
output, but will triple it, necessitating the employment of more men.
But your leader says that the present output is wholly sufficient, and
you are taking his word for it. Mr. Chittenden represents progress,
but you have taken it into your heads that you will have none of it.
He refuses to join the union, and I refuse to discharge him on that
ground. I do not sa