men among the three thousand who could take,
and wished to take, the places of the two hundred and eighteen--at
least so it was reported to me.

It is easy to look back and say that the vital step of opening the
works should never have been taken. All the firm had to do was to say
to the men: "There is a labor dispute here and you must settle it
between yourselves. The firm has made you a most liberal offer. The
works will run when the dispute is adjusted, and not till then.
Meanwhile your places remain open to you." Or, it might have been well
if the superintendent had said to the three thousand men, "All right,
if you will come and run the works without protection," thus throwing
upon them the responsibility of protecting themselves--three thousand
men as against two hundred and eighteen. Instead of this it was
thought advisable (as an additional precaution by the state officials,
I understand) to have the sheriff with guards to protect the thousands
against the hundreds. The leaders of the latter were violent and
aggressive men; they had guns and pistols, and, as was soon proved,
were able to intimidate the thousands.

I quote what I once laid down in writing as our rule: "My idea is that
the Company should be known as determined to let the men at any works
stop work; that it will confer freely with them and wait patiently
until they decide to return to work, never thinking of trying new
men--never." The best men as men, and the best workmen, are not
walking the streets looking for work. Only the inferior class as a
rule is idle. The kind of men we desired are rarely allowed to lose
their jobs, even in dull times. It is impossible to get new men to run
successfully the complicated machinery of a modern steel plant. The
attempt to put in new men converted the thousands of old men who
desired to work, into lukewarm supporters of our policy, for workmen
can always be relied upon to resent the employment of new men. Who can
blame them?

If I had been at home, however, I might have been persuaded to open
the works, as the superintendent desired, to test whether our old men
would go to work as they had promised. But it should be noted that
the works were not opened at first by my partners for new men. On the
contrary, it was, as I was informed upon my return, at the wish of the
thousands of our old men that they were opened. This is a vital point.
My partners were in no way blamable for making the trial so
recommended