238 THE FAT OF THE LAND 
insure its removal, he declared a strike on. This 
was the reason, and the only reason, for the 
strike at Gordon’s mine. Three hundred men 
quit work, and three hundred families suffered, 
many of them for the necessities of life, simply 
because a loud-mouthed delegate assured them 
that they were being imposed upon. 
Things went on quietly at the mine. There 
was no riot, no disturbance. Gordon did not go 
over, but simply telephoned to the superintend- 
ent to close the shaft houses, shut down the 
engines, put out the fires, and let things rest, at 
the same time saying that he would hold the 
superintendent and the bosses responsible for the 
safety of the plant. 
The men were disappointed, as the days went 
by, that the owner made no effort to induce 
them to resume work. They had believed that 
he would at once accede to their demand, and 
that they would go back to work with the tax 
removed. This, however, was not his plan. 
Weeks passed and the men became restless. 
They frequented the saloons more generally, 
spent their remaining money for, liquor, and 
went into debt as much as they were permitted 
for more liquor. They became noisy and quarrel- 
some. The few men who were opposed to the 
strike could make no headway against public 
opinion. These men held aloof from the saloons, 
husbanded their money, and confined themselves 
as much as possible to their own houses, 
