MRS. SIMPSON [taking a chair triumphantly]:  My husband is.  I was here last time, and I’m goin’ to keep on.

CARTER [referring to the speech in the factory]:  My goodness!  We can’t do no work.

RILEY:  Frankel, that’s your business to shut ’em up.

FRANKEL:  Talkin’ ain’t doin’ no harm.  Let ’em talk.

RILEY:  Yes, I will! [Goes to the door, and roars]:  Cut that out!  I mean business! [Shuts the door and returns angrily to his seat.]

CARTER [rapping on the table with a ruler]:  The meeting will now come to order!  Minutes of the last meeting will now be read by the secretary.

MIFFLIN [to GIBSON, beaming]:  You see?

NORA [rising, minute book in hand]:  The meeting was called to order by
Chairman Carter, Monday, the—­

SALVATORE:  Aw, say!

FRANKEL:  I object!

SIMPSON:  What’s the use readin’ all that?  It’s only about what we done at the last meeting.

SALVATORE:  We know that ourselves, don’t we?

SHOMBERG:  What’d be the use?  What’d be the use?

RILEY:  All we done was divide up the money.

SALVATORE:  Cut it out, cut it out!  Let’s get to that!

CARTER:  All right, then.  I move—­

MRS. SIMPSON [shrilly]:  You can’t move.  The chairman can’t move.  If you want to move you better resign!

CARTER:  Well, then, somebody ought to move—­

MRS. SIMPSON:  Cut out the moving.  She don’t haf to read ’em, does she?

CARTER:  All right, then.  Don’t read ’em, Miss Gorodna.

SALVATORE:  Well, git some kind of a move on.

CARTER:  I was thinkin’—­

NORA [prompting]:  The next order—­

CARTER:  What?

NORA:  The next order of business—­

CARTER:  Oh, yes!  The next order of business—­

NORA:  Is reports of committees.

CARTER [in a loud, confident voice]:  The next order of business is reports of committees. [Takes up some papers and goes on promptly.] The first committee I will report on is my committee.  I will state it is very difficult reading, because consisting of figures written by the bookkeeper, and pretty hard to make head or tail of, but—­

MRS. SIMPSON:  Oh, here, say!  We got important things to come up here!  ‘Fore we know how much we’re goin’ to divide amongst us we got to settle at once for all and for the last time how it’s goin’ to be divided and how much each family gets.

SALVATORE:  Family?

CARTER AND SHOMBERG [together]:  Yes—­family!

RILEY:  You bet—­family!

CARTER:  Yes, sir!

SIMPSON:  You bet we’ll settle how it’s goin’ to be divided!

SALVATORE:  Why, even, of course; just like it has been.  Ain’t that the principle we struggled for all these years, comrades?