CARTER [moving his jaw from side to side, affecting to chew to gain confidence]:  Well, Mr. Gibson, to come down to plain words—­there ain’t no two best ways o’ beatin’ about the bush.

GIBSON:  I know that.

CARTER:  The question is just up to where there ain’t no two best ways out of it.  The men in our department is going to walk out to the last one, and if there was any way o’ stoppin’ it by argument I’d tell you.  We’re goin’ out at twelve o’clock noon to-day, the whole forty-eight of us.

GIBSON:  Why?

FRANKEL:  “Why,” Mr. Gibson!  Did you want to know why?

GIBSON:  Yes, I do.  You men signed an agreement with me just eleven days ago—­

FRANKEL [hotly protesting]:  But we never understood it when we signed it.  How’d we know what we was signing?

GIBSON:  Can’t you read, Frankel?

FRANKEL:  What’s reading got to do with it, when it reads all one way?

GIBSON:  Didn’t you understand it, Carter?

CARTER:  Well—­I can’t say I did.

GIBSON:  Why can’t you say it?  It was plain black and white.

CARTER:  Well, I was kind o’ foggy about the overtime.

GIBSON:  The agreement was that you were to have time and a half for overtime.  What was foggy about that?

CARTER:  Well, I don’t say you didn’t give us what we was askin’ right then; but things have changed since then.

GIBSON:  What’s changed in eleven days?

FRANKEL [hotly]:  What’s changed?  How about them men in the finishin’ department that do piecework?

GIBSON:  Well, what’s changed about them?

FRANKEL:  Well, something is goin’ to change over there.

GIBSON:  We’re talking about your department not understanding the agreement.  What’s the finishing department got to do with that?

FRANKEL:  Well, they’re kickin’, too, you bet!

GIBSON:  I’m dealing with your kick now.

CARTER:  Well, o’ course we got to stand with them; if they do piecework overtime they don’t get no more for it.

GIBSON:  I’ll deal with them separately.

FRANKEL:  My goodness, Mr. Gibson, you got to deal with us, too!  Not a one of us understood what our last agreement with you was.  It’s just agreements and agreements and agreements—­you might think we was living just on agreements!  By rights we ought to have double time instead of time and a half!

GIBSON:  Time and a half eleven days ago; now you strike for double time!  Where does this thing stop?  You want double time for overtime; your working day has been reduced; it won’t be long till you want that cut down again.

FRANKEL:  Sure!  We want it cut down right now!

CARTER:  Yes, Mr. Gibson; that was another point they told us to bring up before we walk out.

GIBSON [with growing exasperation]:  I suppose you want a six-hour day so you’ll have more overtime to double on me!  Then you’ll want a four-hour day, won’t you?