“Buthowcantheyknow？Whatcheckhavethey？“
“Well，theyarealwaysabout，Mr。Jack，andkeeptheireyesonthingsgenerally。“
“Isee，“saidJack。“Anddoyoufindthatworksquitesatisfactorily？“
“Well，sir，wehavenevergoneintodetails，youknow，Mr。Jack，butifyouwish——“
“Oh，no，Wickes，Iamjusttryingtogetthehangofthings，youknow。“Jackwasunwillingtoevensuggestacriticismofmethodatsoearlyastageinhismanagerialcareer。“Iwanttoknowhowyourunthings，Wickes，andatanytimeIshallbegladofassistancefromyou。“
Theoldbookkeeperhastenedtogivehimalmosttearfulassuranceofhisdesiretoassisttotheutmostofhispower。
ThemeetingofLocal197oftheWoodworkers’Unionwaslargelyattended，aspecialwhiphavingbeensentoutaskingforafullmeetingonthegroundthatamatterofvitalimportancetounionisedlabourwastobeconsidered。
ThematterofimportanceturnedouttobenothinglessthanapropositionthattheWoodworkers’Unionshouldjoinwithallotherunionsinthetowntomakeauniteddemandupontheirrespectiveemployersforanincreaseinwagesandbetterconditionsallaround，inconnectionwiththeirvariousindustries。Thequestionwasbroughtupintheformofaresolutionfromtheirexecutive，whichstronglyurgedthatthisdemandshouldbeapprovedandthatajointcommitteeshouldbeappointedtotakestepsfortheenforcementofthedemand。Theexecutivehadmattersthoroughlyinhand。BrotherSimmonsandthemoreradicalelementwerekepttothebackground，thespeakerschosentopresentthecasebeingallmoderates。Therewasnosuggestionofextrememeasures。Theirdemandswerereasonable，anditwasbelievedthattheemployerswerepreparedtogivefairconsideration——indeed，membershadhadassurancefromanauthoritativequarterontheothersidethatsuchwasthecase。
Notwithstandingthemoderatetoneadoptedinpresentingit，theresolutionmetwithstrenuousopposition。Thegreatmajorityofthosepresentwerequiet，steady-goingmenwhowantedchieflytobeletaloneattheirworkandwhowerehostiletothesuggestedaction，whichmightfinallylandthemin“trouble。“Theold-timeworkersintheMaitlandMillshadnogrievancesagainsttheiremployer。They，ofcourse，wouldgladlyacceptanincreaseinwages，forthecostoflivingwassteadilyclimbing，buttheydislikedintenselytheproposedmethodofmakingageneraldemandforanincreaseinwagesandforbetterconditions。
ThesportingelementinthemeetingwerefranklyandfiercelyantagonistictoanythingthatwoulddisturbthepresentfriendlyrelationwiththeiremployersintheMaitlandMills。“Theoldman“
hadalwaysdonethesquarething。Hehadshownhimselfa“regularfellow“inbackingthemupinalltheirgamesduringthepastyear。
Hehadalwaysgiventhemafairhearingandasquaredeal。Theywouldnotstandforanyhold-upgameofthissort。Itwasalow-
downgame，anyway。
Thepromotersoftheresolutionbegantobeanxiousfortheircause。Theyhadnotanticipatedanysuchastrongoppositionandwererathernonplussedastothenextmove。BrotherSimmonswasinafuryandwasonthepointofbreakingforthintoapassionatedenunciationofscabsandtraitorsgenerallywhen，totheamazementofallandtheintensedelightofthesupportersoftheadministration，McNisharoseandgaveunqualifiedsupporttotheresolution。
Hisspeechwasamasterpieceofdiplomacy，andrevealedhislongpracticeintheartoforatoryinthatbestofalltrainingschools，thelabourunionoftheOldLand。Hebeganbyexpressingentiresympathywiththespiritoftheopposition。Theopposition，however，hadcompletelymisunderstoodtheintentandpurportoftheresolution。Noneofthemdesiredtrouble。Thereneednotbe，indeed，hehopedtherewouldnotbetrouble，buttherewerecertainveryuglyfactsthatmustbefaced。Hethen，interse，forcefullanguage，presentedthefactsinconnectionwiththecostofliving，quotingstatisticsfromtheDepartmentofLabourtoshowthesteadyriseinthepriceofarticlesoffood，fuelandclothingsincethebeginningofthewar，atrulyappallingarray。Hehadsecuredpricelistsfromdealersinthesecommodities，bothwholesaleandretail，toshowtheenormousprofitsmadeduringthewar。Therewerereturnedsoldierspresent。Theyhadnothesitatedatthecallofdutytogivealltheyhadfortheircountry。Theyhadbeenpromisedgreatthingswhentheyhadlefttheirhomes，theirfamilies，theirbusinessandtheirjobs。Howhadtheyfoundthingsupontheirreturn？Heillustratedhisargumentfromthecasesofmenpresent。Itwasasorespotwithmanyofthemandhepressedharduponit。Theyweresufferingto-day；worse，theirwivesandchildrenweresuffering。Hadanyoneheardoftheiremployerssuffering？Hereagainheofferedillustrationsofmenwhohadmadeagoodthingoutofthewar。True，thereweremanyexamplesoftheotherkindofemployer，buttheymustdealwithclassesandnotindividualsinacaselikethis。Thiswaspartofamuchbiggerthingthananymerelocalissue。Hedrewuponhisexperienceinthehomelandwithoverwhelmingeffect。HisvoiceroseandrolledinhisrichestDoricashepassionatelydenouncedthetyrannyofthemastersinthecoalandironindustriesinthehomeland。Hewasnotanextremist；hehadneverbeenone。Indeed，allwhoknewhimwouldbearhimoutwhenhesaidthathehadbeenanopponentofBrotherSimmonsandthosewhothoughtwithhimoneconomicquestions。Thissuddenchangeinattitudewoulddoubtlesssurprisehisbrothers。Hehadbeenforcedtochangebythesternlogicoffacts。Therewasnothinginthisresolutionwhichanyreasonableworkermightobjectto。Therewasnothingintheresolutionthateveryworkerwithanysympathywithhisfellowworkersshouldnotsupport。Moreover，hewarnedthemthatiftheypresentedaunitedfront，therewouldbelittlefearoftrouble。
Iftheyweredividedintheirranks，oriftheywerehalfheartedintheirdemands，theywouldinviteoppositionand，therefore，trouble。Heaskedthemalltostandtogetherinsupportingareasonabledemand，whichhefeltsurereasonablemenwouldconsiderfavorably。
Theeffectofhisspeechwasoverwhelming。Theadministrationsupporterswereexuberantintheirenthusiasticapplauseandintheirvociferousdemandsforavote。Theoppositionwereparalysedbythedesertionofonewhomtheyhadregardedandtrustedasaleaderagainsttheradicalelementandwereleftwithoutanswertothemasterlyarrayoffactsandargumentswhichhehadpresented。
Atthispoint，thedooropenedandMaitlandwalkedin。Afewmomentsoftensesilence，andthensomethingseemedtosnap。Theopposition，ledbythehockeymenandtheirsupporters，burstintoademonstrationofwelcome。TheviolenceofthedemonstrationwasnotsolelyuponMaitland’saccount。Theleadersoftheoppositionwerequicktorealisethathisentrancehadcreatedadiversionforthemwhichmightsavethemfromdisastrousdefeat。Theymadethemostofthisopportunity，prolongingthedemonstrationandjoiningina“chairprocession“whichcarriedMaitlandshoulder-highabouttheroom，intheteethoftheviolentprotestofBrotherSimmonsandhisfollowing。
Orderbeingrestored，businesswasagainresumed，whenBrotherMacnamararosetohisfeetand，inaspeechincoherentattimes，butalwaysforceful，proposedthattheusualorderbesuspendedandthathereandnowamotionbecarriedexpressingtheirgratificationattherecentgreathockeyvictoryandreferringinhighlylaudatorytermstothesplendidworkofBrotherCaptainMaitland，towhosesplendideffortsvictorywaslargelydue。
ItwasinvainthatBrotherSimmonsandthoseofhiswayofthinkingsoughttostemthetideofdisorder。Themotionwascarriedwithacclaim。
NosoonerhadthismatterbeendisposedofthanMaitlandrosetohisfeetandsaid:
“Mr。President，Iwishtothankyouallforthisverykindreferencetomyteamandmyself。Itakeverylittlecreditforthevictorywhichwewon。Wehadagoodteam，indeed，quitearemarkableteam。Ihaveplayedinagoodmanyathleticteamsofvariouskinds，butintwoparticularstheMaitlandMillsHockeyTeamisthemostremarkableofanyIhaveknown——first，intheirsplendidloyaltyintakingtheirtrainingandstickingtogether；
thatwasbeyondallpraise；and，secondly，inthesplendidgritwhichtheyshowedinplayingalosinggame。Now，Mr。President，I
amgoingtodosomethingwhichgivesmemoreregretthananyofyoucanunderstand。Ihavetooffermyresignationasamemberofthisunion。IhaveacceptedthepositionofmanageroftheplaningmillandIunderstandthatthismakesitnecessarythatIresignasamemberofthisunion。Idon’treallyseewhythisshouldbenecessary。Idon’tbelievemyselfthatitshould，and，brothers，I
expecttolivelongenoughtobelongtoaunionthatwillallowafellowlikemetobeamemberwithchapslikeyou。Butmeantime，forthepresentImustresign。Youhavetreatedmelikeabrotherandachum。Ihavelearnedalotfromyouall，butonethingespecially，whichIshallneverforget:thatthereisnorealdifferenceinmenthatisduetotheirpositioninlife；thataman’sjobdoesn’tchangehisheart。“
Hepausedforafewmomentsasiftogathercommandofhisvoice，whichhadbecomesuddenlyhusky。
“Iamsorrytoleaveyou，boys，andIwanttosaytoyoufrommyheartthatthoughIcannotremainamemberofthisunion，IcanbeandIwillbeabrothertoyouallthesame。AndIpromiseyouthat，asfarasIcan，IwillworkforthegoodoftheunioninthefutureasIhavedoneinthepast。“
McNishalonewaspreparedforthisdramaticannouncement，althoughtheyallknewthatMaitlandsoonerorlaterwouldassumeapositionwhichwouldlinkhimupwiththemanagementofthebusiness。ButthesuddennessofthechangeandthedramaticsettingoftheannouncementcreatedanimpressionsoprofoundastoneutralisecompletelytheeffectofMcNish’smasterlyspeech。
Disappointedandenragedatthesuddenturnofevents，hewastoogoodageneraltoallowhimselftoberoutedindisorder。Hesetabouttogatherhisdisorderedforcesforafreshattack，whenoncemorethehockeymentookcommandofthefield。ThistimeitwasSnoopySykes，themostvoicelessmemberoftheunion。
AfterafewmomentsofdazedsilencethatfollowedMaitland’sannouncementofhisresignation，Snoopyroseand，encouragedbythecheersofhisastonishedcomrades，beganthemaidenspeechofhislife。
“Mr。President，“heshouted。
“Gotoit，Snoopy，oldboy。“
“Inevermadeaspeechinmylife，never——“
“Good，oldscout，neverbeginyounger！Cheerio，oldson！“
“AndIwanttosaythathedon’tneedto。Ionceheardofafellerwhodidn’t。Hekeptonandhedidn’tdonoharmtonobody。AndtheCaptainherewouldn’tneither。SowhatIsayishedon’tneedto，“andSnoopysatdownwiththewholebrotherhoodgazingathiminsilenceandamazedperplexity，notoneofthembeingabletoattachthefaintestmeaningtoSnoopy’samazingoration。
AtlengthFattyFindlay，anotherofthevoicelessones，buttheveryspecialpalofSnoopySykes，brokeforthinapuzzledvoice:
“Sayitagain，Snoopy。“
Therewasaroaroflaughter，whichonlygrewinvolumeasSnoopyturnedtowardhisbrothersawrathfulandbewilderedcountenance。
“No，“saidanothervoice。“Saysomethingelse，Snoopy。Shootagoalthistime。“
AgainSnoopyrose。“WhatIsaidwasthis，“hebeganindignantly。
Againtherewasaroaroflaughter。
“Say，youfellers，shutupandgiveafellerachance。TheCaptainwantstoresign。Isay’No。’Heisadarnedgoodscout。Wewanthimandwewon’tlethimgo。Lethimkeephiscard。“
“Bythepowers，“roaredMacnamara，“itisagoal，Snoopy。It’sahumdinger。Isecondthemotion。“