George Kibbe Turner

“ Then when or how would the management here dare to drag in more women here expecting to cut down their pay later—or force ours down by means of them—when the minute they done so we could start the women screaming murder and treachery all over the land—spoiling their sales all over? ”

“ And old George Cooper gave a groan.
“Fair play, yes,” says Six Hour Kelly. “For women against the men. And a grand farseeing movement all over this country, and the whole entire world. For the grand, high, noble principle of equal pay for equal work.” ”

“ It's to make us lose and forfeit all the gains that labor won during the war; and especially to attack and bust up that one great principle that we seen and worked out during wartime for spreading regular employment to all the toilers all the year by having short days and short weeks—each one stretching out the work, so all can share. ”

“ What ails you? Why are you so slow?”
“What's the use of killing yourself?” he says to her.
“What's the use of always having to hold back?”
“There might be a reason,” says Kelly, tipping her the long wink.
And then he thought probably, her being a woman, nobody'd ever troubled to go over with her the principle they were working on today.
“I'll take it up with you,” he says, “when we get the time—the principle of the thing,” he says.
And right after that more resolutions—or whereas-the-women's, as they called them now, copying old George Cooper—came in to be read by her at the meeting. ”

“ That the only reasonable, sensible way is for labor to lay back and each one have short hours and stretch out the work so all will have the benefit of it. So that the less work each one does, the more pay there'll be for labor in the total. ”

“ Nor the best man in the world. I want nothing to do with them, nor never did—more than to fight them and show them up. As I'll seek be doing now to my dying day—staying on right here, fighting and showing up these poor lazy painters here. Though heaven knows I don't take no special pride showing up painters. For they're well known and established to be the laziest and most shiftless of a loafing sex—from high art to barn painting. ”

“ They'll be biting us—by the millions!”
“What—for giving them fair play and justice?” says several.
“Justice!” says old George. “Since when do women want justice? Snatching is One thing after another! You just gave them the ballot—and what happened? Do they want to fight, or go on juries, or do police work, or work on the roads, or do anything in return? They do not. They want more special laws and legislation, for women only—to get more and more advantage for themselves over us. ”

“ Whereas, the women of the grand storied Southland, though for centuries rejoicing in the precious privilege of the priceless panoply of the peculiar chivalry and manhood of the South, yet choose now to stand forth firm and strong in the marts and markets and forums of the world upon their own commanding merit; And Whereas, the State of Kentucky, most regal of the star-topped daughters of the Union, has ever held the proud and recognized distinction of leader and pacemaker among her sister states, and expects the same from all within its borders—women, men and horses ”

“ Therefore, Resolved that to us, the best and leading women of that great historic state, little Milly Perkins must ever stand up as a symbol and watchword of all that is wise and forward looking in the grand and noble onsweep of women today into American industry, wherever placed or located ”

“ It's just plain simple mathematics, dividing up so much work between so many workers. And nobody yet has ever come up that can dispute it. And that's the grand principle organized labor is working on today—or ought to be. ”

“ So then, if this thing should ever get started good and rouse the women right, you'd see an odd strange sight—you'd see the women all up hollering themselves out of a job from Maine to California.”
And they laughed hearty, thinking of it, and slapping him on the back. “One grand idea!” they says, laughing still—all but old George Cooper.
“You think you're smart and cunning,” he says, coming in, “fooling and managing and playing with millions of women. But you ain't—and I'll warn you of it plain and simple. No man yet ever managed one, let alone millions. ”

“ And Resolved that we extend our fellowship to our sister, little Milly Perkins, and urge her on to be never satisfied with mere equality, but to remember that now as ever, in every civilization worth the name, women will be found leading on and up in the van. ”

“ And Whereas, recognizing that as the first chief representatives of the state of the manhood of the Great Emancipator, we shall never give nor take quarter in the grand inspiring battle for the rights of womanhood, too long delayed; And Whereas, brave courageous little Milly Perkins has, through merit and popularity among her beloved fellow workmen, been elected and chosen to be joint associate lady president for the first time in the history of the Automobile Painters in America, and no doubt of unionism of all the world, for all we know ”

“ For it was you that started it—you and your resolutions.”
And Kelly said nothing, only cleared his throat.
“And that wasn't the whole, neither,” says the superintendent, looking more and more careful at the marks he was making on his blotter. “For now we've seen and convinced ourselves that women could do the work, all at once there's thousands and thousands of women applying for the chance to do it. From what I see we have the pick of all the women in the United States,” he says. “They are surging in around us by the millions, you might say, looking for the good pay here. ”

“ I get them from all over,” she says, “since you started out advertising me with the newspapers and those resolutions all over the nation.
“And here's one,” she says, picking it out, “from a millionaire!”
“'A millionaire?” he says, giving her a still, mocking look.
“Yes—a new fresh millionaire, from Oklahoma oil,” she says. “An oil king, they call them out there—that's seen those women's resolutions and my picture in the paper. And he's all for hotfooting it on here to marry me.'
“He is?” says Kelly, thinking then of course she was lying. ”

“ And then they elected her joint lady president, and passed the resolutions unanimous, with just only old George Cooper standing out against them.
“I've seen fools,” he says, bitter, “but I never before seen them that would start out looking for trouble, rousing and inflaming up women by the millions!”
They almost put him out finally, but it only made him all the more warning and gloomy.
“Don't you hate to see them?” he says in the shop next day, looking over, dark and moody, to where she was standing at her work. “A woman in overalls,” he says—“there ain't no meaner sight in Nature! ”

“ Yet a grand persuading talker when he wanted to be. 'Twas him that got through all them gains against the management during wartime—more money and shorter hours and big pay overtime and against speeding up. Six Hour Kelly they called him, because he come out and showed them plain and simple how six hours a day and five days a week, like the miners wanted, would cure up most all the labor troubles now. ”

“ It's 'gimme this, gimme that' from the time they start in, fifteen minutes after they're born, to hang out ribbons on them to serve notice they're softer and lazier and got to have all the privileges there is over the men! ”

“ Whereas, the women of Oklahoma, used and accustomed to the broad grand spacious freedom of God's own country, have long understood and seen that women's place is ever first in the van and the foreguard of civilization, since man began ”