Harness! Ah! He's one of those cold-blooded, cool-headed chaps. I distrust them. I don't know that we didn't make a mistake to come down. What time'll the men be here?
UNDERWOOD. Any time now.
WILDER. Well, if we're not ready, they'll have to wait – won't do them any harm to cool their heels a bit.
SCANTLEBURY. [Slowly.] Poor devils! It's snowing. What weather!
UNDERWOOD. [With meaning slowness.] This house'll be the warmest place they've been in this winter.
WILDER. Well, I hope we're going to settle this business in time for me to catch the 6.30. I've got to take my wife to Spain to-morrow. [Chattily.] My old father had a strike at his works in '69; just such a February as this. They wanted to shoot him.
WANKLIN. What! In the close season?
WILDER. By George, there was no close season for employers then! He used to go down to his office with a pistol in his pocket.
SCANTLEBURY. [Faintly alarmed.] Not seriously?
WILDER. [With finality.] Ended in his shootin' one of 'em in the legs.
SCANTLEBURY. [Unavoidably feeling his thigh.] No? Which?
ANTHONY. [Lifting the agenda paper.] To consider the policy of the Board in relation to the strike. [There is a silence.]
WILDER. It's this infernal three-cornered duel – the Union, the men, and ourselves.
WANKLIN. We need n't consider the Union.
WILDER. It's my experience that you've always got to, consider the Union, confound them! If the Union were going to withdraw their support from the men, as they've done, why did they ever allow them to strike at all?
EDGAR. We've had that over a dozen times.
WILDER. Well, I've never understood it! It's beyond me. They talk of the engineers' and furnace-men's demands being excessive – so they are – but that's not enough to make the Union withdraw their support. What's behind it?
UNDERWOOD. Fear of strikes at Harper's and Tinewell's.
WILDER. [With triumph.] Afraid of other strikes – now, that's a reason! Why could n't we have been told that before?
UNDERWOOD. You were.
TENCH. You were absent from the Board that day, sir.
SCANTLEBURY. The men must have seen they had no chance when the Union gave them up. It's madness.
UNDERWOOD. It's Roberts!
WILDER. Just our luck, the men finding a fanatical firebrand like Roberts for leader. [A pause.]
WANKLIN. [Looking at ANTHONY.] Well?
WILDER. [Breaking in fussily.] It's a regular mess. I don't like the position we're in; I don't like it; I've said so for a long time. [Looking at WANKLIN.] When Wanklin and I came down here before Christmas it looked as if the men must collapse. You thought so too, Underwood.
UNDERWOOD. Yes.
WILDER. Well, they haven't! Here we are, going from bad to worse losing our customers – shares going down!
SCANTLEBURY. [Shaking his head.] M'm! M'm!
WANKLIN. What loss have we made by this strike, Tench?
TENCH. Over fifty thousand, sir!
SCANTLEBURY, [Pained.] You don't say!
WILDER. We shall never got it back.
TENCH. No, sir.
WILDER. Who'd have supposed the men were going to stick out like this – nobody suggested that. [Looking angrily at TENCH.]
SCANTLEBURY. [Shaking his head.] I've never liked a fight – never shall.
ANTHONY. No surrender! [All look at him.]
WILDER. Who wants to surrender? [ANTHONY looks at him.] I – I want to act reasonably. When the men sent Roberts up to the Board in December – then was the time. We ought to have humoured him; instead of that the Chairman – [Dropping his eyes before ANTHONY'S] – er – we snapped his head off. We could have got them in then by a little tact.
ANTHONY. No compromise!
WILDER. There we are! This strike's been going on now since October, and as far as I can see it may last another six months. Pretty mess we shall be in by then. The only comfort is, the men'll be in a worse!
EDGAR. [To UNDERWOOD.] What sort of state are they really in, Frank?
UNDERWOOD. [Without expression.] Damnable!
WILDER. Well, who on earth would have thought they'd have held on like this without support!
UNDERWOOD. Those who know them.
WILDER. I defy any one to know them! And what about tin? Price going up daily. When we do get started we shall have to work off our contracts at the top of the market.
WANKLIN. What do you say to that, Chairman?
ANTHONY. Can't be helped!
WILDER. Shan't pay a dividend till goodness knows when!
SCANTLEBURY. [With emphasis.] We ought to think of the shareholders. [Turning heavily.] Chairman, I say we ought to think of the shareholders. [ANTHONY mutters.]
SCANTLEBURY. What's that?
TENCH. The Chairman says he is thinking of you, sir.
SCANTLEBURY. [Sinking back into torpor.] Cynic!
WILDER. It's past a joke. I don't want to go without a dividend for years if the Chairman does. We can't go on playing ducks and drakes with the Company's prosperity.
EDGAR. [Rather ashamedly.] I think we ought to consider the men.
[All but ANTHONY fidget in their seats.]
SCANTLEBURY. [With a sigh.] We must n't think of our private feelings, young man. That'll never do.
EDGAR. [Ironically.] I'm not thinking of our feelings. I'm thinking of the men's.
WILDER. As to that – we're men of business.
WANKLIN. That is the little trouble.
EDGAR. There's no necessity for pushing things so far in the face of all this suffering – it's – it's cruel.
[No one speaks, as though EDGAR had uncovered something whose existence no man prizing his self-respect could afford to recognise.]
WANKLIN. [With an ironical smile.] I'm afraid we must n't base our policy on luxuries like sentiment.
EDGAR. I detest this state of things.
ANTHONY. We did n't seek the quarrel.
EDGAR. I know that sir, but surely we've gone far enough.
ANTHONY. No. [All look at one another.]
WANKLIN. Luxuries apart, Chairman, we must look out what we're doing.
ANTHONY. Give way to the men once and there'll be no end to it.
WANKLIN. I quite agree, but —
[ANTHONY Shakes his head]
You make it a question of bedrock principle?
[ANTHONY nods.]
Luxuries again, Chairman! The shares are below par.
WILDER. Yes, and they'll drop to a half when we pass the next dividend.
SCANTLEBURY. [With alarm.] Come, come! Not so bad as that.
WILDER. [Grimly.] You'll see! [Craning forward to catch ANTHONY'S speech.] I didn't catch —
TENCH. [Hesitating.] The Chairman says, sir, "Fais que – que – devra."
EDGAR. [Sharply.] My father says: "Do what we ought – and let things rip."
WILDER. Tcha!
SCANTLEBURY. [Throwing up his hands.] The Chairman's a Stoic – I always said the Chairman was a Stoic.
WILDER.