Page 9 of Cinders and Smoke

“I can only hope that both of you will find something about which to complain because then I shall know I have found the middle ground.”

Throughout this extraordinary speech, Miss Hale did not release her grip on either man’s hands to let them relax back into their chairs. She did not free them until they grudgingly accepted her terms.

What immediately became apparent was that both men toiled under hidebound illusions of the other’s malintent. To Higgins, Thornton wanted to push his workers to the breaking point. Thornton, in turn, was convinced that the workers wanted nothing less than fewer hours for greater pay.

Higgins objected to the universal practice of not paying workers when machines broke down, even though those workers were required to stand around and wait while mechanics bent over to repair them.

Thornton responded that the owners suspected their workers would sabotage their looms to take paid breaks.

Higgins growled back that wrecking was, at the very least, a transportable offense, and that most loom men could not foul a machine in a way that would avoid detection, thus ensuring arrest and conviction.

Margaret stopped them here. “As I see it, John”—for she had determined to use Christian names to eliminate any lessers and betters bias—“justifiably fears the drain upon resources and income if workers are paid for not working. I shall set aside the somewhat specious argument that employees would be inclined to damage the equipment to avoid working while still being paid.

“Nicholas, with equal justification, worries that his members are penalized when the machinery fails because owners refuse to maintain the apparatus, preferring to milk as much profit as possible from old looms.

She paused and looked up at the ceiling, worrying her lower lip in a manner that utterly captivated Thornton. Then she delivered her verdict.

“Nicholas is correct in that no reasonable man would risk his life or his family’s welfare by damaging equipment. However, John also has a point when he bristles at paying for idle hands. I have come to know John to be a responsible man. Thus, I doubt he would allow any machinery he has paid dearly for to deteriorate to the point of failure.

“The best defense against both of your concerns becoming a reality is to ensure that the machinery produces cloth throughout the entire shift. That way, John would be secure in his income without incurring the high costs of paying laborers who are not working. And the workers would be confident that the owner's greed would not victimize them.

“However, I do not believe a worker should receive his entire wage for standing and puffing his pipe while mechanics work. Half pay seems sensible.

“Perhaps a competent overseer or foreman who knows the equipment and could be trusted to reassign workers to other tasks if their primary employment is temporarily unavailable…” She sent Thornton a knowing glance.

∞∞∞

Thornton squirmed. Would allowing Higgins into Marlborough be akin to permitting the camel to stick her nose under the edge of the tent? What would the other owners think?

A revelation struck: he had never cared what men like Hamper thought of him—only how their opinion might affect his ability to raise capital. Yet Mr. Bell had been a gilt-edged reference whenever Thornton stepped outside Milton’s clannish banking community. London’s City precincts were now just a half-day’s train ride away, turning Great Britain’s financial markets from local to national. Those beady-eyed gentlemen had smiled benevolently at his pleas whenever he handed over plans endorsed by Bell, then offered terms that put Milton’s bankers to shame.

If Hamper, Slick, and Watson decided to combine and try to drive him out of Milton because he acceded to Higgins’s demands, it would only be a convenient excuse. Thornton knew he already was a threat to their curated status quo. The other manufacturers would gladly try to shutter Marlborough simply for being too successful. It was a matter of time.

He was not concerned about this risk. Thornton realized he had beaten their likes before. These men had been at the top of Milton’s social pyramid for so long that they had become fat and lazy. Thornton was the lean and hungry cheetah sowing terror in the herd of slack-bellied antelopes that spread across the mercantile savannah.

And a working Marlborough Mills pouring money into his coffers and stealing orders from factories owned by less enlightened men was the supreme defense against his competitors’ shenanigans.

He noticed both Miss Hale and Higgins staring at him. Thornton coughed into his hand and cleared his throat. “You have distilled the question, Miss Hale”—he stopped at her quelling glare—“Margaret…to its essentials. I can find nothing objectionable here.

“I shall accept the half-pay provision with the caveat that Nicholas agrees to become that overseer you described.

“However, he would have to resign his position with the union, as he must be either fish or fowl—worker or manager.

“I realize that this will complicate his life. He must accept this alienation, or the employees will refuse to follow his orders, and I will refuse to move ahead in this conversation.

“I have become convinced that Marlborough Mills can become the most significant producer in the Midlands only if it keeps attracting the best employees. That starts at the top with a man like Higgins at my right hand.

“Yet, an idea just crossed my mind. What do you, Margaret and Nicholas, think of allowing the union members to elect their lead men on the factory floor? That way, they would feel empowered. Nicholas and I would meet to determine the orders to manufacture. Nicholas would meet with the foremen to parcel out the work.”

Higgins chimed in. “I could see it workin’, but only if there be an incentive that would ensure only the best men and not the most popular win.”

Margaret added, “Linked to quality and efficiency!”

The three looked at each other and nodded as one. The dam was breached.

∞∞∞

Higgins’s tacit acceptance of Thornton’s job offer led to productive and far-reaching negotiations. Thornton agreed to the union’s role in the mill, instinctively understanding that he could not hold back the tide. They explored and negotiated working conditions, safety concerns, a dining hall, a school, and wage scales. They would implement performance bonuses and modest profit sharing on a trial basis to see whether they would encourage greater productivity and attract competent workers.