n, to an arbiter whom we both chose and both believed
to be fair?"

"Certainly I should," said Strong.

"The whole dispute, no matter what it was? You'd think it fair to leave
it all to the arbiter?"

"Certainly."

"Then why not leave 'freedom of contract' to arbitration?" demanded Ned.
"You say you are right. We say we are right. We have offered to go to
arbitration on the whole dispute, keeping nothing back. We have pledged
ourselves to stand by the arbitration. Isn't that honest and fair? What
could be fairer? It may be that we have taken a wrong method against
victimising in close unionism. But it cannot be that we should not have
some defence against victimising, and close unionism is the only defence
we have as yet, that any union has had, anywhere, except in Sheffield and
I don't suppose you want rattening to start here. Why not arbitrate?"

"It is a question of principle," answered Strong, looking Ned in the
face.

"That means you'll fight it out," commented Ned, rising and picking up
his hat. Then he put his foot on his chair and, leaning on his knee, thus
expressed his inward thoughts: "You can fight if you like but when it's
all over you'll remember what I say and know it's the straight wire.
You've been swallowing the fairy tales about ours being a union of
pressed men but you will see your mistake, believe me. You may whip us;
you've got the Government and the police and the P.M.'s and the money and
the military but how much nearer the end will you be when you have
whipped us? You'll know by then that the chaps up North, like men
everywhere else, will go down fighting and will come up smiling to fight
again when you begin to take it out of them because they're down. And in
the end you'll arbitrate. You'll have no way out of it. Its fair and
because it's fair and because we all know it's fair we'll win that or--
" Ned paused.

"I'm sorry you look at the matter so," said Strong, arranging his papers.

"How else should we look at it? If we pretend to give in as you want us
to do, it'll only be as a trick to gain time, as a ruse to put you off
until we're readier. We won't do that. For my part, and for the part of
the men I know, the union is a thing which mustn't get a bad name. We may
lie individually but the union's word must be as good as gold no matter
what it says. If the union says the sheep are wet, they're wet, and if it
says they're dry, they are dry--if the water's dripping off 'em," added