The Master of Liversedge by Alice Chetwynd Ley Read Free Book Online Page A

he’s not the only one, Miss Lister, though some of us haven’t our heads stuck in Cloudland, as he evidently has. If he wants to better the lot of the workers, then he should see that they understand the benefits this new machinery can bring — more trade, more work, more money in their pockets! It’s a long term plan, of course — and like to be longer, if the muttonheads persist in this obstructive policy of machine-breaking.’
    She hesitated for a moment, then looked up at him with a puzzled expression.
    ‘Try as I will, I cannot really understand what all this is about,’ she confessed. ‘As you may remember, my home is in a country town, and there we have no such troubles. I’ve heard vague talk, of course, of the Luddites, and how they go about breaking the new machines which are being used in the textile trade; but I am not at all clear as to the reasons — ’
    ‘That part of it’s simple,’ he said, interrupting her with a gesture of impatience. ‘The men hereabouts are mostly croppers — that’s to say, they are concerned with one of the finishing processes in the making of cloth. Their business is to cut the nap off the cloth, and for this purpose they use a huge pair of shears. You will not be here long, ma’am, without noticing the callous which every cropper bears on his right hand — a trade mark of his craft.’ He broke off, and looked inquiringly at her. ‘You may have noticed it already, in Nick Bradley?’
    ‘No, I don’t think — wait, though; yes, now that you mention it, I did. It was after he had lifted me into the waggon. I wondered at the time how he had come to have such a nasty mark — it looked painful.’
    ‘Not nowadays, though it is always painful to acquire. But to return to your question — these machines are capable of working several pairs of shears at once and at greater speed than the most experienced cropper can manage. Only one man — nay, a boy — is needed to tend the machine, which does the work of four men.’
    ‘So that means, sir,’ said Mary, her eyes on his face, ‘that every machine you install in your mill will replace three workers.’
    He nodded. ‘Just so — oh, I know that there are bound to be hardships at first! But later, when the machines are helping manufacturers to produce a greater quantity of cloth in a shorter time than formerly, when our export trade isn’t crippled by the present war — a great trade boom will come, you mark my words! Why, it isn’t difficult to foresee a time when machinery will take all the drudgery out of the textile trade, and leave the workers leisure such as is only enjoyed now by the wealthy.’
    A great change came over his face during this speech; the dark eyes kindled with enthusiasm, and his mouth lost its grimness. Mary Lister realized with surprise, that her employer was, after all, a handsome man: such a thought had never before entered her head. His animation encouraged her to answer him more freely than she might otherwise have done.
    ‘But in the meantime, Mr. Arkwright, they will be without work and consequently without money. How will they contrive a living?’
    He shook his head, and the light died out of his eyes.
    ‘I don’t know — I tell you I can’t find all the answers. What I do know is that my own course is clear. Man finds new ways of achieving his ends, and we must march with the times. The machinery will be a benefit to both master and men — but when we make changes in human affairs there must always be a period of transition which will be uncomfortable for some.’
    ‘Yes,’ said Mary slowly. ‘Perhaps that is so. But I do see now why they smash the machines that take away their bread; I think I see, too, why John — ’
    She stopped abruptly, afraid of saying too much.
    ‘I cannot be sure what his part in this affair may be,’ he interrupted, his mouth taking on its former grim line, ‘but I have spoken to you thus freely in the hope that you will use any