‘You’d like to own it, wouldn’t you?’ Doggett said.
Mulhall looked round in surprise. It was a thought that had never entered his head.
‘I only want to work in it.’
‘You must understand that there may not be room—not at present.’
‘Because I’ve a criminal record?’
‘Not at all,’ Doggett said, ‘we’ll forget that part of it.’ He went back to his desk and thought carefully for some moments. Then he said:
‘You can enquire later in the week. It will give us an opportunity to see how things are going.’
He began to arrange the articles on his desk. Mulhall went to the door, but Doggett’s voice again stopped him.
‘You mustn’t think I am holding anything against you.’
‘No,’ Mulhall said.
He closed the door and went down the stairs. The timekeeper asked him if he was starting, but Mulhall shook his head. He did not stop to talk.
Mulhall walked with his hands tucked in his belt and his hat tilted forward over his eyes to protect them from the sun. He went thoughtfully. The meaner streets smelled badly because of the heat; all the doors stood open, revealing, down hallways that were foul and dark tunnels, the small sunlit yards, each with its communal lavatory. At first he thought he would go to the union office, but the idea of stating a case for himself put him off. It would come better from the men themselves. He decided to see Fitz and turned down the quays again. At Morgan & Co. the gateman told him Fitz was on shift.
‘I’d like to see him, if I could.’
The gateman said he would ask Mr. Carrington, the foreman.
‘Fitzpatrick is well got with him,’ he explained. ‘I don’t think there’ll be any objection.’
‘Thanks,’ Mulhall said.
The gateman delayed. He knew Mulhall, who often delivered coal to Morgan & Co.
‘How are you after your spell away?’
‘Gameball,’ Mulhall assured him.
‘We cleaned up a few scabs ourselves the other night,’ the gateman confided.
‘Where was that?’
‘In Tobin’s of Thorncastle Street. Four of them were drinking together. There’s not a pane of glass left in the place after it.’
‘What about the police?’
‘They didn’t show up until it was all over—like sensible men.’
The gateman rubbed his hands briskly together and said with relish: ‘By God, we gave them a bellyful.’ Then his attention fixed on a distant figure crossing the yard.
‘There’s Carrington going into the house now. I’ll ask him.’
Mulhall lit his pipe and waited. Men were unloading coal into an endless chain of buckets which rose in procession up an open tower before moving along a belt and into one of the furnace houses. It was the newest house, machine fed. A few more of these, Mulhall thought, and there would be less work for furnace hands. It was one of the things he had given thought to while in gaol. Machinery would improve and replace labour. The motor car would replace the horse, and do the work of three carters. What would happen then? He had argued about it with another prisoner.
‘The motor will never be a success,’ the prisoner said, ‘because they can’t invent a wheel to suit the roads.’
Mulhall knew better than that.
‘If the wheel won’t suit the road,’ he said, ‘they’ll make the roads suit the wheel.’
After some time Fitz came out to him. He smiled broadly and held out his hand.
‘Welcome home,’ Fitz said.
Mulhall shook his hand and then gestured towards the tower and the moving buckets.
‘That’s new, isn’t it?’ he asked.
‘They put it up about two months ago.’
‘Has it done away with labour?’
‘It’s servicing the new house, so no one’s been laid off. But more would have been taken on if the furnaces were hand fed,’ Fitz admitted.
‘Suppose they start feeding the old houses in the same way?’
‘Too bad for some of us,’ Fitz said.
But you couldn’t stop them using machinery. Machinery meant more profit, and profit was the beginning and the end of everything. Roads and bridges and buildings would be reduced to rubble wherever they impeded profit. Men would be laid off and children would go hungry. For the sake of the machines families would know want.
‘We’ve got to keep a watch on new machinery,’ Mulhall warned. Then he told Fitz about his interview with Doggett.
‘Have you seen Larkin?’
‘I’d rather someone else saw him for me.’
‘I’ll go down with Joe Somerville tonight,’ Fitz promised. ‘We’ll call a meeting and state your case.’
‘What’s Joe Somerville got to do with it?’
‘He’s acting secretary for the carters’ section,’ Fitz explained.
‘That’s a new one,’ Mulhall said.
Things had changed in his short absence.
The next day, before knocking-off time, there was a notice scrawled on the gate of Doggett & Co. which read:
‘Stand by Bernad Mulhall
No Victimisation’
It was in white chalk. Doggett, who read it on his way out, instructed the gateman to clean it off. He noticed, without surprise, that the name Bernard had been misspelled. Neither was he very much perturbed. If the pressure became dangerous he could settle it by reinstating Mulhall. He had consulted with the manager of Nolan & Keyes, with the Chairman of Morgan & Co. Foundries, with a number of other employers. There were wider issues than that of Mulhall. There was the question of curbing Mr. Larkin himself. Doggett’s colleagues were evolving machinery for doing so.
Later that night Joe Somerville, acting secretary of the carters sub-section, settled down by candlelight and began the labour of composing the minutes of the meeting.
Minutes of Meeting of Carters’ No, 3 section re Bernard Mulhall, held in Beresford Place . . .
He paused and consulted Pat, who was stretched on the bed in the far corner.
‘What was yesterday’s date?’
Pat, glancing first at the top of the newspaper he was studying, told him.
Joe continued:
Opening the meeting, J. Somerville explained that R. Fitzpatrick was a Foundry worker who was here only to deliver a message about the position of B. Mulhall, who was speaking to him. The meeting agreed there was no objection to a Foundry member being present for this purpose. R. Fitzpatrick and J. Somerville then reported how B. Mulhall had applied for reinstatement to the firm of Doggett & Co., he had been released from gaol that day where he served six months hard labour for his class. The answer he got was to say the least evasive and the question arose what further action was to be taken to secure his rights as he was a carter with long service.
J. Brady said there should be an immediate heel-up, that Comrade Mulhall was a solid trade union member, one of the first in Doggett’s, and it was up to each and all to stand by him now. T. Williams asked who was it chalked the message on the front gate, this was no use to anyone and only showed our hand to Mr. Doggett. The general secretary asked what message and when he was told he said he would do the talking to Mr. Doggett and the men must await his instructions. J. Brady said everyone had confidence in Mr. Larkin and they were sure he would call out the men when the time came. After further discussion it was agreed unanimously to call out the men if his talk with Mr. Doggett did not bring quick results.
This business being completed P. Forde said he wished to raise the question of a collection for the railway men who were on sympathetic strike with their comrades across the water. It was agreed there would be a weekly collection, P. Forde to collect from the men in Doggett’s and P. Bannister to look after the levy from Nolan & Keyes men. The meeting concluded.