Good morning , Mr. Mifflin . MIFFLINGood morning , Miss Gorodna . Mr. Gibson has been very nice about it . He told me he would give you the interview for your article . He 's in the factory — trying to settle some things he can n't settle . I 'll let him know you 're here .NORAHe 'll be right here . This is Mr. Mifflin , Mr. Gibson . With their hands , Mr. Gibson ! Why should n't they ? It means the elimination of capital and the capitalist ! No , Mr. Gibson ; it 's to go on until the abolition of the wage system ! The struggle with capitalism will continue till the workers take possession of the machinery of production . It is theirs by right ; the wealth they produce is morally their own . The parasites who now consume that wealth must be destroyed . It 's what you stand for that my theories make me detest — since you used the word . Class and class hatred . From both ! You do n't ! So long as capital exists you and I are in warring classes , Mr. Gibson . Capitalist and proletariat . You can n't get out of your class and I do n't want to get out of mine . We are not . We never shall be — and we never were ! Even before we were born we were n't ! You came into this life with a silver spoon . I was born in a tenement room where five other people lived . My father was a man with a great brain . He never got out of the tenements in his life ; he was crushed and kept under ; yet he was a well-read man and a magnificent talker ; he could talk Marx and Tolstoi supremely . Yet he never even had time to learn English . Your father was n't crushed under the capitalistic system as mine was . My father was an intellectual . What of that ? Mine remained a thinker and a revolutionist ; yours became a capitalist . Yes , and took advantage of the capitalistic system to own the factory . How many hours a day do you work , Mr. Gibson ? In other words , when you want to work . You take a higher return ! Can it be possible that you think you deserve as much as any of these workers ? You do n't so much as touch one of these pianos that bring you your return . I do ! I work on them with my hands . Do you think you deserve as much as I ? Do n't talk to me as a woman ! My work is pleasant enough now ; but what work did I have to do before I got this far ? I worked sixteen hours a day , and when I was only a child at that ! Twelve hours I was sewing , and four I studied . If my father had n't known music and taught me a little your capitalistic system would have me sewing twelve hours a day still ! We do ? Do you really think that ? That we get paid for what we do ? Then what do you get paid for ? For nothing in the world but owning this factory . You 're paid because you 're a capitalist ! Why , look at the state the factory 's in ! The discontent you saw in those men — that 's the fault of the capitalistic system ! There are n't twenty workmen in the place that are contented . Not until the system 's changed . What are you going to do about it ? GIBSONThey 've driven me as far as they can . If they walk out I 'll walk out . I can stand it if they can . You 'd close down ? Your only solution is to take the bread out of these men 's mouths ? You 'll let us starve because you have n't the courage to come to the right solution ! Do n't you mind starving us ? That 's the capitalist ! They think it 's capital that runs the factories ! What in the world else ?You think you produce this wealth because you 've got your money in it ? You pass out a pittance to those who do produce it , and when they ask for more than a pittance you take their tools away from them ! If they rebel you set the police on them . That 's capital — and that 's you , Mr. Gibson ! I mean it ! My theories ! I have n't any theories ! I 'm talking about the truth , and the truth is my whole life . I can n't find room for anything but the truth . Ah , that 's a man 's egoism ! With the whole world seething so that its wrongs should fill every mind — yes , and every heart — until they 're righted , you ask me — Are you going to give them what they want ? We must n't forget that .CARTERThe telephone is ringin ’ . Yes , I — remember . But things were different then . Please . I think I ought n't to keep it now .I came to see you on a matter of business , too . Oh , no ! Please stay , Mr. Carter ! It 's a factory matter .It was about that great stock of wire you had your purchasing agent buy just before the — before you went away , Mr. Gibson . Thank you ! If you remember , you must have ordered him to buy all the wire of our grade that was in the market at that time . At any rate , we found ourselves in possession of an enormous stock that would have lasted us about three years . As it happened it turned out to be a very good investment , Mr. Gibson , because in less than a month it had gained about nine per cent . in value , and three weeks ago a man came to us and offered to take it off our hands at a price giving us a twenty-two per cent . profit ! So of course we sold it . GIBSONDid you ? Naturally we did ! Twenty-two per cent . profit in that short time ! Now it just happens that we 've got to buy some more ourselves , and we can n't get hold of any , even at the price that we sold it , because it seems to have kept going up . I thought perhaps you might know where to get some at the price you bought the other , and you might n't mind telling us . You think there is n't any ? Then I 'm afraid we 'll have to get some back from the people we sold to . Of course I 'm anxious to show the great financial improvement as well as other improvements . That 's partly my province and Mr. Carter 's , our committee chairman , besides our regular work . Hill was always a capitalist at heart . We certainly have n't needed him ! Oh , a great many ! Economies !Mr. Gibson , have you any realization of what you threw away at that place ? Do n't be afraid , I 'll never bring you the figures . I would n't do such a thing to anybody ! We could n't believe it at first . Just what was being thrown away on advertising , for instance . The bill you paid for the last month you were there was five thousand dollars ! We cut that five thousand dollars down to three hundred ! That was one item of forty-seven hundred dollars a month saved . Just one item ! CARTERQuite some item ! NORAFive thousand dollars a month to advertise a piano that sells for only a hundred and eighty-eight dollars ! Mr. Gibson , did you really ever have any idea what you were paying in commissions to agents ? Why , I can n't believe it ! Did you know that you paid them twenty per cent . on each piano ? Over thirty-seven dollars ! But was n't it thrown away ? I can n't understand how you kept the factory going so long as you did , with such losses . Why , do n't you know it amounts to hundreds of thousands of dollars a year ? When we found it out we could n't see how you made both ends meet , and we thought there must have been some mistake , and you 'd never realized what advantage these agents were taking of you . The very first month our profits were four thousand dollars more than the last month you were there ! And the next month we cut down the commissions , and the profits were five thousand more ! But last month , with new economies , we showed a larger profit than you had ! We sha n't know that until the report 's read at the meeting to-morrow . I think it will be the largest profit of all . He is n't a good influence . They were n't needed . Our bookkeeping is so simplified since you left ! Yes ; and whatever problems come up , they 're all settled at our meetings . It 's that Mrs. Simpson ; she 's a great nuisance . Do n't you think you and Frankel might shake hands now , like good comrades ? FRANKELSure , I 'll shake hands with him ! Well ? Is that the old capitalistic sneer ? I 'll try not . Of course it is n't all a bed of roses ! Of course things do n't run like oiled machinery ! It 's magnificent ! Yes ; I 'd like you to see how reasonable people settle their differences when they have an absolutely equal and common interest . GIBSONAre n't you ever tired ? Tired of living out my ideals ? Oh ! Oh , no ; that 's only an amount carried over . Oh , we 'll work it all out at the meeting , Mr. Carter ! We 'll do it , comrade ! CARTERSure ! Sure we will ! It 's wonderful what a meeting does ; I 'm always forgettin ’ all we got to do is vote and then the trouble 's over .NORAI was afraid this would happen . Of course after Mrs. Simpson came other wives were bound to . CARTERWell , I guess I better — I just wonder — Well , if that 's something the meeting can settle ? CARTERWell , it 's got to vote on it . We did vote on Mrs. Simpson last meeting . It did n't seem to settle Mrs. Simpson , did it ? No ; I should think not ! I do n't know what will be an inspiration to you . The next order of business — Is reports of committees . CARTERThe next order of business is reports of committees .The first committee I will report on is my committee . I will state it is very difficult reading , because consisting of figures written by the bookkeeper , and pretty hard to make head or tail of , but — It 's over ; it has n't done any harm ! FRANKELIt was in that piano .Look out , he 's probably got another one in there .MIFFLINIt must have been an accident ! The only way , comrades , to know how much we have gained since the last division is to read the bookkeeper 's report . The bookkeeper has charge , but there are n't any checks . It 's all of us ! Have n't we all done this thing together ? We 've all got to ! Could n't we have learned ? Could n't one of us ? But he left ! Other people offered him more money . But were you worth all that you took ? You took all that the business made . Were you actually worth that much to it ? It is n't right ; you pay labour only what you have to pay . It is n't right ! It is n't right ! Will it always be so ? But will the plan always fail ? Well — I 'm whipped .Are you going to accept that offer ?