Act III
At 5:00 p.m., Edgar Anthony stands in the drawing room at the Underwoods’ house, talking to Enid. She tells him that she went to Roberts’s cottage earlier and that she believes his obstinacy is killing his wife. Edgar says that there is “a lot to be said on the men’s side,” but Enid is less sympathetic than she was before she went to see Annie. When Edgar says he thinks the directors will vote against their father, Enid is upset by the thought, saying that the company Anthony built means everything to him. She tells Edgar he must support Anthony against the other directors, but Edgar replies that this would go against his convictions and against Enid’s as well.
Edgar goes out to join the other directors in the dining room, and Anthony comes into the drawing room. He tells Enid that he has heard about her visit to Roberts, warning her that attempting to bridge the gulf between them is as pointless as “filling a sieve with sand.” Enid tells her father that she was only thinking of him and says he is not well enough to attend the board meeting. However, he opens the door to the dining room and goes into the meeting anyway. Raised voices can be heard through the door, but they fall silent as soon as Anthony appears.
In the drawing room, Enid rings for Frost, Anthony’s valet, and tells him to show the men in immediately when they come, as she is worried they will be offended if they are left waiting in the hall. Frost is concerned about Anthony and says that the directors should humor him, then settle with the men later, a course of action he has gone so far as to suggest to Wanklin. He says Roberts is a dangerous firebrand who has a perpetual grudge against the world because he was not born a gentleman. When Frost leaves the room, Madge Thomas is shown in. She sullenly tells Enid that Annie Roberts is dead.
Enid is horrified at the news of Annie’s death, particularly as they were together only a little more than an hour ago. Madge attacks her bitterly, saying that she has no idea what the poor suffer and that she and her father are responsible for Annie’s death. Enid furiously responds that this is a wicked thing to say, as her father is suffering from the effects of the strike as well. Madge goes out into the hall while Anthony enters from the dining room and lowers himself into an armchair. Edgar follows him into the room and tells Enid that Wilder insulted their father, saying he was “too old and feeble to know what he was doing.”
The other directors come into the drawing room, and Wilder withdraws his words and apologizes. They begin discussing the strike again, and Wanklin says that the shareholders will make matters difficult for them at the General Meeting if the issue of the strike is not settled by then. The other directors agree that they must come to terms with the strikers but Anthony remains adamant that he will never give any ground. As they continue to argue, Edgar tells them that Annie Roberts is dead and insists that they are all responsible for her death. He says that he would rather resign his position on the board “than go on staving women in this way.” The other directors protest, but Edgar maintains that they should have seen the suffering they were causing and put an end to the strike long ago.
Wilder moves that the board should...
(This entire section contains 1018 words.)
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ask Simon Harness to settle the dispute; Wanklin seconds the motion. Anthony, however, says that he will never give way. He has fought the men four times before and beaten them each time. He will not treat them as his equals, as there can only be one master in the house, and he intends to continue in that role. If they make any concessions to the men, the men will continue to make more demands until the company is ruined and everyone associated with it is “deep in the bog of bankruptcy.” When Edgar protests that “there is such a thing as Mercy,” his father responds that justice comes before it and accuses his son of being soft and weak.
Warning the other directors that they will be failing in their duty and laying themselves open to constant attack if they vote in favor of Wilder’s motion, Anthony puts the matter to the vote. Wilder. Wanklin, Scantlebury, and Edgar all vote in favor of Harness settling the dispute. After announcing that the motion is carried, Anthony resigns his position on the board, telling the other directors that they have disgraced him and his company.
Four of the workers, Thomas, Green, Bulgin, and Rous are shown into the room. Rous says that Harness will speak for them, and Thomas adds that Roberts will not attend the meeting, as his wife has recently died. Harness enters, but before he can speak, Roberts hastily comes in after him. Roberts speaks directly to Anthony and says that the men will not give way: “By no jot or tittle do we abate our demands.” Harness, however, tells him that the terms have already been agreed between the strikers and the board. The strike is over, and the men will return to work on the following day.
Roberts protests that these terms have not been signed by the company chairman. He knows Anthony would never put his name to such a compromise. Harness tells him that the board has signed the agreement, and Roberts realizes that Anthony is no longer chairman. He tells Anthony that “they’ve done us both down,” and both men bow their heads “in token of respect” as Anthony walks unsteadily from the room. When Anthony has left, Tench remarks to Harness that the terms just agreed by the board are the same as the ones they drew up between them and put to both sides the previous year before the strike began.
