In December, the atmosphere of the election overwhelmed everything.
Old John's face finally held a little more ease, but the worry still had not completely left him.
He watched the candidates' debate on television. When Mr. Truman faced those who tried to make things difficult for him, he still maintained his gracious bearing. That straight back of his was exactly the sort of thing Old John admired.
In Mr. Truman, he saw strength, responsibility, and a spirit that could never be bent! Just like the workers themselves! Old John had taken out a loan and, together with the others, become one of the factory's owners.
At first, everyone was overjoyed. At last, it was their turn to become the owners of the factory. But it was not long before they encountered their first problem—
You think it was a problem with orders?
No, it was a problem with their change in mindset!
After everyone pooled their money to buy the factory, each person began to regard himself as part of the factory. Or rather, they believed that part of the factory belonged to them.
There was nothing wrong with that view in itself. The problem was that they could not bring this attitude into their work, or something serious would happen.
But everyone was inexperienced. They continued working as they had before, and before long, they ran into trouble.
A worker was caught slacking off by the workshop supervisor.
The supervisor rebuked him as he had in the past and threatened to fire him if he was caught slacking off again!
But the worker soon made a fuss. He demanded to withdraw his shares! He felt he had been exploited and treated harshly. He was one of the factory's shareholders. Even if he had indeed slacked off a little, he