f life welcomed him with outstretched arms. Early in the evening the Naylor Opera House was packed to completion, and hundreds of people were denied admission owing to the dense throng of people who wished to do honor to this great leader. When President Debs appeared upon the stage he was greeted by a roar of applause that shook the building to its very foundation. His eloquent address on the strike situation and the causes that led up to it was received with thunders of applause. This was the man whom the corporate courts had indicted for criminal conspiracy. CHAPTER XVIII. THE STRIKE LOST. Through the machination of the general managers, the courts and the press and the Benedict Arnolds of labor, the cause of the railroad corporations was beginning to triumph. Discouraged and disheartened by the treachery in their own ranks, a great many strikers had lost confidence in the success of their undertaking and were now silently awaiting the result of the convention called at Chicago. This was made known on the return of the delegates. The action taken was to decide by a majority vote of each system whether the strike would continue in force or be declared off. After thoroughly discussing the matter, it was decided to call off the strike owing to the fact that they were forced to fight against overwhelming odds and rank treachery, and the men were instru
