Chapter 73

From the Memoirs of Grace Bailey -

In my experience, there are only two kinds of truly impatient people, young people trying to make their mark on the world and old people with unfinished business. I had to admire the time and care Mother took with her search for a successor in spite of easily falling into the latter category. With the unreliable state of her health and the growing threat of war, she had more cause for impatience than most. However, she understood that the seriousness of her situation made it all the more vital that her task be done well.

Months of sifting leads and reaching out through intermediaries had led us to several possible candidates. Some were unwilling to risk leaving safe positions. Some objected to Mother's recognition of her employees' union. A couple balked at the thought of working for a woman, even temporarily. A few lacked sufficient faith in the prospects of the Silverdome Mining Company.

One even told Mother's intermediary that the Royal Dominion Bank had been trying for twenty years to force the family to sell the company to more responsible management. Sooner or later, they were bound to succeed, and he didn't want to be on the losing side when that happened. In the end, the field of candidates narrowed down to two.

May Bailey to Jessie Buchanan Oct. 12, 1938

Our meetings with the two top candidates for the position of vice president and, eventually, president of the Silverdome Mining Company went as planned. Both managed to be in Toronto on business, which left them with sufficient free time to make their way unobserved at separate times to the room Grace and I shared at the King Edward.

Glenn Sinclair is a junior manager at Falconbridge with considerable experience operating nickel mines. He has a good record and should have been promoted to senior manager years ago but, with a Depression on, promotions are slow, and he is already middle aged. The last two promotions in his department for which he was qualified went to younger men. Grace and I agree that he is a solid, friendly man who knows his job and could easily handle greater responsibility.

Howard Dowling is equally capable, but much more of a live wire. He is ambitious and has risen, but not as fast and not as far as he would have liked. The fact that he isn't married counts against him.

The right wife is essential to any young executive's chances of promotion, someone loyal and gracious whose very existence implies good judgement on his part. Mr. Dowling, however, has been responsible for an invalid father and a younger brother and sister. He hasn't had the time to find a wife or the money to support her and the inevitable family if he had.

Now, his brother is a lieutenant in the army and his sister is safely married to an actuary. He could stay at Inco and try to make up for lost time, but with little guarantee of success. An immediate vice presidency with the certainty of running the company in a few years, even if it is a small company, may well be the better choice.

He believes that the Silverdome Mining Company with its huge nickel reserves has the potential to make a tremendous mark on Canadian industry. He would love to spend the next few years, perhaps even the rest of his life devoting himself to realizing that potential. Grace and I listened enthralled to his eloquent discourse. The man can talk. When I asked Grace if she had any questions for him, she came up with an interesting one. Was there anything else he wanted out of life?

"Yes," he admitted, "I'd like to find someone sweet and warm to share it with, someone smart and loyal whom I could trust to stick with me through thick and thin. If I could find a woman like that, I know I could be the kind of person who would deserve her trust."

The way he smiled at Grace as he spoke was, perhaps, a shade too appreciative. I decided to return the interview to its original subject of his fitness for the position of vice president of the Silverdome Mining Company. "What is your philosophy of labor- management relations?"

"One of the biggest problems management has is labor agitation. I don't say that management is entirely blameless. In some cases, it could have been more reasonable. However, in times like these, a company's employees shouldn't always be asking for more. They should be content with what they have."

The corners of Grace's mouth twitched with amusement. "Like you're content with what you have?"

Mr. Dowling lit up with enthusiasm. "That's what I want in a wife, not someone to say 'yes dear, of course dear' all the time, but someone to challenge me. Too bad you're already taken."

Grace's smile became considerably wryer although no less amused. "I can't say that I see it that way, but don't give up hope. In forty or fifty years, if I outlive my husband, I might consider my choices."

Mr. Dowling smiled right back. "You might just be worth waiting for that long."

I could hardly believe the young man's impertinence, although I admired the patience with which Grace dealt with it. Afterwards, I asked her what she thought of our two interviewees.

"Mr. Dowling is brash," she admitted thoughtfully, "but he has energy, and he would do everything in his power to help the company succeed. On the other hand, Glenn Sinclair has steadiness and experience …"

That sums up the matter in a nutshell. Both men possess desirable qualities for a company president. The question is which one possesses the right desirable qualities. Usually, I make decisions very quickly once all the facts are laid out before me. This one will require some thought. There will be time on the train trip back to New Bedford after I see Grace off to New York.

From the Journal of Honey Sutton Oct. 17, 1938

I do have to hand it to Grace. She is a woman of her word. On her instructions, her mother handed the keys to her roadster over to a beaming Henry today. She told him that he has earned the privilege of driving it whenever she doesn't need it. He made a difficult promise to his aunt and kept it. Grace asked May to tell him that she is proud to have such an honest and responsible nephew.

From the Journal of Maisie McGinty Oct. 19, 1938

I can't believe that Henry got into an accident one day after getting the keys to Grace's roadster. I can believe that it wasn't his fault. He poked along like an old granny the night before last when he gave me a lift home from the telephone office, he was so determined to justify his aunt's trust in him. Last night, Henry took Rebecca to the movies to see The Adventures of Marco Polo. When they left Grace's roadster parked in front of the Regent, they probably thought they had nothing to worry about. …

To My Readers-Part of my process in writing this novel is to read chapters aloud before posting in order to detect grammar errors and problems with sentence structure. Also to see how the dialogue works when actually spoken aloud. However, the lady at the Ridgeland Public Library who runs my writers' group will not be starting the group up again until March. In order to keep from running through my small supply of material that has gone through this process, I will not be posting any further chapters until then. I am sorry to have to do this and look forward to the day when I can once again post new chapters.