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turned out to be a success, would profit most from its use. Ezra French, the profane, refused to be con- vinced. When pressed by Ed Hall, Dr. Robinson, and other enthusiasts, he fell back upon the word of that God whose name had been so much upon his lips. The decrier of God became the defender of God. " The thing, you see, can't be done. It ain't all right. Some- thing awful 'll happen. The rains won't come and the plants 'll dry up and die. It 'll be like it was in Egypt in the Bible times," he declared. The old farmer with the twisted leg stood before the crowd in the drug-store and proclaimed the truth of God's word. " Don't it say in the Bible men shall work and labor by the sweat of their brows?" he asked sharply. " Can a machine like that sweat? You know it can't. And it can't do the work either. No, siree. Men Ve got to do it. That's the way things have been since Cain killed Abel in the Garden of Eden. God intended it so and there can't no telegraph operator or no smart young squirt like Steve Hunter fellows in a town like this set themselves up before me to change the workings of God's laws. It can't be done, and if it could be done it would be wicked and ungodly to try. I'll have nothing to do with it. It ain't right. That's what I say and all your smart talk ain't a-go- ing to change me." *** It was in the year 1892 that Steve Hunter organ- ized the first industrial enterprise that came to Bid- well. It was called the Bidwell Plant-Setting Ma- chine Company, and in the end it turned out to be a failure. A large factory was built on the river bank facing the New York Central tracks. It is now