The heat rises Long Walk Original Manuscript (Image #312)

had now become a live bomb and a national issue. The memory of the Evaton bus boycott which only a year before had brought humiliating defeat to a bus company in spite of the strong government backing was still fresh in the minds of the enemy. Above all the people held the purse and as their reserves began to dwindle away as the boycott lengthened into its third month the corporation realised for the first time that it could never win. A simple boycott involving thousands of workers can be dangerous and industry and commerce cannot afford to ignore it. In the particular area affected production relies on a labour force that reaches the factories quite exhausted and hungry, that sleeps over the machines, that is disgruntled and particularly sensitive to the slightest manifestation of injustice. The longer the boycott, the more acute these problems become and the more widespread does the anger of the workers become. The boycott was hardly a week old when some employers began urging the corporation and the government to revert to the old fares and as the months passed the pressure on the enemy became even more overwhelming. The mighty corporation had lost thousands of pounds and even more goodwill of all its customers. They had no choice but to capitulate. The original fares were restored. It was a great victory which showed the immense possibilities once the people are united and determined. But the heat was steadily rising and victory on one front was immediately followed by victory on another, forcing the enemy to reveal its true colours and exposing it to the world where the colonial