Mrs. Castleman is the widow of an officer in the Confederate Army, her son being a veteran of the lost cause, who is by trade a locomotive engineer. Her granddaughter, Pauline, is loved by Buck Milligan, another railroad man, of a rough, uncouth type. The railroad issues an order whereby all engineers and firemen shall be paid by the day instead of the mile. This causes a strike of nation-wide proportions. So serious have matters become, that the traction managers, representing every railroad in the country, come together on Decoration Day to settle the trouble. On Decoration Day morning, Mrs. Castleman, accompanied by her granddaughter, visits the local cemetery, where they Meet General Wood, president of the L. and P. Railroad, who is a Civil War veteran and an ex-comrade of Mrs. Castleman's son. Their meeting recalls memories of the past, when Mrs. Castleman appealed to Gen. Lee to bring about peace. Shortly afterward, the war came to an end. Inspired by her grandmother's story, Pauline appeals to the railroad delegates assembled in the convention to bring about an end to the present war between capital and labor, comparing in a dramatic manner the results of the previous national conflict with the present one. The strikers, who have, in the meantime, been aroused to a point of frenzy, plan an attack on the delegates in the convention hall. They are surprised to find Pauline on the platform eloquently swaying the convention. Order comes from chaos. The railroad officials compromise with their employees, the strike is ended and a monster barbecue is held in celebration. Several hundred veterans of the Civil War join with the traction managers to make the day a memorable one.
