Category: We Never Forget

WE NEVER FORGET: Martyrs of the McKees Rocks Pressed Steel Car Strike, Bloody Sunday, August 22, 1909

Janet RayeEugene Victor Debs
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Quote Mother Jones, Pray for dead, Ab Chp 6, 1925———-

WNF McKees Rocks PA Bloody Sunday Aug 22, 1909———-

WE NEVER FORGET
The Martyrs of the McKees Rocks Strike
Who Lost Their Lives in Freedom’s Cause
on Bloody Sunday, August 22, 1909

Funeral of Joseph Hruska, Russian Striker, Age 20
-from The Pittsburg Press of August 24, 1909:

WNF Crpd, Joseph Hruska, McKees Rocks Bloody Sunday, EVD, WDC Eve Str p2, Aug 24, 1909

FUNERAL OF HRUSKA

The funeral services for Joseph Hruska, aged 20 years, of Shingiss street, McKees Rocks, who died as a result of a wound received during the riot Sunday evening, were held this morning in the Greek Catholic church on Helen street, Stowe township.

Hruska was unmarried and is survived by a father and mother living in Russia. The mass was celebrated by the Rev. Father Anton Knoseskes, pastor, the body being carried into the church at 9:30 o’clock.

A parade from the church to St. Mary’s cemetery was planned by the strikers. In the line places were given to the Lodge No. 390, Arch-Michael Greek Catholic Russian society, of McKees Rocks, to which the dead man belonged, and to 200 members of the Spolok Slavish society, Lodge No. 95, K. J., of McKees Rocks.

[Emphasis adde.]
[Newsclip added from Washington Evening Star of August 24, 1909.]

Continue reading “WE NEVER FORGET: Martyrs of the McKees Rocks Pressed Steel Car Strike, Bloody Sunday, August 22, 1909” →

WE NEVER FORGET: Striker Steve Horvat Who Lost His Life August 12, 1909, Martyr of the McKees Rocks Strike

Janet RayeWe Never Forget
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Quote Mother Jones, Pray for dead, Ab Chp 6, 1925———-

WNF Steve Horvat, McKees Rocks Strike PA, Aug 12, 1909———-

WE NEVER FORGET
Steve Horvat-August 12, 1909
Martyr of th McKees Rocks Pressed Steel Car Strike 

From The Pittsburg Press of August 12, 1909:

Major Smith, Colored, Shoots Into
Attacking Crowd and Fatally
Wounds “Steve” Horvat
—–
PICKETS IN STRIKE ZONE
—–

McKees Rocks Strike, WNF Steve Horvat, Ptt Prs p1, Aug 12, 1909

More rioting, during which a foreigner was shot and killed, and the eviction of strikers and their families caused intense excitement in the Schoenville strike zone today.

Major Smith, a negro, said to be employed as a strike-breaker by the Pressed Steel Car Co., early this morning shot and killed “Steve” Horvat, one of the striking workmen. Smith was attacked by several foreigners and says he shot in self-defense. He was badly beaten up during the fight, and this afternoon was lodged in the county jail…..

Witnesses to the shooting say the negro fought at great odds and only fired when his life was endangered, and while lying on the ground, having been felled by a rain of blows from the fists of the strikers and a large rock wielded by one of the attacking party. The shooting occurred at 5 o’clock this morning.

The dead man was 27 years old, married living on Lewicki street, McKees Rocks. He leaves a wife and one child…..

At the strikers’ mass meeting today the death of Horvat was discussed and he was referred to as a martyr to the cause. A subscription fund was started to bear the funeral expenses and give aid to the widow. About $1,500 was subscribed, but some of this money will not be available until after the men get to work.

Continue reading “WE NEVER FORGET: Striker Steve Horvat Who Lost His Life August 12, 1909, Martyr of the McKees Rocks Strike” →

WE NEVER FORGET: Martyrs of the Winnepeg General Strike, June 21, 1919-Mike Sokolowski & Steve Szczerbanowicz

Janet RayeWe Never Forget
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Quote Mother Jones, Pray for dead, Ab Chp 6, 1925
———-

WNF, Winnipeg GS Bloody Saturday, June 21, 1919
———-

WE NEVER FORGET
The Martyrs of the Winnipeg General Strike
Who Lost Their Lives in Freedom’s Cause
on Bloody Saturday, June 21, 1919

Blooday Saturday

Bloody Saturday, Wpg GS, WLN Strike Bltn p1, June 23, 1919The Western Labor News, Special Strike Edition No. 32, of June 23, 1919 described events of Saturday, June 21st:One is dead and a number injured, probably thirty or more, as result of the forcible prevention of the “silent parade” which had been planned by returned men to start at 2.30 o’clock last Saturday afternoon…..

On Saturday, about 2.30 p.m., just the time when the parade was scheduled to start, some 50 mounted men swinging baseball bats rode down Main Street. Half were red-coated R.N.W.M.P., the others wore khaki. They quickened pace as they passed the Union Bank. The crowd opened, let them through and closed in behind them. They turned and charged through the crowd again, greeted by hisses, boos, and some stones. There were two riderless horses with the squad when it emerged and galloped up Main Street. The men in khaki disappeared at this juncture, but the red-coats reined their horses and reformed opposite the old post office.

Shooting to Kill

Then, with revolvers drawn, they galloped down Main Street, turned, and charged right into the crowd on William Avenue, firing as they charged. One man, standing on the sidewalk, thought the mounties were firing blank cartridges until a spectator standing beside him dropped with a bullet through his breast. Another standing nearby was shot through the head. We have no exact information about the total number of casualties, but there were not less than thirty. The crowd dispersed as quickly as possible when the shooting began.

Mike Skolowski & Steve Szczerbanowicz

From “Winipeg General Strike…Two Ukrainians Killed”
-by Peter J. Manastyrsky:

Mike Sokolowski, GraveStone, June 21, 1919Mike Sokolowski (AKA: Sokolowiski) was killed in front of City Hall on what came to be known as Bloody Saturday, shot by the Royal Canadian Northwest Mounted Police during the fighting. Sokolowski was the only person killed in the riot and buried at Winnipeg’s Brookside Cemetery (section 45, plot 450). Mike Sokolowski’s grave was unmarked for over 80 years until June 20, 2003. As part of the Brookside Cemetery’s 125th Anniversary, a donation was made to purchase a headstone for Mike Sokolowski.

Steve Szczerbanowicz, GraveStone, June 21 1919On the other hand, Steve Szczerbanowicz (AKA: Sheebaubucz, Schezerbanowicz, Schezerbanowes) after being shot through both legs by a police officer during the Winnipeg General Strike on June 23rd, died due to a gangrene infection. For 96 years Steve Szczerbanowicz was buried at an unmarked grave at Brookside Cemetery but on June 20th, 2015 funds were raised to cover the cost of a gravestone in memory of Steve Szczerbanowicz (section 80, plot 7) victim of the six-week Winnipeg General Strike.

Continue reading “WE NEVER FORGET: Martyrs of the Winnepeg General Strike, June 21, 1919-Mike Sokolowski & Steve Szczerbanowicz” →

WE NEVER FORGET: Martyrs of the Wardner Bullpen, June 1899-Mike Devine, Mike Johnson, & Miles McMillan

Janet RayeWe Never Forget
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Quote Mother Jones, Pray for dead, Ab Chp 6, 1925
———-

WNF Labor Martyrs, Wardner ID Bullpen, June 1899———-

WE NEVER FORGET
The Martyrs of the Wardner Bullpen
Who Lost Their Lives in Freedom’s Cause During June of 1899

Following the Battle of Bunker, Mike Devine, Mike Johnson, and Miles McMillan were rounded-up, along with about 1,000 men of the Coeur d’Alene District, most of them miners and members of the Western Federation of Miners. They were all herded into the military bullpen near Wardner, Idaho. Reports from those imprisoned with them indicate that Mike Divine and Mile McMillan died from the effects of exposure due to the brutal conditions of the bullpen. Mike Johnson was deemed a “lunatic” by his captors. He was killed while attempting to escape as he was being transferred from the bullpen to the “lunatic” asylum.

———-

Continue reading “WE NEVER FORGET: Martyrs of the Wardner Bullpen, June 1899-Mike Devine, Mike Johnson, & Miles McMillan” →

WE NEVER FORGET Jack Smith Who Lost His Life in the Battle of Bunker Hill, Near Wardner, Idaho, April 29, 1899

Janet RayeWe Never Forget
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Quote Mother Jones, Pray for dead, Ab Chp 6, 1925———-

 

WNF Jack Smith, Battle of Bunker Hill, ID Apr 29, 1899

—–

WE NEVER FORGET
Jack Smith, Member of Burke Miners Union (WFM)
Battle of Bunker Hill, Near Wardner, Idaho, April 29, 1899

Jack Smith, age about 28 years, was a member of the Burke Miners’ Union (Western Federation of Miners) who died in the Battle of Bunker Hill near Wardner, Idaho, on April 29, 1899. Newspaper accounts of the day tell the story.

Continue reading “WE NEVER FORGET Jack Smith Who Lost His Life in the Battle of Bunker Hill, Near Wardner, Idaho, April 29, 1899” →

WE NEVER FORGET: Otto Schmidt who believed that “the working class should organize to better their conditions.”

Janet RayeWe Never Forget
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Quote Otto Schmidt IWW Martyr, New Sol, Jan 4, 1919~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WNF Otto Schmidt, IWW, Spokane WA, Dec 2, 1918
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Otto Frederick Schmidt, IWW Martyr
Who Lost His Life in Spokane, Washington, on December 2, 1918

IWW Label Emblem, BBH Drops of Blood, Oct 1919

On December 2, 1918 in a hospital in Spokane, Washington, Otto Frederick Schmidt, a 26-year-old IWW member, died of injuries sustained in the Walla Walla County Jail.

According to A. George Jensen, his cellmate, FW Schmidt “believed that the working class should organize to better their conditions. He was arrested for trying to make the world a fit place in which to live.”

Fellow Worker Schmidt had been arrested some ten months earlier and held for deportation in Spokane. He was later transferred to Walla Walla County Jail where he was found bleeding and unconscious after he and other IWWs were hosed down with icy water as punishment for protesting terrible conditions. He was then transferred to the Spokane County Jail for medical care and finally to the hospital where he died.

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WE NEVER FORGET: The IWW Martyrs of the Sacramento County Jail Who Died Awaiting Trial, October-November, 1918

Janet RayeWe Never Forget
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Pray for the dead and fight like hell for the living.
-Mother Jones
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WNF, IWW Martyrs, Sacramento County Jail, Oct Nov 1918

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The IWW Martyrs of the Sacramento County Jail

Between October 22nd and November 2nd, 1918, five Fellow Workers, members of the Industrial Workers of the World, died of influenza while awaiting trial on Federal Espionage charges.

FW Ed Burns-died October 22nd
FW James Nolan-died October 28th
FW R. J. Blaine-died October 28th
FW H. C. Evans-died October 31st
FW Frank Travis-November 2nd

“The Silent Defense,” IWW Pamphlet, describes jail condition:

WWIR, In Here For You, Ralph Chaplin, Sol Aug 4, Sept 1, 1917

Fifty-three were arrested in and around the Sacramento hall [December 1917]. These men were thrown into a [county] jail cell, 21×21 feet. All of them could not lie down at once. It was winter. One cotton blanket was given each. Their food was about two ounces of mush in the morning, less than two ounces of bread. and at night three fetid little smelts and less than two ounces of potatoes, with “coffee” twice a day. In the cold they shivered. Day by day they starved. By relays they slept at night; the bedlam of a city drunk tank soothed their slumbers wooed in frost and starvation. Everyone of these men had money when arrested. They sent out and bought food for themselves. This is a general privilege in the Sacramento jails. This food was placed before their cells just outside the prisoner’s reach. It rotted there. They slaved and starved. Once or twice some of the “harness bulls” of Sacramento slipped their lunches to the ravenous wretches.

Continue reading “WE NEVER FORGET: The IWW Martyrs of the Sacramento County Jail Who Died Awaiting Trial, October-November, 1918” →

WE NEVER FORGET: The Martyrs of the Battle of Virden, October 12, 1898

Janet RayeMother Mary Harris Jones
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See that I get a resting place in the same clay that shelters
the miners who gave up their lives on the hills of Virden…
I hope it will be my consolation when I pass away
to feel I sleep under the clay with those brave boys.
-Mother Jones
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WNF Virden Oct 12, 1898
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Martyrs of Virden, October 12, 1898

I WNF Virden Martyrs Oct 12, 1898 Continue reading “WE NEVER FORGET: The Martyrs of the Battle of Virden, October 12, 1898” →

We Never Forget: Eugene Victor Debs Speaks at State Socialist Party Picnic Canton, Ohio, June 16, 1918

Janet RayeEugene Victor Debs
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To speak for labor; to plead the cause
of the men and women and children who toil;
to serve the working class,
has always been to me a high privilege;
a duty of love.
-Eugene Victor Debs

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Canton Anti-War Speech of Eugene Victor Debs
Sunday June 16, 1918

Note: clicking on the five tweets below will lead to threads with excerpts from the famous speech by Eugene Debs, 45 in all-some long, some short. Based on charges steming from this speech, Comrade Debs was later prosecuted and sent to Atlanta Federal Prison. Follow Hellraisers Journal for the rest of the story.

Comrades, friends and fellow-workers, for this very cordial greeting, this very hearty reception, I thank you all with the fullest appreciation of your interest in and your devotion to the cause for which I am to speak to you this afternoon.

Highest Duty

To speak for labor; to plead the cause of the men and women and children who toil; to serve the working class, has always been to me a high privilege; a duty of love.

Free Speech or Lack Thereof

It is extremely dangerous to exercise the constitutional right of free speech in a country fighting to make democracy safe in the world.

The Blood of Childhood

The history of this country is being written in the blood of the childhood the industrial lords have murdered.

Unpalatable Truth

And the truth, oh, the truth has always been unpalatable and intolerable to the class who live out of the sweat and misery of the working class.

Continue reading “We Never Forget: Eugene Victor Debs Speaks at State Socialist Party Picnic Canton, Ohio, June 16, 1918” →

WE NEVER FORGET: Lon Amos Millsap Who Lost His Life in Freedom’s Cause, Kansas City General Strike of 1918

Janet RayeWe Never Forget
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Pray for the dead
and fight like hell for the living.
-Mother Jones

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WNF, Kansas City, MO, Lon Amos Millsap, March 29, 1918
———-

Lon Amos Millsap, Labor Martyr
Kansas City General Strike, March 29, 1918

On March 29, 1918, Lon Amos Millsap, striking laundry truck driver, gave up his life in Kansas City Research Hospital. He died of a gunshot wound to the abdomen. The kept press claims that the strikers had been rioting (throwing rocks) when fired upon by armed company guards at the Globe Laundry two days earlier, March 27th, the first day of the Kansas City General Strike.

Lon Amos Millsap was born October 28, 1885, in Platte County, Missouri. At the time of his death he was 32 years old, single and a striking laundry driver. He is buried at Mount Washington Cemetery at Independence, Missouri.

M. L. Millsap, address: 2728 Brooklyn, provided the personal information for the death certificate, and was most likely a relative.

Buried in the same cemetery is the mother of Lon Millsap, Nancy Belle Heller Millsap, who died on July 27, 1927, at age 76. His father was John S. Millsap, date of death not known.

Continue reading “WE NEVER FORGET: Lon Amos Millsap Who Lost His Life in Freedom’s Cause, Kansas City General Strike of 1918” →