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Hellraisers Journal – Monday April 16, 1900
Washington, District of Columbia – General Merriam, Tool of President McKinley
From the Appeal to Reason of April 14, 1900:
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There is a long and interesting story in the Coeur d’ Alene mining troubles.
The strikers began by acting very badly-no doubt whatever of that. They or their friends unquestionably made mistakes, blowing up a mill with dynamite, etc.
Of course it is probable that the mine owners in their own way abused their power as wickedly. But a mine owner can always hire lawyers, or, if need be, government officials and the army-the strikers cannot. Therefore, the strikers should be careful.
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You know that in that mining region men were arrested without warrant. United States troops, sent to obey mine owners’ orders, shut the men up in a “bull pen.” The district attorney was the legal advisor of the Standard Oil corporation. He suspended the habeas corpus idea entirely-said that if the courts had issued habeas corpus papers he would have ignored them.
Here’s one little picture. It is taken from the official evidence:
An old man was slow in keeping up with the procession of union men locked in the bull pen. He was white man, as it happened, and feeble. A young negro soldier (black troops were sent) hurried the old man along, prodding him with the point of a bayonet. Said the old man:
“Don’t crowd an old man so hard. I fought four years for your liberty.”
This was preposterous, because the young negro soldier with the bayonet was not born when the rebellion was fought out.
There is no intention here to make over-much of that bull pen matter out west. Every man who wanted to go to work had to say under oath that he disapproved of unions, that he was sorry he ever joined one, and that he would never join another. General Merriam, representing McKinley, sent there by McKinley, forbade the mine owners hiring any man who had not signed such [that yellow dog] oath.
But please don’t think that any of this is intended to make you vote against McKinley. It would not change your vote anyhow, dear union man. You know that. You are full of wrath now. But when election time comes there is just one thing you do NOT do, and that is THINK. You never never thought on election day in your life, and you know it. We are not undertaking any such task as that of changing a life-long habit in a non-thinking individual.
If you think it means a little more money to you, you will vote for McKinley. If you are a republican, you will vote for McKinley, and not know why or care why.
Should you vote for a democrat, you might get another idiot like Cleveland sending federal troops to Chicago [during 1894 Pullman Strike resulting in about 30 strikers killed] against the governor’s protest, so really, you see, it would be rather presumptuous for us to advise you.
The choice of men to vote for in this country is not much of a choice as yet. Later on, when things get warmer, there will be a real division-the producers against the consumers. Then your votes will count, although you may have to stand being called socialists, which is a terrible name.
We began this merely to indulge a personal desire to tell General Merriam that he is a lunatic. You know how often you feel like calling some one a lunatic. We can do that whenever we like. Usually we refrain, but not this time. Study the provocation. General Merriam, delegated by McKinley, sends this dispatch to Washington-the dispatch is now part of the official evidence.
It was sent on June 1 [1899]. Just read it:
Since the trouble in Idaho originated in hostile organizations known as labor unions, I would suggest a law to be enacted by congress making such unions or kindred societies a crime. surely history furnishes an argument sufficiently in favor of such a course.
Indeed, General Merriam. Do you know that fifty thousand better men than you lost their lives in the work of establishing the right of workingmen to form unions? Don’t you’ know that such uniformed monkeys as you are often get their governments into serious trouble? Don’t you know that under just conditions you would spend at least ten years in jail for such an outrageous misuse of your official position?
History furnishes a sufficient argument for putting such a dangerous lunatic as you in the insane asylum.
History will record the fact that your course will do no harm to McKinley, that it will not make one single labor-union republican vote against him. And that will be just one of two hundred thousand good annual jokes on union labor. Do you wonder why it is safe to lock union men in bull pens and send negro soldiers to prod them?
Ask the political leaders, who laugh at an editor when he talks of the labor vote.
“Why,” says the political leader, “thats all fixed in advance with the labor leaders. It’s the socialist vote that puzzles you-you can never count on them fellers.”
Get to be a little more like the despised socialist vote. Don’t be delivered.
THINK, if you know how. KICK anyhow.
[Photograph and emphasis added.]
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SOURCES
Quote Mother Jones, Powers of Privilege ed, Ab Chp III
https://www.iww.org/history/library/MotherJones/autobiography/3
Appeal to Reason
(Girard, Kansas)
-Apr 14, 1900, page 2
https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/appeal-to-reason/000414-appealtoreason-w228.pdf
Note: sadly, both labor and socialist press of the day found it necessary to emphasis the race of state and/or federal troops whenever they included African-American soldiers. When white troopers attacked strikers, race was not mentioned.
The Bending Cross
A Biography of Eugene Victor Debs
-by Ray Ginger
Rutgers U Press, 1949
(search: pullman)
https://archive.org/details/bendingcrossbiog00ging/page/10
IMAGE
Wardner Bullpen of 1899, Miners Bunks, Hutton p56, 1900
https://archive.org/details/coeurdalenesorta00hutt/page/56
See also:
Tag: Wardner ID Bullpen of 1899
https://weneverforget.org/tag/wardner-id-bullpen-of-1899/
Pullman Strike
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pullman_Strike
Yellow-Dog Contract
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow-dog_contract
Long Interview with President Boyce
of Western Federation of Miners
-from:
The Labor World
(Duluth, Minnesota)
-Apr 14, 1900
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn78000395/1900-04-14/ed-1/seq-1/
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Working Man (The Miners Song) – David Alexander
Lyrics by Rita McNeil