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Hellraisers Journal – Wednesday November 19, 1913
Michigan Copper Country – Labor Secretary William B. Wilson Perturbs McNaughton
From the Miners’ Bulletin of November 18, 1913:
An article entitled “McNaughton’s Veracity,” concerning the truthfulness, or lack of thereof, of Mr. McNaughton, takes up almost half of the front page of the current edition of the Bulletin. Suffice it to say that Mr. McNaughton is not happy with the recent speech made by the U. S. Secretary of Labor, William B. Wilson, at the annual convention of the American Federation of Labor:
…McNaughton hollers “liar, liar.” McNaughton’s reputation for truth and veracity is at such a low ebb in this community that those long distance, epithets makes the average person smile, for instance, he stated at the beginning of this strike that 85 per cent of his employees were willing to return to work but were afraid although he had 2,500 militiamen and 1,000 gunmen at his disposal….
[Emphasis added.]
There then follows a list of falsehood after falsehood put forth by Mr. McNaughton. But, on the same front page is a story about the effectiveness of the gunmen, imported into the strike zone by the copper bosses:
GUNMEN ATTACK STRIKING MINERS
Yesterday morning while a large number of strikers were holding their usual morning parade, and when near the Quincy mine, they were joined by quite a number of mounted police who rode amongst them until a point opposite the Quincy was reached when the parade was met by a large force of gunmen. At this juncture, the mounted guards lined up on each side of the parade wilst the gunmen poured a volley into the ranks of the strikers. One striker was badly shot in the hip while it is believed several others were slightly injured by the firing of lead missiles. One guard was badly injured by being trampled upon by one of the frightened horses. The attack was no doubt planned beforehand as the concerted action of the mounted guards and gunmen would imply.
The parade consisted of men, women and a scattering of children, all of whom were quiet and were marching on the county road. The guards and the gunmen had not the least provocation for making this dastardly assault upon peaceable citizens who have a perfect right to parade on the public highway. After the melee, six of the paraders were arrested and taken to jail, but were later released. Assistant states attorney Nichols will make an investigation of this dastardly assault and in all probability will bring the guilty parties to justice.
[Emphasis added.]
Somehow, we suspect, that the last sentence is meant as a bit of sarcasm.
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SOURCES & IMAGES
Quote Mother Jones, Stick Together, MI Mnrs Bltn p1, Aug 14, 1913
Copy in possession of Janet Raye
Miners’ Bulletin
“Published by authority of
Western Federation of Miners
to tell the truth regarding
the strike of copper miners.”
-of Nov 18, 1913
Copy in possession of Janet Raye
See also:
Nov 13, 1913, The Day Book
-Sec of Labor Wilson Speaks at AFL Convention
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045487/1913-11-13/ed-1/seq-32/
Report of Proceedings…Annual Convention
of the American Federation of Labor
Seattle WA, Nov 10-22, 1913
Note: this volume covers both 1912 and 1913 Conventions.
1913 is second set of numbers, search with pages, not relevance.)
(search: “report of proceedings” “thirty third annual”
convention “american federation of labor” 1913 seattle)
-Choose p1 (and scroll up to page i)
(search: “william b willson”) -choose page 174-177
Wednesday Morning Session, Third Day, Nov 12th
-scroll up to page 169.
https://books.google.com/books?id=AV0tAQAAMAAJ
Tag: Michigan Copper Country Strike of 1913-1914
https://weneverforget.org/tag/michigan-copper-country-strike-of-1913-1914/
More on the founding of the U.S. Department of Labor in 1913:
The bill establishing the Department of Labor was signed on March 4, 1913, by President William Howard Taft, the defeated and departing incumbent just hours before Woodrow Wilson took office. Although Taft had misgivings about creating a new Cabinet-level Department, he realized that the new Congress and new President would surely reenact it if he did apply a veto. A Federal Department was the direct product of a half-century campaign by organized labor for a “Voice in the Cabinet.” Also, the Department was an indirect product of the Progressive Movement of the early 1900s which promoted the achievement of better working conditions…..
Woodrow Wilson’s appointee as the first Secretary of Labor was William B. Wilson (no relation), Secretary-Treasurer of the United Mine Workers of America and later a Congressman who led the legislative drive that created the Department of Labor. In his first annual report Secretary Wilson enunciated a philosophy echoed in various forms by many Secretaries since, namely that: the Department was created “in the interest of the wage earners”, but it must be administered in fairness to labor, business and the public at large…..
[Emphasis added. Photo added from Boston Globe of Nov 13, 1913.]
-Written in 1988 for the 75th anniversary of the DOL by Judson MacLaury, Departmental Historian.
“History of the Department of Labor, 1913-1988”
https://www.dol.gov/general/aboutdol/history/hs75menu
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