Hellraisers Journal, Wednesday March 15, 1905
From Cincinnati Enquirer:
Judge Jackson’s Last Act on Behalf of Coal Companies
Who among us can ever forget the Massacre of the Raleigh County Miners of West Virginia? Judge Jackson also remembers and, thus, made sure to release their murderers as his last bit of work before leaving the bench. From yesterday’s Enquirer:
LAST WORK
—–
Of Judge Jackson Was the Release of
Deputies Charged With Murder-SPECIAL DISPATCH TO THE ENQUIRER
Charleston. W. Va., March 13.-John Jay Jackson to-day wound up his career here as a United States Judge. He rendered his decision in the cases of Gaujot and Summers, growing out of the famous Stanford City fight between miners and Deputy Marshals two years ago.
Gaujot and Summers were indicted for murder in the State Court in Raleigh county, and were taken before Judge Jackson on writs of habeas corpus. Their cases were heard more than a year ago, but this decision was held up pending an appeal in the cases of Laing and Hurt in similar cases decided by Judge Jackson and taken to Circuit Court of Appeals. He had released the men on the ground that they were acting as Deputy Marshals of the United States when the killing was done, and therefore were not amenable to state law. His decision was affirmed by the higher Court. He held the same way in the Gaujot and Summers cases, and they were both released from custody and bond to-day.
Judge Jackson’s official life ends Wednesday, his resignation being made effective on that day.
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WE NEVER FORGET
William Dodson
William Clark
Richard Clayton
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JUDGE JOHN J. JACKSON AND MOTHER JONES
A newspaper from Washington state notes the departure of Judge Jackson:
“Iron Judge” Quits Bench.
WASHINGTON, D. C., March 15.-The Federal judiciary loses its most picturesque and also one of its most respected members in the person of United States District Judge John J. Jackson, whose retirement from the bench of the District of West Virginia became effective today. Judge Jackson, who is more than eighty years old, was an appointee of President Lincoln and the oldest federal judge on the bench. He became well known as the “Iron Judge.” He was a terror to labor unions in West Virginia, and he it was who sent “Mother Jones” and other labor leaders and officials of organized labor to jail for contempt. Time and again he was the target of severe criticism, but his honesty and stern integrity were never questioned. He will be succeeded as district judge by congressman Alston G. Dayton of West Virginia.
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Judge Jackson Speaks:
According to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle of August 3, 1902, this is what Judge John J Jackson of West Virginia had to say about Mother Jones when she was found to have violated the injunction which he had issued on behalf of the Clarksburg Fuel Company:
The utterances of “Mother” Jones in her public address, at or near the Pinnickinnick mines, on the 20th day of June, 1902, should not emanate from a citizen of this country who believes in its institutions. Such utterances are the outgrowth of the sentiments of those who believe in communism and anarchy.
It is idle for this class of people to attempt to shield themselves from, not only a just criticism of their principles, but from their violations of law and order, by citing and relying upon the principles contained in our immortal Declaration of Independence, inspired by the pen of Thomas Jefferson, and also the First Article of the Amendment of the Constitution of the United States protecting “freedom of speech.”
The rightful exercise of freedom of speech is not denied, but the abuse of it, its unrestricted license, has always been open to the animadversion and condemnation of law…
The evidence shows that Mrs. Jones called the miners slaves and cowards; she criticized the action of the court, and said she did not care anything for injunctions; that if they were arrested, or anything done with them, the jails would not hold the agitators that would be there to take their place; that it was the duty of every man there to urge the men that were at work in the mines to lay down their tools; she said that if she or any of the agitators were arrested that others would take their place, and the injunction would not sop them; she advised the men to strike; she stated that it was the duty of all of them to influence the men at work to lay down their tools; she further stated, that if they would come to Illinois they would be taught how to fight and then they could come back and take care of themselves; she stated that the judge was a hireling of the coal company that the coal operators were all robbers and that the reason that the court stood in with them was that one robber licked another; she said in her speech to pay no attention to Judge Jackson or the court; for them not to listen to Judge Jackson, or any one else, or pay any attention to the court, but just make the miners lay down their tools and come out.
This was the concurrent testimony of nine witnesses as to the material facts, who were witnesses as to the material facts, who were examined upon the rule for contempt, and the evidence was uncontradicted as to those facts, but there was a difference in the recollection of the witnesses as to what “Mother” Jones said about the court.
It is true that “Mother” Jones denies some of the statements of the witnesses but her denial was not positive, but equivocal.
She admitted on the witness stand that she stated in her speech “not to fear, injunctions”; she admitted in her answer to this question put to her: “Wasn’t your purpose to go as near to those mines as you could to hold that meeting, without a violation of the injunction? Were you in your judgment violating the injunction?” Her answer was, “Perhaps that was.”…..
I cannot forbear to express my great surprise that a woman of the apparent intelligence of Mrs. Jones should permit herself to be used as an instrument [she was, at that time, employed as a union organizer] by designing and reckless agitators [officers of the United Mine Workers of America], who seem to have no regard for the rights of others, in accomplishing an object which is entirely unworthy of a good woman.
It seems to me that it would have been better for her to follow the lines and paths which the All Wise Being intended her sex should pursue. There are many charities in life which are open to her, in which she could contribute largely to mankind in distress, as well as avocations and pursuits that she could engage in of a lawful character that would be more in keeping with what we have been taught and what experience has shown to be the true sphere of womanhood.
[Emphasis and photograph added.]
Mother Jones was paroled by Judge Jackson, much to her displeasure, for Mother prefers to go to jail right along side her boys.
Mother Jones Speaks:
Sometime afterward, Mother wrote to Henry Demarest Lloyd and had this to say about Judge Jackson’s suggestion regarding charity work:
He said I ought to join some Charity Organization. I told him if I had my way I would tear down every Charity Institution in the country to day [and] build on their ruins the Temple of Justice. My plea was for Justice not Charity.
[Corrections made to punctuation & capitalization. Emphasis added.]
SOURCES
The Cincinnati Enquirer
(Cincinnati, Ohio)
-Mar 14, 1905
http://www.newspapers.com/image/32450499/
The Evening Statesman
-Mar 15, 1905,
(Walla Walla, Washington)
http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn88085421/1905-03-15/ed-1/seq-1/
The Brooklyn Daily Eagle
(Brooklyn, New York)
-Aug 3, 1902
https://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/50413036/
The Correspondence of Mother Jones
-ed by Edward M Steel
U of Pittsburgh Press, 1985
IMAGES
African-American Workers
(Used here to represent the Raleigh County Miners.)
https://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/25
Mother Jones Standing, Bertha Howell Mrs Mailly, ab 1902
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2005688160/
See also:
WE NEVER FORGET
Feb 25, 1903-Mother Jones and the Massacre of the Raleigh County Miners
John Jay Jackson Jr.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Jay_Jackson_Jr.
West Virginia, Oh My Home – Hazel Dickens
In the dead of the night, in the still and the quiet
I slip away like a bird in flight
Back to those hills, the place that I call home.