Hellraisers Journal: Lawrence Strikers Vote Unanimously to Confer With Mill Owners as a Whole; Spirit of Unity Prevails

Quote Bread and Roses Verse 1, American Magazine p214, Dec 1911  —————

Hellraisers Journal – Thursday January 25, 1912
News from Lawrence Textile Strike: Unity Prevails at Mass Meeting

From The Boston Daily Globe of January 23, 1912:

By F. P. SIBLEY.

LAWRENCE, Jan 23-Two steps in the negotiations between the striking mill operatives and the employers were taken today.

The strikers have put it up to the mill owners to make the arbitration general and to apply to all establishments alike. This proposition accompanies a refusal of the plan offered yesterday by the corporations for each mill to deal with a committee of its own employes.

This reply of the employes, drawn up last night by their executive committee, was ratified by a mass meeting of more than 3000 strikers on Lawrence Common this afternoon.

[…..]

Chairman Ettor announced at this morning’s meeting of the executive committee that William D. Haywood, lecturer of the I. W. W., is coming here to help tomorrow or Wednesday. Haywood sprang into prominence in connection with the Western Miners’ Federation trouble in Idaho in 1906, when Gov Steunenberg’s residence was dynamited. The trials of Haywood, Moyer and Pettibone that followed stirred the labor men of the whole Nation.

The regular number of mills opened this morning. The pickets were fairly active and at the Pacific Mills a half-company of militia was sent to keep the crowd moving and prevent intimidation. At noon there was another slight disturbance at this mill and one Syrian, James Vlahodimo, 34, of 467 Common st, was arrested and locked up, charged with intimidation. This was the only arrest of the day in connection with the strike.

[…..]

Big Crowd at Meeting.

The committee last night decided once more on recommending that a committee representing all the manufacturers should deal with another committee representing all the strikers.

This afternoon at 2 more than 3000 strikers, men and women, were gathered around the bandstand on the Common to listen to their committee’ proposition and to vote on it.

Joseph Ettor, August de Tollenaer for the French-speaking strikers, A. M. Giovannati [Giovannitti] for the Italians, and a Polish and a Syrian speaker climbed into the handstand and so far as possible divided the crowd into Nationalities, so that each speaker would have his own people before him. This set the crowd to “milling” round the bandstand. The pressure was fearful, and one woman was slightly hurt. She was helped out of the crowd, and remained there through the meeting.

Joseph Ettor said:

I hope nothing will be done to disturb this very important meeting. I know that it may be disturbed, for the purpose of distracting your attention from the real issues.

The question of meeting the employers was submitted to the strike committee last night, and its recommendation is that we offer a plan for a meeting of two committees, one representing all the operators and the other all the employes. (Cheers.) This is the report your committee now offers for your approval or rejection.

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Plan Unanimously Indorsed.

It means much to you. Accept and you say to the mill owners that the solidity and unity of the workers will be kept regardless of mills or employers. Decline and you will have to elect committees to deal with each mill separately.

When this speech had been translated into the various tongues, one after another, a show of hands was called for and it was wonderful to see the hands sprout out of the mob. The vote was unanimous.

Then Ettor said:

I know what you want; you want to parade. Now go, but keep on the main streets and don’t let anybody tempt you into the slightest conflict with the soldiers.

The parade moved eastward along Common st to Union, where the Everett Mill stands. Two sentinels were on duty there, but down toward the river was a whole company, and a squad was detached and arrived at the corner just in time to meet the head of the parade, already swinging good-naturedly into Essex st and marching west.

The marchers shouted “Boo” at the soldiers, but more in merry derision than in anger. At every cross street along Essex the infantry sentinels could be seen down by the mills. The strikers “booed” at every street crossing, did but not stop.

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Ettor Puts Plan in Writing.

Up Essex to the railroad station the paraders went, then north to Elm st, back through the Syrian district and so to the Common again, where Ettor was already waiting to report again. After the meeting on the Common leader Ettor and a delegation of the strikers met Justin E. Varney, chairman of the citizens’ committee, in the Bay State National Bank, and announced the action of the operatives’ joint committed. The reply of the operatives was reduced to writing at the conference, and to it Ettor affixed his signature as chairman of the strikers. It read as follows:

The proposition of the mill operators is refused in so far as it relates to a committee of strikers meeting each its own employer, and propose, instead, a general committee of the strikers to meet all the mill operators collectively at one time.

The conference was brief. Chairman Varney told Ettor and the others that personally he was very sorry at the action taken by the operatives on the proposition of the mill men.

Mr Varney then called a meeting of the citizens committee and presented the report. He was instructed to send a copy of the statement to each of the mill representatives, and this was done later m the evening.

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[Emphasis added.]