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Hellraisers Journal – Sunday January 31, 1909
Indianapolis, Indiana – Mother Jones Thanks Mine Workers’ Convention
From Proceedings of United Mine Workers Convention
-Wednesday January 29, 1909
President Lewis—…..Mother Jones would like the floor for a few minutes to express her appreciation of the action of the convention in donating $1,000 for the defense of the Mexican refugees.
Mother Jones—In behalf of our brothers who are lying in the bastile of capitalism because they dared to raise their voices in behalf of their oppressed and murdered brothers in Mexico, I tender to you my deepest and most heartfelt appreciation of the resolution and donation to them. It is not charity; it is our duty even to go with them and give our lives for a cause so great. Never in human history before were men and women called upon to link hands in the mighty battle for the emancipation of the working class from the robbing class. Our brothers are behind the bars, and it lies with you and with me to do our part to free them. I extend to you my deep appreciation for the generous donation you gave to them. And when your turn comes they will be on deck to do their part for you. They will never surrender the rights of labor to the ruling class, even if they die in its defense.
Now, my brothers, you and I are not going to part. We have fought many battles together, and we have marched the highways together. Brave hearts marched with us then. Lying in lonely graves are some of the men who laid the foundation for this great and magnificent organization that you represent here to-day.
Let me say to you, my brothers, the hand of capitalism is in your convention. The Standard Oil has its tools on the floor of your convention and they are trying to divide the forces. I intended to bring a letter over with me to read to you. I received the letter some time ago from one within the Standard Oil. In writing that letter he said, speaking of the Western Federation of Miners: “The secret service men of the Standard Oil I know were in that organization and kept the members in a turmoil the whole winter. The miners did get the best of the secret service men, but the machinists fell victims to their wiles.” I say to you, my brothers, to-day to be cautious because every eye is on this convention. Down in the state I went to a bank to get a check cashed. I took a miner with me, and the banker said to him, “You are going to have war up there in Indianapolis in your convention, aren’t you?” The miner said, “What about?” “Oh, they are going to have a big explosion there.” “I don’t know,” said the miner, “I haven’t heard about it.” “Yes, they are going to have war.” Of course I had to chip in then, and I said, “If we have a family row it is none of your business. We will settle our row ourselves, and after you are through if you begin to attack us we will fight you into hell, for the whole bunch of us will get together to do it.”
Now don’t give those fellows the satisfaction of seeing you have a row here. We have made mistakes, and we will make them again; we can’t help it, but when this convention closes—and I want this registered by your reporters down there—every one here will be united to fight our masters. We are going to settle our difficulties. No family ever succeeded very well that did not hammer one another once in a while. We must hammer President Lewis once in a while to keep him thin or he will get to look like old Taft. When this convention assembles next year I am going to try to be here, and I am going to try to bring your Mexican brothers with me. I am going to present them to this convention and get them acquainted with you.
Now, my boys, I want you to be good. You know there was a time in our convention here when Indianapolis people thought they had to fill the miners with booze. The corridor used to be lined with beer bottles every time they were going to give us a banquet. The banquet they used to give us was to sell beer for a trust. We concluded that didn’t pay, so we made them clean out the beer. And we will make them clean out their smokers by and by and put a stop to all this nonsense. We are not going to take any taffy; we are going to get down to solid business.
Now I want to say something to Missouri about this organizing business. Some of the delegates took exceptions to what I said here the other day, and said that Joplin belongs to the Western Federation of Miners. There must be no line drawn. Whenever you can organize a man bring him into the United Mine Workers, bring him into the Western Federation, bring him into the Carpenters’ Union—bring him into any union. Whenever you do that you have taken one away from the common enemy and joined him with you to fight the common enemy. When I am on the street cars with organized men I bring up their conditions before them. I make it a point to get on the cars early in the morning and talk to them and show the necessity of getting together. I try to bring the farmers with us also, because the stronger we grow numerically the weaker the other fellow grows. I have got no pet organization. Wherever labor is in a struggle with the enemy, the name of the organization cuts no figure with me, I am there in the fight.
I did speak of Joplin the other day. Why? Because in my experience in the West I found the companies could go to Joplin and get scabs and bring them on to break strikes. Because you live in Missouri close to that region you should do what you can to organize Joplin and bring them with us. You must remember it is the unorganized man and the modern machine that will lick you by and by. It is the brain of the genius working out on modern lines that is going to interfere with your prosperity by and by, and every uneducated, every undeveloped worker will be used by that class to fight us. It is no reflection on you brave boys of Missouri. I simply called attention to that nest of scabs, and I advise you to get them organized and educated. And organize and educate them, not only in Joplin, but wherever you find them.
The man who has to be paid for organizing labor—well, I don’t care much about him. Each one of us should be an organizer, and we should not wait for any commission from any president. We should all be organizers in every field, and not only organize the workers, but those poor slaves of the pen as well and get them with us. I mean you, you newspaper boys. One of them said the other day he had the headache because he didn’t sleep enough. Of course he had, and by and by his skull will get so dumb he won’t know what he is writing.
Now, boys, I am going down through the State, and probably will go West after awhile. I promised to go to New York State to do some work in some prominent meetings.
In closing I want to say to you, shake hands with each other and let the boys who are here for the paper spread the news that you are the jolliest, most harmonious and loving family there is in the nation. On you and around you are built other organizations. If you become weak the forces of every craft will become weak. When you become strong you strengthen the forces of every other craft. You must not be narrow. For the first time in human history we are able today to touch the wire and even over in Japan we can say, “What are you doing for the workers?” And in the morning you will get the returns, “We held a tremendous meeting last night, and we, too, are marching on to claim our own with you, the workers of America.” Don’t let the tools of capitalism sit in this convention and tell you to get up and give some one hell! Get up and throw him out! Stop that, my friends. Transact your business and go home. You need the dollars you are spending in Indianapolis. The longer you stay the more the merchants will get and the less you will have. ‘Now, good bye, and God bless you.
A motion was made and seconded that a vote of thanks be tendered Mother Jones.
Mother Jones—You have been trained under the capitalists. We don’t owe a vote of thanks to any living being on earth; but we owe a vote of condemnation to every human being that does not rise up and do his duty.
[Photograph, paragraph breaks and emphasis added.]
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SOURCE
Proceedings of the Twentieth Annual
Convention of the United Mine Workers of America
Held in the City of Indianapolis, Indiana
Jan 19 to Feb 4, 1909
https://books.google.com/books?id=dyhRAQAAMAAJ
Jan 29, 1909, Tenth Day-Morning Session
https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=dyhRAQAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&pg=GBS.PA492
President Lewis introduces Mother Jones “to express her appreciation of the action of the convention in donating $1000 for the defense of th eMexican refugees.”
https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=dyhRAQAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&pg=GBS.PA516
Mother Jones Speaks
Quote Mother Jones, Brave Hearts, UMWC, Jan 29, 1909
https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=dyhRAQAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&pg=GBS.PA517
IMAGE
Mother Jones, Dnv Pst p2, July 19, 1908
https://www.genealogybank.com/
See also:
Tag: Mexican Revolutionaries
https://weneverforget.org/tag/mexican-revolutionaries/
Hellraisers Journal – Friday January 29, 1909
Indianapolis, Indiana – Mother Speaks at U. M. W. Convention on Behalf of Mexican Revolutionaries, Part I
Hellraisers Journal – Saturday January 30, 1909
Indianapolis, Indiana – Mother Speaks at U. M. W. Convention, Part II
Mother Jones Speaks to Convention of United Mine Workers on Behalf of Mexican Revolutionaries, Part II
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“…brave hearts…lying in lonely graves…”
Coal Miners Grave – Idaho Silver Hammer
Lyrics by Hazel Dickens
WE NEVER FORGET
Francis Estep