Hellraisers Journal, Sunday May 10, 1908
-Mother Jones News Round-Up for April 1908
–Found in Texas on Tour for the Socialist Party of America
From the Appeal to Reason of April 4, 1908:
[…..]
[…]
Mother Jones-Tyler, April 2-8; Chandler, 10; Brownsboro, 11; Athens, 13…
———-
From the Appeal to Reason of April 11, 1908:
From the “Tri-State Edition,” page 3:
[…..]
Speakers’ Dates
Mother Jones will be with us in June…
[Meanwhile, Kate and Frank O’Hare can be found touring and speaking in Oklahoma, west of Oklahoma City, and on over to the Texas panhandle.]
Speakers’ Dates [for Texas]
[…..]
Mother Jones-Athens, April 11; Eustace, 13; Mabank, 14; La Rue, 15; Trinidad, 16-17; Fort Worth, 18-21; Dallas, 23…
———-
From The Fort Worth Telegram of April 17, 1908:
Mother Jones, Patron Saint of Coal Miners,
Is to Lecture Here!
—–
Mother Jones the well known defender of the rights of labor, who has spent many years in agitation in behalf of the child laborers in the mining districts of Pennsylvania, will give a free lecture on Saturday April 18, at 7;30 p. m., at city hall.
Mother Jones is well qualified to speak on that subject, as her experience has been obtained at first hand, and she is known among the workers of the coal mines in Pennsylvania as the patron saint of labor.
Other lectures will be given at the White Rose theater, at White City, Easter Sunday, at 2;30 p. m., and at he North Fort Worth school house, Monday, April 20, at 7;30 p. m.
From the Appeal to Reason of April 18, 1908:
From the “Tri-State Edition”-Texas:
Speakers’ Dates.
[…..]
Mother Jones-Fort Worth, April 18-21; Dallas, 23….
From The Dallas Morning News of April 24, 1908:
Hear Lecture by Mother Jones.
Men, women and children, in sufficient number to occupy about all the seats in the auditorium of the City Hall, listened to Mother Jones for an hour and a half last night. Mother Jones has passed the three score and ten post, but she is full of vigor and fiery oratory. Every time she comes to Dallas she draws a larger crowd than she did on the preceding visit. She is known over the country as the white haired prophet of the working people.
From the Appeal to Reason of April 25, 1908:
From Tri-State Edition-Oklahoma:
Socialist Speakers
The many locals asking for speakers and organizers during May will have to be patient until I [O. F. Branstetter] am able to send speakers to them. All of the outside speakers and many of the local speakers are going to the national convention, either as delegates or visitors, and it will be very hard to furnish speakers next month on that account. I am making an effort now to engage in advance the services of a good staff of speakers during the campaign. Comrades Davis and Ross will be in the field again immediately after the convention. Comrades Hubbard. Cassingham and Parker will resume work sometime in June. Mother has promised to give us a month in July and we will probably get Phil Callery and O’Hare back in a short time…
From Tri-State Edition-Texas:
Speakers’ Dates.
[…..]
Mother Jones-Cobb’s Switch, April 25; Elmo, 27-28; Mexico school house, 29-30; Poetry, May 1-2; Kanfman, 4-5; Black Hills school house and Kelm school house, 6-7; Waco, 9-12; Durango, 13-14; Rockdale, 15-16….
Note: According to the speakers’ dates above, Mother Jones was not planning to attend the Chicago Convention of the Socialist Party of America, which begins today in the Windy City.
From Tri-State Edition-Kansas:
Socialist Picnics.
About six places have written about picnics. Who’ll be next? We want a whole lot and the state office would like to get the time so that the same speakers can attend all of them. It will be cheaper. We are going to try and get Mother Jones to come and go to all of them.
—–
From the “Tri-State Army” News
-“The cause is growing rapidly in this part of the country. We had Mother Jones with us a short time back. She is the grandest old soul I ever met.” writes Comrade Billingsly, Nevada, Tex., sending in a new name.
SOURCES
Appeal to Reason
(Girard, Kansas)
-Apr 4, 1908
https://www.newspapers.com/image/67587252/
-Apr 11, 1908
https://www.newspapers.com/image/67587260/
-Apr 18, 1908
https://www.newspapers.com/image/67587266/
-Apr 25, 1908
https://www.newspapers.com/image/67587282/
The Fort Worth Telegram
(Fort Worth, Texas)
-Apr 17, 1908, page 1
https://www.genealogybank.com/
The Dallas Morning News
(Dallas, Texas)
-Apr 24, 1908, page 5
https://www.genealogybank.com/
IMAGES
Mother Jones, Fort Worth Telegram p2, Apr 26, 1907
https://www.genealogybank.com/
See also:
Delegates to the 1908 Convention of the Socialist Party of America
Convention was held May 10-17, 1908, at Chicago, Illinois.
https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/eam/spa/spa-conv08delegates.html
Proceedings: National Convention of Socialist Party
Chicago May 10-17, 1908
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89073013468;view=2up;seq=12
Note: as near as I can tell, Mother Jones was neither a delegate nor present as a visitor at the SPA Convention of 1908.
Children of Mother Jones – Pete Duffy