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Hellraisers Journal – Monday September 13, 1909
Mother Jones News Round-Up for August 1909, Part II:
-Found in San Antonio, Fighting for Mexican Revolutionaries
From the Beaumont Daily Enterprise of August 20, 1909:
“MOTHER” JONES GETTING BUSY
—–
She Will Actively Enter Fight For
“Liberty in Old Mexico.”Special to the Enterprise.
San Antonio, Texas, Aug. 19-Much interest has been aroused in the case of Thomas [Tomás] Sarabia and Jose [José] M. Rangel, who are in the county jail charged with violation of the United States neutrality laws, by the arrival of “Mother Jones,” who will hold a series of mass meetings, protesting against the imprisonment of the men and the coming of Andrea Villareal [Villarreal], sister of Antonio Villareal an alleged revolutionist, now in prison in Los Angeles, Cal. The first of these meetings will be held Saturday night [August 21st] in a large tent on East Houston street and will be addressed by “Mother Jones.” Andrea Villareal is expected to arrive Monday.
It is a noteworthy fact that the Mexican population of the city are taking a great interest in the matter pertaining to the imprisoned men. This is particularly noticeable among the laboring class of the Mexicans and the matter is being discussed in all quarters. The wealthy class and also Americans who have financial interests in Mexico are trying to belittle the matter and say it is the work of sensation mongers. They feel confident that the United States will uphold the Mexican government and extradite the men now being held. It is expected that these meetings will do much to encourage the cause of the revolutionists in the proposed overthrow of the Diaz government and will tend to arouse feelings against Diaz. “Mother Jones” says she will have much of interest to say at the protest meeting. “Mother Jones” figured prominently in the strikes in the anthracite regions and the Western Federation of Miners and is accountable for the release of Manuel Sarabia from prison. When Manuel Sarabia, brother of Thomas Sarabia, now in the Bexar county jail was arrested in Douglas, Ariz, two years ago, he was taken into Mexico. It was charged that he was taken across the line without the due process of law, and “Mother Jones” started the first meeting of protest. It resulted in a movement which ended only with a decision by the United States supreme court and Sarabia was returned to the United Sates from a Mexican prison. He met a wealthy Boston girl while in Arizona and married her several months ago. “Mother Jones” will tell the story of the rescue of Manuel Sarabia.
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From Parsons Daily Eclipse of August 21, 1909:
LAB0R UNIONS INTERESTED IN CASE
—–“MOTHER” JONES, OF CHICAGO,
SPEAKS AT A MASS MEETING
HELD TODAY.
—–
The Socialist Party Has Also Taken
an Interest in the
Rangel-Sarabia Case.
—–San Antonio, Tex., Aug. 21.-Local labor unions have shown a great deal of interest in the arrest of Thomas Serabia [Sarabia] and Jose M. Rangel, alleged Mexican Juntaists engaged in the promotion of a revolution against President Diaz. The ground on which the men are held by the United States government is one clearly established by international law, but the labor unions here and supposedly in other parts of the United States take a different view of the situation. At a meeting held in this city last night the local unions took the stand that the men under arrest have endeavored to do nothing but better the lot of the Mexican peon, and that in view of the ever present danger of competition with the cheap labor from the other side of the Rio Grande it would be to their interest to aid in the elevation, economic and social, of the peon. A resolution to that effect was passed.
At a mass meeting here today Mother” Jones, the well-known labor orator made a speech. John Murray of Chicago, the secretary of the Political Refugee Defense League, also was heard.
The Socialist party is also taking an interest in the Rangel-Serabia case and no doubt, will come to their defense. The view of the latter is that the United States government in making these arrests acts merely as the agent of the Mexican government, is, in other words, the catspaw of “tyrant Diaz” as they are pleased to call him.
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From The Houston Post of August 22, 1909:
PROTEST BY MOTHER JONES.
—–
Speech at San Antonio in Mexican’s Defense.(Houston Post Special.)
SAN ANTONIO, Texas, August 21.-Before an audience of about 400 persons Mother Jones of Tucson, Ariz., a well known figure at Western labor union conventions, and other local speakers protested last evening against the arrest here of Tomas Sarabia and Jose M. Rangel on charges of violation of the neutrality law of the United States.
The meeting was held under the auspices of the Political Refuge Defense league of Chicago. The speakers took the position that Americans must help Mexicans rise or suffer because of the proximity of cheap Mexican labor.
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From El Paso Herald of August 24, 1909:
From El Paso Herald of August 25, 1909:
“Mother” Jones will likely get into trouble if she comes nosing around these parts trying to break up that Taft-Diaz meeting, for that is one thing that El Paso is right proud of pulling off and she won’t stand for any interference from “Mother” Jones or anybody else.
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Note: Emphasis added throughout.
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SOURCES
Quote Mother Jones Save Our Mexican Comrades, AtR p3, Feb 20, 1909
https://www.newspapers.com/image/66981674
The Daily Enterprise
(Beaumont, Texas)
-Aug 20, 1909, page 5
https://www.genealogybank.com/
Parsons Daily Eclipse
(Parsons, Kansas)
-Aug 21, 1909
https://www.newspapers.com/image/425769649/
The Houston Post
(Houston, Texas)
-Aug 22, 1909
https://www.newspapers.com/image/94876230/
El Paso Herald
(El Paso, Texas)
-Aug 24, 1909
https://www.newspapers.com/image/43403676/
-Aug 25, 1909
https://www.newspapers.com/image/43403758/
IMAGE
Mother Jones, Elkhart IN Dly Rv p2, July 19, 1909
The Elkhart Daily Review
(Elkhart, Indiana)
-July 19, 1909, page 2
https://www.genealogybank.com/
See also:
Tag: Mexican Revolutionaries
https://weneverforget.org/tag/mexican-revolutionaries/
Photo Taft and Diaz at El Paso
-from Barbarous Mexico by John Kenneth Turner, 1910
https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Barbarous_Mexico/Chapter_14
See also:
The Rebel
-by Leonor Villegas de Magnón
-ed & into by Clara Lomas
Arte Publico Press, 1994
(search together: “jose rangel” “tomas sarabia”)
https://books.google.com/books?id=Tm4mY8TQkv0C
From Introduction by Lomas (emphasis added):
Very little has been written on Andrea Villarreal except for references to her as one of PLM [Partido Liberal Mexicano] member Antonio I. Villarreal’s sisters. Together with her sister Teresa, Andrea worked to free the PLM Junta members when imprisoned during their exile in the USA. Due to her oratory skills the San Antonio Light and Gazette refers to her as the “Mexican ‘Joan of Arc’” in the article “Women will Plead Cause of Refugees” (August 18, 1909: 1). The article is an announcement of a meeting in which Andrea and Mother Jones were to speak on behalf of imprisoned PLM members. The column begins:
The power of woman’s oratory will be used in the effort to win freedom for Tomás Sarabia and José Rangel, alleged Mexican Revolutionists, now in jail here. Andrea Villarreal, the Mexican “Joan of Arc” will be a speaker with Mother Jones of national fame at the “freedom” meetings to be held at the old tent theater on East Houston Street, commencing Saturday evening [August 21].
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Children of Mother Jones by Pete Duffy