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Hellraisers Journal – Friday October 14, 1910
Mother Jones News Round-Up for September 1910, Part I:
-Found in Pennsylvania Denouncing Former U. M. W. President Mitchell
From the Mount Carmel Daily News of September 1, 1910:
“MOTHER” JONES ATTACKS MITCHELL
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Addressing a mass meeting of mine workers at Shenandoah, “Mother” Jones denounced John Mitchell, former head of the United Mine Workers, and ex-President Roosevelt, and declared that Mitchell was a traitor to labor.
“Mitchell and Roosevelt,” she fairly shrieked, “are the two biggest bluffs at large.”
“Mother” Jones’ attack on Mitchell gained her few sympathizers, as Mitchell has a devoted following among the miners of this region. She said that Roosevelt’s recent visit to the hard coal region was for political purposes and that he “doesn’t care a rap” for the workers except to further his consuming ambition.
Prominent mine workers declared that her denunciation of Mitchell will hurt the United Mine Workers’ organization, as she is sent here on missionary work by President [Tom] Lewis, who is an inveterate foe of his predecessor in office.
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[Photographs added.]
From the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader of September 2, 1910:
From the Wilkes-Barre Evening News of September 5, 1910:
Labor and politics were mixed with a vengeance at Sans Souci Park this afternoon, when ex-Treasurer Berry and “Mother” Jones spoke from the same platform.
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From the Wilkes-Barre Evening News of September 16, 1910:
“MOTHER” JONES ROASTED SOME LEADERS
OF LABOR; C. L. U. MEN OBJECTED
——-
Old Lady Riddled Roosevelt, Mitchell and Others by
Inference and Then Told Chairman Casey He Could
Go if He Wanted to-She Held the Fort Entirely.
——-“Mother” Jones in her Labor Day speech at Sans Souci Park [September 5th], so viciously attacked prominent citizens and labor leaders, that it’s a certainty she will never again be asked to address a gathering here.
She struck high and low, adding insult to injury by humiliating Chairman John J. Casey before the crowd when she said the gathering could get along without him if he desired to go.
Her conduct has forced the Central Labor Union, whose guest she was, to apologize for the remarks at last night’s meeting, and place themselves on record as disapproving the statement made from the platform to the laboring masses.
“Mother” Jones was invited here to speak on the subject of “Labor.” For a time she dwelt on her assignment, but it was a matter of only a few minutes before she started a tirade and spared none. She attacked in a virulent manner some of the best friends the labor movement has.
Not content with striking the friends of the laborers she came nearer home by attacking Hon. John J. Casey, who was the chairman of the meeting and who sat but a few seats behind her. During her remarks, she referred to the incident in Plymouth on the trip of Colonel Roosevelt through the coal region, when John Mitchell handed the daughter of a miner fifteen cents. This, she said, was a sympathy movement, a game of playing to the gallery gods for the sole purpose of self advertisement. Turning to Mr. Casey she added, “and I suppose you were along with him.”
Told Him To Go.
“Mother” Jones had taken up so much time it was feared some of the other speakers could not be heard. This fact lead one of the committee-men to ask the chairman whether or not there was time enough left for another speaker. Mr. Casey pulled out his watch to learn the time, and as he did, “Mother” Jones happened to turn and saw the timepiece in his hand. She was just in the midst of a savage attack on labor leaders, when she suddenly turned and addressing the chairman said:
“You may go if you wish. We are able to get along without you.”
Just prior to this the speaker had attacked Colonel Roosevelt. She referred to the time he sat in the president’s chair during which time the western federation of Miners were on a lockout. It will be recalled that the president referred to some of the unionist as undesirable citizens and it was this statement that the speaker took up and handled without gloves.
Without mentioning any names, “Mother” Jones attacked Rev. J. J. Curran, and practically referred to him as an interloper in the union movement. Following this violent outburst was an attack on John Mitchell, although the speaker did not mention his name. From then on she went down the list of the labor leaders and she flayed each unmercifully. When her speech was almost gone, “Mother” Jones quit.
The subjects she discussed and the manner in which she discussed them created so much hard feeling that the Central Labor Union at its meeting last night decided to square itself. It is stated that she did not touch upon her subject. The Central Labor Union by resolution last night disapproved the statements made by the woman socialist and an open apology is made to the victims of the speaker. The body goes on record as saying that it does not indorse her statements and declares her stand is contrary to the policy of organized labor.
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Note: the above article fails to mention that W. F. M. Leaders, Bill Haywood and Charles Moyer, were facing the gallows at the time that Roosevelt declared them to be “Undesirable Citizens.”
From the Appeal to Reason of September 17, 1910:
A B Cs of Socialism
——-[…..]
Zenobia was a heroic queen, but we have some queens among us who are even more heroic than Zenobia whose names have not yet been written in history, and who are engaged in a better cause. Such women as Mother Jones and Luella Twining and plenty of others.
ALPHA BET.
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Note: emphasis added throughout.
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SOURCES
Quote Mother Jones, Union Card n Pious Christian, Shenandoah Eve Hld p1, Aug 27, 1910
https://www.newspapers.com/image/448065149/
Daily News
(Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania)
-Sept 1, 1910
https://www.newspapers.com/image/76324951/
Wilkes Barre Times Leader
(Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania)
-Sept 2, 1910
https://www.newspapers.com/image/395195735/
The Evening News
(Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania)
-Sept 5, 1910
https://www.newspapers.com/image/174971092/
-Sept 16, 1900
https://www.newspapers.com/image/174971297/
Appeal to Reason
(Girard, Kansas)
-Sept 17, 1910, page 2
https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/appeal-to-reason/100917-appealtoreason-w772.pdf
IMAGE
Mother Jones, John Mitchell, TLL, Detail, LW p1, Apr 16, 1910
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn78000395/1910-04-16/ed-1/seq-1/
See also:
Hellraisers Journal: Whereabouts and Doings of Mother Jones for August 1910, Part I:
Found Speaking to Miners of Hazleton District, Pennsylvania
Hellraisers Journal: Whereabouts and Doings of Mother Jones for August 1910, Part II:
Found Speaking to Miners at Shenandoah, Pennsylvania
Note: Photo of Mitchel reads:
“Copyright by Waldon Fawcett”
-for more of his photos see Leslie’s Weekly of June 25, 1908, page 607
https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=X5I4AQAAMAAJ&hl=en&pg=GBS.PA607
Note: The opinion of Mother Jones re John Mitchell
did not soften in later years:
Autobiography of Mother Jones
CH Kerr, 1925
https://archive.iww.org/history/library/MotherJones/autobiography/27/
From Chapter 27 -” Progress in Spite of Leaders”
In big strikes I have known, the men lay in prison while the leaders got out on bail and drew high salaries all the time. The leaders did not suffer. They never missed a meal. Some men make a profession out of labor and get rich thereby. John Mitchell left to his heirs a fortune, and his political friends are using the labor movement to gather funds to erect a monument to his memory, to a name that should be forgotten.
For more on Roosevelt’s “Undesirable Citizen” remark, see:
Switchmen’s Journal of May 1907
https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=DvQoAAAAYAAJ&hl=en&pg=GBS.PA407
Tag: Luella Twining
https://weneverforget.org/tag/luella-twining/
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No More Deaths For Dollars – Ed Pickford