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Hellraisers Journal – Monday January 22, 1900
Mother Jones News Round-Up for the Year 1899
-Part I: Found in Girard, Kansas, and Cleveland, Ohio
From the Western World (Girard, Kansas) of January 5, 1899:
Mother Jones is a guest of the Wayland household this week. And she is a distinguished guest, too. No woman in America or in any other country has more genuine admirers among the toiling classes than Mother Jones. She is known to every laborer in the world who cares to ascertain who is a loyal true, friend to him. In all the great strikes of the past, when suffering has run riot, Mother Jones has been one of the first to appear on the scene and render such service as was in her power. As a lecturer she has no superior, being thoroughly posted in everything bearing upon the economical conditions of the age, and she is welcomed by the thousands everywhere. That she is one of the most popular workers in the fight for a better condition on earth, need not be said.
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[Photograph added.]
From the Western World of February 23, 1899:
Mother Jones delivered an address from her wagon, which was drawn up on the north side of the square, last Saturday afternoon. A large crowd was in town, and many seemed greatly interested in her eloquent and forcible argument for socialism.
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From The Independent News (Girard, Kansas) of February 23, 1899:
Mother Jones, a Socialist teacher, made a two hours speech on the north side of the square Saturday afternoon. Mother Jones is well known over nearly all parts of the country where there are large number of laborers. She starts for Cleveland this week and from there goes into the mining country of Pittsburg, Pa.
From the Western World of March 9, 1899:
Mother Jones, the noted Socialist lecturess, who has been spending the winter with the family of J. A. Wayland, left Saturday for Chicago, to visit for a time before commencing her summer lecture tour.
From The Cleveland Leader of March 23, 1899:
LOCKED THE SCHOOL ROOM
—–
And Opened the Factories
-Mrs. Mary J. Jones Complaint Against
the Men at the Central Labor Union
-Carpenters Will Demand a Raise.The Central Labor Union met last night and heard G. A. Hoehn, representative of the St. Louis Trades Assembly, make an address. The speaker talked along Socialistic lines and advocated solidarity at the ballot-box.
Mrs. Mary J. Jones, better known as “Mother” Jones, of Chicago, made an appeal for the children of the country. Mrs. Jones accused the men of locking the school room door and opening the factories.
The Window Posters’ Union declared in a communication to the Central Labor Union that the theatrical managers have not lived up to their agreement. The union declares that the manager of a local theater is causing bills to be posted in windows, contrary to a promise made not to do so.
Carpenters’ Union No. 11 and the Amalgamated Carpenters and Joiners reported that on April 1 a demand would be made for thirty cents an hour and eight hours’ work per day. A mass meeting of carpenters will be held in Arch Hall, March 30.
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From The Cleveland Leader of April 6, 1899:
“MOTHER” JONES’ ADVICE.
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Men Are Told to Learn to Stand by
Each Other Before They Attempt
to Stand by the Women.At the usual weekly meeting of the Central Labor Union last night Mrs. Jones better known as “Mother” Jones, delivered a strong address. Mrs. Jones has been a labor agitator for years. She told of her experiences and views, but explained that she was not an advocate of woman’s suffrage. “The men,” she said, “Must learn to stand by each other before they attempt to stand by the women.”
Max Hayes made a speech, which was received with the usual applause. It was a plea for socialism. A delegate from the carpenters’ union invited the central body to attend the carpenters’ mass meeting, to be held in Arch Hall to-night. Other business of the usual routine nature was transacted.
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From The Cleveland Leader of April 7, 1899
-Mother Jones Speaks to Carpenters:
The carpenters’ mass meeting at Arch Hall last night was a big and enthusiastic affair.
Seven hundred men turned out in response to the invitations issued by the union strikers, and overflow meetings in the halls and ante-rooms were a necessary result. Union and non-union carpenters sat side by side, and not a discordant note marred the progress of events.
Yesterday’s events proved that five or six of the larger contractors in the city were forced to suspend work, and about sixty non-union men were added to the ranks of the union men in their stand for higher wages and less hours of work.
All of these were present at last night’s meeting, together with a number of foremen on jobs that have been temporarily
BROUGHT TO A STANDSTILL
by reason of the journeymen voluntarily submitting to the arguments of walking union delegates. Of the sixty non-union men taken away from their work yesterday over half were immediately supplied with new jobs under other contractors who are willing to pay union prices.
The big mass meeting was opened by Nicholas Geiger, a journey man carriage worker. He made an opening address that pleased every man present. He declared that every mechanic in the city was in sympathy with the movement of the carpenters, and that assistance would readily be offered in case the saw and hammer men desired it. He related many experiences of the past, drew happy conclusions from the present agitation, and exhorted every carpenter to stick to the situation and be gentlemanly and peaceful in his conduct.
“Mother” Jones, the Socialist and all-around labor agitator, enthused the men by reciting many experiences she had been through in the past, and telling what part the women should play in the matter of a great strike. “Mother” Jones has worked many years in the mining fields, and is a ready talker. Isaac Cowen was also on hand in
HIS EVER-READY STYLE.
He made a speech that was loudly cheered by the assembled journey men.
“We have virtually won our cause now,” said an officer of the Carpenters’ District Council. “There are fully twenty boss contractors in the city who are paying the wage demanded by the men and are adhering to the eight-hour limit. Just that quick will we win our cause.”
The men say that every contractor in the city who really amounts to anything is either paying the wage demanded or else to-day finds himself without a force to carry on his work.
At the close of last night’s mass meeting an official meeting of the Carpenters’ District Council was held, and executive business incident to the strike situation was transacted. Open house will be kept at the rooms of the Building Trades’ Council, at No. 83 Prospect street, every day for the rest of the week.
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From the Appeal to Reason (Girard, Kansas) of July 1, 1899
THE APPEAL’S ARMY.
—–[…..]
“Mother” Jones the well known labor lecturer sends in 226 subscriptions from the Pennsylvania towns which she has recently visited and says that another list will follow soon that will open our eyes. Perhaps it would be well for the K. C. section to meet and “Whereas” and “Be it resolved” again…..
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SOURCES
Quote Mother Jones, Powers of Privilege ed, Ab Chp III
https://www.iww.org/history/library/MotherJones/autobiography/3
Western World
(Girard, Kansas)
-Jan 5, 1899
https://www.newspapers.com/image/488499135/
-Feb 23, 1899
https://www.newspapers.com/image/488499914
-Mar 9, 1899
https://www.newspapers.com/image/488500152/
The Independent News
(Girard, Kansas)
-Feb 23, 1899
https://www.newspapers.com/image/484683285/
The Cleveland Leader
(Cleveland, Ohio)
-Mar 23, 1899, page 2
https://www.genealogybank.com/
-Apr 6, 1899, page 10
https://www.genealogybank.com/
-Apr 7, 1899, page 10
https://www.genealogybank.com/
Appeal to Reason
(Girard, Kansas)
-July 1, 1899
https://www.newspapers.com/image/66952880/
IMAGE
Mother Jones ed, St L Rpb p2, Feb 5, 1898
https://www.genealogybank.com/
See also:
Hellraisers Journal – Friday February 10, 1899
-Mother Jones News Round-Up for the Year 1898
Part I: January to May-Found in St. Louis, Missouri
Hellraisers Journal – Saturday February 11, 1899
-Mother Jones News Round-Up for the Year 1898
Part II: June to December-Found in Kansas and Nebraska
Cleveland Plain Dealer
-Apr 7, 1899, page 3
https://www.genealogybank.com/
Max Hayes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_S._Hayes
Tag: G. A. Hoehn
https://weneverforget.org/tag/g-a-hoehn/
The Autobiography of Mother Jones
Charles Kerr, Chicago, 1925
Chapter 4 – Wayland’s Appeal To Reason
https://www.iww.org/history/library/MotherJones/autobiography/4
In 1893, J. A. Wayland with a number of others decided to demonstrate to the workers the advantage of co-operation over competition. A group of people bought land in Tennessee and founded the Ruskin Colony. They invited me to join them.
“No,” said I, “your colony will not succeed. You have to have religion to make a colony successful, and labor is not yet a religion with labor.”
I visited the colony a year later. I could see in that short time disrupting elements in the colony. I was glad I had not joined the colony but had stayed out in the thick of the fight. Labor has a lot of fighting to do before it can demonstrate. Two years later Wayland left for Kansas City. He was despondent.
A group of us got together; Wayland, myself, and three men, known as the “Three P’s” -Putnam, a freight agent for the Burlington Railway; Palmer, a clerk in the Post Office; Page, an advertising agent for a department store. We decided that the workers needed education. That they must have a paper devoted to their interests and stating their point of view. We urged Wayland to start such a paper. Palmer suggested the name, “Appeal to Reason.”
“But we have no subscribers,” said Wayland.
“I’ll get them,” said I. “Get out your first edition and I’ll see that it has subscribers enough to pay for it.”
He got out a limited first edition and with it as a sample I went to the Federal Barracks at Omaha and secured a subscription from almost every lad there. Soldiers are the sons of working people and need to know it. I went down to the City Hall and got a lot of subscriptions. In a short time I had gathered several hundred subscriptions and the paper was launched. It did a wonderful service under Wayland. Later Fred G. [D.] Warren came to Girard where the paper was published, as editorial writer. If any place in America could be called my home, his home was mine. Whenever, after a long, dangerous fight, I was weary and felt the need of rest, I went to the home of Fred Warren.
Like all other things, “The Appeal to Reason” had its youth of vigor, its later days of profound wisdom, and then it passed away. Disrupting influences, quarrels, divergent points of view, theories, finally caused it to go out of business.
Ruskin Colony TN
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruskin_Colony
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The Spirit of Mother Jones – Andy Irvine