Hellraisers Journal: Whereabouts & Doings of Mother Jones for July 1906: Stumps for Socialist Party in Arkansas and Texas

Hellraisers Journal, Thursday September 20, 1906
Mother Jones Found in Arkansas and Texas During July

From the Little Rock Arkansas Democrat of July 3, 1906:

MOTHER JONES AT CONCORDIA.
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“Mother” Jones, one of the most prominent and most widely known of the Socialist contenders, will deliver an address at Old Concordia Thursday night. It will be her first visit to Little Rock, and she is sure to attract a large audience.

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From The Arkansas Democrat of July 6, 1906:

MOTHER JONES ON SOCIALISM
—–
Well-Known Leader of Socialist Propaganda
Delivered Lecture at Old Concordia-
Aggregations of Wealth and
All Political Parties Condemned.
—–

“Mother Jones” talked to a large audience last night at Old Concordia Hall on Socialism. She touched on all parts of the question, telling some of her experiences in the capital and labor fights for the last thirteen years, in which she has nearly always been more or less concerned. She has been jailed several times, on account of her activity in exhorting employes to stand up for their rights, and her encouragement of strikes, etc. Mrs. Jones had many a rap for the political party in power in the national government, paid her respects to Bryan, told of the greed and soullessness of Rockefeller and his “crew,” the steady gain in socialism everywhere, its beautiful points and the necessity of concerted action for the final overthrow of existing government and the establishment of the peaceful Socialistic rule, when “honor and work will be equally divided among the people.” “As it is the lower class has all the work and the honor, while the others have neither,” the speaker declared.

Introduced by Dickson.

Dr. J. G. Dickson of Argenta introduced the speaker in a pleasant way, saying that she had been truly called “the mother of the laboring class of the United States, and especially of the Socialistic branch.” Mother Jones had been talking to those about her and now arose to begin her appeal for Socialism. She is white-headed and stooped, being 69 years old, but her voice is much stronger than that of many persons who are younger, and she can stand as much hardship and excitement as the best of them. She came here from Wynne, where she spoke on the night of the Fourth with one of the most successful meetings held on her trip through the Southwest, but was glad to be in Little Rock.

Something Wrong.

[She began:]

Comrades and fellow-workers, yesterday was the “glorious Fourth,” and during that day I ran over in my mind the history of our country, and I could not help but feel the mockery of those words: “the land of the free.” What are you free from? Are you not bound hand and foot by your employers, by the mighty trust that fixes the price of the necessities of life, by the government, which, though conceived in liberty, has been perverted into a system for the control of the masses by the capitalist.

She told of the two forces, one of them not toiling or spinning, yet possessing all the wealth of the world-the other side working out the daily grind and yet enjoying none of the luxuries or the good things of life which they themselves were producing. She harked back to the early days of the country before the production of machinery, and said that there were no millionaires then but since the advent of mills and mighty industries, millions were made over night by gambling in the lifeblood of the nation. Something was surely wrong.

[Said the speaker:]

The guns of one side are ready to blow out the brains of the ones on the other side as they did in Ohio, and if there is something wrong it is not going to be righted until the guns have been rested from the hands of the other side. We must secure control of the Government.

Not Represented in Congress.

It is said that there are no representatives of the real laboring element in congress today, although in the English house of Parliament there are fifty, and the Douma of Russia is making the czar shake in his boots. She deplored the fact that the laboring class could not fight under one banner, that they would allow names to rend asunder their election interests, and because they didn’t happen to belong to the same union they would not get together in national or state elections. She declared that the time for wars had passed and the battles of the future would be fought in the halls of arbitration rather than on the field of battle.

Mrs. Jones spoke of the power that the working man possessed, being taken from him every year by foolish dissension in the ranks and turned aside from his own party. She deplored the methods of many of the politicians in stirring up strife in the ranks and taking their strength.

Frightened Rich Men.

In speaking of the recent textile strike in Philadelphia, she told of the way in which the 20,000 children, many of whom were under age, marched the streets before they could get the press to notice them in the least or to take any part with their suffering condition. They then marched to New York and when the mayor refused to let them in the city, Mother Jones informed him that $40,000 had been spent in stuffing the stomach of a foreign prince there, and why could they not come in, at least. They next went to Oyster Bay and marched to a splendid hotel after a great deal of trouble evading the secret service men, surrounded the building and began a song. When the millionaires heard it, Mother Jones declares, they dropped their knives and forks, peeped through the windows at the emaciated little forms that surrounded the place, dashed upstairs and shut themselves up in their rooms. “For,” shouted the speaker “they remembered the scenes that preceded the French revolution.”

Bryan Unfaithful.

[Said Mother Jones:]

At a speech the other day in London, our friend Mr. Bryan declared that the dignity of labor must always be preserved and its sacredness held inviolate. He is false to his teachings, however, for if he did what his words would indicate his views, he would be here, championing the cause of labor against the capitalist.

She said that so long as Bryan feasted and drank with the rich of this country and others, he stood for murder, for the luxuries were paid for at the price of the life of some little child and the anguish of some quivering heart.

She said that Bryan might be made a manager of the Socialist party if he was really a friend to them, but that she would guarantee he would not get a $50,000 salary.

Big Stick Powerless.

[Said the speaker:]

You talked about the things the big stick was going to do before the year had passed when you elected Roosevelt, by now there should be more done than has been accomplished. He that wields this implement has not been the cause of the war for pure meat, and better insurance company administration. It was the accidental mistake of a little messenger boy who delivered a telegram to the wrong man, that caused the insurance investigations, and it was the writings of a poor young Princeton student that brought about the packing house investigation. The trusts continue to flourish, cheapening production and raising the cost of living.

She declared that the old parties were controlled by capitalists whose motto was “exploitation” and that socialism was the only trust that she would ever be a member of, but that she was devoting her time and energy to forming this trust for an overthrow of the moneybags from our legislative halls.

Helen Gould’s Generosity.

In speaking of the gifts made by Carnegie to found a home for clergymen, in order that his depredations on the rights of labor might be sanctioned and excused; of the contributions and endowments of colleges made by Rockefeller, in order that real and true principles of economics might not have a place in the minds of the youth of the nation that are receiving their education there; and of the founding of many Y. M. C. A.s by Miss Helen Gould, Mother Jones said that every time she saw those headlines “Miss Helen Gould gives $20,000 for aiding the Young Men in Christian Living,” she was reminded of the army of miners on the Rio Grande River who were charged exorbitant rent for living in Helen’s factory houses, and when they struck, were sent out in the freezing weather on the failure of rent being paid. She said that she thought of the way in which those miners were driven into a large bull pen, beaten back to the mines by armed men, from the foot of the ranges where they had taken refuge.

Many Inventions-Less Work.

By an invention lately, declared the speaker, 100,000 telephone girls have lost their jobs, bootblacks will not be needed any more after the late invention has become used, and the callers of the railroad company will be displaced by graphophones. At present, it was stated, the factory conditions had grown worse than ever before in spite of what the owners were saying and teaching their “slaves” in their churches. She said that the factory president, or manager, was landlord, school director, patent medicine vendor and choirmaster. That he taught his flock that they were making money for him in his factory “all for Jesus” and that the poor, deluded “slaves” were not aware of the real state of mind of their masters toward them or there would be a revolt.

In speaking of the cheapness of labor, and especially the labor of women, she declared that stenographers, bookkeepers, and other means, were becoming so crowded that it was a serious matter to get enough to pay the expenses of every day life.

Statistics.

[She said:]

John Rockefeller’s wealth is nearly $3,000,000,000, which is the amount of all the earnings of the working class in the United States in a year. Surely that is not a safe state of affairs. The country’s wealth has increased 40 times in the last 40 years while the population has been increased only five times, and yet we see the entire wealth almost in the hands of a little over a hundred rich men.

Expects Socialism.

As a balm for the “rotton conditions,” socalled by Mrs. Jones, Socialism will come, and she will live to see the first Socialist president of the republic in the White House. She stated in her closing remarks, after urging local work, and the subscribing to the local Socialist paper, that the work was progressing satisfactorily. In 1904, the party polled 500,000 votes, and in 1908 they would poll a million.

Mother Jones will speak at Spadra, Oklahoma, in the coal region, tonight and will make an extensive tour of this section in the interest of Socialism.

A collection was taken for her expenses, and a good sum secured.

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From the Appeal to Reason of July 7, 1906:

CENTRAL STATES PARTY NEWS.
—–

Mother Jones’ dates in Arkansas are as follows: Spadra, July 6th; Denning, 7th; Ozark, 8th and 9th; Van Buren, 10th; Ft. Smith, 11th; Greenwood, 12th; Jenny Lind, 13th; Bonanza, 14th; Midland, 15th; Huntington, 16th and 17th; Hartford, 18th; Mena, 19th; Texarkana, 20th.

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From The Arkansas Democrat of July 14, 1906:

PROMINENT SPEAKERS AT FARMERS’ UNION PICNIC.
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Greenwood, July 14.-(Special.)-A great Farmers’ Union picnic is in progress here today and a lest 5,000 people are in attendance. A barbecue is one of the notable features of the day. Those on the program for addresses are Jake Yadon, Daniel [Hogan], Hon (Socialist candidate for governor), Judge John S. Little, Gov. Jeff Davis, Hon, Ben L. Griffin, Judge W. A. Falconer and Mother Jones. It was stated that “the object of this picnic is to bring together and harmonize the different elements of unionism in Sebastian County and to have a good time.”

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From The Worker of July 14, 1906:

PARTY NEWS
—–
NATIONAL ORGANIZERS.

Mother Jones: Arkansas, under direction of State Committee.

The Worker of July 14th also commented upon the story of Mother Jones and the Millionaire Mine Operator:

TABLES TURNED FOR ONCE.

A mine operator named John Dermot at Webb City, Mo., persisted in interrupting the meeting of our comrade, Mother Jones, and was arrested and required to pay a fine and costs amounting to $10.50. We suspect that this fact has some bearing on the theological discussion whether or not miracles ceased with the death of the Apostles. Certainly it is hard not to regard it as a violation of the laws of nature.

The story of The Millionaire and Mother Jones was reported in The Decatur Herald of June 18th:

CROWD WITH MOTHER JONES.

Webb City, Mo., June 17.-John Dermott, a millionaire, was arrested here and dragged to the City Jail today for taking issue with and disputing Mother Jones in a street talk on Socialism. He told her there were no labor troubles in the Webb City mining district and she was unwelcome here. The crowd hooted and hissed him.

From The Arkansas Democrat of July 17, 1906:

MOTHER JONES AT MENA.
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Mena, July 17.-(Special.)-Mother Jones, one of the best known leaders of the Socialist propaganda, will deliver an address here on Socialism Thursday night.

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From The Worker of July 21, 1906:

PARTY NEWS.
NATIONAL ORGANIZERS

Mother Jones: July 21, Windom, Tex; July 22, Sherman; July 23, Commerce; July 25, Tyler; July 27, Mart; July 28, Houston.

From the Dallas Morning News of July 23, 1906:

Mother Jones Lectures.

SPECIAL TO THE NEWS.

Sherman, Tex., July 22.-Mother Jones, who is quite a National figure among Socialist speakers, delivered an address here to a moderately large crowd this afternoon.

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From The Worker of July 28, 1906:

PARTY NEWS
National

Mother Jones is ill and will remain for several weeks in Huntington, Ark. Letters will reach her in care of Daniel Hogan, State Secretary. Her immediate dates in Texas will either be abandoned or filled by some comrade under the direction of State Secretary Bell.

SOURCES

The Arkansas Democrat
(Little Rock, Arkansas)
-July 3, 1906
https://www.newspapers.com/image/149244214/
-July 6, 1906
https://www.newspapers.com/image/149252671/
– July 14, 1906
https://www.newspapers.com/image/149257779/
-July 17, 1906
https://www.newspapers.com/image/149259712/

Appeal to Reason
(Girard, Kansas)
-July 7, 1906
https://www.newspapers.com/image/66994251/

The Worker
“An Organ of the Socialist Party”
(New York, New York)
– July 14, 1906, page 2 & 6
-July 21, 1906, page 6
-July 28, 1906, page 7
http://www.genealogybank.com/

The Decatur Herald
(Decatur, Illinois)
-June 18, 1906
https://www.newspapers.com/image/90178018/

Dallas Morning News
(Dallas, Texas)
-July 23, 1906, page 5
http://www.genealogybank.com/

IMAGE
Mother Jones, Mar 11, 1905, AtR
http://www.newspapers.com/image/66992169/