Hellraisers Journal: Whereabouts & Doings of Mother Jones for June 1918, Part II: Found Organizing in West Virginia

I am not for peace.
As long as there is a kaiser
either in Europe or America
I am for war to clean him out.
-Mother Jones
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Hellraisers Journal, Wednesday July 24, 1918
Mother Jones News for June 1918, Part II: Found in West Virginia

Mother Jones by LS Chumley, ISR Jan 1916

According to the June 25th edition of the Fairmont West Virginian, Mother Jones took a little time off from organizing the miners of West Virginia in order to organize playgrounds for the children of Clarksburg:

Mayor Joe Craddock, of Clarksburg, was a Fairmont visitor yesterday and ran into “Mother” Jones in front of the Traction offices. She touched him up about playgrounds at Clarksburg and he said he was at Fairmont to see the traction people about it but had postponed his talk on account of work. Then she made a strong plea for the kiddies, ending with-

The trouble is that dollars have been regarded as more sacred than the nation’s future.

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From the Fairmont West Virginian of June 11, 1918:

“Mother” Jones, in her talk at Haywood Junction Sunday, said:

I am not for peace. As long as there is a kaiser either in Europe or America I am for war to clean him out.

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More from The West Virginian:

“Mother” Jones and W. M. Rogers were at a labor meeting at the Trades Council hall in Clarksburg Monday night and Frank Keeney and Fred Mooney were at Adamston at a similar meeting.

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From the Fairmont West Virginian of June 12, 1918:

Frank Keeney, president of the United Mine Workers of this (the seventeenth) district, has taken offices in the Deveny building, fourth floor, and will make Fairmont his headquarters for some time to come.

“Mother” Jones is in Fairmont again and was widely pointed out on the street this morning when out for a promenade.

From the Fairmont West Virginian of June 14, 1918:

“Mother” Jones spoke in the circuit court room of the Harrison county court house last night to a big crowd of men, mostly miners, and at the conclusion of her address the mine workers were asked to remain and the others dismissed that some part of work of organization now on this section might be completed. “Mother” Jones made a characteristic talk.

From the Fairmont West Virginian of June 17, 1918:

Union Miners Plan Celebration.

Pinnickinnick Local No. 1379 of United Mine Workers of America, will celebrate the Fourth of July this year with a big patriotic celebration and picnic at Norwood Park, Clarksburg, Charles Hyre, president of the union, promises that an extra feature will be the raising of a flag which will be the largest in this section of the country. Many prominent speakers have been secured for the occasion, among them “Mother Jones, who has been in the Fairmont region for a week or so making addresses at various points. A special invitation will be extended each and every local of the United States Mine Workers in this section which makes it reasonable to estimate that there will be a large attendance at the festivities on the Fourth…..

“Mother” Jones was the speaker at a miners meeting held at Star City, near Morgantown, Sunday. Miners employed by the Quality Cement Coal company there went on strike a short time ago, declaring it as their purpose to unionize. They quit work without having asked the coal company to recognize their union, and on the advice of those more familiar with union affairs, later resumed their labors. Since then, the unionizing of the men has gone on in the regular way.

From the Fairmont West Virginian of June 21, 1918:

“Mother” Jones Stops at Strike.

“Mother” Jones is credited with appearing in a new role, that of a strike-ender. The talk in coal circles is that the eighty-eight-year-old woman orator, whose fame extends to all parts of the United States and Canada, was responsible for the sudden termination of a strike of coal miners at Serepta, near Morgantown, this week.

“Mother” Jones who was in Clarksburg Thursday night, modestly declined to take the honors which current talk has set upon her head.

[She said:]

Of course we don’t want the miners to strike in war times. It was all a misunderstanding.

“Mother” Jones went on to talk about the danger of Pro-Germans starting such trouble in the mines and this led to an investigation which developed that there was some idea that there was such a connection at the strike at the Serepta mine for a time. The impression was set deeply enough for the matter to have been taken up with Stuart L. Walker who stood ready to swear out a warrant had that developed to have been the case. It is now believed that “Mother” Jones has the right dope and that it was simply a misunderstanding.

James Diana, a member of the board of directors of the organization in the seventeenth district, accompanied “Mother” Jones when seen at Clarksburg and the two were waiting for an auto to take them to fill a speaking engagement. When questioned regarding the strike he spoke of a similar trouble at the mines of the Bertha Coal company, near Morgantown, some days ago, which was a different affair. There is said to have been a third strike down that way at the mines of the Quality Cement company. None of the strikes lasted for any length of time.

There is some trouble at Wilsonburg where it is reported that the miner’s union was not organized properly, and that the dollars taken for membership are being returned. W. M. Rogers spent Thursday afternoon at Clarksburg but was not there in that connection having another engagement.

More from the West Virginian:

“Mother” Jones was asked about the report that she had stopped a strike at Morgantown where the miners “went out” the other day. She would not take the credit which had been accorded her in coal circles but did say:

We don’t want the miners to strike. There must be no strikes in war time.

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From The Washington Times of June 23, 1918:

MOTHER JONES ENDS STRIKE TO AID U. S.
—–

MORGANTOWN, W. Va., June 23.-Mother Jones has reversed her role. Reports from the Serepta coal mines say that the noted strike leader has ended a strike there by urging the men to return to work and help the Government.

From the Fairmont West Virginian of June 24, 1918:

Mine Workers’ Notes.

There will be a miners’ meeting at Masontown, in Preston county, next Sunday, and those getting up the affair promise that as many as seven hundred men will gather there to be organized.

Miners may decide to give a Fourth of July celebration at Traction park-the matter is under consideration.

Frank Keeney, president of the Seventeenth district of the United Mine Workers, which includes of part of West Virginia, is at Charleston but is expected to return here the first of this week. He has ‘phoned that he is sending his auto here.

B. A. Scott, an organizer for the United Mine Workers, states that there were 745 new members for the union obtained in one night last week when he organized 500 at Grant Town and “Mother” Jones and James Diana organized 245 at Baxter.

The United Mine Workers now have an office on the Fourth floor of the Deveny building-‘phone 1399.

[…..]

Ordered Mother Jones Off.

Some officious young fellow, about eighteen, ordered “Mother” Jones off the porch of one of the miners’ houses at Murray the other night when she went there to speak to the coal workers. The young chap got his good and proper when “Mother” Jones spoke later in the evening at the school house.

The young man who treated the aged organizer discourteously acted purely on his own hook and did not represent the company-this is emphasized by statements from those high up in Consolidation affairs.

This was the third effort to organize the miners at Murray and was successful. On two previous occasions the miners said they did not want to organize although the superintendent told them to “go ahead.”

From the Fairmont West Virginian of June 26, 1918:

The miners at the Francois mine near the Fair grounds at Clarksburg were organized last night by “Mother” Jones, James Diana and David Fowler. The same three speakers addressed a mass meeting of miners at Wilsonburg Sunday and estimate the crowd at 600 miners.

From the Fairmont West Virginian of June 27, 1918:

Opekiska Organized

Coal miners at Opekiska were organized by United Mine Worker people last night. On Tuesday night an organization was perfected of miners employed by the Four States company at Annabelle. Tonight James Diana and Harry Marks will organize the men at Reynoldsville and “Mother” Jones and David fowler will organize the miners at Lost Creek.

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SOURCES

The Washington Times
(Washington, District of Columbia)
-June 23, 1918
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84026749/1918-06-23/ed-1/seq-1/

IMAGE
Mother Jones by LS Chumley, ISR Jan 1916
https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=9VJIAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&pg=GBS.RA1-PA382

See also:

For more on organizing by UMWA in West Virginia during 1917-1918, and role of Mother Jones in same, see:
(search each with “Mother Jones”; and search each again with “West Virginia”)

The United Mine Workers Journal, Volume 28
(Indianapolis, Indiana)
-May 3 to Oct 25, 1917
Executive Board of the United Mine Workers of America
https://books.google.com/books?id=3wpOAAAAYAAJ

The United Mine Workers Journal, Volume 28
Nov 1, 1917-May 2, 1918
https://books.google.com/books?id=OAxOAAAAYAAJ

The United Mine Workers Journal, Volume 29
-May 9 to Dec 15, 1918
https://books.google.com/books?id=iwxOAAAAYAAJ

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