———-
Hellraisers Journal – Friday May 7, 1920
-Mother Jones News for March 1920, Part I
Found Supporting Shipyard Strikers of San Francisco and Vicinity
From The Los Angeles Times of March 11, 1920:
———-
“Mother”‘ Jones, one of the most widely known union labor agitator in the world, who has been resting in this city for the last week, will leave today for Oakland to lend her support to the shipyard strikers in the Bay cities, according to information given out yesterday at the oil workers headquarters, room 111, Central Labor Temple.
The aged agitator last night stated that she did not know whether she was going to Oakland today or not, and intimated that it was none of the newspaper’s business what she was going to do. But at the home of Frank Flaherty, 2759 Marengo street, where “Mother” is staying, it was announced that she would leave tonight.
A telegram also was sent to V. C. Doaslaugh, secretary of the Alameda county Metals Trade Council, yesterday, in which it was stated that “Mother” Jones would arrive there Friday. The message was signed by C. B. Harvey, vice-president of the local Oil Workers’ Union.
“Mother” Jones came to Los Angeles to recuperate from a nervous breakdown, it was said at the Central Labor Temple, yesterday. The elderly woman participated in the recent fiasco of the Pennsylvania Steel workers, and report indicate that the collapse of that strike brought on an attack of “nerves” which caused her to retire to this city.
During her stay in this city, “Mother” Jones has had only one opportunity to talk. Last Sunday [March 7th] she addressed a few union laborites at the Labor Temple.
“Mother” Jones has a habit pf disappearing without any notice, according to an article which was read into the the Congressional Record, by George J. Kindel of Colorado, on June 13, 1914. Mr. Kindel was speaking of the labor disturbances then prevalent in his state. The Record says:
Mary Harris was born in Cork, Ireland, in 1854, of respectable parentage and good antecedents. Brought to New England at an early age. People settled in Maine. Married a prosperous farmer, and when widowed immediately allied herself with the labor movement. she began to associated with labor leaders at the time of the A. R. U. strike of 1894. Since then has kept pretty busy stirring things up. Has had a record for never advocating peace nor arbitration, but always strife and war.
Was particularly prominent in the Pittsburgh strike of 1895, miners strike of 1897, Central Pennsylvania strike of 1899-1900; coal strike of last year 1913 in anthracite district in Pennsylvania, and the Textile strike in Philadelphia. That is the record of the woman known from Maine to California as “Mother” Jones, labor agitator and leader-“Mother” Jones, who is always to the front when there is strike, with her battle cry of “We’d rather fight than work!”
[Photograph added.]
From the Oakland Tribune of March 12, 1920:
“Mother” Jones Will Strive to End Strike
“Mother” Jones, woman leader of labor union activities for the past thirty years, arrived in Oakland at 8 o’clock this morning from Los Angeles and was met at the Sixteenth-street station by a delegation of local labor men who escorted her to her apartments in the Hotel Clark in San Francisco.
She will stay in the bay district for some time and says she intends to work for a settlement of the shipyard strike.
No definite arrangements have been made for her activities here as yet, according to V. C. Doaslaugh, secretary of the Alameda County Metal Trades Council, who headed the reception delegation this morning.
From the San Francisco Examiner of March 13, 1920:
‘Mother’ Jones, Labor Leader, Arrives
“Mother” Jones, known as the “Joan of Arc of labor,” arrived in San Francisco yesterday to stimulate, she said, the “esprit de corps” of the striking shipworkers.
Mother Jones, who is 90 years of age, was met on her arrival at the Ferry building by a delegation from the Machinists’ Union. Edward D. Nolan, secretary of the union, accompanied her to the Hotel Clark where she will remain during her stay in San Francesco.
From the San Francisco Examiner of March 15, 1920:
“Mother Jones”-here today…
Mother Jones is another type of man’s spirit-the active desire for change and the hope that in a change there will be happiness. Whatever the world has thought of her, it has always admitted the courage and sincerity of her beliefs.
From the San Francisco Examiner of March 19, 1920:
‘Mother Jones’ to Talk On Syndicalism Law
“Mother” Jones will protest against the criminal syndicalism law at a public meeting tonight.
William Cleary, who has been the attorney for most of the men tried under this law, will also address the meeting. He will tell of the actual workings of the law in court.
“Profiteering and Criminal Syndicalism” is the subject announced by “Mother” Jones for her talk.
The meeting, which will be held at the California hall, Turk and Polk streets, will begin at 8 p. m. Admission is free.
From the Oakland Tribune of March 20, 1920:
“Mother” Jones to Speak on Sunday
“Mother” Jones, famous labor leader, will make an address at the auditorium theater tomorrow evening at 8 o’clock. She is appearing under the auspices of the Labor Defense League. Her subject tomorrow night will be “Profiteering,” and “The Criminal Syndicalism Law.” Permission to use the auditorium theater was granted by the Oakland city council.
From The Stone Cutters’ Journal of March 1920:
Mother Jones is Gay Young Woman of 90.
—–“Mother” Jones the idol of the organized coal miners and steel workers who gets into jail almost as regularly as she engages in a strike campaign, went to the national capital to show some affidavits to Attorney General Palmer. The affidavits are signed by steel strikers, and they recite the details of various beatings, false arrests, intimidations and other exhibitions of the power by the “Cossacks,” or state constabulary, in western Pennsylvania. One story she tells is that of a striker who was tied up and tortured by having small tacks driven into his fingertips, until poisoned so seriously that he nearly lost his hands.
[Said Mother Jones:]
They arrested me for speaking to some of the boys up there.
The police judge, he asked me, “Where do you live?” says he.
“Wherever there is a fight for liberty,” says I.
“How old are you?” says he.
“I’ll be 90 next March,” says I.
“Did you have permission to speak?” says he.
“Lord bless you, yes,” says I; “of course I had”
“You had?” says the judge, looking down at me, “Who from?”
“From the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence that some of you young fellows ought to study a bit more,” says I.
“And then he found me not guilty.”
———-
Note: Emphasis added throughout.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SOURCES
Quote Mother Jones, Home Good Fight Going On,
Ptt Prs p17, Sept 24, 1919
https://www.newspapers.com/image/144827159
The Los Angeles Times
(Los Angeles, California)
-Mar 11, 1920
https://www.newspapers.com/image/380417913/
Oakland Tribune
(Oakland, California)
-Mar 12, 1920
https://www.newspapers.com/image/82586612/
-Mar 20, 1920
https://www.newspapers.com/image/82587003/
San Francisco Examiner
(San Francisco, California)
-Mar 13, 1920
https://www.newspapers.com/image/457609465/
-Mar 15, 1920
https://www.newspapers.com/image/457623727/
-Mar 19, 1920
https://www.newspapers.com/image/457638410/
The Stone Cutters’ Journal: 1919-1921, Volumes 34-36
(Indianapolis, Indiana)
-Jan 1919 to Dec 1921
Journeymen Stone Cutters Association of North America
https://books.google.com/books?id=-GfNAAAAMAAJ
Stone Cutters’ Journal of March 1920
https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=-GfNAAAAMAAJ&hl=en&pg=GBS.RA1-PA33
“Mother Jones is Gay Young Woman of 90.”
https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=-GfNAAAAMAAJ&hl=en&pg=GBS.RA1-PA46
IMAGE
Mother Jones, Chg Tb p120, Oct 26, 1919
https://www.newspapers.com/image/355273232/
See also:
Hellraisers Journal – Tuesday February 17, 1920
-Mother Jones News for January 1920
Found Speaking in Johnstown and Altoona, Pennsylvania
For more on San Francisco Metal Trades Strike of 1919-1920, see:
Machinists’ Monthly Journal, Volume 32
(Washington, District of Columbia)
-Jan 1920 to
Official Organ of the International Association of Machinists
https://books.google.com/books?id=tO_NAAAAMAAJ
Journal of Feb 1920
https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=tO_NAAAAMAAJ&hl=en&pg=GBS.PA80
Metal Trades Strike in Bay Cities, San Francisco and Vicinity
-by E. H. Misner of Lodge No 68
https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=tO_NAAAAMAAJ&hl=en&pg=GBS.PA141
For an Labor’s view of the Great Steel Strike, see:
The Seamen’s Journal, Volume 33
(San Francisco, California)
-Sept 10, 1919 to Sept 1, 1920
Official Paper of the International Seamen’s Union of America
https://books.google.com/books?id=WsgsAQAAMAAJ
From The Journal of Oct 15, 1919:
“The Steel Strike
A Strike for Freedom from the Fetters of Industrial Autocracy”
https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=WsgsAQAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&pg=GBS.PA81
Re Mother Jones in Congressional Record, see:
Hellraisers Journal of July 6, 1916
Whereabouts & Doings of Mother Jones for June 1916
Arizona Newspaper Revives Polly Pry
(scroll down to “Mother of Trouble”)
–For the reading of the Polly Pry attack into the Congressional Record of June 8, 1914 (less than two months after the Ludlow Massacre) by Rep. Kindel of Colorado, see:
https://books.google.com/books/reader?id=Tjo4AQAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&output=reader&source=gbs_atb&pg=GBS.PA638
Re Criminal Syndicalism Laws, see:
In Defense of American Liberties
A History of the ACLU
-bySamuel Walker
SIU Press, 1999
(search: “criminal syndicalism”)
https://books.google.com/books?id=hdkrBVJ37I4C
Tag: Edward D Nolan
https://weneverforget.org/tag/edward-d-nolan/
Tag: W. B. Cleary
https://weneverforget.org/tag/w-b-cleary/
Re Labor Defense League of San Francisco, see:
The Survey of Feb 21, 1920, page 623
https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=YU45AQAAMAAJ&hl=en&pg=GBS.PA623
For “Mother Jones Gay and Young”
-as previously published in HJ, with more background info, see:
Hellraisers Journal – Friday January 16, 1920
-Mother Jones News for December 1919
Found Lambasting Judge Gary and Standing with Striking Steel Workers
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So Where Was Mother Jones During April of 1920?
The Rocky Mountain News of March 29th reported that Mother Jones was in Denver. The Washington Times of May 4th reported that Mother had arrived in the nation’s capital.
Sadly, I was unable to find Mother Jones in any particular location through newspaper searches for the month of April 1920. I did find her mentioned in the Pittsburg (Kansas) Workers Chronicle of April 30th:
It may be remembered by those who have followed the fight of the National Committee for Organizing Iron and Steel Workers in the Pittsburgh district, that the mayor of Duquesne stated last fall that “Jesus Christ can not hold a meeting in Duquesne.” All the labor organizers who tried it were summarily arrested, “tried” and fined the limit allowed under the freak ordinance. Mother Jones was compelled to stay in the jail in Duquesne for more than five hours without having a lady attendant or shown any other consideration. The next morning she was fined $100 and costs for trying to invade a place that was officially closed to Jesus Christ.
[Emphasis added.]
Letters written by Mother Jones place her in Charleston, WV, during the last half of April 1920.
On April 21st, she wrote from Charleston to Otto Branstetter of Chicago, secretary of the Socialist party. She complained:
These are stormy times and there are stormy times ahead let me tell you. If the party had of stood loyal to the principal of the working class in the past, you would of had one of the greatest organizations in America today. but there were so many within her ranks that were traitors to a wholey cause, and when I would rebell against those things, every leach and blood sucker in the movement with the ax out to take my head off, but I am still at the front fighting the battle of the workers.
On April 27th, she wrote from Charleston to John H. Walker of Springfield IL, President of the Illinois Federation of Labor. She described organizing for the United Mine Workers in Kanawha City, near Charleston:
I had a terrific meeting last night down at Kanawha city, it is so pathetic to see those wretches, they are the common laborers and there has never been very much done for them. I had to amuse them John, as well as educate them, because giving them the dry stuff, they did not understand as so many of those organizers, do, you could have not got any response from them. Those who preceded me in speaking told them about paying their dues, joining the union and then they are wise guys get $50.00 for it, John, these organizers ought to be trained before they are sent out, but they do really more harm than good.
SOURCES
The Rocky Mountain News
(Denver, Colorado)
-Mar 29, 1920, page 3
https://www.genealogybank.com/
The Washington Times
(Washington, District of Columbia)
-May 4, 1920
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84026749/1920-05-04/ed-1/seq-5/
The Correspondence of Mother Jones
-ed by Edward M. Steel
U of Pittsburgh Press, 1985
(see pages 200-201)
https://books.google.com/books?id=EZ2xAAAAIAAJ
https://digital.library.pitt.edu/islandora/object/pitt%3A31735057897435
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Mother Jones, No More Deaths For Dollars
-performed and written by Ed Picford
http://www.ed-pickford.co.uk/motherjonesnomoredeathsfordollars.html