Hellraisers Journal: From the Spokane Industrial Worker: News of McKees Rocks Strike: “Massacre of Working People”

Janet RayeHellraisers Journal
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Quote Mother Jones, Powers of Privilege, Ab Chp III———-

Hellraisers Journal – Friday August 27, 1909
Industrial War at McKees Rocks, New Castle, & Butler, Pennsylvania

From the Spokane Industrial Worker of August 26, 1909:

-from page 2

Massacre of Working People

IWW McKees Rocks, HdLn re Mass Mtg Indian Mound Aug 15, Ptt Pst p2, Aug 16, 1909The strike of the workers at the Pressed Steel Car plant, and at McKees Rocks, New Castle and Butler, Pa., near Pittsburg, is being fought by the employers and their troops with all the brutally and outrage which remind one of Homestead and the other slaughter pens of America. In addition to numerous outrages on the part of the employers’ troops, on August 22, 10 strikers were killed buy the militia, who opened a volley fire on the crowd of men, women and children. Four of the bloodthirsty soldiers were killed in the fight. They, at least, will never kill any more strikers. The account of the affair, while distressing, is a reminder that the fighting spirit of the workers is not dead, and that the working people are realizing that they have no rights to life, liberty, or the pursuit of happiness, unless they have the power themselves to enforce those rights. It is not for the parlor, kidglove revolutionist to preach meekness and “peaceful methods” to these brave workers who are fighting for their lives and to protect the honor of their families, nor for other working people to lay down hard and fast rules for those who are goaded and stung by tyranny and oppression……

It has taken untold tears and bloodshed to prove that the working class must unite as a class. The I. W. W. is the hope of those who detest bloodshed, and who, not deluded by reliance on the laws of the enemy, are still able to recognize that industrial control includes military control, and that the supreme court of society is in the world’s bread-basket.

The principal speaker at a mass meeting at Indian Mound on August 15 was the general organizer of the I. W. W., Wm. E. Trautmann. There were over 8,000 present at this meeting. The account of this meeting will be found in an extract from an employing class paper, the Pittsburg Post, on pages 1-3 of this paper [page 2 of August 16th edition, see newsclip]. This fight is against the United States Steel Corporation-an industrial union of employers. It is up to the working people of American and the world to help themselves by giving money to the strikers, and publicity to the cruelties practiced on the striking workers in Pennsylvania. An injury to one is an injury to all.

———-

[Newsclip added is from Pittsburgh Post of August 16, 1909.]

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Hellraisers Journal: Eugene V. Debs Speaks to 1,000 Strikers at McKees Rocks: 15 Nationalities; One Class

Janet RayeEugene Victor Debs
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Quote EVD to McKees Rocks Strikers, Aug 25, Butler PA Ctzn p1, Aug 26, 1909———-

Hellraisers Journal – Thursday August 26, 1909
McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania – Eugene Debs Speaks to Strikers

From Pennsylvania’s Butler Citizen of August 26, 1909:

Eugene V. Debs Makes Good His Declaration
and Speaks to Men
—–

EVD Photo Crpd, AtR p3, Nov 21, 1908

PITTSBURG, August 25.-Eugene V. Debs, late candidate for President on the Socialist ticket, today addressed the strikers of the Pressed Steel Car Company on the Indian Mound, McKees Rocks.

Debs and J. W. Slayton, Socialist organizer for Pittsburg, went to McKees Rocks by trolley and were met at the foot of the bridge by a committee of strikers. They were then escorted to Indian Mound, where more than l,000 men had gathered. Only four women were at the meeting.

Mr. Debs’ remarks were terse and to the point. His voice could be heard plainly for quite a distance, and his denunciation of the Pressed Steel Car Company aroused much enthusiasm. He said:

There are 15 nationalities represented here this morning, but you are of one class. You are workmen, united in a single cause. You are wage-slaves in the eyes of the corporation. Though I cannot understand your language I can read your hearts and can make myself understood to you.

I, too, have suffered. I have been on strike and have become involved in riots. I know what it is to face a heartless power.

This desperate fight must be continued. The eyes of the civilized world and the eyes of all the laborers of the world are upon you. It is the greatest labor fight in all history. The laboring men in Pittsburg particularly should stand by their fellow workers in this fight,

I want to warn you of traitors, beware of spies. They circulate among you and talk your language. They pretend to suffer with you when in reality they are employes of the Press Steel Car Company.

They are employed by parasites who are lounging in their summer retreats while you are suffering and starving. You make the money which the degenerate sons of these parasites squander on champagne. They hold that the cheapest thing in the world is human flesh. Your blood means nothing to them. Because you have walked away from your work you are be shot.

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WE NEVER FORGET: Martyrs of the McKees Rocks Pressed Steel Car Strike, Bloody Sunday, August 22, 1909

Janet RayeEugene Victor Debs
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Quote Mother Jones, Pray for dead, Ab Chp 6, 1925———-

WNF McKees Rocks PA Bloody Sunday Aug 22, 1909———-

WE NEVER FORGET
The Martyrs of the McKees Rocks Strike
Who Lost Their Lives in Freedom’s Cause
on Bloody Sunday, August 22, 1909

Funeral of Joseph Hruska, Russian Striker, Age 20
-from The Pittsburg Press of August 24, 1909:

WNF Crpd, Joseph Hruska, McKees Rocks Bloody Sunday, EVD, WDC Eve Str p2, Aug 24, 1909

FUNERAL OF HRUSKA

The funeral services for Joseph Hruska, aged 20 years, of Shingiss street, McKees Rocks, who died as a result of a wound received during the riot Sunday evening, were held this morning in the Greek Catholic church on Helen street, Stowe township.

Hruska was unmarried and is survived by a father and mother living in Russia. The mass was celebrated by the Rev. Father Anton Knoseskes, pastor, the body being carried into the church at 9:30 o’clock.

A parade from the church to St. Mary’s cemetery was planned by the strikers. In the line places were given to the Lodge No. 390, Arch-Michael Greek Catholic Russian society, of McKees Rocks, to which the dead man belonged, and to 200 members of the Spolok Slavish society, Lodge No. 95, K. J., of McKees Rocks.

[Emphasis adde.]
[Newsclip added from Washington Evening Star of August 24, 1909.]

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Hellraisers Journal: Bloody Sunday at McKees Rocks Pressed Steel Car Strike, “Six Are Dead and More Dying”

Janet RayeHellraisers Journal
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Quote Mother Jones, Powers of Privilege, Ab Chp III
———-

Hellraisers Journal – Tuesday August 24, 1909
McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania – Bloody Sunday Leaves Six Dead

From The Pittsburg Press of August 23, 1909:

WNF McKees Rocks Bloody Sunday edit, Ptt Prs p1, Aug 23, 1909

Detail 1: McKees Rocks Strikers Battle “Cossacks”

WNF McKees Rocks Bloody Sunday Detail 1, Ptt Prs p1, Aug 23, 1909

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Hellraisers Journal: Mother Jones Arrested in Homestead Along With Three Organizers of A. F. L. Steel Committee

Janet RayeHellraisers Journal
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Quote Mother Jones, Fight for Flag Apr 8, Rockford IL Morn Str p4, Apr 9, 1919———-

Hellraisers Journal – Saturday August 23, 1919
Homestead, Pennsylvania -Mother Jones and Steel Organizers Arrested

From the Lebanon Daily News of August 21, 1919:

MOTHER JONES LABOR AGITATOR
WAS ARRESTED
—–
Charged With Attempting To Hold Street Meeting
In Homestead, Pa., Without Permit

-Trouble Threatened When “Mother”
Was Taken to Lockup.

(Special to News by United Press).

Mother Jones Crpd Women in Industry, Eve Ns Hburg PA p2, Jan 6, 1919

Homestead, Pa., Aug. 21.-Mother Jones, labor agitator, and three organizers for the American Federation of Labor, were to appear in police court here today on charges of attempting to hold a street meeting without a permit. They were arrested last night [August 20th] while addressing a gathering of iron and steel workers.

A crowd of several thousand foreigners threatened trouble when the police took Mother Jones to the station house. She had mounted the rear seat of the automobile which carried her and addressed the crowd, advising them to “go home and be good boys.” The crowd gave three cheers for the United States and dispersed.

Mother Jones and the three of organizers-J. G. Brown, of Seattle Wash., J. L. Boghan, of Chicago, and R. W. Riley, of Homestead-were released on positing $15 forfeits.

[Photograph and emphasis added.]

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Hellraisers Journal: From Spokane’s Industrial Worker: “I.W.W. Song Books Now Ready.” -Revolution & Blanket Stiffs

Janet RayeHellraisers Journal
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Quote Richard Brazier, BRSB p388 from Lbr Hx Winter 1968———-

Hellraisers Journal – Sunday August 22, 1909
Spokane, Washington – I. W. W. Publishes Songs Of Revolution & Blanket Stiffs

From the Spokane Industrial Worker of August 19, 1909:

AD First Edition IWW Song Books LRSB, Spokane IW p3, Aug 19, 1909

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Hellraisers Journal: “Free America!” – Reign of Terror Continues Against Miners of Shoshone County, Part II

Janet RayeHellraisers Journal
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Quote Mother Jones, Powers of Privilege, Ab Chp III———-

Hellraisers Journal – Monday August 21, 1899
Wardner, Idaho – Hundreds of miners have been in bullpen for over two months.

From the Appeal to Reason of August 19, 1899:

Free America!

Washington Times, [July 18, 1899].
(Part II)

WFM, Wardner Bull Pen of May 1899, Hutton photo 1, 1900

General Merriam had been instructed to go to Wardner to quell disturbances and to keep order, but according to the affidavits these were the last of the duties he imposed upon himself. It is sworn that immediately upon his arrival he began a wholesale carnival of arrests, which continued for several weeks. Every man who was known to have been connected in any way with a labor union was arrested without any charge being made, and as the county jail was considered too soft a place, the prisoners were placed in a large barn known as the “bull pen,” and were strongly guarded.

THROWN INTO A BULL PEN.

In a short time over 700 men were packed into this pen and forced to sleep on a filthy floor, and were given no attention. Nearly all of these men were charged with no crime, and were arrested by order of Governor Steunenburg because they had at some time belonged to labor unions. The sheriff of the county and two members of the board of county commissioners were arrested among others, because, as the governor said, they were “sympathizers.” The county attorney attempted to secure the release of the sheriff and was threatened with arrest if he dared offer a protest. The prisoners were cut off from all communication with the outside world and were allowed to see nobody. Their wives and children were allowed to starve and were subjected to the most revolting outrages by the colored troops and the lawless hangers-on who had sworn that they believed that labor unions to be criminal organizations.

The conditions inside the pen were sickening, according to the statements of those who have been imprisoned there. Scurvy and slime were everywhere, and several cases of insanity were developed among the prisoners. Every able-bodied man in the town of Wardner had some experience in this place and every miner who refused to sign an application for a permit to work was arrested as a “sympathizer.”

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Hellraisers Journal: “Free America!” – Reign of Terror Continues Against Miners of Shoshone County, Part I

Janet RayeHellraisers Journal
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Quote Mother Jones, Powers of Privilege, Ab Chp III———-

Hellraisers Journal – Sunday August 20, 1899
Wardner, Idaho – 300 Miners and Sympathizers Remain in Bullpen

From the Appeal to Reason of August 19, 1899:

Free America!

 

Wardner ID Bullpen, Terror Reigns, WDC Tx p1, July 18, 1899

Washington Times, [July 18, 1899].
(Part I)

ACCORDING to the affidavits and sworn statements presented to the president [William McKinley] yesterday by Senator Heitfeld, [Populist] of Idaho, a reign of terror and brutality has been established in Shoshone county in that state and an American Siberia has been inaugurated by the Standard Oil Trust, aided and abetted by Brig. Gen. H. O. Merriam and a regiment of colored regulars. The testimony now in the possession of the president contains the sworn statements of representative business men who describe such a round of brutal torture and barbarity as makes the rule of Spanish tyranny in Cuba seems merciful and humane in comparison.

The testimony shows that the Coeur d’Alene district has been under martial law for nearly three months, and the county has been absolutely cut off from the rest of the world. More than 300 innocent men, the testimony shows, have been imprisoned in a filthy “bull pen” during the three months, and have been subjected to such outrageous treatment that twenty-four deaths have occurred and the living are physical wrecks. Every sympathizer has been imprisoned or driven out of the county, and even now eight men are being tried for their lives without counsel. The county attorney is guarded and threatened with arrest should he dare to enter a protest, and over 100 witnesses for the defense have been driven out and warned not to return.

PAYING ALL EXPENSES.

The Standard Oil Trust is paying all expenses of prosecution to insure conviction. A rigid press censorship has been established and no man’s life is worth a word of sympathy. Men have been murdered and woman outraged by the colored troops and no heed has been given these things by the military rulers. The governor of the state is charged with being in the employ of the Standard Oil Trust, and the accusations are backed up by his own defy, in which he states that “the large mine owners will run the state in the future and that he (the governor) will keep the country under martial law during the balance of his term.”

All this, and more, it is claimed, has been proven, and President McKinley has promised to begin an investigation at once.

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Hellraisers Journal: The Western Tour of Elizabeth Gurley Flynn: “The trip has been an unqualified success.”

Janet RayeElizabeth Gurley Flynn
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Quote EGF, Western IWW Aggressive Spirit, IW p3, Aug 12, 1909———-

Hellraisers Journal – Wednesday August 18, 1909
Elizabeth Gurley Flynn Describes Her Western Tour

From the Spokane Industrial Worker of August 12, 1909:

SUCCESSFUL TRIP WORK OF E. G. FLYNN
—–

EGF, Restored, Spk Rv p7, July 9, 1909

My western trip has convinced me of at least two things, that the sun doesn’t rise in the Long Island sound and set in the Hudson river, and that I couldn’t possibly blarney myself into the idea that I am a hard-worked sort of martyr for the cause of labor, and give due consideration to the splendid treatment I have received from the organization and audiences in the west. The trip has been an unqualified success from all points of view, yet I have enjoyed every step of the way. Nowhere have I felt like a stranger, everywhere I could say regretfully of the cast, “Home was nothing like this!” I would recommend a like trip to any New Yorker who believes that their town is the world, and then some. Even if they travel the box car route they can feel at home after their 6×12 hall bedrooms on the air shaft, and they will feel, as I have, that New York is a very small part of the revolutionary movement, at least.

No. 64 at Minneapolis.

My trip started in Minneapolis, where Local No. 64 is forging ahead. We held a series of open air meetings in the employment agency district and every night before we opened up crowds 500 or 600 strong gathered. They listened attentively, sang revolutionary songs and judging by the enthusiasm the time is more than ripe to open up a hall and reading room in that city. We have certainly “started something” in the Flour City.

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