Tag: April 1907

Hellraisers Journal: Whereabouts & Doings of Mother Jones for April 1907: Found on Speaking Tour in Texas

Janet RayeHellraisers Journal
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President Roosevelt and others class
Moyer, Haywood and other labor leaders
as undesirable citizens.
For my part I am glad to be classed with them.
-Mother Jones
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hellraisers Journal, Thursday May 9, 1907
Mother Jones News for April: Found Touring in Texas

Mother Jones, Tacoma Times, Sept 19, 1904

During the month of April 1907, Mother was found touring Texas and giving speeches on Socialism, on economic conditions, and in support of Charles Moyer and Bill Haywood who remain imprisoned in Idaho.

From The Fort Worth Telegram of April 3, 1907:

SOCIALISTS PLAN AN ACTIVE YEAR
—–

Mother Jones and E. V. Debs
Among Speakers Scheduled
—–

To The Telegram:

The Socialists in this city are making plans for a great propaganda work this summer.

Local Fort Worth meets every Sunday at 3 p. m. in Red Men’s hall, and never fails to have an interesting program.

They recently collected $125 to defray expenses of a representative to the Moyer-Haywood-Pettibone trial in Idaho. W. M. McClain was chosen to go and left last week for the scene of the impending trial.

The next lecturer to visit Fort Worth will be Mother Jones, who will be here some time during this month.

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Hellraisers Journal: “Undesirable Citizen” Eugene Debs Takes on “Roosevelt and His Regime” for the Appeal to Reason

Janet RayeEugene Victor Debs
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A thousand times rather would I be
one of those men in Ada county jail
than Theodore Roosevelt in
the White House at Washington.
-Eugene Victor Debs

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hellraisers Journal, Wednesday April 24, 1907
From the Appeal to Reason: Eugene Debs on Theodore Roosevelt

HMP, Moyer Haywood Pettibone, ab 1906

Eugene Debs, who, along with Bill Haywood and Charles Moyer, has been adjudged an “Undesirable Citizen” by President Theodore Roosevelt, had a few words to say upon the subject in this week’s edition of the Appeal to Reason:

When Roosevelt stepped out of the White House and called Moyer, Haywood and Pettibone murderers, men he had never seen and did not know; men who had never been tried, never convicted and whom every law of the land presumed innocent until proven guilty, he fell a million miles beneath where Lincoln stood, and there he grovels today with his political crimes, one after another, finding him out and pointing at him their accusing fingers.

No president of the United States has ever descended to such depths as has Roosevelt to serve his law-defying and crime-inciting masters.

The act is simply scandalous and without a parallel in American history.

What right has Theodore Roosevelt to prejudge American citizens, pronounce their guilt and hand them over to the hangman? In a pettifogging lawyer such an act would be infamous; in the president of the nation it becomes monstrous and staggers belief.

All that Roosevelt knows about Moyer, Haywood and Pettibone he knows from his friends, their kidnapers.

The millions of working men and women, embracing practically ever labor union in America, count for nothing with him. He is not now standing for their votes. He is fulfilling his obligation to the gentlemen (!) who put up the coin that elected him; paying off the mortgage they hold upon his administration.

Theodore Roosevelt is swift to brand other men who even venture to disagree with him as liars. He, according to himself, is immaculate and infallible.

The greatest liar is he who sees only liars in others.

When Theodore Roosevelt, president of the United States, denounced Charles Moyer, William Haywood and George Pettibone as murderers, he uttered a lie as black and damnable, a calumny as foul and atrocious as ever issued from a human throat. The men he thus traduced and vilified, sitting in their prison cells for having dutifully served their fellow-workers and having spurned the bribes of their masters, transcend immeasurably the man in the White House, who, with the cruel malevolence of a barbarian, has pronounced their doom.

A thousand times rather would I be one of those men in Ada county jail than Theodore Roosevelt in the White House at Washington.

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Hellraisers Journal: The Industrial Union Bulletin on Roosevelt’s Square Dealings with Moyer, Haywood and Pettibone

Janet RayeEugene Victor Debs
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The labor giant has slept long,
but is now awakening.
-Eugene Victor Debs

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hellraisers Journal, Sunday April 14, 1907
From The Industrial Union Bulletin: Roosevelt’s “Square Deal”

IUB, Official Publication, IWW, April 13, 1907

The official publication of the Industrial Workers of the World yesterday discussed the remarks of President Roosevelt regarding the citizenship qualities of Comrades Debs, Moyer and Haywood, and included the statement of Bill Haywood, made in response to being termed an “undesirable citizen” by the President of the United States on the eve of his trial.

IS THIS A “SQUARE DEAL”?

HMP, Def Fund, IUB Apr 13, 1907

Nothing has happened in Theodore Roosevelt’s career as president of the United States that so entirely discredits his fitness for that position as the recent reference by him to Debs, Moyer and Haywood, as being “undesirable citizens.” The two latter are soon to appear in court and stand trial for their lives, yet the “chief magistrate” of the nation, oblivious to the ordinary rule that anyone charged with crime is presumed to be innocent until his guilt is proven, has made public an opinion that must be prejudicial to their interests. It is an outrage that ranks with the unlawful acts of the mine owners and McParlands of Colorado. Neither of these men has ever been convicted of any crime, yet their case is prejudged in advance of their appearance in court. It is a shameful and brutal spectacle.

IWW, Gen Sec Trautmann, Ex Brd St J, IUB, Apr 13,1907

The facts are these: The president addressed a letter to Congressman James S. Sherman in which certain matters in dispute between himself and the railway magnate, E. H. Harriman; entirely without warrant and apparently with the sole purpose of creating prejudice against Moyer and Haywood, he denounced the conduct of Harriman in the following terms:

It shows a cynicism and deep-seated corruption which make the man uttering such statements, and boasting, no matter how falsely, of his power to perform such crime, at least as undesirable a citizen as Debs, or Moyer or Haywood.

Fellow-worker Haywood, awaiting his trial in Idaho, gave out the following statement:

 

I do not desire to make an extended statement with regard to President Roosevelt’s reference to me in his letter to Congressman Sherman.

The president says that I am an “undesirable citizen,” the inference being that, as such, I should be put out of the way. His influence is all-powerful, and his statement, coming as it does, on the eve of my trial for my life, will work me irreparable injury, and do more to prevent a fair trial than everything that has been said and done against me in the past.

President Roosevelt is the leading exponent of the doctrine of “fair play and a square deal,” but his reference to me in his letter to Sherman demonstrates that he does not practice what he preaches.

Continue reading “Hellraisers Journal: The Industrial Union Bulletin on Roosevelt’s Square Dealings with Moyer, Haywood and Pettibone” →

Hellraisers Journal: Whereabouts & Doings of Mother Jones for March 1907: Found in Texas on Behalf of Moyer and Haywood

Janet RayeHellraisers Journal
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I am as ready to die with you now
as I have been ready to fight
with you in the past.
-Mother Jones

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hellraisers Journal, Thursday April 11, 1907
Mother Jones News for March: Found Traveling in Texas

Mother Jones, Mar 11, 1905, AtR

Mother Jones was found in Texas during the month of March. She traveled throughout the state and gave speeches under the auspices of the state committee of the Socialist Party. Mother spoke on the the subject of Socialism and also voiced support for Charles Moyer, Bill Haywood, and George Pettibone of Western Federation of Miners, now imprisoned in Ada County Jail of Boise through the machinations of the Mine Owners of Colorado and Idaho.

From The Oasis of Nogales, Arizona,
of March 2, 1907:

MOTHER JONES, “the labor union Joan of Arc,” has come to Arizona to bear a hand in the attempted unionization of Bisbee.

From the Appeal to Reason of March 2, 1907:

Mother Jones.

“Mother: Jones will fill the following dates in Texas: San Antonio, February 26th; Center Point, February 27th; Kerrville, February 28th; San Antonio, March 1st; Lytle, March 2d; Corpus Christi, March 4th, 5th, 6th; Hallettsville, March 7th; Columbus, March 9th; El Campo, March 11th; Alvin, March 13th, 14th; Galveston, March 15th; Raywood, March 16th; Sour Lake, March 18th, 19th, 20th; Batson, March 21st, 22d, 23d.

———-

ARMY COLUMN.
[Appeal Army]
—–

[…..]

“You will find enclosed money order for $5 to pay for the enclosed yearly subscriptions. You can tell by the names that we are invading the mighty plutes domain. “Mother” Jones will be here the 4th, 5th, 6th of March and we hope to boost up the local.”-W. S. Pittillo, Corpus Christi, Tex.

[…..]

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Hellraisers Journal: Big Bill Haywood Responds to Roosevelt: “His statement ..will work me irreparable injury..”

Janet RayeHellraisers Journal
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There are no limits to which
powers of privilege will not go
to keep the workers in slavery.
-Mother Jones
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hellraisers Journal, Wednesday April 10, 1907
From Ada County Jail, Idaho: Big Bill Haywood Makes a Statement

Haywood, Wilshire's Magazine, 1906

The following statement by Big Bill Haywood is being widely published and republished by newspapers large and small across the nation:

The President says that I am an “undesirable citizen,” the inference being that, as such, I should be put out of the way. His influence is all-powerful, and his statement, coming as it does on the eve of my trial for life, will work me irreparable injury and do more to prevent a fair trial than everything that has been said and done against me in the past.

From The Brooklyn Daily Eagle of April 8, 1907:

The Roosevelt-Harriman Controversy
and Organized Labor.

Joseph R Buchanan, Labor Agitator, ab/ 1903

Replying to the letter of Edward H. Harriman, which probably the whole world has read by this time, the President said, if correctly reported:

It shows the cynicism and deep-seated corruption which make the man uttering such sentiments, and boasting, no matter how falsely, of his power to perform such crimes, at least as undesirable a citizen as Eugene V. Debs or Moyer or Haywood.

This sentiment furnished the topic of conversation among labor men generally throughout the city during the past few days. In fact, it has been condemned by organized labor in every section of the country. Joseph R. Buchanan, of Big Six, thus expressed himself:

Of course, every one understood that the President’s words were intended as a reflection upon the citizenship qualities of Moyer and Haywood, as well as upon those of Mr. Harriman, and as he has the reputation of always hitting as hard as he can, it is assumed that he could think of none who were such “bad citizens” as the officials of the Western Federation of Miners.

Organized labor of New York has held many meetings of protest against the unjust and unlawful treatment of Moyer, Haywood and Pettibone by the officials of Colorado and Idaho, and has contributed thousands of dollars to the fund raised by union labor all over the United States to defray the expenses of their defense. That they have committed any crime or broken any law of the land has still to be proven.

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Hellraisers Journal: As he faces the gallows, President Declares Haywood to be “UNDESIRABLE CITIZEN”

Janet RayeEugene Victor Debs
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There are no limits to which
powers of privilege will not go
to keep the workers in slavery.
-Mother Jones
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hellraisers Journal, Friday April 5, 1907
From the Montana News: Haywood Trial to Begin May 9th

HMP, Date Set Haywood Trial, Montana News, Apr 4, 1907

UNDESIRABLE CITIZENS

A letter, recently released by the President of the United States, was published in the Washington Evening Star April 2nd, wherein the President declares that Eugene Debs, Charles Moyer, and Bill Haywood are “undesirable citizens.” This follows by only one day the news that Fellow Worker William D. Haywood will go on trial for his life in Boise, Idaho, on May 9th.

The following is the relevant part of the letter written by President Roosevelt to Congressman J. S. Sherman on October 8, 1906 regarding the President’s feud with E. H. Harriman. The last paragraph of the President’s letter reads:

So much for what Mr. Harriman said about me personally. Far more important are the additional remarks he made to you as you inform me, when you asked him if he thought it was well to see Hearstism and the like triumphant over the republican party. You inform me that he told you that he did not care in the least, because those people were crooks and he could buy them; that whenever he wants legislation from a state legislature he could buy it; that he “could buy Congress,” and that if necessary he “could buy the judiciary.” This was doubtless said partly in boastful cynicism and partly in a mere burst of bad temper because of his objection to the interstate commerce law and to my actions as President. But it shows a cynicism and deep-seated corruption which make the man uttering such sentiments, and boasting, no matter how falsely, of this power to perform such crimes, at least as undesirable a citizen as Debs, or Moyer, or Haywood. It is because we have capitalists capable of uttering such sentiments and capable of acting on them that there is strength behind sinister agitators of the Hearst type. The wealthy corruptionist and the demagog who excites, in the press or on the stump, in office or out of office, class against class and appeals to the basest passions of the human soul are fundamentally alike and the are equally enemies of the republic. I was horrified, as was [Elihu] Root, when you told us today what Harriman had said to you. As I say,if you meet him you are entirely welcome to show him this letter, although, of course it must not be made public unless required by some reason of public policy, and then only after my consent has first been obtained.

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