We’ll remember you, Frank Little!
…We’ll repeat your name
And remember that you died for us.
The red flag that you dropped
A million hands will carry on.
-Phillips Russell
Hellraisers Journal, Monday September 3, 1917
Butte, Montana – Organizer Frank Little Remembered
From the International Socialist Review of September 1917:
“To Frank Little” by Phillips Russell
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Hellraisers Journal, Thursday August 23, 1917
From the Appeal to Reason: Two Brave Women Speak for Labor
The Appeal to Reason of August 18th featured the opinions of two women elected to represent the people: the first, Miss Jeannette Rankin of the United States House of Representatives, and the second, Mrs. Rosa McKay of the Arizona House of Representatives. Yesterday we featured the speech by Miss Rankin who outlined conditions at Butte. We conclude today with an article by Mrs. McKay who describes recent events in Bisbee.
Butte and Bisbee Outrages Scored
by Brave Woman Representatives
…In an article to the Appeal, Mrs. Rosa McKay, member of the Arizona House of Representatives from Bisbee, Cochise county, Arizona, tells of the Bisbee deportation….
By Mrs. Rosa McKay
Member Arizona House of Representatives
For fourteen years I have claimed Bisbee as my home. But after Thursday, the twelfth day of July. I hang my head in shame and sorrow for the sights I have witnessed here. When the full truth about Bisbee reaches the outside world, it will be looked upon with deserved aversion.
In this article I shall give an honest and unbiased statement, from a fair and impartial standpoint, of the labor situation in Bisbee today. I belong to no labor organization or mining corporation. I am merely an onlooker and spectator, and a firm believer in the constitutional rights of all American citizens, whether by birth or naturalization, the rights that our forefathers fought, bled and died for.
No one is safe where lynching is sanctioned.
-Jeannette Rankin
Hellraisers Journal, Wednesday August 22, 1917
From the Appeal to Reason: Two Brave Women Speak for Labor
The Appeal to Reason of August 18th featured the opinions of two women elected to represent the people: the first, Miss Jeannette Rankin of the United States House of Representatives, and the second, Mrs. Rosa McKay of the Arizona House of Representative. Today we begin with Miss Rankin who outlines conditions at Butte. We will conclude tomorrow with Mrs. McKay and her view of recent events in Bisbee.
Butte and Bisbee Outrages Scored
by Brave Woman Representatives
The stories of the labor troubles in Butte, Mont., and Bisbee, Ariz., are told below by two women, both of them elected representatives of the people from their respective districts.
Miss Jeanette Rankin, of Montana, the first Congresswoman of the United States, told of conditions in Butte in a speech [August 7th] before the national House of Representatives.
In an article to the Appeal, Mrs. Rosa McKay, member of the Arizona House of Representatives from Bisbee, Cochise county, Arizona, tells of the Bisbee deportation.
The activity of these two women in behalf of justice for the workers and in defense of the cause of true democracy, leaves little wonder why the reactionary, corporation-serving politicians have sought to prevent the entrance of woman into politics. Speed the day when woman will take her full share in the affairs of government! Miss Rankin and Mrs. McKay have done the cause of suffrage a great service in the noble stand they have taken.
Hellraisers Journal, Wednesday August 8, 1917
Butte, Montana – Thousands March to Honor Martyr Frank Little
—–
On Sunday August 5th there was held the largest funeral ever held in the city of Butte, and, perhaps, in the state of Montana. Thousands of mourners marched behind the casket carrying the remains of Frank Little, the valiant warrior who gave his life in freedom’s cause.
From The Anaconda Standard of August 6, 1917:
The voice of the mine owners could not refrain from sniping at the striking miners, their union (not affiliated with the I. W. W.), nor the union represented by Frank Little, the Industrial Workers of the World. Nevertheless, the report on FW Little’s funeral appears to be, for the most part, accurate.
LARGE FUNERAL NO DISORDER
—–
DEMONSTRATION AND A SPECTACLE
MARK FINAL TRIBUTE TO FRANK LITTLE
—–MANY FRIENDS MARCH
—–Women in the procession, which is made up of more than three thousand-Red sashes and other I. W. W. emblems displayed- Moving pictures are taken-Stars and Stripes shown for a while, then removed. No religious service-Brief remarks were made at the grave.
—–
—–
Don’t worry, fellow-worker,
all we’re going to need from now on is guts.
-Frank Little
Hellraisers Journal, Saturday August 4, 1917
Butte, Montana – Strikers’ Bulletin Names Names
The Butte Bulletin, voice of the striking metal miners in that city, devoted its entire edition of August 2nd to the lynching of Fellow Worker Frank Little.
One article was entitled: “Frank Little Murdered by Gunmen, Companies in Desperation Resort to Deadly Violence.” William F. Dunn, editor, stated that there is “sufficient evidence to indicate the names of five men who took part, every one of whom is a company stool pigeon. Two of these men are in business, two are gunmen, and one is connected with law enforcement… Every man, woman, and child in this country knows that company agents perpetrated this foulest of all crimes.” The Bulletin went on to name names: “William Oates, Herman Gilles, Pete Beaudin, a rat named Middleton and two dozen others working under a chief gunman named Ryan.”
From the Seattle Star of August 3, 1917:
HAYWOOD IN CHARGE OF
I. W. W. FUNERALBy United Press Leased Wire
CHICAGO, Aug. 3.-The funeral of Frank Little, I. W. W. leader, lynched in Butte, probably will be held in Butte tomorrow, Wm. D. Haywood, secretary of the national organization, said today. He received a message from Little’s sister [sister-in-law], Emma Little, of Fresno, Cal., placing arrangements for the funeral in his hands.
—–
Don’t worry, fellow-worker,
all we’re going to need from now on is guts.
-Frank Little
Hellraisers Journal, Friday August 3, 1917
Butte, Montana – Union Men Arm for Self Defense
Frank Little was taken from his room by vigilantes before dawn on August 1st. His body was found hanging from a railroad trestle by a neighborhood man on his way to work. Pinned to the body of Fellow Worker Frank Little was a note bearing the Montana Vigilante Code and a grim warning to “Others.” The men of the Butte Metal Mine Workers Union are seeking permits in order to arm for self-defense.
From The Anaconda Standard of August 2, 1917:
Don’t worry, fellow-worker,
all we’re going to need from now on is guts.
-Frank Little
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Frank Little was lynched in Butte, Montana, at 3 A. M. on August 1, 1917, by vigilantes who, many alleged, were in the employ of the Anaconda Copper Company. He came to Butte to support striking metal miners despite having been warned of the dangers involved in that assignment. Elizabeth Gurley Flynn said of him:
He was tall and dark, with black hair and black eyes, a slender, gentle and soft-spoken man…He was dependable in all situations.
FW Little was much admired by the miners of Butte, and his funeral was one of the largest ever held in that city. His coffin was covered by a red silk banner, inscribed:
A MARTYR TO SOLIDARITY
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Don’t worry, Fellow Worker,
all we’re going to need
from now on is guts.
-Frank Little
Hellraisers Journal, Wednesday July 25, 1917
Butte, Montana – “Agitators” Support Striking Miners
The Anaconda Standard, voice of the Anaconda Copper Mining Company, declared recently that the “agitators” of Butte are “against everything.”
Yet the striking miners have made it quite clear exactly what they stand against-i.e., the blacklist (Rustling Card system), long hours, low wages, and unsafe working conditions such as led to the deaths of 168 copper miners in the Speculator Mine Fire Disaster just a few short weeks ago.
From the Anaconda Standard of July 23, 1917:
AGITATORS TALKING AGAINST EVERYTHING
—–A mass meeting for miners of the Butte district, held last evening at the ball park, was attended by about 2,000 men. All the speakers urged the miners to stay out and said the modifications of the rustling card and the weekly pay day announced by the Anaconda Copper Mining company on Saturday should be disregarded.
Joe Shannon made a fiery speech in which he urged every miner to start picket duty today, and he remarked that the Campbell union [Butte Metal Mine Workers Union] had the “number of every miner now working.”
R. L. Dunn, strike leader of the electricians, who had pledged the miners the electricians would not go back to work until the miners were underground, said the papers had called him an I. W. W. and he would admit it.
[Said Dunn:]
This strike is an expression against the form of society which allows a few to control the wealth of the nation and a protest against the system of society which keeps workingmen from enjoying the comforts and good things of life.
Don’t worry, Fellow Worker,
all we’re going to need
from now on is guts.
-Frank Little
Hellraisers Journal, Tuesday July 24, 1917
Butte, Montana – Fellow Worker Frank Little Speaks
Fellow Worker Frank Little arrived in Butte, Montana, on July 18th as a representative of the Industrial Workers of the World. The Butte Metal Mine Workers Union is officially unaffiliated with the I. W. W., and yet, Frank Little, a leader of the Metal Mine Workers Industrial Union No. 800, was welcomed whole-heartedly by the striking miners and was invited to speak at a mass meeting held on July 19th at the Columbia Garden Baseball Park.
As he spoke, a light rain began to fall. Frank looked upward into the raindrops, raised his hands and remembered the miners left in the New Mexican desert following the Bisbee Deportation:
Oh man, if this rain could only descend upon that bull pen in the hot, sun-parched desert of New Mexico, and bring some relief to the two thousand noble men held there by the uniformed federal thugs, it would be appreciated.
Frank Little closed his speech with a call for Solidarity and Unity, the only means by which the working class can gain liberty from oppression.
“Dagos are cheaper than props.”
-Mother Jone quoting a Mine Manager
Hellraisers Journal, Wednesday June 20, 1917
Butte, Montana – Metal Miners Organize and Strike
From the Phoenix Arizona Republican of June 17, 1917:
NEW UNION CLAIMS 1600 MEMBERS
—–(Republican A. P. Leased Wire)
BUTTE, Mont., June 16.-Sixteen hundred miners it was announced today, are members of the Metal Mine Workers’ Union which is about a week old. The union’s speakers, at an open air meeting attended by more than 3000 miners, appealed to the miners to continue to keep away from the mines. The union’s officials said more than 3000 miners are on strike for an increase in wages and improved working conditions.
No disturbances were reported to the police today, but several arrests were made for distributing without a license, circulars issued by the union attacking the local newspapers and urging all miners to join the union.
The mining companies reported all the mines working but with reduced forces.
