Hellraisers Journal – Saturday January 11, 1913
Leavenworth, Kansas – Heavily Guarded Train Carries Union Men to Prison
From the United Labor Bulletin of January 2, 1913:
Note: Article continues with names, residences and organizations of other men transported to Leavenworth along with President Ryan, and continues further with remarks of Judge Anderson at sentencing.
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Hellraisers Journal – Thursday March 28, 1912
Mother Jones News Round-Up for February 1912, Part II
The Four Score Hard Winters of Labor’s Heroine by Lawrence Todd
From The Tacoma Times of February 14, 1912:
Four Score Hard Winters Has Mother Jones Seen,
and She Is a Heroine in Labor’s Ranks Still
———-BY LAWRENCE TODD.
“Where do you live, ‘”Mother Jones?” asked the chairman of a Congressional investigating committee of a little old woman in rusty black.
She had kindly, determined Irish features and the most piercing and confusing of blue Irish eyes. Brave, kindly, faith-inspiring eyes the old woman had, and a motherly way of speaking when she was not aroused. But this chairman was trying to defend the steel barons from the charge of enslaving their men.
“I live in the United States, sorr,” she replied.
“But where-in what state have you a home?”
“Where the big thieves are wringing their dollars out of the blood and bone of my poor, miserable people, sorr,” came back the reply, in a voice like that of an accusing judge. “Sometimes it is among the slaves of the Alabama iron mines; sometimes with the gold and silver miners of Arizona, where the Southern Pacific has fastened itself on their throats; sometimes with the boys on the northern copper range, and often in the coal miners’ shacks in Pennsylvania or West Virginia. Where you send your militia where men are shot and women driven from their homes at night by armed bullies, there I stay.”
“Mother” Jones is nearly 80 years of age. What she told the corporation congressman is literally true. For more than a generation she has been an organizer for the Western Federation of Miners and for their brothers, the United Mine Workers. Strikes she has seen and taken a part in, since she was a little girl in a southern cotton mill. Once she led 1,500 women of the coal miners’ families against a Colorado sheriff and his deputies. The sheriff for once was driven back from the strikers picket line.
At another crisis, when the children of the Philadelphia factories were crying for protection, “Mother” Jones shocked the community by organizing a great parade of 7,000 crippled and maimed boys and girls, ragged and pale, underfed and haggard as factory children always become, to march through the streets of the fashionable shopping quarter. Always she is making a fight against social wrongs. Usually she is dramatic about it. Always her warm heart and her fearless tongue, and her white forehead that has more than once been pressed by the muzzle of a deputy’s gun, endear her to the wretched people who spend their days in factories and mines.
Just now the miners have lent “Mother” to the striking stoop employes of the Harriman railroads in the western country, where she is making appeals to the women to do picket duty. Incidentally she visited the convention of the California State Building Trades council at Fresno, and urged the delegates to stand by their officials, Tveitmoe and Johannsen, indicted in connection with the alleged dynamiting conspiracy.
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Hellraisers Journal – Wednesday March 27, 1912
Mother Jones News Round-Up for February 1912, Part I
Found in Colorado, Wyoming, Illinois, Ohio and Indiana
From the Appeal to Reason of February 3, 1912:
The California Building Trades convention [of late January] unanimously adopted a resolution calling for a conference between the Socialist Party, the state A. F. of L. and the State Building Trades, with a view to united political action for the working class. Job Harriman, Mother Jones and Alexander Irvine were among the speakers at the convention.
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[Photograph added.]
From the Denver Rocky Mountain News of February 7, 1912:
ROOSEVELT ‘MONKEY CHASER,’
DECLARES ‘MOTHER’ JONES
———-“WALL STREET WILL ELECT HIM NEXT PRESIDENT,”
SAYS WOMAN LABOR LEADER.
———-That Theodore Roosevelt is a “monkey chaser,” but will be elected the next president of the United States despite the fact, is the opinion of “Mother” Jones, who arrived in Denver yesterday to investigate labor conditions.
“I have no doubt that Roosevelt will be the next president,” she says. “Of course, I have no use for him, but he plays to the galleries, and a Wall street will elect him.
“He is the fellow who sent guns to murder the working men in the strike of 1904 [Telluride, November 1903].
“Taft is right in with him, but I think that Taft is more of a gentleman than Roosevelt is.”
“Mother” Jones will make an address at Eagle hall tomorrow night, under the auspices of the Western Federation of Miners.
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From Denver’s United Labor Bulletin of February 8, 1912:
“MOTHER” JONES SPEAKS TO
FEDERATED SHOPMENStrike Is Already Won, Says “Mother”
Many Entertainments for Benefit of Strikers“Mother” Jones spoke to a large crowd at Eagles’ hall Wednesday night, and during her address but one man left the hall. She spoke to the striking Federated Shopmen, and her discourse covered a period of two and one-half hours. “Mother” Jones has passed through the entire life of the labor movement in the United States. The daughter of a miner and later a miner’s wife, she was reared and spent her life in the labor movement. She has a wonderful memory, and in her address she followed the evolution of the labor movement in the United States, and told of how labor has been exploited by capital to the detriment of the human race.
“Mother” Jones has been traveling over the Harriman system, and said that the strike of the shopmen was won now, and it was only a matter of time until the roads will sign up. She said that on one occasion where a train on which she was riding had a nine-hour schedule it took the train thirty-six hours to make the trip.
From Rawlins Republican (Wyoming) of February 8, 1912:
MOTHER JONES HERE
Last Thursday evening in the Danish hall Mother Jones spoke to the striking shopmen and several of their friends. The crowd was very enthusiastic and frequently applauded the speaker.
Mother Jones is a strong and vigorous speaker and does not hesitate to call a spade a spade. She assured the strikers that she was confident that a settlement of their troubles would be made in the near future, advised them to remain firm in their demands and not desert the cause for which they had been fighting for so long. She urged the men strongly to remain away from the saloons and gambling houses and prophesied that if this was not done much discredit would be thrown upon the cause they represent.
As is usual in labor leaders, she strongly denounced the capitalist class and even took a shot at several of she religious organizations.
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Hellraisers Journal – Thursday February 22, 1912
Mother Jones News Round-Up for January 1912, Part II
Found in Fresno at State Convention of Building Trades Council
From The Fresno Morning Republican of January 17, 1912:
[Delegates to the California State Convention of the Building Trades Council.]
The picture contains most of the prominent labor leaders attending the sessions of the B. T. C. Olaf A Tveitmoe, seated in front can be picked out by his cane. On his right is President McCarthy, ex-mayor of San Francisco, and on McCarthy’s right, J. B. Bowen, first vice president and acting president during McCarthy’s mayoralty. Anton Johannsen, state organizer, and under indictment with Tveitmoe, is seated on the extreme right of the picture. The picture was taken yesterday noon by a representative of the Western Panoramic company of San Jose.
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UNION MEN URGED TO VOTE AS CLASS
———-
Resolutions Propose Minimum Wage Scale
of $2 and 8-Hour Day
———-According to the official report given out yesterday from the session of the California Sate Building Trades Council, the reports from the different local councils give promises of support, both financial and moral, for the fight growing out of the recent indictments returned by the federal grand jury of Los Angeles against Olaf A. Tveitmoe and Anton Johannsen. This information was given out by Tveitmoe, who as secretary is the press bureau of the convention…
The second day of the eleventh annual convention of the California State Building Trades Council which is being held at the Union hall, was marked by speeches by Job Harriman, defeated candidate for mayor of Los Angeles, and Alexander Irvine his campaign manager, urging the banding together of all union men for political purposes. These two speakers are themselves socialists, and would probably prefer to have organized labor fall into the ranks of the Socialist party, but nothing definitely suggesting this was made in their speeches. They urged co-operation between unions and Socialists, probably leading to a Labor-Socialist party.
[…..]
PUBLIC MEETING TONIGHT
In order to allow the general public an opportunity to hear the prominent labor leaders who are now here, a mass meeting of all delegates and visitors will be held at the Barton opera house tonight at 8 o’clock, to which the general public is invited and urged to be present. Olaf A. Tveitmoe, the indicted secretary-treasurer; P. H. McCarthy, ex-mayor of San Francisco; Job Harriman, candidate for mayor of Los Angeles and Alexander Irvine, one of the henchmen of Harriman in his fight for the mayoralty, will all speak…
“Mother” Jones eighty years old and for many years connected with the labor movement of all branches, arrived in Fresno last evening and will probably be one of the speakers of the public mass meeting…..
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