Tag: Charity

Hellraisers Journal: Whereabouts and Doings of Mother Jones for January 1908, Found Supporting the Unemployed in Chicago

Janet RayeHellraisers Journal
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You, you miserable policemen!
What business have you here?
Your presence is and insult to
the honest workingmen
who are attending this meeting.
-Mother Jones

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Hellraisers Journal, Saturday February 15, 1908
Mother Jones News Round-Up for January 1908:
-Found Speaking with Lucy Parsons in Chicago

On the evening of January 17th, at a meeting for the Unemployed at Brand’s Hall in Chicago, Mother Jones and Lucy Parsons were both found making passionate speeches which were most unfavorably reported by the kept press.

From Indiana’s Fort Wayne News of January 18, 1908:

THE ANARCHISTS WERE RESTRAINED
—–

LUCY PARSONS THE LEADING FIGURE IN LAST
EVENING’S DEMONSTRATION IN CHICAGO.
—–

Mother Jones, Mar 11, 1905, AtR

CHICAGO, Jan. 18.-The presence of a score of policemen and an equal number of plain clothes men prevented anarchy from ruling the meeting of the “unemployed” and others at Brand’s hall last night, but there was enough of it to make the occasion lively and cause J. H. Drake, who acted as chairman, to give up in disgust and leave the hall.

Not over 800 persons in all answered the call for the turnout, but it was decided to mass the unemployed next Thursday and march on the city hall to demand work. It was suggested, if no other means presented themselves, to tear down the city hall to furnish the desired work.

Mrs. Lucy Parsons, widow of the noted anarchist, Ben L. Reitman, who makes a comfortable living out of the Brotherhood Welfare association, and “Mother” Jones all took the opportunity to air their opinion of President Roosevelt and capitalists.

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Hellraisers Journal: Appeal to Reason: “The Herding of the Workers,” Rose Hawthorne Lathrop on Slums of New York

Janet RayeHellraisers Journal
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Plea for Justice, Not Charity, Quote Mother Jones

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

Hellraisers Journal, Sunday January 30, 1898
New York City Slum Life – Charity Worker Knows Not Whom to Blame

From the Appeal to Reason of January 29, 1898:

Poverty NYC by Lathrop, AtR Jan 29, 1898

Rose Hawthorne Lathrop, 1851-1926

A year ago, I started out to see what the east side of New York was like, and the street which struck me as the most astonishing in its difference from the up-town streets was Goerck Street. It was a warm August afternoon, and the inhabitants of the houses along its street were sitting on the steps and standing about the side walks, to say nothing of those upon the street itself.

I looked eagerly at the faces that should suggest dangerous depravity, and I thought I saw upon almost every countenance expressions of the most satanic cruelty and selfishness. I find that the people who visit me for investigation in this quarter of the city come in the same excited state of alarm at the character of the East Side residents. But after a few month of living among them one entirely abandons any idea of their being so different from other human beings, and there scarcely remains any surprise in one’s mind concerning them, excepting this fact of their living together in crowds, which seems dangerous to moral and physical health. I have found that it is a very common thing for a family of eight to have only one bed; so that possibly an elderly woman afflicted with a disease like rheumatism or cancerous affections in obliged to sleep upon chairs or to lie upon the floor, while the younger members of the family are piled upon the bed, and the poor little children are disposed of anywhere.

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Hellraisers Journal: Whereabouts & Doings of Mother Jones for August 1917, Part I: Found in Illinois & Indiana

Janet RayeHellraisers Journal
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There can be no democracy in this world
so long as industrial workers have to beg to live.
-Mother Jones

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

Hellraisers Journal, Thursday September 20, 1917
Mother Jones News for August, Part I: “Fire Eater” Speaks

From the The St. Louis Star of August 23, 1917:

Mother Jones Fire Eater, Lg, St L Str, Aug 23, 1917

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Hellraisers Journal: Mother Jones Comes to Duluth to Support Striking Mesabi Iron Miners

Janet RayeHellraisers Journal
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Plea for Justice, Not Charity, Quote Mother Jones

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

Hellraisers Journal, Tuesday August 27, 1907
From The Labor World: “Labor’s Little Angel” Speaks in Duluth

Mother Jones, Mar 11, 1905, AtR

Mother Jones spoke at the Duluth Armory on Sunday August 18th. With her on the platform where William E. McEwen, editor and publisher of The Labor World, and C. E. Mahoney who served as acting president of the Western Federation of Miners until the recent release of Charles Moyer from jail in Boise.

The striking iron miners of the Mesabi Range were supported by the speakers, and the steel trust and their gunthugs were condemned.

During her speech Mother Jones declared:

When they bring in the guns and the military, they think they have conquered; they rejoice at the thought they have conquered labor. You can conquer the steel trust, you can conquer the paper trust—every other trust in the world, but put it down for the editor in the morning that you can’t conquer the labor trust. If you wipe out the working class, what are the rich people going to do; they can’t even cook a meal of victuals for themselves.

From The Labor World of August 24, 1907:

ARMORY MASS MEETING WAS
MOST SUCCESSFUL
—–
Mother Jones Tells Working People of
Duluth Something About
Labor Conditions.
—–
Large Crowd Turned Out in Spite
of Inclement Weather—
Interest Was Great.
—–

The mass meeting at the armory last Sunday evening [August 18th] brought out 300 of the faithful. The weather was most unfavorable. The worst storm of the season was at its height, and even those on the program as speakers didn’t expect to see more than the committee on hand. However, the attendance was good, and spirit was high.

The meeting was called lo order by W. E. McEwen. On the platform with him were Alderman Jos. Shartell, Mother Jones, C. E. Mahoney, acting president of the Western Federation of Miners, and M. Kaplin. The Finnish band opened the meeting with the playing of the Marseilles.

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Hellraisers Journal: Whereabouts & Doings of Mother Jones for February 1917: Found in New York City & Chicago Fighting for Working-Class Women

Janet RayeHellraisers Journal
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When half a million mothers
in the richest city
in the richest country in the world
feel the pinch of hunger
as they are feeling it here now
nothing can prevent trouble.
-Mother Jones

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Hellraisers Journal, Thursday March 8, 1917
Mother Jones News for February: Fighting for Working-Class Women

Mother Jones, Colorado Military Bastile, March 1914

During the month of February 1917, before she moved on to the struggles of the working-class women in the cities of New York and Chicago, we first found Mother Jones in Washington, D. C. Here she observed a women, one of them clad in a $7,000 coat, demonstrating for women’s suffrage. Now, Hellraisers does not agree with Mother on the issue of suffrage for women, but we acknowledge that, perhaps, her attitude is shaped by having been on the front lines of the Colorado Coal Miners’ Strike of 1913-1914. In Colorado, at that time, the vote for women did very little good for miners, their wives, or their children.

In that state, women had the right to vote, nevertheless, the miners and their families suffered greatly under the rule of Governor Ammons, Democrat of Colorado. Many of these coal-camp women were immigrants who could not vote. And those women who were citizens, and had the right to vote, had first to get past the company guards before they could exercise their franchise.

The duly elected Governor Ammons sent a brutal military general to rule over the striking miners and their families. It was this Military Despotism which then resulted in the Ludlow Massacre of April 20, 1914. Mother Jones was herself a guest of the Military Bastile established under General Chase who answered directly to the democratically elected Governor of the State of Colorado.

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Hellraisers Journal: Mother Jones Speaks to Striking Chicago Garment Workers, “Don’t be afraid of their jails!”

Janet RayeHellraisers Journal
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No matter what your fight don’t be ladylike!
God Almighty made women
and the Rockefeller gang of thieves
made the ladies.
-Mother Jones

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

Hellraisers Journal, Wednesday February 28, 1917
Chicago, Illinois – Mother Jones Jumps into Garment Strike

From The Day Book of February 27th:

MOTHER JONES URGES STRONG ACTION
IN GARMENT STRIKE

Mother Jones Speaks to Chg Garment Strikers, ISR Dec 1915

The same old Mother Jones, with her scream of hatred for the bosses who grind their workers, jumped into the garment ladies garment strike yesterday. Twice she addressed the strikers and twice the crowd of workers yelled back in answer when she shouted for more vim in the strike.

“Picket,” she screamed at the packed hall at 180 W. Washington st.,

Picket! Let them arrest you. Don’t picket in ones or twos. Go in hundreds-five hundreds of you. Get out there, and if they arrest one they’ll have to arrest all of you.

When they start taking you to cells by the hundreds, taxpayers will begin asking questions. Pretty soon they’ll find out what this is all about and your strike will be won.

The substance of Mother Jones’ talk yesterday, which is as yet unprinted, follows:

They call me a radical agitator. They call your organizers radical agitators. Let me tell you that the most radical agitators we have ever had were those who founded our government. It was founded on a mighty revolt against tyrants. Let us keep up our revolt against indecent labor conditions until we clean up the bosses in Chicago.

They served me with a copy of an injunction Sunday as I came into the city. I thought it was the Salvation Army because it was handed me on the Sabbath. Then I read the name of one of your judges and I knew it was an injunction sent in violation of the Lord’s commandments. Why I’ve had enough injunctions served on me to fill 99 coffins when I go to meet my master.

I hope that Judge Baldwin has his lap dog here because I want to give him a message to carry back. I want him to hear what I have to say about this strike that I am butting into.

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Hellraisers Journal: Mother Jones Arrives in Chicago, Served with Injunction, Declares, “What a lot of rot!”

Janet RayeHellraisers Journal
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All strikes are alike;
They are protest against charity,
ignorance, misery, hunger,
industrial slavery, and jails.
-Mother Jones

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Hellraisers Journal, Tuesday February 27, 1917
Chicago, Illinois – Mother Jones Arrives to Aid Garment Strikers

Mother Jones states she will aid the garment workers now on strike in this city, court injunction notwithstanding. Most of the strikers are women. Many of them have been brought before Judge Baldwin, the old injunction judge, forced to listen to his endless lectures and sentenced for up to six months in jail.

From The Pittsburgh Press:

PREPARE TO DEAL WITH “MOTHER” JONES
—–

By United Press.

Mother Mary Harris Jones, Logansport, IN, Sept 27, 1916

Chicago, Feb. 26.-Officials anticipated activities of “Mother” Jones, aged 83, labor leader. When she arrived here from New York to participate in the garment workers’ strike, she was served with a copy of the injunction prohibiting picketing.

[She declared:]

What a lot of rot. Imagine an old judge issuing a thing like that in the twentieth century.

I shall speak in Chicago if I am asked and attend meetings too. All strikes are alike; they are a protest against charity, ignorance, misery, hunger, industrial slavery, and jails.

Miss Gertrude Barnum, who with Theodore Roosevelt, helped settle the kimona workers’ strike in 1913, has also arrived to help the strikers.

[Photograph added.]

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Hellraisers Journal: “Educate and Agitate!” Mother Jones Speaks at Labor Day Picnic in Evansville, Indiana

Janet RayeHellraisers Journal
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The miners need no angel.
They are living in hell
and they want to raise hell.
-Mother Jones

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

Hellraisers Journal, Wednesday September 6, 1916
Evansville, Indiana – Labor Day Speech of Mother Jones

From the Evansville Courier of September 5, 1916:

WILSON AND KERN LABOR’S FRIENDS
—–
Mother Jones Tells 10,000, Gathered for Labor Day,
Their Duty to Re-elect Them
—–
HAVE PROVED THEIR WORTH
—–
“Educate and Agitate” Is Her Remedy to Bring About
Further Social Reforms
—–
Tells of Her Work in West Virginia and Colorado
in Behalf of Miners
—–
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Hellraisers Journal: Mother Jones on Rich at Horse Show & Children on Breadline, One Block Away

Janet RayeHellraisers Journal
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I want justice, no more, no less.
If you’ll give us justice we won’t need charity.
-Mother Jones
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Hellraisers Journal, Saturday December 9, 1905
From the Albuquerque Evening Citizen:
Rich of Gotham Frolic While Children Stand in Breadline One Block Away

Mother Jones, Mar 11, 1905, AtR

In an article which appeared yesterday in the Albuquerque Evening Citizen, Mother Jones describes the ostentatious display of wealth at a Madison Square Garden horse show while the children of the poor queued up for stale bread one block away.

Mother describes the Rich Spectators:

Hundreds of men and women, dressed in the height of what they called fashion, were seated in boxes, facing a circle, where well-bred horses, beautifully kept, beautifully fed, beautifully groomed and carefully sheltered from the cold blast of a November evening, were prancing about on the tan bark.

The horse show was in progress. The great garden was hung with gay bunting, the air was oppressive with the perfume of cologne and flowers. Pecks of diamonds glistened at the ears and breasts of the women. Orchids, which I am told cost $5 apiece, were as common at the corsages of the society dames as are daisies in an uncultivated meadow in July.

Mother describes the Hungry Children of the Slums:

I walked a hundred paces east, toward the corner of 27th street, and Fourth avenue. A little army of children from the slums was drawn up before Cushman’s bakery. Those children are there every night at 6 o’clock, drawn up in a line of misery. They came for free bread-stale bread, something to hold together the bodies and souls of brothers and sisters and fathers and mothers.

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