Hellraisers Journal – Sunday February 13, 1910
Mother Jones News Round-Up for January 1910, Part II:
-Found in Indianapolis Speaking at Mine Workers’ Convention
From The Indianapolis Star of January 25, 1910:
From Hellraisers Journal of January 29, 1910
-Indianpolis, Indiana – Mother Jones Speaks to Her Boys:
From The Indianapolis News of January 26, 1910:
Mother Jones Speaks.
After music by the Lianelly Royal Welsh choir, which was applauded with a warmth that showed thorough appreciation. President [Thomas L.] Lewis introduced Mother Jones, who misses no convention of the miners. Mother Jones arraigned capital and set forth the claims of labor to better treatment. She referred to the anthracite strike and the Colorado strike.
Hellraisers Journal – Saturday February 12, 1910
Mother Jones News Round-Up for January 1910, Part I:
-Found with the Miners of Northeastern Pennsylvania
Indianapolis Star of January 25, 1910 —–
From the Wilkes-Barre Evening News
of January 5, 1910:
“Mother” Jones, who was such a prominent figure in the 1900 and 1902 strikes of the miners in this region, last night addressed the miners of Beaver Brook and was there given a hearty ovation. She will make a number of addresses in the lower end of the county to mine workers. “Mother” Jones who is now past the 70 year mark is always a welcome visitor among the miners.
[Emphasis added.]
From the Shenandoah Evening Herald
of January 5, 1910:
Mother Jones In Hazleton.
Among the visitors to Hazleton yesterday was “Mother” Jones, the well known organizer of the United Mine Workers, who took such a prominent part in the miners’ strike of this section. She was on her way from Philadelphia to the West. She just assisted the shirt waist strikers in their struggle in the Quaker City.
From The Philadelphia Inquirer
of January 6, 1910:
“Mother Jones” in Hazleton
Special to The Inquirer.
HAZLETON. Jan. 5.-Fresh from Philadelphia, where she helped in the strike of the shirtwaist workers. “Mother” Jones, who was a leading figure in the mines’ strikes of 1900 and 1902 in this section, arrived here today to conduct a series of meetings throughout the district among the miners “Mother” Jones has not been in the anthracite field since 1902.
Hellraisers Journal – Monday January 31, 1910
Spokane, Washington – Free Speech Fighters Suffer Sweating, Hunger and Cold
From The Progressive Woman of January 1910:
RUSSIAN METHODS IN SPOKANE.
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Every once in a while things happen in the United States that seem for the world like Russia. The “bull-pen” episode in Colorado a few years ago was one of these. The present fight for free speech out in Spokane is another. The authorities out there took it upon themselves to deny the right of free speech to the Socialists, and the Socialist labor organization, the Industrial Workers of the World, with its official organ, The Industrial Worker, and its headquarters in Spokane, is bearing the brunt of this fight.
As fast as men are thrown into jail for attempting to hold their usual street meetings others come to take their places. In fact, the comrades are pouring in from every section of the country to help in this fight.
And it is a serious business. Young men, without funds, but anxious to help, take advantage of every possible means of reaching Spokane, even to “riding the rods” through the long dreary cold of the north west. One splendid young comrade from Chicago was killed while making his way in this manner; another was hurt in a wreck. Others suffered agonies from hunger and the cold. But none have turned back.
Hellraisers Journal – Sunday January 30, 1910
Indianpolis, Indiana – Mother Jones Speaks at Mine Workers’ Convention
From Stenographic Report of Convention by Mary Burke East:
[Eighth Day-Wednesday, January 26th, Morning Session]
President [Thomas L.] Lewis—We have with us this morning a person who has visited our convention for a number of years, and who is probably known to a great number of the delegates present. To those who have worked in the non-union districts Mother Jones needs no introduction. To those who have attended our conventions for a number of years she needs no introduction. To the new delegates who are here I may say she has done a great deal of work for this organization, especially during strike periods. I take pleasure in presenting to you Mother Jones.
[Mother Jones]-Mr. President and Fellow Workers—The struggle of the workers down the ages has been that of blood; it has been that of hunger. Today the struggle is reaching its final crisis. The forces are lined up against us. Today we are waiting for the last great battle of man with man, and when this battle is over humanity will be free, there will be no robber class and no working class. I heard a speaker who represented the steel industry portray the conditions of the workers in his organization. It is well to consider where we stand today. We are up against a condition unknown to the industrial bodies of this nation in its past history. Go over to China and you will find 20,000 men working in one mill alone, and for his work each one receives 7 cents a day. You can see they have almost crushed out the organization of steel workers, and they are reaching out to crush other organizations. Therefore it is necessary for us to unite our forces. I agree with the Vice-President of this organization and with the president of Illinois that the time is here when the steel workers, the mine workers and the railroad men must join hands and say to the pirates of the human race that they can no longer rob us and murder us.
Hellraisers Journal – Saturday January 29, 1910
Indianpolis, Indiana – Mother Jones Speaks to Her Boys
From The Indianapolis News of January 26, 1910:
UNIONS OF MINERS TO WORK TOGETHER —– U. M. W. of A. Adopts Report of Joint Committee Advocating It. ——
[…..]
Indianapolis Star of January 25, 1910
The adoption of the report of the joint committee representing the United Mine Workers of America and the Western Federation of Miners, that had, in accordance with previous action by the convention, drawn up an agreement for a closer connection between the two organizations, was one of the important matters at this morning’s session of the United Mine Workers of America, in annual meeting in Tomlinson hall. The report, among other advised the co-operation of the organizers of the two unions in organizing the non-union coal miners and metal miners in every section of the American continent. The recommendations of the joint committee must next be referred to the Western Federation of Miners……
Mother Jones Speaks.
After music by the Lianelly Royal Welsh choir, which was applauded with a warmth that showed thorough appreciation. President [Thomas L.] Lewis introduced Mother Jones, who misses no convention of the miners. Mother Jones arraigned capital and set forth the claims of labor to better treatment. She referred to the anthracite strike and the Colorado strike.
She spoke of the financeering ability of the woman that attends to the purchasing for a large family and said such a woman does not get the credit she deserves. She criticised the National Civic Federation and said she would rather die in jail than to die eating a meal with the civic federation.
She said she was going to Milwaukee to organise the girls in the breweries and then she was going to St. Louis and then she was going to the anthracite field to “start another war if you don’t move up.”
She said she was in favor of the destruction of jails and turning them into school houses, and making the jailers “do an honest day’s work.”
Hellraisers Journal – Wednesday January 26, 1910
New York, New York – How the Shirt Waist Girls’ Strike Began
From the Duluth Labor World of January 22, 1910:
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By ROBERTUS LOVE.
[Part II of II.]
How General Strike Began.
The general strike was not declared until Nov. 22, when at a great mass meeting in the hall of Cooper Union, where Abraham Lincoln made his first speech in the east, President Gompers of the American Federation of Labor delivered an address on the shirt waist workers’ situation. A Jewish girl [Clara Lemlich], representing many thousands of her nationality who work in the waist shops, advanced to the front of the platform and delivered in Yiddish an appeal to those of her race to strike immediately. More than 2,000 right hands went up in response. The sentiment for an immediate and wholesale strike spread to the Italian and American shirt waist makers, and the “walk out” of seven-eighths of those employed in that industry was the result.
Hellraisers Journal – Tuesday January 25, 1910
New York, New York – Shirt Waist Girls’ Strike Making History
From the Duluth Labor World of January 22, 1910:
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By ROBERTUS LOVE.
[Part I of II.]
IN the history of the world no such scenes have been witnessed as those which nearly two months past have characterized the strike of the shirt waist makers in the city of New York. Nearly 35,000 girls and women, members of the Ladies’ Shirt Waist Makers’ union, were engaged at first in this greatest strike of women workers ever known. For the first time since industrial conditions became such that women have been compelled to go out from home and support themselves and dependent relatives nearly all the workers in a great industry in one of the foremost cities of the world have engaged in a struggle with their employers, refusing to return to work until certain demands which they consider just shall be complied with by the bosses.
Conspicuous and significant features of the shirt waist girls’ strike have been the entrance into the struggle of many women of great wealth and high social position and of others whose collegiate culture may be calculated by the unthinking to lift them so far above the plane of the working girl that a feeling of sympathy for her is scarcely expected of them.
Yet these college bred women not only have declared their sympathy for the strikers, but many have gone on active service as watchers and pickets to aid them in inducing nonunion girls not to take their places.
Hellraisers Journal – Monday January 17, 1910
New York, New York – Shirtwaist Makers: “On Strike Against God”
From The Public of January 14, 1910:
The Girls’ Strike in New York Winning Out.
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More than 30,000 of the shirtwaist makers on strike in New York [see The Public of January 7] were reported on the 7th to have won their fight. Two hundred and seventy-one manufacturers had at that time signed the agreement with the union, granting all the demands of the girls. There were still about 6,000 girls out.
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One of the men strikers who recently appeared in the Children’s court against a strike-breaker, was asked by Magistrate Olmstead if he were working. “Not now,” replied the striker, “we are on strike.” “No,” said Magistrate Olmstead. “I know you are not working and are on strike. You are on strike against God and nature, whose prime law is that man shall earn his bread in the sweat of his brow. You are on strike against God.” Thereupon Elizabeth Dutcher of the Women’s Trade Union League sent the following cablegram to George Bernard Shaw:
Shaw, 10 Adelphi Terrace, London.
Magistrate tells shirtwaist maker here he is on strike against God, whose prime law is man should earn bread in sweat of brow. Please characterize. Reply. Charges paid.
The following reply was promptly received:
Women’s Trade Union League, New York.
Delightful, medieval America always in the intimate personal confidence of the Almighty.
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