Tag: McKees Rocks Pressed Steel Car Strike of 1909

Hellraisers Journal: McKees Rocks Pressed Steel Car Company Charged with Holding Strikebreakers in Peonage

Janet RayeHellraisers Journal
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Quote Mother Jones, Powers of Privilege, Ab Chp III———-

Hellraisers Journal – Tuesday August 31, 1909
McKees Rocks Pressed Steel Car Company Faces Charges of Peonage

From The Pittsburgh Post of August 28, 1909:

McKees Rocks Strike, Fed Investigation re Peonage, Ptt Pst p1, Aug 28, 1909—–

BRUTALITY, POOR FOOD, DAILY DIET
—–
Witness Collapses at the Inquiry.
—–

NIGHT SESSION
—–

Testimony of a startling nature tending to prove that imported workmen were held in restraint within the Schoenville stockade by clubs, blackjacks and riot guns, was brought out yesterday at the Government inquiry into the charges of peonage against officials of the [McKees Rocks] Pressed Steel Car Company.

Beginning yesterday morning and continuing until late last night, witnesses told in harrowing details of terrible times within the big Schoenville enclosure.

Mute evidence of the condition of the company’s food supply was furnished at the night session in the Federal building, when James Morris, one of the strike-breakers, fainted as he was about to be put on the stand. Willing hands carried the poor fellow out of the judge’s chamber and into the corridors, where a physician diagnosed his ailment as ptomaine poisoning. He was taken away in an ambulance.

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Hellraisers Journal: From the Spokane Industrial Worker: News of McKees Rocks Strike: “Massacre of Working People”

Janet RayeHellraisers Journal
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Quote Mother Jones, Powers of Privilege, Ab Chp III———-

Hellraisers Journal – Friday August 27, 1909
Industrial War at McKees Rocks, New Castle, & Butler, Pennsylvania

From the Spokane Industrial Worker of August 26, 1909:

-from page 2

Massacre of Working People

IWW McKees Rocks, HdLn re Mass Mtg Indian Mound Aug 15, Ptt Pst p2, Aug 16, 1909The strike of the workers at the Pressed Steel Car plant, and at McKees Rocks, New Castle and Butler, Pa., near Pittsburg, is being fought by the employers and their troops with all the brutally and outrage which remind one of Homestead and the other slaughter pens of America. In addition to numerous outrages on the part of the employers’ troops, on August 22, 10 strikers were killed buy the militia, who opened a volley fire on the crowd of men, women and children. Four of the bloodthirsty soldiers were killed in the fight. They, at least, will never kill any more strikers. The account of the affair, while distressing, is a reminder that the fighting spirit of the workers is not dead, and that the working people are realizing that they have no rights to life, liberty, or the pursuit of happiness, unless they have the power themselves to enforce those rights. It is not for the parlor, kidglove revolutionist to preach meekness and “peaceful methods” to these brave workers who are fighting for their lives and to protect the honor of their families, nor for other working people to lay down hard and fast rules for those who are goaded and stung by tyranny and oppression……

It has taken untold tears and bloodshed to prove that the working class must unite as a class. The I. W. W. is the hope of those who detest bloodshed, and who, not deluded by reliance on the laws of the enemy, are still able to recognize that industrial control includes military control, and that the supreme court of society is in the world’s bread-basket.

The principal speaker at a mass meeting at Indian Mound on August 15 was the general organizer of the I. W. W., Wm. E. Trautmann. There were over 8,000 present at this meeting. The account of this meeting will be found in an extract from an employing class paper, the Pittsburg Post, on pages 1-3 of this paper [page 2 of August 16th edition, see newsclip]. This fight is against the United States Steel Corporation-an industrial union of employers. It is up to the working people of American and the world to help themselves by giving money to the strikers, and publicity to the cruelties practiced on the striking workers in Pennsylvania. An injury to one is an injury to all.

———-

[Newsclip added is from Pittsburgh Post of August 16, 1909.]

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Hellraisers Journal: Eugene V. Debs Speaks to 1,000 Strikers at McKees Rocks: 15 Nationalities; One Class

Janet RayeEugene Victor Debs
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Quote EVD to McKees Rocks Strikers, Aug 25, Butler PA Ctzn p1, Aug 26, 1909———-

Hellraisers Journal – Thursday August 26, 1909
McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania – Eugene Debs Speaks to Strikers

From Pennsylvania’s Butler Citizen of August 26, 1909:

Eugene V. Debs Makes Good His Declaration
and Speaks to Men
—–

EVD Photo Crpd, AtR p3, Nov 21, 1908

PITTSBURG, August 25.-Eugene V. Debs, late candidate for President on the Socialist ticket, today addressed the strikers of the Pressed Steel Car Company on the Indian Mound, McKees Rocks.

Debs and J. W. Slayton, Socialist organizer for Pittsburg, went to McKees Rocks by trolley and were met at the foot of the bridge by a committee of strikers. They were then escorted to Indian Mound, where more than l,000 men had gathered. Only four women were at the meeting.

Mr. Debs’ remarks were terse and to the point. His voice could be heard plainly for quite a distance, and his denunciation of the Pressed Steel Car Company aroused much enthusiasm. He said:

There are 15 nationalities represented here this morning, but you are of one class. You are workmen, united in a single cause. You are wage-slaves in the eyes of the corporation. Though I cannot understand your language I can read your hearts and can make myself understood to you.

I, too, have suffered. I have been on strike and have become involved in riots. I know what it is to face a heartless power.

This desperate fight must be continued. The eyes of the civilized world and the eyes of all the laborers of the world are upon you. It is the greatest labor fight in all history. The laboring men in Pittsburg particularly should stand by their fellow workers in this fight,

I want to warn you of traitors, beware of spies. They circulate among you and talk your language. They pretend to suffer with you when in reality they are employes of the Press Steel Car Company.

They are employed by parasites who are lounging in their summer retreats while you are suffering and starving. You make the money which the degenerate sons of these parasites squander on champagne. They hold that the cheapest thing in the world is human flesh. Your blood means nothing to them. Because you have walked away from your work you are be shot.

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WE NEVER FORGET: Martyrs of the McKees Rocks Pressed Steel Car Strike, Bloody Sunday, August 22, 1909

Janet RayeEugene Victor Debs
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Quote Mother Jones, Pray for dead, Ab Chp 6, 1925———-

WNF McKees Rocks PA Bloody Sunday Aug 22, 1909———-

WE NEVER FORGET
The Martyrs of the McKees Rocks Strike
Who Lost Their Lives in Freedom’s Cause
on Bloody Sunday, August 22, 1909

Funeral of Joseph Hruska, Russian Striker, Age 20
-from The Pittsburg Press of August 24, 1909:

WNF Crpd, Joseph Hruska, McKees Rocks Bloody Sunday, EVD, WDC Eve Str p2, Aug 24, 1909

FUNERAL OF HRUSKA

The funeral services for Joseph Hruska, aged 20 years, of Shingiss street, McKees Rocks, who died as a result of a wound received during the riot Sunday evening, were held this morning in the Greek Catholic church on Helen street, Stowe township.

Hruska was unmarried and is survived by a father and mother living in Russia. The mass was celebrated by the Rev. Father Anton Knoseskes, pastor, the body being carried into the church at 9:30 o’clock.

A parade from the church to St. Mary’s cemetery was planned by the strikers. In the line places were given to the Lodge No. 390, Arch-Michael Greek Catholic Russian society, of McKees Rocks, to which the dead man belonged, and to 200 members of the Spolok Slavish society, Lodge No. 95, K. J., of McKees Rocks.

[Emphasis adde.]
[Newsclip added from Washington Evening Star of August 24, 1909.]

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Hellraisers Journal: Bloody Sunday at McKees Rocks Pressed Steel Car Strike, “Six Are Dead and More Dying”

Janet RayeHellraisers Journal
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Quote Mother Jones, Powers of Privilege, Ab Chp III
———-

Hellraisers Journal – Tuesday August 24, 1909
McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania – Bloody Sunday Leaves Six Dead

From The Pittsburg Press of August 23, 1909:

WNF McKees Rocks Bloody Sunday edit, Ptt Prs p1, Aug 23, 1909

Detail 1: McKees Rocks Strikers Battle “Cossacks”

WNF McKees Rocks Bloody Sunday Detail 1, Ptt Prs p1, Aug 23, 1909

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WE NEVER FORGET: Striker Steve Horvat Who Lost His Life August 12, 1909, Martyr of the McKees Rocks Strike

Janet RayeWe Never Forget
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Quote Mother Jones, Pray for dead, Ab Chp 6, 1925———-

WNF Steve Horvat, McKees Rocks Strike PA, Aug 12, 1909———-

WE NEVER FORGET
Steve Horvat-August 12, 1909
Martyr of th McKees Rocks Pressed Steel Car Strike 

From The Pittsburg Press of August 12, 1909:

Major Smith, Colored, Shoots Into
Attacking Crowd and Fatally
Wounds “Steve” Horvat
—–
PICKETS IN STRIKE ZONE
—–

McKees Rocks Strike, WNF Steve Horvat, Ptt Prs p1, Aug 12, 1909

More rioting, during which a foreigner was shot and killed, and the eviction of strikers and their families caused intense excitement in the Schoenville strike zone today.

Major Smith, a negro, said to be employed as a strike-breaker by the Pressed Steel Car Co., early this morning shot and killed “Steve” Horvat, one of the striking workmen. Smith was attacked by several foreigners and says he shot in self-defense. He was badly beaten up during the fight, and this afternoon was lodged in the county jail…..

Witnesses to the shooting say the negro fought at great odds and only fired when his life was endangered, and while lying on the ground, having been felled by a rain of blows from the fists of the strikers and a large rock wielded by one of the attacking party. The shooting occurred at 5 o’clock this morning.

The dead man was 27 years old, married living on Lewicki street, McKees Rocks. He leaves a wife and one child…..

At the strikers’ mass meeting today the death of Horvat was discussed and he was referred to as a martyr to the cause. A subscription fund was started to bear the funeral expenses and give aid to the widow. About $1,500 was subscribed, but some of this money will not be available until after the men get to work.

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Hellraisers Journal: McKees Rocks: Faced with Brutality Surpassing Belief, “Steel Strikers Are Determined to Win”

Janet RayeHellraisers Journal
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Quote Mother Jones, Powers of Privilege, Ab Chp III———-

Hellraisers Journal – Thursday July 29, 1909
McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania – Conditions No Longer Endurable

From the Duluth Labor World of July 24, 1909:

STEEL STRIKERS ARE DETERMINED TO WIN
—–
Hideous Brutality of Pressed Steel Car Company
Almost Surpasses Belief.
—–

CONDITION OF EMPLOYES NO LONGER ENDURABLE
—–
Startling Revelations Made by
Ex-Coroner Armstrong of Pittsburg.
—–

In spite of the fact that news dispatches from the Pittsburg strike district all emanate from prejudicial sources, enough has leaked out to reveal the exceptionally villainous character of the management of the Pressed Steel Car Company.

McKees Rocks Strike, Armed Deps, State Troops, Albq Ctz p1, July 19, 1909

By Coroner Armstrong.

Some of the facts stated by Mr. Armstrong are as follows:

Sufficient care has not always been exercised by those running the plant. The Pressed Steel Car Company kills at its works one man per cay on an average. Those running the plant didn’t care much whether they killed a few “hunkies ” or not. The company had a sort of insurance that was very dangerous to human life, since it let the company out of all damages for deaths from injuries and permitted it to become very careless. Soon after becoming coroner he was compelled to place six or seven men high in the company under arrest in order to compel them to give him information regarding deaths in the plant. He made it so hot for the company that it was compelled to take some precautions, and its death roll was, in consequence, reduced about 65 per cent.

According to the Pittsburg evening papers one of the mills has long been known as the “slaughter house” because so many men were killed there. Another plant bears the inviting name of the “last chance,” for no man ever seeks work in that mill if he has a chance on earth outside-a magnificent illustration, by the way, of the bountiful opportunities which this marvelously rich country holds out to all men.

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Hellraisers Journal: At Mass Meeting, McKees Rocks Strikers Cheer Speeches of Socialists J. W. Slayton & Rose Maritzer

Janet RayeHellraisers Journal
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Quote Mother Jones, re Ruling Class, AtR p2, Jan 23, 1909———-

Hellraisers Journal – Thursday July 22, 1909
McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania – Strikers Cheer Socialists at Mass Meeting

From The Pittsburg Press of July 19, 1909:

“NO SURRENDER” IS SLOGAN OF THE STRIKERS
—–
American Workmen Are Not Fooled by Ruse and
Refuse to Take Places of Men Who Quit
—–

CHEER ADDRESSES MADE BY SOCIALIST LEADERS
—–

While the Pressed Steel Car Co.’s attempt to resume work in full this morning at its McKees Rocks plant failed utterly, the strikers held a rousing meeting of several hours’ duration, at which they agreed to stick together and fight indefinitely.

An impressive scene was presented on the Indian Mound, which from the beginning of the strike has been used as the meeting place for the workmen. Between 4,000 and 5,000 men and women of many nationalities congregated there and were addressed in stirring manner in their own languages by speakers of more than local repute.

McKees Rocks Strike, Rose Maritzer Socialist, Ptt Prs p1, July 210, 1909

—–

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Hellraisers Journal: McKees Rocks Strikers Issue Proclamation: “We shall fight to a finish, as it is our right.”

Janet RayeHellraisers Journal
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Quote Mother Jones, We Will Rest, UMWC Jan 27, 1909———-

Hellraisers Journal – Wednesday July 21, 1909
McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania – Strikers of Pressed Steel Car Co. Issue Proclamation

From The Pittsburg Press of July 18, 1909:

McKees Rocks Strike, K. Nagy, WB Remay, Ptt Prs p1, July 18, 1909

—–

Proclamation by Strikers
——

In refutation of the repeated statements of the officials of the Pressed Steel Car Co., that no strike exists at the Schoenville plant, the organized strikers yesterday issued a formal proclamation. It affirms in the strongest language that a strike is in progress and cites examples of the company’s alleged wage scale under the “pool system.” The proclamation, issued in behalf of the employes by William B. Remay and K. Nagy. is as follows:

Citizens Workingmen:

We talk to you, the oppressed workers, banished by the strike:

Public opinion is not sufficiently informed of the situation, and according to the statement of the directors of the Pressed Steel Car Co. there is no strike existing at McKees Rocks.

We call this statement an untruth. Yes. there is a strike and we proclaim it openly before the public that the bad conduct of the directory of the company is the direct cause of it. We complained numerous times but our complaints have never been listened to, and after complaining again last Monday, we got for our answer: “Your services are no longer required,” and we have been driven out of the works.

Citizens and workingmen, would you have acted in any other way than we did?

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