Tag: Mesabi Range

Hellraisers Journal: Strike on Mesabi Iron Range Called Off by Central Committee

Janet RayeHellraisers Journal
Share

This is always a sad and bitter time
in the class struggle, to see brave workers
who had suffered and sacrificed
compelled to accept defeat.
-Elizabeth Gurley Flynn

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

Hellraisers Journal, Monday September 25, 1916
Virginia, Minnesota – Central Strike Committee Calls Off Strike

Solidarity, Mesabi, Get Out of the Way, by R Chaplin (Bingo), Aug 19, 1916

The Central Strike Committee, consisting of fifteen striking miners representing the strikers from the various towns along the Mesabi Range and of the Italian, Finnish, and Slavic nationalities, met in Virginia on September 17th and made the difficult decision to call off the strike of the iron ore miners. The striking miners and their families are facing the long, bitter, Minnesota winter with relief funds too meager to meet the needs of the hungry families.

The Strikers News, “Official Strike Bulletin of the Striking Iron Ore Miners of the Mesaba Range,” of September 22nd published the proclamation ending the strike which reads in part:
Continue reading “Hellraisers Journal: Strike on Mesabi Iron Range Called Off by Central Committee” →

Hellraisers Journal: Eugene V. Debs on “The Class War” -for the International Socialist Review

Janet RayeEugene Victor Debs
Share

The industrial union embracing all
and fighting and winning for all
is the demand of the hour and
the lesson of the years.
-Eugene Victor Debs

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

Hellraisers Journal, Friday September 1, 1916
For the Review: Debs Reflects on Labor Day

ISR, Debs on Class War, Sept 1916

LABOR DAY is drawing near and I have been asked by the Review to say a word for the special number to be issued for the celebration of that day. Labor Day this year will furnish abundant material and inspiration for its celebration.

At this writing twenty thousand iron workers are fighting for their lives on the Misaba Range. We see scarcely a mention of this desperate battle in the capitalist press and, if it were not for our own papers, chiefly the INTERNATIONAL SOCIALIST REVIEW, we would know little about the fierce industrial conflict raging in that section of the country.

Continue reading “Hellraisers Journal: Eugene V. Debs on “The Class War” -for the International Socialist Review” →

Hellraisers Journal: Mary Heaton Vorse on the Mesabi Iron Miners’ Strike in Minnesota, Part II

Janet RayeHellraisers Journal
Share

There are no limits to which
powers of privilege will not go
to keep the workers in slavery.
-Mother Jones
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hellraisers Journal, Thursday August 31, 1916
Mesabi Range, Minnesota – “Injustices, Large and Small”

From The Outlook of August 30, 1916:

THE MINING STRIKE IN MINNESOTA
-FROM THE MINERS’ POINT OF VIEW

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENCE OF THE OUTLOOK
[Report of Mary Heaton Vorse, Part II]

Mary Heaton Vorse, 1874-1966, Spartacus Ed

Under the contract system, the miner contracts to mine ore for a certain price a car load. The price of this car-load may be, and is, varied at any time according to the conditions encountered. It is the mine captain who fixes the price. According to the miners, it has been the custom to sell the best places for prices varying from the virtue of the miners’ wives and daughters to presents of drinks and cigars. So universal is this custom that any reference to the graft of the captain is received in any meeting of miners by laughter and applause.

There are at present in the hands of the Federal investigators affidavits sworn to before a notary public concerning all these forms of grafts, from insulting propositions made to the women of miners’ families to affidavits that drinks or money were paid for the job.
Continue reading “Hellraisers Journal: Mary Heaton Vorse on the Mesabi Iron Miners’ Strike in Minnesota, Part II” →

Hellraisers Journal: Mary Heaton Vorse on the Mesabi Iron Miners’ Strike in Minnesota, Part I

Janet RayeHellraisers Journal
Share

There are no limits to which
powers of privilege will not go
to keep the workers in slavery.
-Mother Jones
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hellraisers Journal, Wednesday August 30, 1916
Mesabi Range, Minnesota – “A Fierce and Important Struggle”

From The Outlook: Report of Mary Heaton Vorse, Part I:

THE MINING STRIKE IN MINNESOTA
-FROM THE MINERS’ POINT OF VIEW

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENCE OF THE OUTLOOK

March, Mesabi, Marcy, ISR Aug 1916

ONE of the most sinister aspects of life in this country is the failure of the serious and thinking people to obtain prompt information about the various industrial struggles and to get at the causes which are at the root of our industrial unrest.

Since June 3 a strike has been waged on the Mesaba Range, Minnesota, whose largest single owner is the Oliver Iron Mining Company, an arm of the Steel Trust. This strike has affected the life, not only of the twelve thousand miners employed on the Range, but of ten towns and villages from Aurora to Hibbing, a distance of sixty miles. The strike has been characterized by the prompt deputizing of a large force of gunmen, numbering, according to Sheriff J. R. Meining, of Duluth, over a thousand; more, according to residents of the Range towns.
Continue reading “Hellraisers Journal: Mary Heaton Vorse on the Mesabi Iron Miners’ Strike in Minnesota, Part I” →

Hellraisers Journal: Flynn, Vorse, and Women’s Welfare League Fight for Wives of Striking Miners

Janet RayeElizabeth Gurley Flynn
Share

You ought to be out raising hell.
This is the fighting age.
Put on your fighting clothes.
-Mother Jones
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hellraisers Journal, Tuesday August 29, 1916
Virginia, Minnesota – Mrs. Masonovitch Held in County Jail

From the Duluth Labor World of August 26, 1916:

STUDY CONDITIONS OF MINERS WIVES
—–
Women’s Welfare League Would Relieve
Suffering In Strike Zone.
—–

Masonovitch, Militza & Phillip, ISR, Nov 1916

VIRGINIA, Aug. 26.-Mrs. L. A. Hamlin of St. Paul, a member of the executive board of the Women’s Welfare league of that city, visited in Virginia and Biwabik recently, making an investigation of the strike conditions for the St. Paul club and for the charities and correction committee of the Minnesota Federation of Women’s Clubs, of which Mrs. V. F. Kinney of Minneapolis is chairman.

Mrs. Hamlin is making the investigation for the purpose of reporting on the manner in which the women of the range are treated, especially by the special deputy sheriffs employed by the mining companies. The women’s Welfare league was recently addressed by Miss Elizabeth Gurley Flynn of the I. W. W. and Marie Heaton Vorst [Mary Heaton Vorse], who visited on the range to secure news of the strike for Harper’s magazine and other eastern publications.
Continue reading “Hellraisers Journal: Flynn, Vorse, and Women’s Welfare League Fight for Wives of Striking Miners” →

Hellraisers Journal: On the Mesabi, “When Strike-Breakers Strike” by Marion B Cothren, Part II

Janet RayeHellraisers Journal
Share

You ought to be out raising hell.
This is the fighting age.
Put on your fighting clothes.
-Mother Jones
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hellraisers Journal, Monday August 28, 1916
Mesabi Range, Minnesota-Strike Investigators on the Scene

From The Survey of August 26, 1916:

MN Iron Miners Strike, Recruiting, Cothren, Survey, Aug 26, 1916

When Strike-Breakers Strike
The Demands of the Miners on the Mesaba Range
By Marion B. Cothren
[Part II]

The crux of the trouble, is the demand of the underground miners, for a minimum of $3 for dry work and $3.50 for wet. The underground men are paid either by the foot or by the carload, the rate depending upon the quality of the ore mined and conditions of work—hard and wet mining for instance bringing more than soft ore and dry mining. Thus, although the captain (boss) of the mine agrees beforehand upon the rate to be given a miner, this contract price may be changed from time to time as the character of the ore changes.
Continue reading “Hellraisers Journal: On the Mesabi, “When Strike-Breakers Strike” by Marion B Cothren, Part II” →

Hellraisers Journal: On the Mesabi, “When Strike-Breakers Strike” by Marion B Cothren, Part I

Janet RayeHellraisers Journal
Share

You ought to be out raising hell.
This is the fighting age.
Put on your fighting clothes.
-Mother Jones
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hellraisers Journal, Sunday August 27, 1916
Mesabi Range, Minnesota-“To Hell With Such Wages!”

From The Survey of August 26, 1916:

When Strike-Breakers Strike
The Demands of the Miners on the Mesaba Range
By Marion B. Cothren
[Part I]

MN Iron Miners Strike, Location, Cothren, Survey Aug 26, 1916

THE strike-breakers of 1907 have become the strikers of 1916 in the iron mines of Minnesota. Coming over in boatloads from south eastern Europe nine years ago and hired by the United States Steel Corporation to break the iron strike called at that time by the Western Federation of Miners, these polyglot nationalities speaking thirty-six different tongues have become Americanized in the melting pot of the Mesaba mines. Today Finns, Slavs, Croats, Bulgars, Italians, Rumanians, have laid down picks and shovels and are demanding an 8-hour day, a minimum wage of $3 for dry work and $3.50 for wet work in underground mines and $2.73 in open pit mines, abolition of the contract labor system, pay-day twice a month.

The last of May, so the story goes, Joe Greeni, an Italian employed underground in the Alpena mine at Virginia, Minn., opened his pay envelope to find a sum much less than he had under stood his contract called for. “To hell with such wages”, cried he, throwing his pick in the corner, whereupon he vowed never to mine another foot of ore. Second thought, however, convinced Greeni, that action was deadlier than inaction. For three days he stayed at his post, going from stope to stope, saying, “We’ve been robbed long enough, it’s time to strike!” Then he left for Aurora to begin agitation at the extreme eastern end of the range in the little St. James’ mine with its force of 40 miners.
Continue reading “Hellraisers Journal: On the Mesabi, “When Strike-Breakers Strike” by Marion B Cothren, Part I” →

Hellraisers Journal: War on the Mesabi, Forts and Searchlights Part of Plan Against Striking Iron Miners

Janet RayeElizabeth Gurley Flynn
Share

There are no limits to which
powers of privilege will not go
to keep the workers in slavery.
-Mother Jones

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

Hellraisers Journal, Friday August 18, 1916
Mesabi Iron Range, Minnesota-I. W. W. Leaders Under Arrest

From Indiana’s Evansville Press of August 17, 1916:

LEADERS OF MESABI MINE STRIKE KIDNAPPED?
FORTS AND SEARCHLIGHTS PART OF WAR PLAN!

Special Correspondence.
EGF, Tresca, MN Iron Miners Strike, Ev IN, Aug 17, 1916

HIBBING, Minn., Aug, 17.-“Forts” are being erected by gunmen of the steel trust interest in the hills of Mesabi iron range; searchlights play by night over the mining villages, up and down the main streets of Hibbing, Virginia and Eveleth; kidnaping, the “bullpen” and wholesale intimidation are said to be an attempt to crush the growing strike of workers.

Put in Jail

On the smaller Cuyuna range, south of this district, the strike already has resulted in a miners’ victory, and this fact is spurring the Mesabi strikers on to greater effort and sacrifices in their own strike.

The county jail at Duluth, 75 to 100 miles from the scene of the strike, is filled with miners’ leaders arrested on technical charges of “murder,” the only excuse for which seems to be in the fact that in a free-for-all fight at Biwabik, responsibility for which has not been yet fixed, two men were killed!

All the miners arrested on “murder” or “riot” charges are railroaded down to Duluth, where there is a large colony in jail, including Joe Schmidt, Carlo Tresca, Frank Little, Sam Scarlett and Jos. Gilday all prominent strike leaders.
Continue reading “Hellraisers Journal: War on the Mesabi, Forts and Searchlights Part of Plan Against Striking Iron Miners” →

Hellraisers Journal: “The Iron Heel on the Mesaba Range” by Leslie H. Marcy, Illustrated by George Dawson, Part II

Janet RayeHellraisers Journal
Share

There are no limits to which
powers of privilege will not go
to keep the workers in slavery.
-Mother Jones
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wednesday August 2, 1916
The Mesabi Range, Minnesota – Iron Miners Speak Out

From this month’s edition of the International Socialist Review:

Red Girls, Mesabi, Marcy, ISR Aug 1916
Continue reading “Hellraisers Journal: “The Iron Heel on the Mesaba Range” by Leslie H. Marcy, Illustrated by George Dawson, Part II” →

Hellraisers Journal: “The Iron Heel on the Mesaba Range” by Leslie H. Marcy, Illustrated by George Dawson, Part I

Janet RayeHellraisers Journal
Share
There are no limits to which
powers of privilege will not go
to keep the workers in slavery.
-Mother Jones
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tuesday August 1, 1916
The Mesabi Range, Minnesota – Miners Ruled by Deputized Gunthugs

From this month’s edition of the International Socialist Review:

Parade, Mesabi, Marcy, ISR Aug 1916
Continue reading “Hellraisers Journal: “The Iron Heel on the Mesaba Range” by Leslie H. Marcy, Illustrated by George Dawson, Part I” →