Hellraisers Journal: Mother Jones in Atlanta, Georgia, Where Legislation on Child Labor Is Pending, Gives Interview

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

Tuesday July 18, 1916
Atlanta, Georgia – Mother Jones in City for Short Stay

From The Atlanta Constitution of July 12, 1916:

Mother Jones, Atlanta Constitution, July 12, 1916


Mother Jones, Laborers’ Friend,
Confers With Local Leaders
—–


Picturesque Character Here on
Flying Visit-
Is Her Visit Inspired by Pending
Legislation Before General Assembly?
-She Will Not Answer.
—–

Mother Jones, known internationally for her defense of organized labor and for agitation for improved labor conditions generally, arrived in Atlanta early yesterday afternoon, direct from Washington, D. C., on a mission, the precise nature of which she declines to reveal. She is scheduled to leave the city this afternoon.

At the train Mother Jones was met by a delegation of union labor friends, headed by Jerome Jones, editor of The Atlanta Journal of Labor, and was taken at once to the Ansley hotel, where she is a guest. During the afternoon she visited the federal penitentiary.

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Hellraisers Journal: Whereabouts & Doings of Mother Jones for June 1916: Arizona Newspaper Revives Polly Pry

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

Thursday July 6, 1916
Mother Jones Defamed by Newspaper of Clifton, Arizona

Mother Jones, UMWJ, Feb 10, 1916

The Copper Era of Clifton, Arizona, took on both Mother Jones and Charles Moyer, President of the Western Federation of Miners, in a pair of articles published on June 2nd of this year. It is doubtful that the opinion of the kept press regarding Moyer’s supposed radicalism will weigh into the miners decision one way or the other when they gather at their convention later this month.

The Copper Era took note of the fact that Mother Jones came to Arizona to lend her support to Governor Hunt, friend of the copper miners, and that she is also a close associate of Charles Moyer, and has been for a very long time. In a long article, that newspaper revived the old charges made against Mother in 1904 by the scandal-sheet, Polly Pry. Those charges were then read into the Congressional Record in June of 1914 by Congressman Kindel of Colorado. The goal is to defame Mother Jones in eyes of working people-a waste of ink, as that tactic has been tried before and has never succeeded.
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Hellraisers Journal: The Whereabouts & Doings of Mother Jones, Socialist Party Organizer, for June 1906

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

Thursday July 5, 1906
Mother Jones on Tour in Missouri and Arkansas for Socialist Party

Mother Jones, Mar 11, 1905, AtR

Today Hellraisers pauses to catch up with Mother Jones and to document her whereabouts and doings for the month of June 1906. We find Mother travelling and speaking from town to town in Illinois, Missouri and Arkansas as an organizer for the Socialist Party of America.

On the 15th of June, Mother encountered a bit of excitement while speaking in Webb City, Missouri. The following was reported by a local newspaper:

John Dermott, one of Webb City’s prominent citizens, was arrested last night upon a charge of peace disturbance. Dermott took exceptions to a statement made by Mother Jones, the Socialist lecturer, and forthwith commenced to argue the matter with her. Officer Herrin placed Dermott under arrest which was resisted by that gentleman, and for a few moments a lively scuffle ensued.

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Hellraisers Journal: Mother Jones on Rich at Horse Show & Children on Breadline, One Block Away

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I want justice, no more, no less.
If you’ll give us justice we won’t need charity.
-Mother Jones
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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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Hellraisers Journal: Testimony of Mary Petrucci: She fled burning tent as militia fired upon her and her children.

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Quote Ludlow Mary Petrucci, Children all dead, ed, Trinidad Las Animas Co CO Affidavit, May 11, 1914
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hellraisers Journal, Sunday February 7, 1915
New York City – Mrs. Petrucci Tells Harrowing Story of Ludlow Massacre

Mrs Dominiski & Mrs Petrucci, NY Trib, Feb 4, 1915

On Wednesday morning, February 3rd, Mrs. Mary Petrucci sat listening to Mr. Jerome Greene, Secretary of the the Rockefeller Foundation, give his testimony before the Commission on Industrial Relations. She heard this man speak of the vast amounts of money donated to worthy causes by the foundation bearing the name of the man who controls the condition under which the Colorado miners and their families work and live. Pennsylvania’s New Castle Herald described her response to that testimony:

“The Rockefeller way of philanthropy,” he said, “is a far better way than if he [Mr. Rockefeller] were to blow it in on his own amusement or give his money away in an ostentatious manner.”

Mrs. Mary Petrucci seated in the front row, threw her arms about Mother Jones and, in an audible whisper, said:

My God! What do you think of that, and we and our families facing starvation in Colorado.

That afternoon, Mrs. Petrucci followed Mrs. Dominiski to the witness stand and recalled that terrible day when her three youngest children perished in the Ludlow Massacre. Her eldest had died just a few weeks earlier of illness.She described fleeing her burning tent, carrying the baby and pulling her little daughter by the hand while her four year old son ran along behind:

Well, in the evening when the fire started I came out of my tent; it was all on fire, and I came out of my tent, and as I was coming out of my tent under that tank there was a lot of militiamen, and I was running out and hollering with my three children, and they hollered at me to get out of the way and they were shooting at me and I ran into this place [the cellar where the children died].

She awoke early the next morning and made her way to the Ludlow depot, and from there to Trinidad. She lay ill with pneumonia for the next nine days, and only when she recovered did she learn that all of her little children were dead.

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Hellraisers Journal: Democratic Party VP Candidate Authored Injunction Used Against Mother Jones

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

Hellraisers Journal, Friday October 7, 1904
Presidential Campaigns:
Davis Authored Injunction Used Against Mother Jones

Democratic Campaign Poster, Parker and Davis

According to an article published in The Union of Indianapolis, and republished by The Western Laborer of Omaha, and thence by The Post-Standard, Henry G. Davis of West Virginia, candidate of the Democratic Party for the office of Vice-President of the United States, was the author of Judge Jackson’s injunction which led to that judge’s famous confrontation with Mother Jones. We suspect that Davis also had a hand in the injunction which led to the slaughter of the miners of Raleigh County in West Virginia. We are unable to prove that connection at this time, but we will certainly be looking for more information regarding Davis’ coal mines in West Virginia and the Massacre of the Raleigh County Miners.

From today’s edition of The Post-Standard of Syracuse, New York:

WHAT DAVIS STANDS FOR.
———-
Private Interests of the Man Who Is
“Against the Trusts.”
———-

The Western Laborer Omaha.

“I beg my countrymen as they value their liberty, to watch with a zealous eye the tendency of the many to centralize power in the hands of the few.”-Henry G. Davis

Here is the record of Davis, as published by The Union, printed at Indianapolis:

When Mr. Davis began operating mines, he issued and edict that no member of a labor union should be employed in any of his mines or on any of his roads. He has broken up the coal miners’ union along the lines of his roads where and whenever they have been organized. Mr. Davis evicted every union man and his family from the company houses blacklisted them and notified merchants that if favors were shown them or credit extended to them, their own credit would be shut off at his bank. He refused to haul the coal over his road that was mined by union miners, executing a complete boycott over union operators by refusing to place cars at their mines to be loaded.

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