Hellraisers Journal: Whereabouts and Doings of Mother Jones for November 1908, Found in Kansas and in Chicago

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Quote Mother Jones re Vote SPA, Coffeyvl KS Dly Jr p6, Nov 2, 1908

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Hellraisers Journal – Monday December 14, 1908
-Mother Jones News Round-Up for November 1908
Found in Kansas: “Pioneer Socialist woman in the revolutionary movement…”

Mother Jones, Dnv Pst p2, July 19, 1908

During the early days of November, we found Mother Jones* assisting the Kansas Comrades to wind up the 1908 election campaign on behalf of the Socialist Party. The Coffeyville Daily Journal described her speech in Coffeyville:

One of the most powerful Socialist lectures ever delivered in Coffeyville was given in the Coliseum Saturday night. “Mother Jones,” the pioneer Socialist woman in the revolutionary movement, was the orator. A large number of people were out to hear the speech on economics, despite the counter attractions.

“Mother” Jones has been trying to improve the industrial conditions of the working class for nearly four decades. She has particularly devoted her energies along the line of unionism. For nearly a score of years before the Socialists put out a ticket in this country she was going from coast to coast talking unionism to the wage workers. This she is still doing but her scope of work is now much larger than before she embraced international scientific Socialism. She is not only assisting in liberating those who work for wages but she is equally intent on emancipating the entire human race.

The Appeal to Reason credited her contribution:

Mother Jones lined up a great crowd of miners at Weir and Chicopee.

In Parsons:

“Mother” Jones, noted Socialist, spoke to a good sized audience at Edward’s opera house on Sunday afternoon [November 1st].

By November 20th, we found Mother back in Chicago where Clarence S. Darrow and Peter Sissman were part of the legal team engaged in a desperate fight to prevent the Russian Government from extraditing Christian Rudowitz, Russian revolutionist. Describing the court scene, the New York Sun stated:

Mother Jones and several other Socialists were also there.

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Hellraisers Journal: Chicago IWW Trial: “What Has Ben Fletcher Ever Shown to Have Done?” Queries Vanderveer

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Quote Matilda Robbins ed, Ben Fletcher, p132 PC—————

Hellraisers Journal, Friday July 12, 1918
Chicago, Illinois – I. W. W. Trial, Third Week of June

WWIR, IWW Leaders Fletcher, NYTb p28, Apr 14, 1918
New York Tribune, April 14, 1918

As the federal trial of the I. W. W. leaders continues in Chicago, we find through the reporting of Harrison George that evidence against Fellow Workers Fletcher and Ashleigh is non- existent. This fact was noted by Attorney Vanderveer in his request for dismissal of charges against them:

“What has Ben Fletcher ever shown to have done,” said he, “except that he got married and wrote in for his week’s wages?”

“Overruled,” said Landis.

“Whatever Charles Ashleigh might have done last year not one word of evidence is brought to show it and your honor knows as little about it as of the Angel Gabriel,” said Vanderveer.

“Overruled,” said Landis.

Judge Landis on the
Non-Submissive State of Mind

Another question fought over was Vanderveer’s motion to expunge from the record certain so-called “disloyal” acts and utterances under claim that they were acts of individuals not in furtherance of any possible conspiracy. “These acts,” said Landis, in overruling the motion, “although not criminal in themselves, nor apparently carried out by any plan, may tend to show a state of mind and therefore are admissible as evidence to be considered by the jury.” In comment Vanderveer said, “If this theory holds, nobody is safe and I, for one, want to take to the woods.”

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Hellraisers Journal: The Resolution on War and Class Solidarity from IWW Convention of 1916

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IWWC on War and Class Solidarity, Dec 1, 1916

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Hellraisers Journal, Friday February 9, 1917
Chicago, Illinois – I.W. W. Opposes War, Advocates Class Solidarity

IWWC 1916, Delg Little, ISR Jan 1917

In the dark shadow of War, now looming over the nation’s working class men and women, we have concluded that now is a good time to consider the Resolution on War and Class Solidarity passed at Tenth Convention of the Industrial Workers of the World. The delegates gathered together in Chicago for ten days last fall, from November 20th to December 1st of 1916. Resolution #112 was passed during the afternoon session on the last day of the convention:

No. 112—A DECLARATION:

We, the Industrial Workers of the World, in convention assembled, hereby reaffirm our adherence to the principle of Industrial Unionism, and rededicate ourselves to the unflinching, unfaltering prosecution of the struggle for the abolition of wage slavery and the realization of our ideals in Industrial Democracy. With the European war for conquest and exploitation raging and destroying the lives, class consciousness and unity of the workers, and the ever growing agitation for military preparedness clouding the main issues and delaying the realization of our ultimate aim with patriotic and, therefore, capitalistic aspirations, we openly declare ourselves the determined opponents of all nationalistic sectionalism, or patriotism, and the militarism preached and supported by our one enemy, the capitalist class. We condemn all wars and, for the prevention of such, we proclaim the anti-militarist propaganda in time of peace, thus promoting Class Solidarity among the workers of the entire world, and, in time of war, the General Strike in all industries. We extend assurances of both moral and material support to all the workers who suffer at the hands of the capitalist class for their adhesion to these principles and call on all workers to unite themselves with us, that the reign of the exploiters may cease and this earth be made fair through the establishment of the Industrial Democracy.

F. H. LITTLE,
W. E. MATTINGLY,
FRANCIS MILLER,
WM. D. HAYWOOD.

National Organizer McGuckin suggested that every effort should be made to get this published in the capitalist press, and that it should also be printed in leaflet form and widely distributed. Motion made and seconded that this be adopted unanimously, and published in the presses throughout the United States of America and the world. Unanimously carried.

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