Negro soldiers in Lakeland,Florida,pistol-whipped a drugstore owner when he refused to serve one of them,and then,in a confrontation with a white crowd,killed a civilian.In Tampa,a race riot began when drunken white soldiers used a Negro child as a target to show their marksmanship;Negro soldiers retaliated,and then the streets "ran red with negro blood,"according to press dispatches.Twenty-seven Negro soldiers and three whites were severely wounded.The chaplain of a black regiment in Tampa wrote to the Cleveland Gazette: Is America any better than Spain?Has she not subjects in her very midst who are murdered daily without a trial of judge or jury?Has she not subjects in her own borders whose children are half-fed and half-clothed,because their father's skin is black....Yet the Negro is loyal to his country's flag. The same chaplain,George Prioleau,talks of black veterans of the Cuban war "unkindly and sneeringly received"in Kansas City,Missouri.He says that"these black boys,heroes of our country,were not allowed to stand at the counters of restaurants and eat a sandwich and drink a cup of coffee,while the white soldiers were welcomed and invited to sit down at the tables and eat free of cost." But it was the Filipino situation that aroused many blacks in the United States to militant opposition to the war.The senior bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church,Henry M.Turner,called the campaign in the Philippines"an unholy war of conquest"and referred to the Filipinos as "sable patriots There were four black regiments on duty in the Bhilippines.Many of the black soldiers established rapport with the brown-skinned natives on the islands,and were angered by the term"nigger"used by white troopy to describe the Filipinos.An "unusually large number"of black troops deserted during the Philippines campaign, Gatewood says.The Filipino rebels oftenqddressed themselves to "The Colored American Soldier"in posters,remindins them of lynchings back home,asking them not to serve the white imperialist against other colored people. Some deserters joined the Finpmo rebels.The most famous of these was David Fagan of the 24th Infantry.According to Gatewood:"He accepted a commission in the insurgent army and for two years wreaked havoc upon the American forces." From the Philippines,William Simms wrote: I was struck by a question a little Filipino boy asked me,which ran about this way:"Why does the American Negro come...to fight us where we are much a friend to him and have not done anything to him.He is all the same as me and me all the same as you.Why don't you fight those people in America who burn Negroes,that make a beast of you.. "? Another soldier's letter of 1899: Our racial sympathies would naturally be with the Filipinos.They are fighting manfully for what they conceive to be their best interests.But we cannot for the sake of sentiment turn our back upon our own country. Patrick Mason,a sergeant in the 24th Infantry,wrote to the Cleveland Gazette,which had taken a strong stand against annexation of the Philippines: Dear Sir:I have not had any fighting to do since I have been here and don't care to do any.I feel sorry for these people and all that have come under the control of the United States.I don't believe they will be justly dealt by.The first thing in the morning is the
Negro soldiers in Lakeland, Florida, pistol-whipped a drugstore owner when he refused to serve one of them, and then, in a confrontation with a white crowd, killed a civilian. In Tampa, a race riot began when drunken white soldiers used a Negro child as a target to show their marksmanship; Negro soldiers retaliated, and then the streets "ran red with negro blood," according to press dispatches. Twenty-seven Negro soldiers and three whites were severely wounded. The chaplain of a black regiment in Tampa wrote to the Cleveland Gazette: Is America any better than Spain? Has she not subjects in her very midst who are murdered daily without a trial of judge or jury? Has she not subjects in her own borders whose children are half-fed and half-clothed, because their father's skin is black. . . . Yet the Negro is loyal to his country's flag. The same chaplain, George Prioleau, talks of black veterans of the Cuban war "unkindly and sneeringly received" in Kansas City, Missouri. He says that "these black boys, heroes of our country, were not allowed to stand at the counters of restaurants and eat a sandwich and drink a cup of coffee, while the white soldiers were welcomed and invited to sit down at the tables and eat free of cost." But it was the Filipino situation that aroused many blacks in the United States to militant opposition to the war. The senior bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Henry M. Turner, called the campaign in the Philippines "an unholy war of conquest" and referred to the Filipinos as "sable patriots." There were four black regiments on duty in the Philippines. Many of the black soldiers established rapport with the brown-skinned natives on the islands, and were angered by the term "nigger" used by white troops to describe the Filipinos. An "unusually large number" of black troops deserted during the Philippines campaign, Gatewood says. The Filipino rebels often addressed themselves to "The Colored American Soldier" in posters, reminding them of lynchings back home, asking them not to serve the white imperialist against other colored people. Some deserters joined the Filipino rebels. The most famous of these was David Fagan of the 24th Infantry. According to Gatewood: "He accepted a commission in the insurgent army and for two years wreaked havoc upon the American forces." From the Philippines, William Simms wrote: I was struck by a question a little Filipino boy asked me, which ran about this way: "Why does the American Negro come . . . to fight us where we are much a friend to him and have not done anything to him. He is all the same as me and me all the same as you. Why don't you fight those people in America who burn Negroes, that make a beast of you . . ."? Another soldier's letter of 1899: Our racial sympathies would naturally be with the Filipinos. They are fighting manfully for what they conceive to be their best interests. But we cannot for the sake of sentiment turn our back upon our own country. Patrick Mason, a sergeant in the 24th Infantry, wrote to the Cleveland Gazette, which had taken a strong stand against annexation of the Philippines: Dear Sir: I have not had any fighting to do since I have been here and don't care to do any. I feel sorry for these people and all that have come under the control of the United States. I don't believe they will be justly dealt by. The first thing in the morning is the no profit use only
"Nigger"and the last thing at night is the "Nigger."...You are right in your opinions.I must not say much as I am a soldier... A black infantryman named William Fulbright wrote from Manila in June 1901 to the editor of a paper in Indianapolis:"This struggle on the islands has been naught but a gigantic scheme of robbery and oppression." Back home,while the war against the Filipinos was going on,a group of Massachusetts Negroes addressed a message to President McKinley: We the colored people of Massachusetts in mass meeting assembled...have resolved to address ourselves to you in an open letter,notwithstanding your extraordinary,your incomprehensible silence on the subject of our wrongs.... ..you have seen our sufferings,witnessed from your high place our awful wrongs and miseries,and yet you have at no time and on no occasion opened your lips on our behalf.... With one accord,with an anxiety that wrenched our hearts with cruel hopes and fears,the Colored people of the United States turned to you when Wilmington,North Carolina was held for two dreadful days and nights in the clutch of a bloody revolution; when Negroes,guilty of no crime except the color of their skin and a desire to exercise the rights of their American citizenship,were butchered like dogs in the streets of that ill- fated town...for want of federal aid,which you would not and did not furnish.... It was the same thing with that terrible ebullition of mob spirit at Phoenix,South Carolina,when black men were hunted and murdered,and white men [these were white radicals in Phoenix]shot and driven out of that ply a set of white savages....We looked in vain for some word or some act fromyou.... And when you made your Southern toyr a little later,and we saw how cunningly you catered to Southern race prejudice....How you preached patience,industry,moderation to your long-suffering black fellow citrens,and patriotism,jingoism and imperialism to your white ones.... The "patience,industry,and moderation"preached to blacks,the "patriotism" preached to whites,did not fully smk in.In the first years of the twentieth century, despite all the demonstrated pewer of the state,large numbers of blacks,whites,men, women became impatient,imoderate,unpatriotic
"Nigger" and the last thing at night is the "Nigger." . . . You are right in your opinions. I must not say much as I am a soldier. . . . A black infantryman named William Fulbright wrote from Manila in June 1901 to the editor of a paper in Indianapolis: "This struggle on the islands has been naught but a gigantic scheme of robbery and oppression." Back home, while the war against the Filipinos was going on, a group of Massachusetts Negroes addressed a message to President McKinley: We the colored people of Massachusetts in mass meeting assembled . . . have resolved to address ourselves to you in an open letter, notwithstanding your extraordinary, your incomprehensible silence on the subject of our wrongs. . . . . . . you have seen our sufferings, witnessed from your high place our awful wrongs and miseries, and yet you have at no time and on no occasion opened your lips on our behalf. . . . With one accord, with an anxiety that wrenched our hearts with cruel hopes and fears, the Colored people of the United States turned to you when Wilmington, North Carolina was held for two dreadful days and nights in the clutch of a bloody revolution; when Negroes, guilty of no crime except the color of their skin and a desire to exercise the rights of their American citizenship, were butchered like dogs in the streets of that illfated town . . . for want of federal aid, which you would not and did not furnish. . . . It was the same thing with that terrible ebullition of mob spirit at Phoenix, South Carolina, when black men were hunted and murdered, and white men [these were white radicals in Phoenix] shot and driven out of that place by a set of white savages. . . . We looked in vain for some word or some act from you. . . . And when you made your Southern tour a little later, and we saw how cunningly you catered to Southern race prejudice. . . . How you preached patience, industry, moderation to your long-suffering black fellow citizens, and patriotism, jingoism and imperialism to your white ones. . . . The "patience, industry, and moderation" preached to blacks, the "patriotism" preached to whites, did not fully sink in. In the first years of the twentieth century, despite all the demonstrated power of the state, large numbers of blacks, whites, men, women became impatient, immoderate, unpatriotic. no profit use only
13.The Socialist Challenge War and jingoism might postpone,but could not fully suppress,the class anger that came from the realities of ordinary life.As the twentieth century opened,that anger reemerged. Emma Goldman,the anarchist and feminist,whose political consciousness was shaped by factory work,the Haymarket executions,the Homestead strike,the long prison term of her lover and comrade,Alexander Berkman,the depression of the 1890s,the strike struggles of New York,her own imprisonment on Blackwell's Island,spoke at a meeting some years after the Spanish-American war: How our hearts burned with indignation against the atrocious Spaniards!...But when the smoke was over,the dead buried,and the cost of the war came back to the people in an increase in the price of commodities and rent-that is,when we sobered up from our patriotic spree-it suddenly dawned on us that the cause of the Spanish-American war was the price of sugar....that the lives,blood,and money of the American people were used to protect the interests of the American capitalists. Mark Twain was neither an anarchist nor a radical.By9 at sixty-live,he was a world-acclaimed writer of funny-serious-American-to-the bone stories.He watched the United States and other Western countries go about the world and wrote in the New York Herald as the century began:"I bring you the stately matron named Christendom, returning bedraggled,besmirched,and dishonored from pirate raids in Kiao-Chou, Manchuria,South Africa,and the Philippines,wih her soul full of meanness,her pocket full of boodle,and her mouth full of pious ypocrisies." There were writers of the early twentieth century who spoke for socialism or criticized the capitalist system harshly ot obscure pamphleteers,but among the most famous of American literary figures,whose books were read by millions:Upton Sinclair, Jack London,Theodore Dreiser Fank Norris. Upton Sinclair's novel The Jungle,published in 1906,brought the conditions in the meatpacking plants of Chigage to the shocked attention of the whole country,and stimulated demand for laws regulating the meat industry.But also,through the story of an immigrant laborer,Jurgis Rudkus,it spoke of socialism,of how beautiful life might be if people cooperatively owned and worked and shared the riches of the earth.The Jungle was first published in the Socialist newspaper Appeal to Reason;it was then read by millions as a hook,and was translated into seventeen languages. One of the influences on Upton Sinclair's thinking was a book,People of the Abyss, by Jack London.London was a member of the Socialist party.He had come out of the slums of San Francisco,the child of an unwed mother.He had been a newsboy,a cannery worker,a sailor,a fisherman,had worked in a jute mill and a laundry,hoboed the railroads to the East Coast,been clubbed by a policeman on the streets of New York and arrested for vagrancy in Niagara Falls,watched men beaten and tortured in jail,pirated oysters in San Francisco Bay,read Flaubert,Tolstoy,Melville,and the Communist Manifesto,preached socialism in the Alaskan gold camps in the winter of 1896,sailed 2,000 miles back through the Bering Sea,and became a world-famous writer of adventure books.In 1906,he wrote his novel The Iron Heel,with its warning of a fascist
13. The Socialist Challenge War and jingoism might postpone, but could not fully suppress, the class anger that came from the realities of ordinary life. As the twentieth century opened, that anger reemerged. Emma Goldman, the anarchist and feminist, whose political consciousness was shaped by factory work, the Haymarket executions, the Homestead strike, the long prison term of her lover and comrade, Alexander Berkman, the depression of the 1890s, the strike struggles of New York, her own imprisonment on Blackwell's Island, spoke at a meeting some years after the Spanish-American war: How our hearts burned with indignation against the atrocious Spaniards! .. . But when the smoke was over, the dead buried, and the cost of the war came back to the people in an increase in the price of commodities and rent-that is, when we sobered up from our patriotic spree-it suddenly dawned on us that the cause of the Spanish-American war was the price of sugar. . .. that the lives, blood, and money of the American people were used to protect the interests of the American capitalists. Mark Twain was neither an anarchist nor a radical. By 1900, at sixty-live, he was a world- acclaimed writer of funny-serious-American-to-the-bone stories. He watched the United States and other Western countries go about the world and wrote in the New York Herald as the century began: "I bring you the stately matron named Christendom, returning bedraggled, besmirched, and dishonored from pirate raids in Kiao-Chou, Manchuria, South Africa, and the Philippines, with her soul full of meanness, her pocket full of boodle, and her mouth full of pious hypocrisies." There were writers of the early twentieth century who spoke for socialism or criticized the capitalist system harshly-not obscure pamphleteers, but among the most famous of American literary figures, whose books were read by millions: Upton Sinclair, Jack London, Theodore Dreiser, Frank Norris. Upton Sinclair's novel The Jungle, published in 1906, brought the conditions in the meatpacking plants of Chicago to the shocked attention of the whole country, and stimulated demand for laws regulating the meat industry. But also, through the story of an immigrant laborer, Jurgis Rudkus, it spoke of socialism, of how beautiful life might be if people cooperatively owned and worked and shared the riches of the earth. The Jungle was first published in the Socialist newspaper Appeal to Reason; it was then read by millions as a hook, and was translated into seventeen languages. One of the influences on Upton Sinclair's thinking was a book, People of the Abyss, by Jack London. London was a member of the Socialist party. He had come out of the slums of San Francisco, the child of an unwed mother. He had been a newsboy, a cannery worker, a sailor, a fisherman, had worked in a jute mill and a laundry, hoboed the railroads to the East Coast, been clubbed by a policeman on the streets of New York and arrested for vagrancy in Niagara Falls, watched men beaten and tortured in jail, pirated oysters in San Francisco Bay, read Flaubert, Tolstoy, Melville, and the Communist Manifesto, preached socialism in the Alaskan gold camps in the winter of 1896, sailed 2,000 miles back through the Bering Sea, and became a world-famous writer of adventure books. In 1906, he wrote his novel The Iron Heel, with its warning of a fascist no profit use only
America.its ideal of a socialist brotherhood of man.In the course of it,through his characters,he indicts the system. In the face of the facts that modern man lives more wretchedly than the cave-man.and that his producing power is a thousand times greater than that of the cave-man,no other conclusion is possible than that the capitalist class has mismanaged...criminally and selfishly mismanaged. And with this attack.the vision: Let us not destroy those wonderful machines that produce efficiently and cheaply.Let us control them.Let us profit by their efficiency and cheapness.Let us run them for ourselves.That,gentlemen,is socialism.... It was a time when even a self-exiled literary figure living in Europe and not prone to political statements-the novelist Henry James-could tour the United States in 1904 and see the country as a"huge Rappacini garden,rank with each variety of the poison-plant of the money passion." "Muckrakers,"who raked up the mud and the muck,contributed to the atmosphere of dissent by simply telling what they saw.Some of the new mass-circulation magazines, ironically enough in the interest of profit,printed their articles:Ida Tarbell's exposure of the Standard Oil Company;Lincoln Steffens's stories of coruption in the major American cities. By 1900,neither the patriotism of the war nor the absprption of energy in elections could disguise the troubles of the system.The process of business concentration had gone forward;the control by bankers had become more ear.As technology developed and corporations became larger,they needed more capital,and it was the bankers who had this capital.By 1904,more than a thousand railroad lines had been consolidated into six great combinations,each allied with either Morgan or Rockefeller interests.As Cochran and Miller say: The imperial leader of the new oligy was the House of Morgan.In its operations it was ably assisted by the First Naronal Bank of New York(directed by George F.Baker) and the National City Bank of New York(presided over by James Stillman,agent of the Rockefeller interests).Ametg them,these three men and their financial associates occupied 341 directorships in 112 great corporations.The total resources of these corporations in 1912 was $22,245,000,000,more than the assessed value of all property in the twenty-two states and territories west of the Mississippi River.... Morgan had always wanted regularity,stability,predictability.An associate of his said in 1901: With a man like Mr.Morgan at the head of a great industry,as against the old plan of many diverse interests in it,production would become more regular,labor would be more steadily employed at better wages,and panics caused by over-production would become a thing of the past. But even Morgan and his associates were not in complete control of such a system. In 1907,there was a panic,financial collapse,and crisis.True,the very big businesses were not hurt,but profits after 1907 were not as high as capitalists wanted,industry was not expanding as fast as it might,and industrialists began to look for ways to cut costs. One way was Taylorism.Frederick W.Taylor had been a steel company foreman who closely analyzed every job in the mill,and worked out a system of finely detailed division of labor,increased mechanization,and piecework wage systems,to increase
America, its ideal of a socialist brotherhood of man. In the course of it, through his characters, he indicts the system. In the face of the facts that modern man lives more wretchedly than the cave-man, and that his producing power is a thousand times greater than that of the cave-man, no other conclusion is possible than that the capitalist class has mismanaged .. . criminally and selfishly mismanaged. And with this attack, the vision: Let us not destroy those wonderful machines that produce efficiently and cheaply. Let us control them. Let us profit by their efficiency and cheapness. Let us run them for ourselves. That, gentlemen, is socialism... . It was a time when even a self-exiled literary figure living in Europe and not prone to political statements-the novelist Henry James-could tour the United States in 1904 and see the country as a "huge Rappacini garden, rank with each variety of the poison-plant of the money passion." "Muckrakers," who raked up the mud and the muck, contributed to the atmosphere of dissent by simply telling what they saw. Some of the new mass-circulation magazines, ironically enough in the interest of profit, printed their articles: Ida Tarbell's exposure of the Standard Oil Company; Lincoln Steffens's stories of corruption in the major American cities. By 1900, neither the patriotism of the war nor the absorption of energy in elections could disguise the troubles of the system. The process of business concentration had gone forward; the control by bankers had become more clear. As technology developed and corporations became larger, they needed more capital, and it was the bankers who had this capital. By 1904, more than a thousand railroad lines had been consolidated into six great combinations, each allied with either Morgan or Rockefeller interests. As Cochran and Miller say: The imperial leader of the new oligarchy was the House of Morgan. In its operations it was ably assisted by the First National Bank of New York (directed by George F. Baker) and the National City Bank of New York (presided over by James Stillman, agent of the Rockefeller interests). Among them, these three men and their financial associates occupied 341 directorships in 112 great corporations. The total resources of these corporations in 1912 was $22,245,000,000, more than the assessed value of all property in the twenty-two states and territories west of the Mississippi River.. .. Morgan had always wanted regularity, stability, predictability. An associate of his said in 1901: With a man like Mr. Morgan at the head of a great industry, as against the old plan of many diverse interests in it, production would become more regular, labor would be more steadily employed at better wages, and panics caused by over-production would become a thing of the past. But even Morgan and his associates were not in complete control of such a system. In 1907, there was a panic, financial collapse, and crisis. True, the very big businesses were not hurt, but profits after 1907 were not as high as capitalists wanted, industry was not expanding as fast as it might, and industrialists began to look for ways to cut costs. One way was Taylorism. Frederick W. Taylor had been a steel company foreman who closely analyzed every job in the mill, and worked out a system of finely detailed division of labor, increased mechanization, and piecework wage systems, to increase no profit use only
production and profits.In 1911,he published a book on "scientific management"that became powerfully influential in the business world.Now management could control every detail of the worker's energy and time in the factory.As Harry Braverman said (Labor and Monopoly Capital),the purpose of Taylorism was to make workers interchangeable,able to do the simple tasks that the new division of labor required-like standard parts divested of individuality and humanity,bought and sold as commodities It was a system well fitted for the new auto industry.In 1909,Ford sold 10,607 autos;in 1913,168,000;in 1914,248,000(45 percent of all autos produced).The profit: $30 million. With immigrants a larger proportion of the labor force(in the Carnegie plants of Allegheny County in 1907,of the 14,359 common laborers,11,694 were Eastern Europeans),Taylorism,with its simplified unskilled jobs,became more feasible In New York City,the new immigrants went to work in the sweatshops.The poet Edwin Markham wrote in Cosmopolitan magazine,January 1907: In unaired rooms,mothers and fathers sew by day and by night.Those in the home sweatshop must work cheaper than those in the factory sweatshops....And the children are called in from play to drive and drudge beside their elders.. All the year in New York and in other cities you may wateh children radiating to and from such pitiful homes.Nearly any hour on the East Side of New York City you can see them-pallid boy or spindling girl-their faces dulled,their backs bent under a heavy load of garments piled on head and shoulders,the muscles of the whole frame in a long strain.... n Is it not a cruel civilization that allows little bearts and little shoulders to strain under these grown-up responsibilities,while in the same city,a pet cur is jeweled and pampered and aired on a fine lady's velvet lap on the beautiful boulevards? The city became a battlefield.On August 10,1905,the New York Tribune reported that a strike at Federman's bakery on the ower East Side led to violence when Federman used scab labor to continue producingy Strikers or their sympathizers wrecked the bake shop of Philip Federman at No.183 Orchard Street early last night amid scenes of the most tumultuous excitement. Policemen smashed heads rght and left with their nightsticks after two of their number had been roughly dealt with by the mob.... There were five hundred garment factories in New York.A woman later recalled the conditions of work: ..dangerously broken stairways...windows few and so dirty....The wooden floors that were swept once a year....Hardly any other light but the gas jets burning by day and by night...the filthy,malodorous lavatory in the dark hall.No fresh drinking water....mice and roaches.... During the winter months...how we suffered from the cold.In the summer we suffered from the heat.... In these disease-breeding holes we,the youngsters together with the men and women toiled from seventy and eighty hours a week!Saturdays and Sundays included!...A sign would go up on Saturday afternoon:"If you don't come in on Sunday,you need not come in on Monday."...Children's dreams of a day off shattered.We wept,for after all,we were only children
production and profits. In 1911, he published a book on "scientific management" that became powerfully influential in the business world. Now management could control every detail of the worker's energy and time in the factory. As Harry Braverman said (Labor and Monopoly Capital), the purpose of Taylorism was to make workers interchangeable, able to do the simple tasks that the new division of labor required-like standard parts divested of individuality and humanity, bought and sold as commodities. It was a system well fitted for the new auto industry. In 1909, Ford sold 10,607 autos; in 1913, 168,000; in 1914, 248,000 (45 percent of all autos produced). The profit: $30 million. With immigrants a larger proportion of the labor force (in the Carnegie plants of Allegheny County in 1907, of the 14,359 common laborers, 11,694 were Eastern Europeans), Taylorism, with its simplified unskilled jobs, became more feasible. In New York City, the new immigrants went to work in the sweatshops. The poet Edwin Markham wrote in Cosmopolitan magazine, January 1907: In unaired rooms, mothers and fathers sew by day and by night. Those in the home sweatshop must work cheaper than those in the factory sweatshops. ... And the children are called in from play to drive and drudge beside their elders.. All the year in New York and in other cities you may watch children radiating to and from such pitiful homes. Nearly any hour on the East Side of New York City you can see them-pallid boy or spindling girl-their faces dulled, their backs bent under a heavy load of garments piled on head and shoulders, the muscles of the whole frame in a long strain... . Is it not a cruel civilization that allows little hearts and little shoulders to strain under these grown- up responsibilities, while in the same city, a pet cur is jeweled and pampered and aired on a fine lady's velvet lap on the beautiful boulevards? The city became a battlefield. On August 10, 1905, the New York Tribune reported that a strike at Federman's bakery on the Lower East Side led to violence when Federman used scab labor to continue producing: Strikers or their sympathizers wrecked the bake shop of Philip Federman at No. 183 Orchard Street early last night amid scenes of the most tumultuous excitement. Policemen smashed heads right and left with their nightsticks after two of their number had been roughly dealt with by the mob. .. . There were five hundred garment factories in New York. A woman later recalled the conditions of work: . .. dangerously broken stairways . .. windows few and so dirty.. .. The wooden floors that were swept once a year. . .. Hardly any other light but the gas jets burning by day and by night. . . the filthy, malodorous lavatory in the dark hall. No fresh drinking water.. . . mice and roaches. . . . During the winter months . . . how we suffered from the cold. In the summer we suffered from the heat. . .. In these disease-breeding holes we, the youngsters together with the men and women toiled from seventy and eighty hours a week! Saturdays and Sundays included!... A sign would go up on Saturday afternoon: "If you don't come in on Sunday, you need not come in on Monday." ... Children's dreams of a day off shattered. We wept, for after all, we were only children. ... no profit use only
At the Triangle Shirtwaist Company,in the winter of 1909,women organized and decided to strike.Soon they were walking the picket line in the cold,knowing they could not win while the other factories were operating.A mass meeting was called of workers in the other shops,and Clara Lemlich,in her teens,an eloquent speaker,still bearing the signs of her recent beating on the picket line,stood up:"I offer a resolution that a general strike be declared now!"The meeting went wild;they voted to strike. Pauline Newman,one of the strikers,recalled years later the beginning of the general strike: Thousands upon thousands left the factories from every side,all of them walking down toward Union Square.It was November,the cold winter was just around the corner,we had no fur coats to keep warm,and yet there was the spirit that led us on and on until we got to some hall.... I can see the young people,mostly women,walking down and not caring what might happen...the hunger,cold,loneliness....They just didn't care on that particular day;that was their day. The union had hoped three thousand would join the strike.Twenty thousand walked out.Every day a thousand new members joined the union,the International Ladies Garment Workers Union,which before this had few women Colored women were active in the strike,which went on through the winter,against polce,against scabs,against arrests and prison.In more than three hundred shops,worhers won their demands. Women now became officials in the union.Pauline Newman again: We tried to educate ourselves.I would invite the girs to my rooms,and we took turns reading poetry in English to improve our understonding of the language.One of our favorites was Thomas Hood's "Song of the Shirt,"and another...Percy Bysshe Shelley's "Mask of Anarchy."... "Rise like lions after slumber In unvanquishable number! Shake your chains to earth,likedew Which in sleep had fallen on you- Ye are many,they are few!" The conditions in the factories did not change much.On the afternoon of March 25, 1911,a fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Company that began in a rag bin swept through the eighth,ninth,and tenth floors,too high for fire ladders to reach.The fire chief of New York had said that his ladders could reach only to the seventh floor.But half of New York's 500,000 workers spent all day,perhaps twelve hours,above the seventh floor.The laws said factory doors had to open outward.But at the Triangle Company the doors opened in.The law said the doors could not be locked during working hours,but at the Triangle Company doors were usually locked so the company could keep track of the employees.And so,trapped,the young women were burned to death at their work-tables, or jammed against the locked exit door,or leaped to their deaths down the elevator shafts The New York World reported: ..screaming men and women and boys and girls crowded out on the many window ledges and threw themselves into the streets far below.They jumped with their clothing ablaze.The hair of some of the girls streamed up aflame as they leaped.Thud after thud sounded on the pavements.It is a ghastly fact that on both the Greene Street and Washington Place sides of the building there grew mounds of the dead and dying
At the Triangle Shirtwaist Company, in the winter of 1909, women organized and decided to strike. Soon they were walking the picket line in the cold, knowing they could not win while the other factories were operating. A mass meeting was called of workers in the other shops, and Clara Lemlich, in her teens, an eloquent speaker, still bearing the signs of her recent beating on the picket line, stood up: "I offer a resolution that a general strike be declared now!" The meeting went wild; they voted to strike. Pauline Newman, one of the strikers, recalled years later the beginning of the general strike: Thousands upon thousands left the factories from every side, all of them walking down toward Union Square. It was November, the cold winter was just around the corner, we had no fur coats to keep warm, and yet there was the spirit that led us on and on until we got to some hall. . . . I can see the young people, mostly women, walking down and not caring what might happen . .. the hunger, cold, loneliness.. .. They just didn't care on that particular day; that was their day. The union had hoped three thousand would join the strike. Twenty thousand walked out. Every day a thousand new members joined the union, the International Ladies Garment Workers Union, which before this had few women. Colored women were active in the strike, which went on through the winter, against police, against scabs, against arrests and prison. In more than three hundred shops, workers won their demands. Women now became officials in the union. Pauline Newman again: We tried to educate ourselves. I would invite the girls to my rooms, and we took turns reading poetry in English to improve our understanding of the language. One of our favorites was Thomas Hood's "Song of the Shirt," and another . . . Percy Bysshe Shelley's "Mask of Anarchy." ... "Rise like lions after slumber In unvanquishable number! Shake your chains to earth, like dew. Which in sleep had fallen on you- Ye are many, they are few!" The conditions in the factories did not change much. On the afternoon of March 25, 1911, a fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Company that began in a rag bin swept through the eighth, ninth, and tenth floors, too high for fire ladders to reach. The fire chief of New York had said that his ladders could reach only to the seventh floor. But half of New York's 500,000 workers spent all day, perhaps twelve hours, above the seventh floor. The laws said factory doors had to open outward. But at the Triangle Company the doors opened in. The law said the doors could not be locked during working hours, but at the Triangle Company doors were usually locked so the company could keep track of the employees. And so, trapped, the young women were burned to death at their work-tables, or jammed against the locked exit door, or leaped to their deaths down the elevator shafts. The New York World reported: .. . screaming men and women and boys and girls crowded out on the many window ledges and threw themselves into the streets far below. They jumped with their clothing ablaze. The hair of some of the girls streamed up aflame as they leaped. Thud after thud sounded on the pavements. It is a ghastly fact that on both the Greene Street and Washington Place sides of the building there grew mounds of the dead and dying. .. . no profit use only
From opposite windows spectators saw again and again pitiable companionships formed in the instant of death-girls who placed their arms around each other as they leaped. When it was over,146 Triangle workers,mostly women,were burned or crushed to death.There was a memorial parade down Broadway,and 100,000 marched. There were more fires.And accidents.And sickness.In the year 1904,27,000 workers were killed on the job,in manufacturing,transport,and agriculture.In one year, 50,000 accidents took place in New York factories alone.Hat and cap makers were getting respiratory diseases,quarrymen were inhaling deadly chemicals,lithographic printers were getting arsenic poisoning.A New York State Factory Investigation Commission reported in 1912: Sadie is an intelligent,neat,clean girl,who has worked from the time she got her working papers in embroidery factories....In her work she was accustomed to use a white powder(chalk or talcum was usual)which was brushed over the perforated designs and thus transferred to the cloth.The design was easily brushed off when made of chalk or of talcum....Her last employer therefore commenced using white lead powder,mixed with rosin,which cheapened the work as the powder could not be rubbed off and necessitate restamping. None of the girls knew of the change in powder,nor ofthe danger in its use.... Sadie had been a very strong,healthy girl,good appetite and color;she began to be unable to eat....Her hands and feet swelled,she lost the use of one hand,her teeth and gums were blue.When she finally had to stop work,after being treated for months for stomach trouble,her physician advised her to goo a hospital.There the examination revealed the fact that she had lead poisoning According to a report of the Commission on Industrial Relations,in 1914,35,000 workers were killed in industrial accidents and 700,000 injured.That year the income of forty-four families making $I milliorer more equaled the total income of 100,000 families earning $500 a year.The record shows an exchange between Commissioner Harris Weinstock of the Commission on Industrial Relations and President John Osgood, head of a Colorado coal company controlled by the Rockefellers: WEINSTOCK:If a workerloses his life,are his dependents compensated in any way? OSGOOD:Not necessarily.In some cases they are and in some cases not. WEINSTOCK:If he is crippled for life is there any compensation? OSGOOD:No sir.there is none.... WEINSTOCK:Then the whole burden is thrown directly upon their shoulders. OSGOOD:Yes,sir. WEINSTOCK:The industry hears none of it? OSCOOD:No,the industry bears none of it. Unionization was growing.Shortly after the turn of the century there were 2 million members of labor unions(one in fourteen workers),80 percent of them in the American Federation of Labor.The AFL was an exclusive union-almost all male,almost all white, almost all skilled workers.Although the number of women workers kept growing-it doubled from 4 million in 1890 to 8 million in 1910,and women were one-fifth of the labor force-only one in a hundred belonged to a union. Black workers in 1910 made one-third of the earnings of white workers.Although Samuel Gompers,head of the AFL,would make speeches about its belief in equal
From opposite windows spectators saw again and again pitiable companionships formed in the instant of death-girls who placed their arms around each other as they leaped. When it was over, 146 Triangle workers, mostly women, were burned or crushed to death. There was a memorial parade down Broadway, and 100,000 marched. There were more fires. And accidents. And sickness. In the year 1904, 27,000 workers were killed on the job, in manufacturing, transport, and agriculture. In one year, 50,000 accidents took place in New York factories alone. Hat and cap makers were getting respiratory diseases, quarrymen were inhaling deadly chemicals, lithographic printers were getting arsenic poisoning. A New York State Factory Investigation Commission reported in 1912: Sadie is an intelligent, neat, clean girl, who has worked from the time she got her working papers in embroidery factories.... In her work she was accustomed to use a white powder (chalk or talcum was usual) which was brushed over the perforated designs and thus transferred to the cloth. The design was easily brushed off when made of chalk or of talcum. ... Her last employer therefore commenced using white lead powder, mixed with rosin, which cheapened the work as the powder could not be rubbed off and necessitate restamping. None of the girls knew of the change in powder, nor of the danger in its use.. . . Sadie had been a very strong, healthy girl, good appetite and color; she began to be unable to eat. . .. Her hands and feet swelled, she lost the use of one hand, her teeth and gums were blue. When she finally had to stop work, after being treated for months for stomach trouble, her physician advised her to go to a hospital. There the examination revealed the fact that she had lead poisoning.. .. According to a report of the Commission on Industrial Relations, in 1914, 35,000 workers were killed in industrial accidents and 700,000 injured. That year the income of forty-four families making $1 million or more equaled the total income of 100,000 families earning $500 a year. The record shows an exchange between Commissioner Harris Weinstock of the Commission on Industrial Relations and President John Osgood, head of a Colorado coal company controlled by the Rockefellers: WEINSTOCK: If a worker loses his life, are his dependents compensated in any way? OSGOOD: Not necessarily. In some cases they are and in some cases not. WEINSTOCK: If he is crippled for life is there any compensation? OSGOOD: No sir, there is none.... WEINSTOCK: Then the whole burden is thrown directly upon their shoulders. OSGOOD: Yes, sir. WEINSTOCK: The industry hears none of it? OSCOOD: No, the industry bears none of it. Unionization was growing. Shortly after the turn of the century there were 2 million members of labor unions (one in fourteen workers), 80 percent of them in the American Federation of Labor. The AFL was an exclusive union-almost all male, almost all white, almost all skilled workers. Although the number of women workers kept growing-it doubled from 4 million in 1890 to 8 million in 1910, and women were one-fifth of the labor force-only one in a hundred belonged to a union. Black workers in 1910 made one-third of the earnings of white workers. Although Samuel Gompers, head of the AFL, would make speeches about its belief in equal no profit use only
opportunity,the Negro was excluded from most AFL unions.Gompers kept saying he did not want to interfere with the "internal affairs"of the South;"I regard the race problem as one with which you people of the Southland will have to deal;without the interference, too,of meddlers from the outside." In the reality of struggle,rank-and-file workers overcame these separations from time to time.Foner quotes Mary McDowell's account of the formation of a women's union in the Chicago stockyards: It was a dramatic occasion on that evening,when an Irish girl at the door called out-"A Colored sister asks admission.What shall I do with her?"And the answer came from the Irish young woman in the chair-"Admit her,of course,and let all of you give her a hearty welcome!" In New Orleans in 1907 a general strike on the levees,involving ten thousand workers(longshoremen,teamsters,freight handlers),black and white,lasted twenty days. The head of the Negro longshoremen,E.S.Swan,said: The whites and Negroes were never before so strongly cemented in a common bond and in my 39 years of experience of the levee,I never saw such solidarity.In all the previous strikes the Negro was used against the white man but that condition is now past and both races are standing together for their common interests.... These were exceptions.In general,the Negro was kept our of the trade union movement.W.E.B.Du Bois wrote in 1915:"The net resol of all this has been to convince the American Negro that his greatest enemy is not the employer who robs him, but his fellow white working-man." se Racism was practical for the AFL.The excluyion of women and foreigners was also practical.These were mostly unskilled workers,and the AFL,confined mostly to skilled workers,was based on the philosophy of business unionism"(in fact,the chief official of each AFL union was called the "bustness agent"),trying to match the monopoly of production by the employer with a modopoly of workers by the union.In this way it won better conditions for some workers and left most workers out. AFL officials drew large salaries,hobnobbed with employers,even moved in high society.A press dispatch fremAtlantic City,New Jersey,the fashionable seaside resort, in the summer of 1910: Engaged in a game of bathing suit baseball with President Sam Gompers,Secretary Frank Morrison and other leaders of the A.F.of T,.on the beach this morning,John Mitchell, former head of the mine workers'union,lost a 1000 diamond ring presented to him by his admirers after the settlement of the big Pennsylvania coal strike.Capt.George Berke, a veteran life guard,found the ring,whereupon Mitchell peeled a hundred dollar hill from a roll he carried in his pocket and handed it to the captain as a reward for his find. The well-paid leaders of the AFL were protected from criticism by tightly controlled meetings and by "goon"squads-hired toughs originally used against strikebreakers but after a while used to intimidate and beat up opponents inside the union. In this situation-terrible conditions of labor,exclusivity in union organization- working people wanting radical change,seeing the root of misery in the capitalist system, moved toward a new kind of labor union.One morning in June 1905,there met in a hall in Chicago a convention of two hundred socialists,anarchists,and radical trade unionists from all over the United States.They were forming the I.W.W.-the Industrial Workers of the World.Big Bill Haywood,a leader of the Western Federation of Miners,recalled
opportunity, the Negro was excluded from most AFL unions. Gompers kept saying he did not want to interfere with the "internal affairs" of the South; "I regard the race problem as one with which you people of the Southland will have to deal; without the interference, too, of meddlers from the outside." In the reality of struggle, rank-and-file workers overcame these separations from time to time. Foner quotes Mary McDowell's account of the formation of a women's union in the Chicago stockyards: It was a dramatic occasion on that evening, when an Irish girl at the door called out-"A Colored sister asks admission. What shall I do with her?" And the answer came from the Irish young woman in the chair-"Admit her, of course, and let all of you give her a hearty welcome!" In New Orleans in 1907 a general strike on the levees, involving ten thousand workers (longshoremen, teamsters, freight handlers), black and white, lasted twenty days. The head of the Negro longshoremen, E. S. Swan, said: The whites and Negroes were never before so strongly cemented in a common bond and in my 39 years of experience of the levee, I never saw such solidarity. In all the previous strikes the Negro was used against the white man but that condition is now past and both races are standing together for their common interests... . These were exceptions. In general, the Negro was kept out of the trade union movement. W. E. B. Du Bois wrote in 1915: "The net result of all this has been to convince the American Negro that his greatest enemy is not the employer who robs him, but his fellow white working-man." Racism was practical for the AFL. The exclusion of women and foreigners was also practical. These were mostly unskilled workers, and the AFL, confined mostly to skilled workers, was based on the philosophy of "business unionism" (in fact, the chief official of each AFL union was called the "business agent"), trying to match the monopoly of production by the employer with a monopoly of workers by the union. In this way it won better conditions for some workers, and left most workers out. AFL officials drew large salaries, hobnobbed with employers, even moved in high society. A press dispatch from Atlantic City, New Jersey, the fashionable seaside resort, in the summer of 1910: Engaged in a game of bathing suit baseball with President Sam Gompers, Secretary Frank Morrison and other leaders of the A.F. of T,. on the beach this morning, John Mitchell, former head of the mine workers' union, lost a $ 1000 diamond ring presented to him by his admirers after the settlement of the big Pennsylvania coal strike. Capt. George Berke, a veteran life guard, found the ring, whereupon Mitchell peeled a hundred dollar hill from a roll he carried in his pocket and handed it to the captain as a reward for his find. The well-paid leaders of the AFL were protected from criticism by tightly controlled meetings and by "goon" squads-hired toughs originally used against strikebreakers but after a while used to intimidate and beat up opponents inside the union. In this situation-terrible conditions of labor, exclusivity in union organizationworking people wanting radical change, seeing the root of misery in the capitalist system, moved toward a new kind of labor union. One morning in June 1905, there met in a hall in Chicago a convention of two hundred socialists, anarchists, and radical trade unionists from all over the United States. They were forming the I. W. W.-the Industrial Workers of the World. Big Bill Haywood, a leader of the Western Federation of Miners, recalled no profit use only
in his autobiography that he picked up a piece of board that lay on the platform and used it for a gavel to open the convention: Fellow workers....This is the Continental Congress of the working-class.We are here to confederate the workers of this country into a working-class movement that shall have for its purpose the emancipation of the working class from the slave bondage of capitalism.. .The aims and objects of this organization shall he to put the working-class in possession of the economic power,the means of life,in control of the machinery of production and distribution,without regard to the capitalist masters. On the speakers'platform with Haywood were Eugene Debs,leader of the Socialist party,and Mother Mary Jones,a seventy-five-year-old white-haired woman who was an organizer for the United Mine Workers of America.The convention drew up a constitution,whose preamble said: The working class and the employing class have nothing in common.There can be no peace so long as hunger and want are found among millions of working people and the few,who make up the employing class,have all the good things of life. Between these two classes a struggle must go on until all the toilers come together on the political as well as on the industrial field,and take and hold that which they produce by their labor,through an economic organization of the workingclass without affiliation with any political party.... One of the IWW pamphlets explained why it broke with the AFL idea of craft unions: Thediretory of nions of Chicago showsntaoffferentio the packing houses,divided up still more in 14 differnt national trades unions of the American Federation of Labor. What a horrible example of an army divided against itself in the face of a strong combination of employers.... The IWW(or"Wobblies,"as they to be called,for reasons not really clear)aimed at organizing all workers in any indlustry into"One Big Union,"undivided by sex,race, or skills.They argued against making contracts with the employer,because this had so often prevented workers froth striking on their own,or in sympathy with other strikers, and thus turned union peopre into strikebreakers.Negotiations by leaders for contracts replaced continuous struggle by the rank and tile,the Wobblies believed They spoke of "direct action": Direct action means industrial action directly by,for,and of the workers themselves, without the treacherous aid of labor misleaders or scheming politicians.A strike that is initiated,controlled,and settled by the workers directly affected is direct action....Direct action is industrial democracy. One IWW pamphlet said:"Shall I tell you what direct action means?The worker on the job shall tell the boss when and where he shall work,how long and for what wages and under what conditions. The IWW people were militant,courageous.Despite a reputation given them by the press,they did not believe in initiating violence,but did fight back when attacked.In McKees Rocks,Pennsylvania,they led a strike of six thousand workers in 1909 against an affiliate of the U.S.Steel Company,defied the state troopers,and battled with them. They promised to take a trooper's life for every worker killed(in one gun battle four strikers and three troopers were killed),and managed to keep picketing the factories until
in his autobiography that he picked up a piece of board that lay on the platform and used it for a gavel to open the convention: Fellow workers.. . . This is the Continental Congress of the working-class. We are here to confederate the workers of this country into a working-class movement that shall have for its purpose the emancipation of the working class from the slave bondage of capitalism.. .. The aims and objects of this organization shall he to put the working-class in possession of the economic power, the means of life, in control of the machinery of production and distribution, without regard to the capitalist masters. On the speakers' platform with Haywood were Eugene Debs, leader of the Socialist party, and Mother Mary Jones, a seventy-five-year-old white-haired woman who was an organizer for the United Mine Workers of America. The convention drew up a constitution, whose preamble said: The working class and the employing class have nothing in common. There can be no peace so long as hunger and want are found among millions of working people and the few, who make up the employing class, have all the good things of life. Between these two classes a struggle must go on until all the toilers come together on the political as well as on the industrial field, and take and hold that which they produce by their labor, through an economic organization of the working class without affiliation with any political party.. .. One of the IWW pamphlets explained why it broke with the AFL idea of craft unions: The directory of unions of Chicago shows in 1903 a total of 56 different unions in the packing houses, divided up still more in 14 different national trades unions of the American Federation of Labor. What a horrible example of an army divided against itself in the face of a strong combination of employers.. . . The IWW (or "Wobblies," as they came to be called, for reasons not really clear) aimed at organizing all workers in any industry into "One Big Union," undivided by sex, race, or skills. They argued against making contracts with the employer, because this had so often prevented workers from striking on their own, or in sympathy with other strikers, and thus turned union people into strikebreakers. Negotiations by leaders for contracts replaced continuous struggle by the rank and tile, the Wobblies believed. They spoke of "direct action": Direct action means industrial action directly by, for, and of the workers themselves, without the treacherous aid of labor misleaders or scheming politicians. A strike that is initiated, controlled, and settled by the workers directly affected is direct action. . .. Direct action is industrial democracy. One IWW pamphlet said: "Shall I tell you what direct action means? The worker on the job shall tell the boss when and where he shall work, how long and for what wages and under what conditions." The IWW people were militant, courageous. Despite a reputation given them by the press, they did not believe in initiating violence, but did fight back when attacked. In McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, they led a strike of six thousand workers in 1909 against an affiliate of the U.S. Steel Company, defied the state troopers, and battled with them. They promised to take a trooper's life for every worker killed (in one gun battle four strikers and three troopers were killed), and managed to keep picketing the factories until no profit use only
the strike was won The IWW saw beyond strikes: Strikes are mere incidents in the class war;they are tests of strength,periodical drills in the course of which the workers train themselves for concerted action.This training is most necessary to prepare the masses for the final "catastrophe,"the general strike which will complete the expropriation of the employers. The idea of anarcho-syndicalism was developing strongly in Spain and Italy and France at this time-that the workers would take power,not by seizing the state machinery in an armed rebellion,but by bringing the economic system to a halt in a general strike. then taking it over to use for the good of all.IWW organizer Joseph Ettor said: If the workers of the world want to win,all they have to do is recognize their own solidarity.They have nothing to do but fold their arms and the world will stop.The workers are more powerful with their hands in their pockets than all the property of the capitalists... It was an immensely powerful idea.In the ten exciting years after its birth,the IWW became a threat to the capitalist class,exactly when capitalist growth was enormous and profits huge.The IWW never had more than five to ten thousand enrolled members at any one time-people came and went,and perhaps a hundred thousand were members at one time or another.But their energy,their persistence,their inspiration to others,their ability to mobilize thousands at one place,one time,made them an influence on the country far beyond their numbers.They traveled everywhere(many were unemployed or migrant workers);they organized,wrote,spoke,sang,spread their message and their spirit. They were attacked with all the weapops the system could put together:the newspapers,the courts,the police,the army,mob violence.Local authorities passed laws to stop them from speaking;the IWW defied these laws.In Missoula,Montana,a lumber and mining area,hundreds of Wobbdteg arrived by boxcar after some had been prevented from speaking.They were arrestdone after another until they clogged the jails and the courts,and finally forced the town to repeal its antispeech ordinance. In Spokane,Washingtet in 1909,an ordinance was passed to stop street meetings, and an IWW organizer who insisted on speaking was arrested.Thousands of Wobblies marched into the center of town to speak.One by one they spoke and were arrested,until six hundred were in jail.Jail conditions were brutal,and several men died in their cells, but the IWW won the right to speak. In Fresno,California,in 1911,there was another free speech fight.The San Francisco Call commented: It is one of those strange situations which crop up suddenly and are hard to understand. Some thousands of men,whose business it is to work with their hands,tramping and stealing rides,suffering hardships and facing dangers-to get into jail.... In jail they sang,they shouted,they made speeches through the bars to groups that gathered outside the prison.As Joyce Kornbluh reports in her remarkable collection of TWW documents,Rebel Voices: They took turns lecturing about the class struggle and leading the singing of Wobbly songs.When they refused to stop,the jailor sent for fire department trucks and ordered the fire hoses turned full force on the prisoners.The men used their mattresses as shields, and quiet was only restored when the icy water reached knee-high in the cells
the strike was won. The IWW saw beyond strikes: Strikes are mere incidents in the class war; they are tests of strength, periodical drills in the course of which the workers train themselves for concerted action. This training is most necessary to prepare the masses for the final "catastrophe," the general strike which will complete the expropriation of the employers. The idea of anarcho-syndicalism was developing strongly in Spain and Italy and France at this time-that the workers would take power, not by seizing the state machinery in an armed rebellion, but by bringing the economic system to a halt in a general strike, then taking it over to use for the good of all. IWW organizer Joseph Ettor said: If the workers of the world want to win, all they have to do is recognize their own solidarity. They have nothing to do but fold their arms and the world will stop. The workers are more powerful with their hands in their pockets than all the property of the capitalists. . . . It was an immensely powerful idea. In the ten exciting years after its birth, the IWW became a threat to the capitalist class, exactly when capitalist growth was enormous and profits huge. The IWW never had more than five to ten thousand enrolled members at any one time- people came and went, and perhaps a hundred thousand were members at one time or another. But their energy, their persistence, their inspiration to others, their ability to mobilize thousands at one place, one time, made them an influence on the country far beyond their numbers. They traveled everywhere (many were unemployed or migrant workers); they organized, wrote, spoke, sang, spread their message and their spirit. They were attacked with all the weapons the system could put together: the newspapers, the courts, the police, the army, mob violence. Local authorities passed laws to stop them from speaking; the IWW defied these laws. In Missoula, Montana, a lumber and mining area, hundreds of Wobblies arrived by boxcar after some had been prevented from speaking. They were arrested one after another until they clogged the jails and the courts, and finally forced the town to repeal its antispeech ordinance. In Spokane, Washington, in 1909, an ordinance was passed to stop street meetings, and an IWW organizer who insisted on speaking was arrested. Thousands of Wobblies marched into the center of town to speak. One by one they spoke and were arrested, until six hundred were in jail. Jail conditions were brutal, and several men died in their cells, but the IWW won the right to speak. In Fresno, California, in 1911, there was another free speech fight. The San Francisco Call commented: It is one of those strange situations which crop up suddenly and are hard to understand. Some thousands of men, whose business it is to work with their hands, tramping and stealing rides, suffering hardships and facing dangers-to get into jail. . . . In jail they sang, they shouted, they made speeches through the bars to groups that gathered outside the prison. As Joyce Kornbluh reports in her remarkable collection of TWW documents, Rebel Voices: They took turns lecturing about the class struggle and leading the singing of Wobbly songs. When they refused to stop, the jailor sent for fire department trucks and ordered the fire hoses turned full force on the prisoners. The men used their mattresses as shields, and quiet was only restored when the icy water reached knee-high in the cells. no profit use only
