You ought to be out raising hell. This is the fighting age. Put on your fighting clothes.
-Mother Jones
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Saturday December 26, 1903
From The Labor World: "Mine Workers Fight against Reduction"
Indianapolis, Dec. 24.-Word has been received at the headquarters of the United Mine Workers that the miners in the Myersdale, Pa., district struck Wednesday of this week. Between 8,000 and 10,000 men will be affected. The strike is on account of a proposed cut in the wages of the men, of ten cents a ton. The operators state that this cut is necessary on account of the condition of the market, but the miners deny this and say that the price of coal can be reduced and wages remain the same and the operators still make a good profit.
SOURCE
The Labor World
(Duluth, Minnesota)
-of Dec 26, 1903
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Friday December 26, 1913
From Työmies: The Finnish Socialist Newspaper of Hancock Claims, "83 Murdered!"
Työmies, the Finnish Socialist newspaper of Hancock, Michigan, did not mince words in its headline today, but called the deaths at the Italian Hall "MURDER:"
Christmas celebration of strikers children of Calumet made into a crime sacrifice for capital.
translation
The newspaper points out that there are many different rumors circulating, but placed the blame for the disaster at the feet of the Citizens Alliance and Sheriff Cruse's deputized gunthugs:
There was no fire anywhere and this fire alarm and the remarkable conduct of the deputies at the hall door was then, someone's, or somebody's invention to disturb the celebrations of those "undesirables," possibly "unintentionally."
translation
The brutal conduct of the deputies as they beat back the crowd with clubs and fists will long be remembered by the grieving strikers and their families. The intention of the man who cried fire, perhaps, was not to murder, but murder was, nonetheless, the result of the intentional disruption of the children's party. The man who cried fire disappeared down the street and has not been seen since.
SOURCE
Death's Door
The Truth Behind Michigan's Largest Mass Murder
-by Steve Lehto
MI, 2006
Photo: Työmies headline Dec 26, 1913
http://lawcha.org/...
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Thursday December 26, 2013
More on the Työmies December 26th issue:
In 2006, when Lehto published Death's Door, this issue of Työmies was not available, but limited translations, of the issue were available and were included in the book. These were translations made back in the day and not by friends of the newspaper. Since that time, a copy of the issue has been found, a lucky break for labor history! I was unable to find a translation of the December 26th article in question, and, sadly, Google would not co-operate. This article led to the arrest of the staff of the newspaper, and, especially for that reason, it would good for us to have it made available. Perhaps a Finnish speaker will see this and translate the half-page, shown above, for us. The link below does provide a translation of an article published in the December 25th issue of Työmies. The number of dead was misreported by many newspapers for days after the disaster.
Työmies on Christmas Day, 1913
http://www.kentsgenealogy.com/...
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Turn Around-Harry Belafonte