You ought to be out raising hell. This is the fighting age. Put on your fighting clothes.
-Mother Jones
Monday August 3, 1903
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - National Civic Federation unable to settle textile strike.
An attempt by the National Civic Federation to settle the textile strike has failed. Under the proposed agreement, the textile workers would return to work at 55 hours a week, and wages would be negotiated later. The manufacturers refused this offer.
Strike leaders say that there are still 55,000 on strike. An attempt was made by the manufacturers to restart the mills this morning, but that attempt was unsuccessful.
SOURCE
Williamsport Sun-Gazette
(Williamsport, PA)
-of Aug 4, 1903
Sunday August 3, 1913
From The International Socialist Review: Comrade Thompson Replies to Debs
This is Part II of the response to Debs by Comrade W. H. Thompson, editor of Socialist and Labor Star of Huntington, West Virginia. See Hellraisers of August 1 for the article by Comrade Debs defending the National Committee's report on the West Virginia miners' strike. The West Virginia Socialist continue to condemn the report as a "whitewash" of Governor Hatfield.
Part II- "I have never seen a real live I. W. W.-ite..in West Virginia."
On April 25, the Charleston Labor Argus was confiscated, suppressed, and those suspected of being connected with it were thrown into jail. On May 9 the Socialist and Labor Star was confiscated, its plant destroyed and five of its owners jailed — by order of Governor Hatfield.
Our committee's report referring to these outrages says : "In this connection it is but fair to say that the governor and his friends disavow knowledge of these outrages!"
According to Comrade Debs' article, it did not take him long to discover "that a certain element was hostile to the United Mine Workers." Apparently, however, he failed to discover that there were numerous elements hostile to Socialism. There was an element hostile to the United Mine Workers' officials who had just leagued themselves with Hatfield and agreed upon a "settlement" of the strike, which was odious to the strikers and which they have since totally repudiated. Comrade Debs uses this "element" that was hostile to the United Mine Workers as a shield to hide behind when we attack him for whitewashing Hatfield. Then he pours out this vial of wrath upon us:
"The whole trouble is that some Chicago I. W. W.-ites, in spirit, at least, are seeking to disrupt and drive out the United Mine Workers to make room for the I. W. W. and its program of sabotage."
Speaking for myself, I will say that I have never seen a real live I. W. W.-ite. If there is or has ever been such an animal in West Virginia I am blissfully unaware of the fact. However, I have heard considerable of this new species from the capitalistic press and I note that the capitalists are very hostile toward it. I consider that a good recommendation for a labor organization and will certainly not speak slightingly of it or condemn it as long as the parasites fear it, but as for the I. W. W. being responsible for the attack on the Mine Workers' officials, who deliberately at tempted to betray the Kanawha strikers, I think Comrade Debs' fear was father to the thought.
We will concluded Comrade Thompson's response to Comrade Debs tomorrow.
SOURCE
The International Socialist Review
-of August 1913
http://archive.org/...
See also:
Hellraisers Journal: Comrade Fred Merrick on the Betrayal of the West Virginia "Red Necks"
http://www.dailykos.com/...
Saturday Aug 3, 2013
From Democracy Now!: "We are slowly dying." Fast Food Workers Strike
Transcript
Fast Food Forward
PETITION
http://www.fastfoodforward.org/...
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Working Girl Blues
My boss says a raise is due most any day
But I wonder will my hair be all turned gray
Before he turns that dollar loose, and I get my due,
And loose a little bit of these working girl blues