BUM PAY-BUM WORK
-the Agricultural Workers Organization
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Sunday June 27, 1915
From the Harvest Fields of Kansas - The Agricultural Workers Organization Has Arrived
From the
The Hutchinson News of Kansas, we find that the Agricultural Workers Organization, recently formed by the Industrial Workers of the World, is on the scene in the harvest fields of that state and has issued demands. The demands are five in number and are signed by Walter T. Nef, Secretary-Treasurer of the A. W. O.
Sadly, this good news comes to us along with the news that a fellow worker, V. J. Bradley, was murdered near the town of Arlington, Kansas, on Tuesday, June 22nd. Bradley was beaten to death in the railway, and his body was found the next morning with a rope tied around his neck.
Of course, the local authorities have rounded up several Wobblies, friends of Bradley's, even though his death followed an altercation between the traveling workers and a train crew.
Bradley was known as a "jungle" poet, he was said to be well liked in the camps, and enjoyed entertaining the men with poetry and songs.
From The Hutchinson News of June 25, 1915:
TO HANG THE BODY?
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Does That Explain Rope on
Neck of I. W. W. Poet?
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HE WAS VERY POPULAR
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There Was Big Camp of I. W. W.'s at
Arlington Before the Murder-
Literature Circulated.
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Was V. J. Bradley, the "jungle" poet and traveling secretary in the agricultural workers organization of the I. W. W. to have been hung up after he had been beaten to death in the railway out west of Arlington Tuesday night?
If the officers can answer this question, maybe they can get a clew which will solve the gruesome riddle of the murder.
A rope was found around the neck of Bradley. It was a coarse length of loosely woven rope similar to that which comes around parcels of binding twine. The noose around Bradley's neck was tied so tightly that it was imbedded into the flesh. His necktie was caught in the knot.
The Poet Was Popular.
A. J. Gude, who was Bradley's "partner" and Louis Peres, known as "Cuba," say that Bradley was not making trouble in the jungles. He was popular in the camp to the hoboes. There were nearly fifty men in the camp until the afternoon before the murder. Most of them were members of the agricultural workers organization of I. W. W. Bradley entertained the men at night by reciting his poetry-most of it of a revolutionary type-and singing songs.
Befriended the Wounded Men.
Then there was the fight with the Rock Island train crew at the coal chute and nearly all of the men left town. Stories vary, but some say that Bradley was a leader in the fight. The trouble started when a brakeman kicked a hobo off of the top of a car. The tramps began to bombard the railroad employe with stones. He had been knocked to the ground and the hoboes were kicking and beating him when the conductor ran to his rescue and received a knife cut in the face. Then two hoboes carried the wounded men into their caboose. They were told to lie still, else the mob would them. Bradley is said to have been one of these.
To Make Exhibition of Body?
Whether it was because he befriended the wounded conductor, or for other reasons, somebody in the jungles wanted to see Bradley "bumped off"-killed, and his companion says they wanted to hang his body up-make and exhibition of it.
But the rope around Bradley's neck was too short-besides he was too heavy to be swung from so small a rope. Then a crude attempt was made to bury the body.
Three men murdered Bradley, or at least three were there when he was murdered.
The sounds of the quarrel and the blows were heard by the cripple, Cecil, and he saw three men in the bright moonlight-one tall and two shorter figures. One said, "Here comes a man with a gun," and they ran. Bradley's groans could be heard, but Cecil had turned back to his house, where his child cried.
Circulates I. W. W. Literature.
There was an I. W. W. camp at Arlington before the murder of Bradley, and much of the literature of the organization was being distributed there. Here is a handbill which was being circulated among the harvesters:
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Agricultural Workers Organization
of the I. W. W.
Makes Following Demands
for Harvest Workers
First
A minimum wage of $3.00 a day
of not more than 10 hours.
Second
50 cents for each hour overtime worked above
the 10 hours constituting a day.
Third.
Good clean board.
Fourth
Good clean places to sleep in-
with plenty of clean bedding.
Fifth
No discrimination against union men
(I. W. W.)
The above demands apply to Northern Oklahoma and southeastern Kansas. In and around Caldwell, Wichita, Kiowa, Harper, Kingman, Anthony etc.
To All Workers
Enforce the above demands-wherever and whenever possible. Three dollars per day as a minimum wage scale is not a cent too much. Ten hours a day is long enough for a MULE-WHY NOT FOR MEN AND WOMEN!
Do not work more than ten hours a day. This will make more work and allow more men employment. YOUR JOB will last that much longer. WE WANT as many days' work as possible.
Make YOUR JOB last! If you do not get the above demands make your MOTTO: LITTLE PAY-LITTLE WORK, or BUM PAY-BUM WORK.
To the Farmers of Above Districts
The above demands are asked of you, and if granted, satisfactory work will be done. Harvest work is seasonable and unsteady, and must receive consideration. Common laborers are paid in many places 35 to 40 cents an hour on STEADY EMPLOYMENT, and $3.00 a day and board is only 35 cents an hour, not a cent to much-in fact it is TOO LITTLE for seasonable work.
Agricultural Workers Organization
I. W. W
W. T. NEF, Secretary-Treasurer.
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All of the men under arrest here are members of I. W. W.-Industrial Workers of the World. Their pockets were filled with literature and cards of the order, although only one man, J. W. Coldwell, of Huntington Beach, Cal., has a membership card. In their note books are revolutionary poems and speeches.
To Bury Body Tomorrow.
The body of Bradley will be buried tomorrow afternoon. The rope, his clothing the cheap tablet, two letters he had written, and an I. W. W. card, have been taken to the sheriff's office.
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[Photographs added.]
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SOURCE
The Hutchinson News
(Hutchinson, Kansas)
-June 25, 1915
http://www.newspapers.com/...
Note: It was very exciting to come across an example of a handbill distributed by the AWO at this early stage of their work. However, it is very sad that it had to come with the news of the murder of Fellow Worker V. J. Bradley. I spent a long time searching for more information on the life of this poet of the jungle to no avail. I was very much hoping to find examples of his poetry, but his poems appear to be lost to history. Very sad about that.
IMAGES
The IWW Is Coming
http://libcom.org/...
IWW Membership Card
(Most likely not historically accurate,
used here to represent Bradley's card.)
http://www.iww.org/...
See also:
History of the "400" A. W. O.
-by E. Workman [Walter T Nef], February 1939
One Big Union Club of New York, N. Y.
(Source also for image of cover.)
https://archive.org/...
Note: E. Workman was actually
Walter T Nef per several sources
including this one:
http://www.abebooks.de/...
For more on Walter T Nef and
the founding of the AWO:
https://books.google.com/...
Shall Freedom Die?
166 Union Men In Jail for Labor
IWW, about 1917
(Walter T Nef was one of the 166.)
https://en.wikisource.org/...
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Tune for Overalls and Snuff
Overalls and Snuff
(From the December 1914 edition of the
Little Red Songbook.)
1. One day as I was walking
Along the railroad track,
I met a man in Wheatland
With his blankets on his back,
He was an old-time hop picker,
I'd seen his face before,
I knew he was a wobbly,
By the button that he wore.
I knew he was a wobbly,
By the button that he wore.
2. He took his blankets off his back
And sat down on the rail
And told us some sad stories
'Bout the workers down in jail.
He said the way they treat them there,
He never saw the like,
For they're putting men in prison
Just for going out on strike,
They're putting men in prison,
Just for going out on strike.
3. They have sentenced Ford and Suhr,
And they've got them in the pen,
If they catch a wobbly in their burg,
They vag him there and then.
There is one thing I can tell you,
And it makes the bosses sore,
As fast as they can pinch us,
We can always get some more.
As fast as they can pinch us,
We can always get some more.
4. Oh, Horst and Durst are mad as hell,
They don't know what to do.
And the rest of those hop barons
Are all feeling mighty blue.
Oh, we've tied up all their hop fields,
And the scabs refuse to come,
And we're going to keep on strikin
Till we put them on the bum.
We're going to keep on striking
Till we put them on the bum.
5. Now we've got to stick together, boys,
And strive with all our might,
We must free Ford and Suhr, boys,
We've got to win this fight.
From these scissor bill hop barons
We are taking no more bluff,
We'll pick no more damned hops for them,
For overalls and snuff,
We'll pick no more damned hops for them,
For overalls and snuff.
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