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Sunday October 24, 1915
Chicago Illinois - Mother Jones Leads Parade of 5,000 Women Garment Strikers
High new points in big garment strike today are:
With 28 thrown into lousy police cells last night, total arrests now 454.
All private police on strike duty will be put out of business if city council makes law of an order passed by council police committee today by 11 to 2. It will put sluggers and gunmen hired by employers off streets.
Blacklisted men, underpaid widows, exploited working girl told their stories to council arbitration committee.
Wm. O. Thompson, former attorney U. S. industrial relations commission and law partner of John P. Altgeld, tells State Charities Conf., Danville, Chicago garment workers are people who don't get enough pay to buy nourishing food and they are striking to get decent food to put inside their stomachs.
Benjamin E. Cohen, attorney writes letter to Chief Justice Olsen claiming Judge La Buy at Maxwell station uses raw tactics in refusing jury trial to arrested strikers.
Parade of 5,000 girl and women garment workers moves through garment district and downtown this afternoon.
"If there were no hired sluggers masquerading as private police there would be no counter attacks by strikers," said Ald. John C. Kennedy in comment today on the assault on Deputy Coroner Hermann last night. He argued for police committee to vote yes on the plan of Ald. Buck to shut off all private police from a hand in strikes.
"If you want to cut down shootings and sluggings in the streets of Chicago, pass this order," was the main drive of Aldermen Martin, Buck, Kennedy and McCormick. Even Ald. Tom Lynch and Ald. Johnny Powers came through with talks and votes for the order to pass. De Priest and Stern were the only two who voted against taking stars and guns away from the thugs who are on the job in front of garment factories today.
Council by 60 to 7 voted Monday night to have the Buck plan taken to committee. This big vote backs the dope that the council will put through an ordinance that no private police shall be allowed employers for handling strikes. A special strike bureau will be created.
Mrs. Mary Bianko of 757 W. Congress st speaks only Italian. So her little daughter, Anna, stood by her side and translated her answers to the Utpatel arbitration committee questions today.
"I worked as a finisher for Hirsch-Wickwire from 7:30 a. m. to 5:30 p. m. in the busy season," she said. "I used to get 14 cents for each pair of pants I finished. That made about $10 a week. Then they cut me down to 8 cents apiece for each pair of pants. Since then I have made only about $7 and $8 a week. My husband is dead. I have five children. One girl works out. A married sister pays most of the house rent, else we would have to go to the charity bureau or county agent We buy our clothes from the second-hand outfits of the Salvation Army."
State Factory Inspector Oscar Nelson, with his deputy, Wm. Ehn, took notes on testimony of girls that there are violations of the law.
"I have been on a blacklist kept by the Wholesale Clothiers' ass'n since 1903," stated James J. Koster, cutter at Hart, Schaffner & Marx. This firm is not in on the strike, as it has an agreement with the union on strike. "I lost several jobs because of orders issued by Martin J. Isaacs, secretary of the wholesale association. He has an office on floor 10 of the Medinah bldg. What he says goes. He put me down for a strong union man. When I got a job he ordered me out of it. Not until Hart, Schaffner & Marx were organized and signed agreements with the union have I been able to hold a job. This blacklisting is carried on today and is one of the evils the strikers are fighting."
Sidney Hillman, president Amalgamated Garment [Clothing] Workers, put questions to witnesses. He was helped by Miss Nettie Richardson, Hull House social worker, who was arrested Wednesday night charged with disorderly conduct.
Letter of Benjamin E. Cohen to Chief Justice Olson of the municipal courts says on Oct 21 he appeared before Judge La Buy for six strikers charged with disorderly conduct La Buy refused jury trial, according to the letter, and when Cohen said the law is that the court must grant such request, La Buy answered: "I overrule your motion for a jury trial at this time. The city is not ready in these cases."
Cohen again urged it was a denial of ordinary rights of citizenship for La Buy to refuse to listen to motion for jury trial, and, it is alleged La Buy's reply was:
"You have said enough. Hereafter shut up. I know what I am doing."
"Mother" Jones and women from every prominent club in the city led the parade of 5,000 girl and women clothing strikers through the loop this afternoon.
The girls bore banners telling their story of the struggle.
The parade started just as the report reached the hall of the clubbing by a cop of Ida Gould at Jackson and Desplaines. The girl was so brutally beaten that she fell to the sidewalk unable to get up.
Some of the signs worn by the girls were copies of pay envelopes showing that girls made as low as 79 cents in a week.
Nettie Richardson, connected with the immigration bureau and Hull House, who was arrested yesterday and held two hours without booking before she was released on bonds, marched with the girls.
John Mann, arrested on four charges while he was picketing, was held in $4,000 bonds in the boys' court.
Here's part of the big speech of Wm. O. Thompson at Danville:
A great struggle is going on in Chicago today, wherein thousands of workers, men and women, are struggling to get a living wage. The struggle has been going on for weeks. I have yet to hear of any charitable organization, either directly or indirectly, seeking to help in the adjustment of the struggle.
I am speaking of the strike of the clothing workers. All the newspapers in Chicago have editorially endorsed the stand of the workers, have condemned the manufacturers for their unwillingness to meet the workers and their refusal to enter into any system of collective bargaining with the employes.
The manufacturers have flouted the state board of arbitration, the city council of Chicago, and public opinion-and yet understand practically all these manufacturers are large contributors to charity.
Not long ago, when we wished to get a neutral third man on a trade board, in one of the most successful schemes of collective bargaining in the city of Chicago, the bureau of charities, by whom this man was employed, refused to permit him to serve and we were compelled to find him work elsewhere in order to get his services on the trade board.
It is this condition of things which brings organized charity into disrepute among those who struggle for an adequate wage.
In addition, the under-payment forces weak and stunted children of the poor into the factories at immature ages in order to piece out the inadequate family income, where the little remaining strength and vitality they have is worn out and dissipated, with the result that they are not able to do efficient work and earn adequate compensation, even when the opportunity offers.
The number of children between the ages of 10 and 15 who are forced to earn their daily bread in this country is estimated from reliable statistics at the present time at the appalling number of 2,500,000. If ever there was an indictment of a nation and civilization, surely this is one, and it constitutes the most serious part of the nations unpreparedness.
If any proof is needed of what I have said, the study of delinquent children in Chicago is complete and convincing, where it is shown that of the delinquent children only two per cent come from the families of the well-to-do, while nine-tenths of the delinquent girls and three-fourths of the boys come from the families of the poor and the very poor.
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