You ought to be out raising hell. This is the fighting age. Put on your fighting clothes.
-Mother Jones
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Thursday July 22, 1915
Bayonne, New Jersey - One Man Killed as Police Fire into Crowd of Strikers
Police fire on strikers during second day of
Bayonne Standard Oil Strike
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John Molosky, 18 years old, was killed and many more injured, yesterday, when police fired directly into a crowd of strikers who were marching from the Standard Oil plant to the Tidewater Oil plant to meet the men who were walking out of that plant to join the strike.
From The Brooklyn Daily Eagle of July 21st:
1 KILLED; 53 HURT IN BAYONNE RIOTS;
TROOPS ASKED FOR
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Foreign Workmen Assemble in Front
of Standard Oil Works There.
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ATTACK ON FIRE HOUSE.
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Sheriff Asks Them to Disperse-
Police Inspector's Horse Shot.
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Serious rioting during which one man, John Molosky, 18 years old, was killed and nearly threescore more or less seriously injured, marked the second day of the strike of workmen at the plant of the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey at Bayonne. The workers, most of whom are of foreign birth [Polish] and unorganized, gathered at the gates of the plant at an early hour and disorder, which then began, lasted until nearly noon. At that time the police, assisted by deputy sheriffs and firemen, brought the situation under temporary control at least. The police say several thousand persons took part in the attack.
Of the fifty-three injured taken to the Bayonne Hospital, fifty are men and boys who fought about the gates of the plant; the other three are policemen. Inspector Cady had a horse shot from under him and he narrowly escaped injury himself when he was at one time surrounded near a fire house by rioters, to which point he had gone to stop an attack.
Sheriff Eugene Kinkaid of Hudson County arrived on the scene shortly afternoon and took command of affairs. In an endeavor to bring an end to disorder by means of persuasion, the sheriff, soon after his arrival, rode in his automobile to a square where a crowd of 500 persons were assembled to discuss the strike and watch the gates.
The Sheriff immediately commanded attention and , standing in his car, addressed the crowd. He told the men that they must remain orderly and what his duties were in the situation, under the law. He called on every man who would obey him to hold up his hand, and a majority of those present did so.
Sheriff Kinkaid spoke for half an hour and several times the men cheered his statements, especially his promise to do what he could to settle the difficulty. The Sheriff said he was willing to meet representatives of the strikers, hear their grievances and do his best to bring about a settlement. In consideration of this, he asked the men to disperse peaceably to their homes and they said they would do so. A committee of three was appointed by the men and they will meet Sheriff Kinkaid later in the day.
There were three separate attacks by rioters today. The first was at the fire house of an engine company, and here all the windows were broken, after which the crowd moved on and attacked the police near the main gate of the Standard Oil plant. Three rioters were injured by bullets from the policemen's pistols before the crowd left.
Worst Fighting of Day Occurs
and Man Is Killed.
The rioters then made their way to the plant of the Tidewater Oil Company, half a mile away, which remains in operation today, though the strikers had been led to believe that the men there would join them today. As they approached the plant 1,300 of the men there left their work and marched out to the crowd, but apparently this did not satisfy the rioters, as they made a rush at the police on guard.
The most serious fighting of the day followed, and it was during this attack that Molosky was killed and a majority of the injured received their wounds. The police at first, it is stated, fired over the heads of the rioters but when this had no effect they shot directly into the crowd. Even this did not stop the rioters and the guard of police were almost out of ammunition when help arrived and the situation was brought under control.
Some time after this fight occurred a small office building of the Tidewater Company was discovered in flames and the building was virtually destroyed before the fire could be controlled. The origin of the fire is unknown.
This afternoon the Standard Oil officials landed 200 men from tugs at the plant, presumably deputies who will assist in guarding the works.
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SOURCE
The Brooklyn Daily Eagle
(Brooklyn, New York)
-July 21, 1915
http://www.newspapers.com/...
Note: according to Foner the name of the young striker killed was John Stovanchick. He was 18 years old and Polish. I have been unable to verify the young man's name. News reports all have him as John Molosky, but, in my experience, news accounts are very careless with the names of strikers, especially those with foreign sounding names. I will continue in my attempts to learn more about this labor martyr.
History of the Labor Movement in the United States Vol. 6
On the Eve of America's Entrance into World War I
-by Philip S Foner
International Pub, 1982
https://books.google.com/...
IMAGE
Bayonne Standard Oil Strike, 1915,
police fire on strikers
http://www.loc.gov/...
See also:
The New York Times
(New York, New York)
-Aug 16, 1915
"HIT ROCKEFELLER IN BAYONNE REPORT; Industrial Board's Investigations Lay Strike to Low Wages and Oppression. SHERIFF'S ACTS CRITICISED Findings Given Out by Chairman Walsh Constitute an Arraignment of Standard Oil Methods."
http://query.nytimes.com/...
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Never Cross A Picket Line-Billy Bragg
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