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 29, 1915
From the Chicago Day Book: Walsh Announces Probe of Bayonne Strike
From The Day Book of July 27, 1915:
Frank P Walsh
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WALSH COMMISSION TO PROBE NEW JERSEY STRIKE
Investigation will be immediately begun by the Federal Commission on Industrial Relations into the strike at the Standard Oil plant at Bayonne, N. J., where three strikers have been shot to death and scores wounded in battles with police and Rockefeller guards.
As the commission, under congressional order, goes out of existence August 1, it must work hurriedly. The report of the commissioners will be coupled with their findings into the Colorado strike troubles, where the Rockefellers were excoriated for the tactics of their hired mine guards.
------
[Photograph added.]
From The New York Times of July 27, 1915
SHERIFF CAPTURES POLICE
FOR STRIKE
----
Invades Jersey City and
Swears in Surprised Officials
as Bayonne Deputies.
-----
PUTS CHIEF UNDER ARREST
-----
All This After Punching Strike Leader
and Proving Him an Impostor.
-----
1,500 TO GO BACK TO WORK
------
Oil Plants' Strikers Make Kinkead Their Chief
and He Predicts Ending of the Trouble.
------
Bayonne strikers on the evening after battle of July 22nd.
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Eugene F. Kinkead, Sheriff of Hudson County, N. J., who had fought strikers and oil guards alike, who had begged police aid of neighboring towns and been refused, who had appealed in vain to Governor Fielder for State troops, and who had worked for nearly twenty hours out of every twenty-four in the last week, suddenly determined yesterday, single handed, to end the strike which had affected 8,000 men of the Standard, Tidewater, and Vacuum Oil Companies in Bayonne, N. J. He worked swiftly and so directly to the single end of terminating the strike that in his wake rose cries that he was exceeding his authority.
By night fall Kinkead had punched and arrested Jeremiah J. Baly, formerly Chairman of the strikers' committee, and had discredited him as a strike leader, showing that he never even had been an employe of Standard Oil; he had punched and arrested as an agitator the I. W. W. orator, Frank Tannenbaum; he had stolen a strikers' meeting, and he had forced a vote on a proposal to return to work with the implied promise of higher wages which he himself had won from Standard Oil officials. When the strikers had voted them down, his influence caused the strike committee to resign, and he persuaded 1,500 of the leaderless men to accept him as leader and to return to work today.
Jersey City Refuses Aid.
To provide the protection which he had promised to the men who had elected to follow him, the Sheriff, for the second time since the strike began, sought police aid from Jersey City. He wanted uniformed men to impress the strikers, should an attempt be made to prevent his followers from entering the oil works today. He telephoned to Chief of Police Frank Monahan of Jersey City asking for a detail of police.
But a sympathetic strike started yesterday in the Eagle Oil Works, a subsidiary of Standard Oil, at Caven Point, Jersey City, and Monahan answered that the Sheriff could not have the men. Director of Public Safety Frank Hague of Jersey City had declined to lend the police when there was no trouble at home. Now Monahan was sure they could not go. The sheriff would not be refused. He asked Monahan to visit him at Bayonne and talk the matter over....
Monahan declined flatly to leave Jersey City, and over the wire the Sheriff roared:
"Consider yourself under arrest."
Kinkead then jumped into his automobile and made for Jersey City at full speed.
Swears in Deputy Director.
It was shortly before midnight when the Sheriff arrived at City Hall, Jersey City. He went directly to Mr. Hague's office. The Director was not in and his deputy, James F. Norton, was in charge....
"Well, raise your right hand and be sworn in as my Deputy," commanded the Sheriff.
"But I can't. there's trouble here. I tell you I can't."
"Raise your hand," repeated the Sheriff inexorably, and so Norton was sworn and was told to report to the sheriff at Bayonne Police Headquarters at 5 o'clock this morning....
Sheriff Calls in Police.
Giving Norton until 5 o'clock this morning to report to him, the Sheriff hurried out. The Deputy Director was powerless, for the Sheriff's authority was supreme, and he sat in his office receiving telephone calls from police stations all over the city, which reported visits of the Sheriff...
Jersey City had refused his request for aid when the Sheriff had asked it as a favor. Now he took what he wanted, and Jersey City was powerless to protest...
~~~~~~~~~~
SOURCES
The Day Book
(Chicago, Illinois)
-July 27, 1915
http://www.newspapers.com/...
The New York Times
(New York, New York)
-July 27, 1915
http://www.newspapers.com/...
IMAGES
Frank P. Walsh from Harpers Weekly of Sept 27, 1913
http://books.google.com/...
Bayonne Standard Oil Strike of 1915,
evening after battle of July 22, 1915
https://books.google.com/...
See also:
The New Republic
-Aug 14, 1915
"The Bayonne Strike"
https://books.google.com/...
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/...
For more on condition which led to the strike:
"Hellraisers Journal: Bayonne, NJ- 900 Coopers Join Stillcleaners
on Strike at Standard Oil Refinery" by JayRaye
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Dear Readers of Hellraisers,
This year for my vacation, Hellraisers will not be as scaled back as it was for the past two vacations. This happy change is due to my new & much faster computer and to the library of photos, songs, resources, etc, that I have built up over the past 2 and 1/2 years.
The big change that my readers will see, starting July 16th, will be the shorter length of the postings along with fewer links. I'm writing three Hellraisers per day right now and don't have the one or two hours extra that I usually take to find and put in the links.
When my readers find unfamiliar names, places, or events, please use the tags along with JayRaye (in diarist section of search feature). Or just leave a question for me in the comments and I will get back to you.
When I actually leave for Minnesota, I'll let everyone know. My access to computer will be limited while I'm away, probably about twice a week. But I will definitely be checking in.
Solidarity,
JayRaye
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Chemical Workers Song - Ron Angel
A process man am I and I'm telling you no lie.
I've worked and breathed among the fumes.
That trail across the sky.
There's thunder all around me and poison in the air.
There's a lousy smell that smacks of hell.
And dust all in my hair.
But you go boys go.
They time your every breath.
And every day you're in this place.
You're two days nearer death.
But you go...
-Ron Angel
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