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Friday December 31, 1915
From the Archives of the Industrial Worker: The "Life" of the Migratory Timber Worker

As the Industrial Workers of the World begins a campaign to organize the timber workers of Northern Minnesota, Hellraisers offers this account of the life of a migratory timber worker from an anonymous logger, originally published in the Industrial Worker of July 2, 1910. The conditions under which the "timber beasts" live and work have not improved much, if at all.

WHO SAID A LOGGER LIVES?

The question has often been asked: "What constitutes living?" If it is the mere fact that we have life in our bodies and are plodding along in search of a job with our blankets on our back, then we are all living.

If "living" means to have all the good things of life, all the comforts of a home, and a life guarantee that such comforts shall continue as long as we are willing to do our share of the work, then we are not living, but simply saving funeral expenses.

It is estimated that there are 50,000 loggers along the Pacific coast, and it is a conservative statement to make that not one percent of them can say that their home consists of anything better than a dirty bunk furnished by the boss and a roll of blankets that they are compelled to tote about from pillar to post, many times only to make room for another toiler who has left $2 for the job in the tender care of the fat Employment Hog, who will divvy up with the foreman or superintendent. This is incentive enough to soon discharge him, so that a new recruit can be divorced from his $2, and so this endless chain of men tramping to and from the employment shark and the job.

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Thursday December 30, 1915
From The Labor World: I. W. W. to Begin Organizing Drive Among Timber Workers

The Labor World of Duluth, Minnesota, recently warned the American Federation of Labor that the Industrial Workers of the World intends to begin organizing the Timber Workers of Northern Minnesota. We would note that no great concern has, of yet, been demonstrated by the A. F. of L. for these underpaid and overworked migratory workers, that is, not until the I. W. W. arrived upon the scene.

From The Labor World of December 25, 1915:

I. W. W. ISSUES APPEAL TO TIMBER WORKERS
OF NORTHERN MINNESOTA TO ORGANIZE;
A. F. OF L. SHOULD GET BUSY WITHOUT FURTHER DELAY

The American Federation of Labor should pay some attention to the appeal of The Labor World to organize the timber workers of Northern Minnesota, before it is too late. Already the I. W. W. is making a strenuous effort to organize these men. Headquarters have been opened at 907 West Michigan street. They are in charge of Arthur Boose. A strong appeal has been issued to the timber workers to organize under the I. W. W. by J. A. McDonald of Virginia [a city on the Minnesota Iron Range].

The appeal is in printed form and states that the timber barons are employing young men and are discarding all of the old men to become "hobos, vagrants and bums."

[The appeal continued:]

The boss has thrown them to one side to starve, as they may, to die as they can. Those worn out timber beasts are pictures of their future.

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Wednesday December 22, 1915
From the International Socialist Review: No Budget, No Problem for the Agricultural Workers' Organization

From the Review of December 1915:

A NEW CHAPTER IN INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

By J. A. Macdonald

THIS is the story of the success of the Agricultural Workers' organization. This story is not finished, it cannot be till the doomed industrial system of today has also been damned and over thrown. It is the story of the moving of the propaganda of revolutionary industrial unionism from the open forum and the street corner, to the primary theater of the industrial revolution—the job.

The wise men of the labor movement—generally too wise to work—the philosophers of the easy chair and the big salary, said the migratory worker could not be organized. They said the work was too casual. A union for them would have to be too migratory. It would have to have its office in a box car.