Socialist

Hellraisers Journal: Mother Jones Travels West Virginia with Her Old Black Bag

You ought to be out raising hell. This is the fighting age.
Put on your fighting clothes.
-Mother Jones

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tuesday March 20, 1906
New York, New York - A Reporter Tells of Travels with Mother Jones in West Virginia

Mother Jones, Miners Angel .jpg

From New York City, a reporter describes, for the Pittsburgh Evening Leader of Kansas, a journey with Mother Jones throughout West Virginia. The reporter describes a similar journey with Mother in 1901, back before Mother's break with John Mitchell, while she was still employed as an organizer for the United Mine Workers. Who sponsored this trip, the reporter does not say, nor is the identity of the reporter revealed, but what is made obvious is the love of the coal miners and their wives for Mother Jones, the Miners' Angel.

Hellraisers Journal: John Sloan & Charles Erskine Scott Wood on "Patriotism" from The Masses


Let those who own the country, who are howling for and profiting
by preparedness, fight to defend their property.
-Elizabeth Gurley Flynn

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Saturday December 18, 1916
From The Masses: "Do You Believe in Patriotism?" Part II

In the March issue of The Masses, various Socialist writers responded to the question, "Do you believe in Patriotism?" Yesterday Hellraisers featured the answers to that question from two prominent Socialists women, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn and Sara Bard Field. Today's edition features the responses of John Sloan and Charles Erskine Scott Wood:

From John Sloan

the masses cover june 1914 ludlow (2).jpg

If I had to love a country I could love no country but this, nor could I find a fitter one to hate.

I put Patriotism with the other isms,-Militarism, Anarchism, Capitalism, Individualism, Socialism, Dogmatism, Catholicism, Protestantism and Rheumatism (I had almost written Catechism), but I am answering your question. I hope that social progress will eliminate all isms-though in the case of Futurism we have a hard one to catch.

Patriotism licks the boot of capitalism and until the earth-worms get the latter's carcass, he will need patriots. As the wage system will never enable the people of any country to consume all their products with a profit to the owning class, foreign markets are a necessity to be fought for. Patriotism is a potent means of providing the fighters. Conscription is another powerful persuader and Our Country has both (see Dick military law passed by congress in 1903 and 1908).