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Saturday January 22, 1916
Indianapolis, Indiana - Mother Jones Speaks at United Mine Workers Convention

Yesterdays Hellraisers featured reporting on the "storming" of the stage at the Mine Workers' Convention, now ongoing in Indianapolis, by the "Old Mother Jones" whereby she put an end to a bitter dispute between the international officers and Delegates McDonald and Germer of Illinois.

The acrimonious debate was over troubling financial matters which no doubt stem from the difficult struggles of the past four years, for example: long and hard fought strikes in West Virginia and Colorado. Expenses continue to mount in Colorado due to legal cases involving more than 400 union men (John R. Lawson included) who are yet entangled in the courts of that state.

Mother put an end to that debate and, in the end, handshakes were exchanged all around.

Today we are pleased to present the actual speech delivered on January 20th by Mother Jones at the convention. We begin with part one of the speech and will conclude tomorrow with part two.

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Friday January 21, 1916
Indianapolis, Indiana - Mother Jones Puts an End to Bitter Debate at Miners' Convention

Newspapers across the nation are describing the dramatic confrontation at the United Mine Workers Convention when Mother Jones arrived to find the delegates embroiled in a bitter debate and hurling bricks at one another. The Tacoma Times declared:

OLD MOTHER JONES STORMS CONVENTION

INDIANAPOLIS, Jan. 20,-Mother Jones stampeded the convention of the United Mine workers today with an address of unpolished oratory.

She raised 1,500 delegates to a fury of enthusiasm and forced Duncan McDonald to the platform to shake hands with President White, ending a bitter struggle between the two which threatened to disrupt the organization for years.

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Sunday January 7, 1906
From The Miners Magazine: Letter to William Johnson, Mine Superintendent

The following letter was published in the January 4th edition of The Miners Magazine, official organ of the Western Federation of Miners.

New York
December 15, 1905

William Johnson,
Supt. Vivian Coal and Mining Co.,
Jacksonville, Ind.
Dear Sir:

I have a letter from you under date of December 15th, asking for terms for furnishing men to coal mines. Allow me to say that the terms depend entirely upon how many men you want and what you want them for. We have a great number of able bodied men here who are more than willing to go anywhere and men who are not afraid of the police, militia, court injunctions, or government interference in any form. In fact each and every one of them can and will be vouched for by "Mother Jones" whose guarantee should satisfy any coal company in Indiana or elsewhere. If you will state how many you want and just when you want them, also whether they are destined for the bull pens or coal mines, we will be pleased to give your needs our prompt attention. In fact we will be willing to work overtime.

Truly yours,
Secretary Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Superintendents.

P. S. Fortunately, "Mother Jones" has just come into the office and she gives me her personal word that if you want her to head the procession she will gladly come. She would like to know whether the men are to come with arms or armless.

[Photograph added.]

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Sunday December 26, 1915
From The Arizona Republican: Mother Jones Raising Contributions for Clifton-Morenci Strikers

The Arizona Republican of December 23rd reports that the United Mine Workers of America has now taken on the cause of the Clifton-Morenci Strikers in Arizona. The strike has been on since September and is being led by the Western Federation of Miners. Mother Jones, it is reported, leads fund raising efforts in the middle west district, which district is raising large contributions for the striking miners:

UNITED MINE WORKERS HELP
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From fifteen to twenty thousand dollars monthly is being contributed to the relief of the striking miners in the Clifton-Morenci district by the United Mine Workers of America. A concerted movement, inaugurated by officials of the Mine Workers, has resulted in the raising of funds by practically every local in the organization. Some of these donations are sent in by the locals as soon as collected and in other instances the contributions come as from districts.

Following the endorsement of the strike by the American Federation of Labor in convention at San Francisco, James Lord, president of the mining department of the federation took up the matter of securing aid for the strikers. Representatives of the United Mine Workers soon afterwards visited the district and members of the executive board, upon receiving individual reports approved the work and suggested that it be handled by districts.

Mother Jones, on the payroll of the United Mine Workers, is in charge of the work of raising funds in the middle west district. The contributions from her district are said to be larger than from almost any other section, although the Illinois district is contributing largely.

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Christmas Day December 25, 1915
From the United Mine Workers Journal: Merry Christmas

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Monday December 20, 1915
From The Labor World: The Inside Story of How Rockefeller Won the Miners' Vote for a Company Union