~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tuesday January 2, 1906
Caldwell, Idaho - Ex-Governor Steunenberg Assassinated

From the front page of The New York Times of December 31st comes this very grim news:

EX-GOVERNOR KILLED BY DYNAMITE BOMB
-----

Frank Steunenberg of Idaho Victim of an Assassin.
-----
GOVERNOR FROM 1897 TO 1901
-----
The Bomb Had Been Placed at His Gate at Caldwell,
and Exploded as He Entered.
-----

BOISE, Idaho, Dec. 30.-Frank Steunenberg, formerly Governor of Idaho, was killed to-night by a bomb at his home in Caldwell. A dynamite bomb had been placed at his front gate with a contrivance that exploded the bomb as he entered. Both legs were blown off and he lived but twenty minutes.

There is no known reason for the outrage, but it is charged to some members of the famous inner circle of the Coeur D'Alene dynamiters, whom he prosecuted relentlessly in 1899 while he was Governor.

Gov. Gooding is in communication with the police and is prepared to lend the full support of the State in running down the perpetrators of the crime. The State will offer a large reward.

Steunenberg was Governor of Idaho from 1897 to 1901, having been twice elected on the Populist ticket. He was born in Iowa forty-four years ago, and had been in Idaho since 1887. He leaves a widow and three children.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Christmas Eve December 24, 2015

This morning I woke up thinking about the Italian Hall Massacre. I thought of Annie Clemenc and I remembered the miners and their families who preserved through the great Michigan Copper Strike of 1913-14.

Let us always honor their sacrifice and NEVER FORGET:

```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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

You ought to be out raising hell. This is the fighting age.
Put on your fighting clothes.
-Mother Jones
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wednesday December 15, 1915
From Harper's Weekly: Edith Wyatt on the Chicago Clothing Strike & Special Police Guards

In the December 11th edition of Harper's, Edith Wyatt offers the following account of the Chicago Garment Workers Strike, now ongoing in that city, along with news regarding police brutality, and some history on the practice of arbitration in the needle-work trades:

The Chicago Clothing Strike

by EDITH WYATT

"THE story of civilization,” says Norman Angell in Arms and Industry, “is the story of development of ideas.”

One of the most interesting chapters of that chronicle is the narrative of the development of the idea of industrial arbitration in this country, in opposition to the idea of industrial war. Chicago is now watching intently a bitter contest between these two principles in one of her greatest industries, her trade in men’s clothing, a business truly enormous, the value of its product in this city being rated in the last census at over eighty five million dollars.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Joe Hill on the Writing of Songs to Fan the Flames of Discontent:

A pamphlet, no matter how good, is never read more than once, but a song is learned by heart and repeated over and over; I maintain that if a person can put a few cold, common sense facts into a song, and dress them up in a cloak of humor to take the dryness off of them, he will succeed in reaching a great number of workers who are too unintelligent or too indifferent to read a pamphlet or an editorial on economic science.

This is the last of the WE NEVER FORGET series honoring the memory of our Fellow Worker and Rebel Songwriter, Joe Hill. Celebrations of the life and songs of Joe Hill have been going on across the nation. Joe Hill's songs are still being sung one hundred years after the State of Utah attempted to silence him forever. New recordings have been made by many talented singers, so that now, even most of FW Joe Hill's lesser known songs are featured in one or more youtube videos.

Joe Hill Centennial Celebration: Joe Hill's Great-Great Niece, Lovisa Samuelsson
She is playing on the guitar of Utah Phillips which contains some of Joe Hill's ashes.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFrZvjkh2pY width:560 height:315]

More from Centennial Celebration:
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=joe+hill+centenial+celebration

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Joe Hill was born Joel Emmanuel Hägglund in Gävle, Sweden. He immigrated to the United States in 1902 and, at some point, began using the name Joseph Hillstrom. He joined the Industrial Workers of the World, most likely in 1910 in Portland, Oregon, and soon thereafter began writing songs under the name of Joe Hill, eventually becoming the most popular rebel songwriter of his time. His songs were published in the songbook, "I. W. W. Songs to Fan the Flames of Discontent," famous then and now simply as the "Little Red Songbook."

By the time of his murder at the hands of the Utah (in)Justice System, Joe's songs were being sung on picket lines all across the nation, in Britain, Australia, and many other far and distant lands, where, after his death, his ashes were scattered to the winds. Perhaps, some fading flowers will yet arise to take up the cause of Industrial Freedom for which Fellow Worker Joe Hill so courageously gave his life.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~