William Green

Hellraisers Journal: Mother Jones Speaks: "Thank God I have lived to be a grandmother in agitation."

Thank God I have lived to be a grandmother in agitation!
I hope I will live to be
a great-grand mother in agitation!
-Mother Jones

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Monday January 31, 1916
Indianapolis, Indiana - Mother Jones Addresses Convention of United Mine Workers, Part I

Yesterday Hellraisers reported on the speech delivered by Mother Jones during Saturday's afternoon session of the United Mine Workers Convention, now in session in Indianapolis. Today we are pleased to present part one of her speech; we will offer part two in tomorrow's edition of Hellraisers.

Mother Jones Speaks to United Mine Workers Convention, Part I
January 29, 1916, in Indianapolis, Indiana
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Mother Jones UMWJ, Jan 21, 1915.png

ELEVENTH DAY-AFTERNOON SESSION The convention was called to order at 1:30 p.m., Saturday, January 29th, Secretary Green in the chair......

Secretary Green—.....President White will not be here for a little while and, with your permission, we will pause for just a few minutes in our regular order to hear from Mother Jones. She is planning to leave soon and wants to say something to the boys before she leaves.

Mother Jones—Boys, I have looked over this convention from the platform, and I want to give expression to the feeling that in this gathering are men of the most highly developed brains this country can produce. You have come from the picks, but you are developing, and I want to say to you to keep on.

Now I want to call your attention to a few things. Away back in the old Roman age, two hundred years after the world’s greatest agitator was murdered by the ruling class, there arose in Carthage a tremendous agitation among the oppressed, the exploited, those who had borne the burden for ages. The Romans began to be disturbed and thought they would go down to Carthage and capture those who were responsible for the agitation. They went down. All they captured in those days they retained as slaves or sold into slavery. Among the group that was captured was one youth. The Roman judge asked, “Who are you?” The youth said, “I am a member of the human family.” “Why do you agitate?” asked the judge. “Because I belong to that class that has been crushed, robbed, murdered and maligned in all the ages, and I want to break the chains of my class.”

Hellraisers Journal: Mother Jones at UMWA Convention; V.P. Hayes, "There is only one Mother Jones."

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

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Sunday January 23, 1916
Indianapolis, Indiana - Mother Jones Speaks at U. M. W. of A. Convention, Part II

Mother_Jones__Boston_Globe__Jan_30__1915.png

Friday's Hellraisers featured newspaper accounts of "Old Mother Jones" "storming" the stage at the Mine Workers' Convention, now ongoing in Indianapolis. Once on stage, Mother put an end to a bitter dispute between the international officers and Delegates McDonald and Germer of Illinois.

The acrimonious debate was fueled by the union's financial difficulties which no doubt stem from the long and hard fought struggles of the past four years, for example: brutal 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 called Duncan McDonald and Adolph Germer to the stage and, in the end, handshakes were exchanged all around.

Yesterday we presented part one of the speech given by Mother Jones and we conclude today with part two.

Hellraisers Journal: Mother Jones at UMWA Convention; V.P. Hayes, "You can't stop her from talking."

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

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

UMWJ Cover Detail, Mother Jones, Jan 21, 1915.png

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.

Hellraisers Journal: Mother Jones Storms Stage at United Mine Workers Convention, Ends Bitter Debate

My friends, it is solidarity of labor we want...
We must be together; our masters are joined together
and we must do the same thing.
- Mother Jones

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

Mother_Jones__Boston_Globe__Jan_30__1915.png

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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