Woody Guthrie

Tuesday Open Thread: Jesus and Woody and Ry Cooder

US conservative Christian leaders' willingness to support a president known for lying, cheating and stoking of bigotry has generated calls of hypocrisy. Big Al recently pointed out how "sacred" scripture is being misused to explain away Godawful behavior. Yet from their perspective, the Trump administration has delivered on its promises to advance a conservative agenda.

Unfortuanately, despite how much we belittle these practices and wish they did not matter, the power and money behind them packs a powerful punch. We damned well better realize that fact and find spiritual resources of our own ... or we will continue to be kicked to the political curb.

And that brings us to the immortal Woody Guthrie and his disciple Ry Cooder ...

Hellraisers Journal: New York May Day Parade to Be Led by Locked Out Garment Workers

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

Monday May 1, 1916
New York City - Locked Out Garment Workers to March up Fifth Avenue

NYC May Day, Garment Workers, May 1, 1916, LOC, crpd.png
Garment Workers of New York City
``````````

Hellraisers Journal: Fatherless Children, Child Labor and State Laws for Mothers' Pensions

There are no limits to which powers of privilege
will not go to keep the workers in slavery.
-Mother Jones
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sunday April 23, 1916
The Labor World: "The Widow's Mite"

Widow's Mite, Child Poverty, Labor World, Apr 22, 1916.png

Hellraisers Journal: John M O'Neill: "We want a civilization where man will no longer be on his knees."


The agitator through all the centuries of time
has blazed the trail for a higher
and grander civilization.
-John M O'Neill
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Saturday April 1, 1916
Indianapolis, Indiana - John M. O'Neill Address Convention of United Mine Workers

Hellraisers Journal: A Logger Tells the Story of the So-Called Life of the Migratory Timber Worker

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

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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?

Industrial Worker, Blanket Stiff, April 23, 1910.png

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.

Hellraisers Journal: Nils Hanson on the Organizing Drive of the AWO in the Mid-Western Wheat Fields

Thirty thousand Negroes will come and 30,000 I. W. W.'s will go back.
The red card is cherished as much and its objects understood as well
by a black man as by a white one.
-Solidarity, Fall 1915

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

Tuesday December 21, 1915
From the International Socialist Review: Nils Hanson on Organizing in the Wheat Fields

IWW Membership Card.png

In the latest edition of the Review, Nils Hanson discusses working conditions, living conditions, and the great organizing drive, launched by the Agricultural Workers Organization, this past fall in the harvest fields of the mid-western states. He tells of following the wheat harvest from Kansas on up to North Dakota.

The A. W. O. of the Industrial Workers of the World, has become such a menace that the North Dakota farmers claim they will import Negroes as harvest hands next year. In response to that threat, the I. W. W. newspaper, Solidarity, recently gave "John Farmer" this warning:

The I. W. W. has some good Negro organizers, just itching for a chance of this kind. Thirty thousand Negroes will come and 30,000 I. W. W.'s will go bak. The red card is cherished as much and its objects understood as well by a black man as by a white one.