The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-09-13

tanned by the sun and wet in the rain
while endeavoring to demonstrate the
practicability of Commonwealth theories.
Instead of success they have met with
lamentable failure. Nearly 225 men,
women and children rallied around the
banner of Mrs. Gordon, Gray and e.
Lemme, and their motto was the same as
that of the three guardsmen of French
romance, zone for all, and all for one"
To-day it is a case of every one for himself
and root, hog, or die.
Mrs. Gordon started out, so she stated,
on the charitable mission of finding work
for the unemployed. She was to handle
the cash and furnish good food for 10 cents
a meal or 80 cents day. She was also
to furnish tents; cooperative principles
were to regulate the final distribution Of
the profits. A large number Of Mrs. Cor
don's followers were from the States Free
Labor Bureau, for she showed Labor Com
missioner Fitzgerald contract with the
Lilienthal Hop Company to furnish a
large number of men to help pick the hop
crop.
The first crew of 140 pickers we're sent
for and arrived late in the afternoon.
Then the trouble began. Instead of hav-
ing the tents necessary, only three small,
thin tents were up beside the large COM
missary tent, and the night was fast APP
preaching. An appeal for help was made
to George A. Davis, the superintendent for
the company, who at once set up tents
enough of his own to shelter the women,
and also hauled in several loads of straw
and wood. That night and the following
night the men slept in the open air and
arose in the morning stiff and cold from
the heavy dew, for but few had half
enough blankets. Food, too, was scarce
and poorly cooked. Davis then put up
many other tenUs rather than see the men
suffer. Food became scarcer and the peo-
pie began to grumble.
The first real trouble started late last
week and resulted in strike. Under the
agreement with the company Mrs. Gordon
was to receive 20 cents per hundred pounds
for all hops picked by the people under
her charge. She also had the laborers
agree to let her receive the money, so that
the company should deal with her only.
All went well until about $500 was due
the laborers. Then the latter began to de-
mand their wages. Under the contract
the hop-growers could not pay the money
to the pickers, for Mrs. Gordon had the
company tied up, so to speak, in black and
white. A few of the hop-pickers got their
money and they did not remain long I'M
der the leadership of the commonwealth.
They found work on other property owned
by the same company. Those who did re-
main began to grumble and at last openly
revolted against the treatment they re-
ceived. They said that Mrs. Gordon and
her friends had their wages so tied up that
they could not get cent and they had no
hold on the commonwealth leaders.
On Friday one of the pickers made de-
mand upon Treasurer Lemme for his
money. Not receiving it he knocked the
treasurer down, and the other op-pickers
became so threatening that Lemme was
obliged to leave the camp. The laborer
was then arrested, but the case was dis
missed.
By this time Mrs. Gordon became
alarmed for her own safety. BY chance
Labor Commissioner Fitzgerald came to
Pleasanton last Sunday to look over the
ground, and he soon learned that serious
trouble would occur if something were not
done at once. He also saw that the men, s
confidence in him gave HIM absolute con-
troll over them. He told them to remain
quiet and the difficulty would be settled.
After argument he induced Mrs. Gordon
to allow the contracts to be Cancelled.
While negotiations were pending Mrs.
Gordon frequently sent for the Commits.
sioner, for she feared to trust herself
among the angry men. At last all the
contracts were Cancelled and Lilienthal's
representative weht ont into the yards and
paid the hop piekers their dues. Peace
was at once restored and the men went to
work again, of course looking to the COM
pany for their wages.
This practically left Mrs. Gordon & Co.,
the proprietors of an open-air restaurant,
at which about 125 got their meals, for
the others had gone to work for the COM
pany and got their meals at another res
taurant near the drying-house.
To-day not over twenty-five or thirty re-
main with the Commonwealth leaders.
The causes that led to the sudden exodus
from that camp Ewere explained by David