The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1900-11-07
HOW A STRIKE IS ORGANIZED.
Some of the Difficulties When Many
Nr4,o,,o,,+ioe ora Involved

Some or the DlIIlCulll6S w It'll A''-'
Nationalities are Involved.
AS may readily be imagined, 1t Is nc
easy task to organize the discordant
elements representing a dozen different
uattonalities into labor union. In
practice it has been found necessary to
form the unions on the lines of IAN
| guage. Among the employees OF a
single company there will be found an
! English speaking union, an Italian
union, a Magyar union, and perhaps
half a dozen others. Their meetings
are separate, unless the proposal for a
strike calls for united action, and OBJ
liges them to meet together.
1t is difficult to imagine any scene
more picturesque and dramatic than
one of these union meetings, where dill
ferent and ordinarily discordant races
are gathered under a single roof and
for a single purpose. The day before
the big strike was ordered l attended
such d meeting q few miles outside or
Hazelton Six different organizations
were represented, and all the proceed
ings We're carried on in six different
tongues-English, Magyar, Bohemian.
Polish, Lithuanian and italian. The
district president of the united mine
workers an Irishman, by the way
was present, and was the controlling
spirit Of the assembly. His active part
in the proceedings, however, was con-
fined to giving his instructions to the
heads of the different unions, all of
whom spoke English.
When the meeting had been called to
order the proposal to join the strike
came up for discussion. irst of all
few Of the English-speaking men gave
their opinions pro and con in awkward
and ungrammatical, but terse and
common-sense speeches. When they
had finished, and before the question
was put to VOTE the Magyar and Bo-
hemian leaders rose and explained,
each in his own tongue, the object OF
the meeting. Workmen from the ma
tionalities which they represented then
addressed the meeting, some advocat-
ing and some opposing the strike. They
were in strong contrast to the previous
speakers Heavily built and slow of
utterance, they spoke deliberately, in
the harsh consonant accents of their
native tongue, punctuating their re-
marks with heavy-handed gestures,
while their compatriots leaned forward
listening intently, but with unmoved
expressions
The same process was followed with
the Poles and Lithuanians, stalwart,
coarse haired men, who spoke rapidly
with a jangle of accents that sounded
unintelligible to the spectator, but
which had the effect of causing an ea-
ger, though subdued, buzz of COM
ment among their fellow-countrynen
Then came the turn of the Italians,
and before their chairman had finished
his explanatory remarks a dozen ar
dent and gesticulating men were on
their feet all talking at once in the
swift-fowing speech of the sunny ia
therland, pouring out a torrent of
words which the chairman was utter
ly unable to stem.
Into the circle Of space left in the
center of the room suddenly bounded
man who quickly silenced the others
and claimed the attention of the whole
assemblage by his impassionec llarang.
He was man OF thirty dressed in the
rough jeans Of the miner and wearing
a pair of dark-colored glasses over his
eyes but with a face that showed in
telligence and education. 1t was i'm
possible even for those Of us who could
not understand his words not to feel
the force of the fiery stream of invec-
tive and appeal which poured faster
and ever faster from his lips. What
ever one might think of his sentiments
it could not be denied that he was an
orator Of no mean ability. ! learned
afterward that he was man Of uni
versity education, and that he was tell
ing his fellows of the glorious days
when their forefathers We're the
strongest nation in the world, urging
them to be worthy of the grand tradi-
lions of their race. AS he went on he
threw his hat upon the floor and I'M
consciously reached toward his boot,
where the Italian carries his eve~-
ready weapon. Not for an instant did
he falter in his speech, which flowed
like the rushing of mountain torrent,
and I have never seen a finer example
of frenzied eloquence.
The effect of his GRAFTON was re-
markable. Not only did 1t bring the
audience to their feet with cries of ap-
prevail and excited gestures, but it held
every man in the room spell-bound so
evident was the tenor, if not the axact
wording of his epeech.-E. w. Mayo in
Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly