The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1902-11-29
John Mitchell. &:ss:r &sss:

OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
To no reader of newspapers, to no
man with ears, is it necessary to ex-
plain who John Mitchell is. No man
who has held tightly the reins upon
147,OOO men for five months can be de-
MED the publicity which is his due. No
man whose word sways 100000 men
can be ignored by the public; no man
of the ability, the energy, the power of
John Mitchell can be denied.
He has won his way to the COM
mand of practically all the coal miners
Of the United States, he has won the
respect and confidence of the great ar
my of workingmen- of all conditions
and classes who have poured into the
treasury of the strikers thousands and
thousands of dollars because John
Mitchell asked them to do so, because
John Mitchell led the $4,000 into a
strike and kept them on strike and true
to the union despite the most powerful
influences in the country to get them
back to. work.
IF I have made happy the homes
of the laboring men who are now Ill
treated and in want. then I shall feel
that l have lived for something" the
New oYrk Herald quotes Mr.. Mitchell
as saying.
This was long ago, before his name
was known outside a small circle. 1t
was as if the words dedicated him to
the cause of labor, for he has since
become it's greatest and it's most pow
erful leader.
To the striking miners he had said
time and time again, before the strike
was declared: "This union of ours is
some day going to get the little lads
out of the mines and give them the
education, which will raise them above
the state where they are now, and am
going to fight for this for them, and
you, their fathers, must fight with 1ne.
There was no bombast about the
speech there never is about Mitchell's
but it was the firm, decided assertion
of fact, quietly spoken and YET AIMED
so true at the very heart of the action
that it's shaft struck home.
1t is a way with Mitchell that when
he says things they do go home. He
is never loud. He is never the orator
of arms and tongue, but what he says
has weight. 1t hits, and his facts are
blunt facts; his decisions are blunt de-
cisions. He knows that truth ana s,rn-
plicity of expression are greater than
oratory: therefore he tells the truth
and he talks right at a man-at every
man in his audience-and when he has
ended he has said something.
His manner is symbolical of th-
whole nature of thegman. Quiet, re-
sserxeds lmoat- .ysraHas @dasn set eyes
the firm, straight mouth, the fnvOlun-
tary clenching of the jaw, the impress
sive forehead, all speak for themselves,
and speak of determination and depth.
But there are other things that speak
as we'll. His handshake means vol
umes. He grasps the one given him
as he grasps a question, and, once
over, a handshake has occurred. 1t is
firm large, strong, wholesome grasp.
that takes hold and holds and says
This is something, this is an occasion
this is the hand I have been waiting
to hold" But there is no spontaneity
about it. The hand is advanced slow
ly, more slowly than the eyes, for while
the hand is coming the eyes have
glanced, seen, considered and decided.
1t is Mr.. Mitshells silence that >-n-
presses as much as his speech. 1t is
not possible for that head of his to
| mand respect and attention. There is
something doing when he thinks. There
is no frivolity in his composition. A
glance at his dress proves that. A
Prince Albert coat, a plain collar, a
! black tie which hides his shirt front
and gives him, at first glance, the ap-
! pearance of a minister, which impress
sion the whole face bears out.
There are fncongruities about all
men, and Mitchell wears soft hat with
those clothes, to the horror Of the tail
or and the amusement of men who
think knowing how to dress in style
is one of the chief requirements of
manliness.
why do you not vary your dress
somewhat" his secretary asked one
day.
"Eh?' he said, startled by the ques-
ton. ''Eh ?"-he never makes an an
swer without apparently thinking it
over several times-"Ive been dressing
this way for a long time; l guess I'll
continue"
Dress is nothing to Mr.. Mitchell, and
yet he is always neat and we'll dressed.
IT. is not an easy thing to control
147, 900 men who are on strike, and es-
peGally 147,000 mine workers. There
are fourteen different languages ,pok-
en- by his force-fourteen different ma
tionalities-the fiery Italian, the
phlegmatic German, the torpid Slav,
the energetic 1rishnan,: the .argumen-