Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-02-18
MOTHER JONES' PLEA
SAYS THE LABoRIN0 PEOPLE
SHOULD FORM TRUSTS.
The Differences Between Labor and
Capital Described al Irreconcilab1e
Other Speakers Views.

\ Stories of the existing conditions among
the miners Of Pennsylvania, Virginia and
West Virginia, the evils Of child labor.
coupled with denunciations and criticisms
Of both the republican and democratic par
ties, were the features Of the special meet
ing Of the Bsllamy Club held last evening
at Masonic Temple. Mother Jones. the
renowned organizer of the United Mine
Workers OF America; William L. Dewart,
secretary Of the Antitrust League OF
this city, and William A. Toole Of Balti-
more, who has been identified with the
socialist movement. were the speakers. and
their utterances greatly stirred the audi
ence. The speakers labored to reveal to
their auditors the conditions Of the toiiers
of the United States, and made an earnest
appeal to the working people to lay aside
their religious beliefs and become unit
for the purpose of Fighting the wrongs
imposed through the power of wealth"
The meeting was called to order and the
Introductory remarks made by Secretary
Joseph Wood of the club, who presided
The first speaker was William Il. Dewar..
He was well aware of the fact that the
aSsemblage was anxious to hear Mother
JONES' and after speaking very briefly OF
the alleged attitude Of Judges Jackson and
Keller of West Virginia against organized
labor, and reviewing the recent anthracite
coal strike, he introduced Mrs. Jones.
Mother Jones' Plea.
The advocate of miners rights said, in
part:
eve are entering into a new field OF
human emancipation-an emancipation
which must come We have found that In
every century there has been some vital
issue involving human liberty. and those Of
civil liberty and chattel liberty were both
settled. The issue which now stares US
in the face is of greater import than those
of the past and is much more far-reaching.
iS fight
win, and it will perhaps be the last battle
against the barbarism Of human slavery.
The human mind-the mind Of the peo-
ple-is taking the proper direction, and the
slavery Of today will be crushed out just
as the slavery Of ante-bellum times was
abolished. and the settlement will, In every
ganized labor A class war must come, and
it is not SO far away. 1t will be conflict
of brains instead Of bullets and imple- |
ments of war.
FIFTY years ago the conditions of the
negro were almost intolerable, and the
blood was dashed from the slave without
provocation The heart of the American
people felt the lash and declared that |
slavery should be abolished. 1t was ac
eordingly done away with, but not without
bloodshed. The conditions of 1851 and
those of today are Identical. We shall pc
emancipated, but. as l have often said:
without bloodshed. 1t must come: it will
come in the natural course of events"
Recites Her Experiences.
After recalling the circumstances attend |
ing her arrest at Clarksburg, w. Va, while |
attempting to inaugurate strike her i'm |
prisonment and the censure by the judge,
Mother Jones spoke Of the evils of child |
labor, depicting it's darkest features. She |
also described a meeting held on top of a |
mountain in West Virginia, where large |
number Of striking miners were camped.
While picturing to her auditors the scenes |
among the striking miners and describing |
their election from the company's shacks, |
she cried aloud: |
I shall fight for a higher and nobler civili- |
cation for my fellow-worker as long as I |
am able to walk and talk" |
west Virginia. continued Mother Jones, |
sis God-cursed state. Its officials are in |
the grasp of corporations. The corpora |
lions have everything their own way. The |
conditions in the New River region of Vir- !
ginia are similar
"You wonder why we have drunkards; |
why we need charitable organizations, and |
why we have penitentiaries. They are all |
here because of the greed of wealth. There |
shall be reckoning. We produce all the |
wealth Of the country and are entitled to a |
share Of the profits do not oppose Nor |
gan or the trusts; let them go on. But there |
shall also be a labor trust. Why not? One
is as fair as the other. Neither the demo- |
cratic nor the republican party has an issue |
to offer the people. It is all for self and |
none for thee President Roosevelt cannot |
restrain the TRUSTS, neither COulu nave MI |
Bryan had be been elected. The trusts are
here to stay, and they ignore the law COM
pletely.
Must Form Trusts.
'"The time has come when the laboring
people must form trusts, get government
franchises and work for themselves. The
people are becoming educated and are be-
ing lifted from their lethargy.''
Mother Jones concluded her address by
urging the women to become affiliated with |
the socialstic movement. declaring that |
they are needed in the work. The speech |
making was brought to a close by William |
A. Toole. who spoke in advocacy of the gov
eminent ownership of the mines and other |
institutions now under private control.