Waterbury evening Democrat., 1905-09-30

was received prior to that time. To- day he is considered well educated man. writer of books, magazine and newspaper articles and q speaker of acknowledged ability. But what he has learned has been by night study and by reading the book of human life. Early he went into the mines. Per haps 1t was in his blood. He began as door tender. He decided to sec the world. He went from state to state, picking up jobs in the mines to pay his way. At one time he drove mules in mine in Colorado; then he went to Mexico. Eventually be drifted back to his home at Spring Valley, ILL, where he still lives.
 At an early age he went into iabor. organization, the old veteran body known as the Knights of Labor. After a time he became secretary of local, then of a district organization. Later he was on legislative committee to secure the passage of law demanded by the workingmen. He succeeded, and his success started him in his ca reer. About thls time he married, his wife having the good Hibernian name of Catharine O'Rourke. Mitchell is Irish himself, though his speech scarce Iy betrays the fact. More than ever he buckled down to study. When a man works ten or twelve hours in a mine he has not much heart in him to im- prove his mind, but John Mitchell had too much will power to be deterred by a little obstacle such as this.
 National Organizer.
 As result of his legislative venture he was made a member of the state executive board of the Knights of La bor and shortly afterward national organizer. The succeeding year, in 1898, he was elected vice president Of the United Mine Workers. In short time the president, M. D. Ratchford. resigned to accept another place, and Mitchell succeeded to the presidency, where he has since remained. When he became president the mine workers only had about 5000 members all told. By his organizing ability and by the national growth of. the order it now has over ten times that number. The or | ganization of the anthracite field has practically taken place entirely under | his supervision. In appearance Mir. Mitchell is of me dium size, being about five feet eight inches in height and weighing perhaps l 150 pounds. He always dresses in | black, wearing uniformly Prince AL i bert coat, straight narrow band of standing collar and black tie. A soft black hat invariably covers his head. He smokes cheap cigars and has one in his mouth incessantly. He is clean shaven, with sharp features. and high but receding forehead. His hair is black and not worn as that of other men, but is cut off square across the i back. The most remarkable feature of the man is his eye. This is large and luminous and, though gray in color. is so intense that it gives the impression at times of being black.
 Has No Recreations Except Work.
 John Mitchell has remarkable self control and the power of concentration in an unusual degree. He never seems possessed of nerves. He is usually re- served, but can unbend on occasion. He Is a good story teller. He has no recreations except work. He is demo cratic and is called John by all who know him at all well. He is at home alike with presidents, millionaires or miners-perhaps most with the miners. He sleeps little and thinks much. Late at night, after others have left him, he plans his campaign for the next day. East summer bank failure at Spring Valley took his deposit of $2,000, said to be all he had in the world.
 He. has won two strikes for the an- thraclte miners, one in 1900. the other in 1902. It was in the latter that Pres ident Roosevelt intervened. At this time John Mitchell was hailed as the man of the hour and was greeted as the foremost labor leader of the world. He wrote book on that strike and afterward took a trip through Eu- rope and sent back labor letters for the American press. As a result of that strike Mitchell day was established in october of each year and was made q holiday throughout the mining region.
 Here is an estimate of John Mitchell, not from one of his own men, but from representative of the coal barons themselves:
 "He is honest. fearless. brave, calm, conservative and sound as a dollar"
 When mans friends appoint holl. day in his honor and his natural enc. mics speak. Of him in that manner there must be something to him.
 J. A. EDGERT0N.
 Irish Bull.