The labor argus. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1906-1915, 1908-03-26
FAREW ELL
Bid Their Beloved Leader by
the Miners With Tears
in Their Eyes
JOHN MITCHELL, MINER
The Greatest Labor Leader the
World Has Ever Known
Closes National Convention
With a Message to Ellis
Boys.

The auditorium of the German
House in Indianapolis, on last
Friday morning was the scene of
the most dramatic and touching
episode in the labor movement in
the worlds history when the
miners bid farewell to their be.
loved leader, John Mitchell.
The thousand men, representing
the coal miners OF the United
States and Canada, had just adopt
ed, without changing a word, the
United Mine Workers national
scale committees recommended
policy to guide the mining popu-
lation of the soft coal fields in the
days of threatening trouble to
come with April L. They were on
their feet and the farewell song,
"My Country Ills of Thee,' had
been sung, when President John
Mitchell, their retireing leader,
lifting the gavel to adjourn the
extraordinary national convention
sine die, held it suspended in the
air:
"Gentlemen, he said in a voice
filled with emotion, Eat this closing
moment. and while shall noI
have to do with your affairs of
ticially any more, my hope is that
whatever difference of opinion you
may have. held, or may now hold,
may be subordinated to the inter
est of the majority. :
''Let me reiterate the hope ex-
pressed in this hall last January
that you will give to your incom-
ing officers, your president, your
vice -president, your secretary
treasurer, that encouragement and
that suppart you have always
given me. Hold up the hands of
your officers.
ga pat on the back, word of
good will, does an officer more good
than all the criticism you may give
him.
81 know in my life the men who
came to me and said, Jack, you
are doing well; God bless you'
made me work harder than all the
men who came to me and said,
You are not doing well.
"Gentlemen, you are going back
to our people. Encourage them to
carry out this policy, to carry it
out tearlessly and fairly and cour-
ageously, even though in detail it
not meet your views as a whole.
MY bOyS--and I will call YOU
my boys even though some of you
are nearly twice rs old as am, /
regard you as my boys-be as good
union men now and in the time to
come as you have been while l was
directing your affairs. God bless
you again! l am leaving this
movement, not because l want to
leave You, but because I have to
leave you
81 say to you now, gentlemen,
may God bless our movement.
May He look down on our efforts
to better the lot of humanity with
that favor, with that grace He has
given it in the days that 1 have
led you.'
There was pause. Every one
in the hall was moved from the
heart and tears even were stream
ing down the cheeks of such strudy
men as Congressman w. B. Will
son, ''Big John" Fallon, of the
anthracite region, and the speak Ell
himself. The gavel fell and one OF
the greatest and most important
national conventions in the history
of American labor was closed with
as dramatic scene as has ever beer
witnessed in this country.
With red eyes and quiverine
lips coal miners began moving to
ward the stage where, overcom,
by his emotion, their leader of ter
years stood Every delegate, join
ed in the long line that filed pas
him. Each one grasped his hand
i Some could not speak, other
only Stammered out '.God bles
you, John,' or 'sI wish you sue
cess.' If anything, the strudies
and the Oldest warhorses of th
movement, seemed to be movet
the deepest and some of them, lik