The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1910-02-07
Nv Dorothy Dale.

The last stand of the once great
Amalgamated Association of Iron
and Steel Workers against the
United States Steel corporation
the steel trust, which has made
life a slavery in every mill where
it has destroyed the unions
developing heroines as well as
heroes.
Here in New Castle $500 tin
workers, almost all of them
sturdy Welshmen, have been on
strike since last July. At that
time with steel products and the
cost of living both rising, the
trust cut down wages per cent
and refused the customary recog-
milton of the union. 1t was, of
course, a cold, deliberate plan to
put the workers organization out
of business, and so the men in
every union tin mill owned by the
trust walked out.
But it is with the home and
the women's side of it that / have
to do. When the story was tele-
graphed out that &c of the wives
of leading strikers here at New
Castle had been arrested for vio-
lating an. injunction against APP
poraching or interfering with
strike breakers, came to see what
1t all meant.
That first evening of my visit
80 of these strikers wives and
daughters met to rehearse for a
church concert. They were clear
skinned, clear-eyed women, with
the rich, deep voices and pure
English speech that mark all COM
ers from the British west country.
Their simplicity and cordiality of
manner were beautiful. And how
they could sing!
The solemn, compelling strains
of Jesus, Lover of My Soul"
made the small rooms ring cathe-
dral-like. Then without bit of
fussing a young woman with a
wonderful appeal in her contralto,
stood up and sang, unaccompan-
led, He Was Despised and Re-
jected." The concert ended with
a light, lifting love serenade, and
then there was move to go
home.
But not in a body. They got up
two by two. And there was an
interval between the going of each
pair.
You know, we women can't be
seen on the streets in numbers
greater than two" explained Mrs.
,Thes. Thomas, who has 10 men
relatives in the strike. 1.-The court
has epjoined u.s."
And that's the way 1t is. There
is no chatting on the mill side of
New Castle city. You do not see
three women stop anywhere to
talk about the last bargain sale or
even about the prevalence of the
measles. They dare not. The
great United States Steel corpor-
alton has an injunction against
them.
But the 20 who dared? Oh,
they laughed at the strikers, ac-
cording to the warrants under
which they were arrested. Then
1t is solemnly sworn and SUBJ
scribed to that some of the wom-
en- called "Scab." Maybe they
were right. And one desperate
woman is even charged with loud
ly stating her opinion that a GER
tain striker was a "Black Pot"
Thus are American liberties jeop-
ardized by women with tongues in
their head!
"All of us women who were ar
rested are out on 5000 bail till
our trial." said Mrs. Thomas.
''But We'll go to Jail If we have
to, and be proud of 1T for such a
cause"
why, what those men did in
going back was the worst thing a
man could do" added Mrs. Annie
G.. Jones, another one of those ar
rested. "They deserted their
comrades on strike and went back
to be slaves and tools after accept
ing strike relief for seven months.
I'm not ashamed to say that l
pleaded with one for the sake of
his little children to come out
again because his action would
hurt them as well as him."
"And il we do go to jail we'll
stand it just as our men did who
were sent for contempt and kept
there 80 days." said Mrs. Thomas.
while they were there we took
them food and concerts. One day
] took 20 pies. We went and
sang with them to cheer them up.
And they'll do the same for us il
we have to CO."
In the homes at New Castle
everyone seems cherry. The send
ing in relief by other unions has
kept the pot boiling, and wherever
clothing or coal has been needed
that has been provided, too. The
women peel their potatoes on Sat-
urday night for the Sunday meal,
because after the strict Welsh re-
ligious ideas no work is done on
the Sabbath day.
\ Over at the headquarters of
the tin workers it was just the
same. There was no disorder.
Welshmen are not drinking men.
John Rogers and Il. T. Jones,
two members of the advisory
board of the hot mill workers
union, told what is in the report
asked for by the national dana -