Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1912-11-13
Tells Story Of Lawrence
Strike at Trial al Salem.
Charges Employees with Planting
Dynamite as PrOvocdlIon.


Salem, Mass, Nov. i2.-Defendlng
himself against charge that he was
an accessory before the fact to the
killing of Anna Lopigzo, during the
Lawrence textile strike, last winter,
Joseph ]. Ettor. leader of that indus
trial conflict, todays faced the jury
which is trying him, together with Ar
turo Giovannitti and Joseph Caruso.
for the crime.
Ettor was on the stand for several
hours, repeating to the jury his recol-
lection of addresses he made to the
strikers, detailing incidents of the
struggle and the conferences with the
mill owners and authorities.
At times the witness grew eloquent
in recounting his talks to the people.
Several times he was interrupted by
the district attorney. who objected to
the testimony. whereupon Ettor smil-
ingly answered. turning TO the prose-
cutor:
Those are the words / used in my
speech to the people"
Ettor insisted that from the begin
ming of the strike he counselled against
violence. urging upon the people that
violence was their worst enemy in the
struggle and that the way for them
to win was to keep away from the
mills and to do nothing He admit
ted that on the first day he advised
the strikers to go to the mills and urge
ali who remained at work TO cease so
that every mill would have to be shut
down.
Il told the strikers after the strug-
gle. had Keen. on for soma weeks and
II ~ .f<1xs. l..A
begun" said Ettor, .stflat they had
demonstrated their power; that in
soliditary of purpose and action they
had one source of strength that was
far greater than all the agencies of
defence and offence of the capitalists.
! Capital, told them, had property to
sustain it; that it had the police. the
army, the laws, the constitution to aid
in it's defence; that capital had every
thing, money and agents to plant dy-
Mantle to provoke the enemy, mean
ing the workers. But the workers, I
told them, had more power than all
that. more than guns and gailows the
power of solidarity of purpose and ac-
ton. greater than bombs.
.. Workers said to them. you
need not fight the same way that cap
ital opposes you. When workers of the
world want to win, the thing for them
to do is nothing, Fold your arms and
the work of the world will stop. Put
your hands in your pockets and the
capitalists cannot put their hands in
theirs. Lie absolutely silent and you
are more powerful than all the weap-
ons of the other side for offence and
defence"
| Ettor detailed the history of the strike
from the beginning down to the time of
the planning for the parade and demon
stration on Jan. e, which preceded the
fatal riot. Tomorrow he will resume his
story. In tracing the events he told OF
conferences with the employers, including
those with officials of the American
Wooden Co in Boston. On Jan. %. he
said, he and other members OF the strike
committee met William NJ. Wood, presi-
dent of the American Wooden Co., and
representatives of the other mills in Bos-
ton. He outlined the strikers demands.
including that for is per cent. increase
in wages.
''Mr. Wood asked me- Ettor continued,
why we fixed the increase at the arbi-
trary figure of Is per cent. l explained
that it was not arbitrary. that we had
figured the necessities and ability OF the
workers to gain that much and that it
was a general desire. But we could come
to nothing definite
Mr.. Wood said to me when I asked
him for a definite message: Tell the
strikers to go back to work; that can
not afford TO pay them this. Tell them
also that neither can I afford to have
them go back to work disconnected and
/ will do something for them soon. That
was certainly very Indefinite. practically
| nothing, and when I reported 1t to the
strike committee it was agreed that we
should continue the struggle and not
treat with the mill owners until they
sent for us and assured US that they
would talk business
Ettor charged the employers with
planting the dynamite in Lawrence In
discussing violence he said he had used
the incident of the stabbing of q 1f-year-
old boy by soldier as basis for tell
ing the strikers that the masters had
drawn the first blood"